Which Legumes Can Be Cooked Without Soaking?

There is one purpose to soaking: to help water reach the center of the bean faster. That is why the rule depends on the size of the bean and the thickness of its skin. The thicker the skin and the larger the bean, the longer it takes water to reach the center. For small beans with thin skins, water reaches the center during cooking, so a separate soaking step is unnecessary. This is why even varieties of the same type of legume with large and small beans cook in different amounts of time. The recommended time on the package is therefore a starting point, not an exact cooking duration.

Red lentils are the most extreme example in this group. They are sold hulled, so there is no layer to block water. Rinse them, put them directly in the pot, and they break down quickly to give soup its consistency. Soaking them is not only unnecessary but harmful: lentils that have already absorbed water break down even faster in the pot, and the consistency gets out of control. Change the water a few times while rinsing red lentils; the first rinses are usually cloudy.

Dried peas and mung beans do not need soaking either. Both are small and have skins that let water through easily; they soften in a reasonable amount of time when cooked directly. Black-eyed peas fall in between: they can be cooked without soaking, but a short soak noticeably reduces the cooking time. For legumes in this group, soaking is optional, not required. However, if you plan to sprout mung beans, a short soak becomes essential, and the purpose is no longer cooking.

Green and brown lentils are a category of their own. Because they keep their skins, they take longer to cook than red lentils, but are not as tough as chickpeas and beans. When cooked without soaking, they hold their shape better; that is exactly what you want for salad. If making soup or a stew, a short soak reduces the cooking time and makes the beans softer. Lentils for salad are also boiled in plenty of water and cooled immediately after draining.

The group that must be soaked is clear: chickpeas, dried beans, cranberry beans, and similar large legumes. If you skip soaking, cooking takes much longer, the beans do not soften evenly, and the outside falls apart while the center remains hard. Soak them for 8–12 hours. If you are short on time, use the hot-soak method, but do not skip the soaking step for these legumes. Do not soak them for too long: after soaking for as long as 2 days, the beans begin to sour and foam. If you will not cook the soaked legumes that same day, drain them and keep them in a covered container in the refrigerator.