Legume Soaking Time Calculator
Written by Thierno Sadou Diallo, formula verified per our methodology • Last checked on 9/5/2026
Chickpeas need about 12 hours of soaking before cooking, black or red dried beans about 10 hours, white beans about 7 hours, while lentils need no soaking at all thanks to their small size.
Explanation
Pre-soaking dried legumes serves two purposes: reducing cooking time by getting water absorption started ahead of time, and lowering the content of oligosaccharides (complex sugars responsible for the digestive bloating often associated with legumes), partly leached out into the soaking water, which should be discarded before cooking rather than reused. The time needed mainly depends on the legume's size and the thickness of its outer skin: chickpeas, relatively large and thick-skinned, need the longest soak (about 12 hours, usually overnight); black or red dried beans fall around 10 hours; white and cannellini beans, with a thinner skin, around 7 hours. Small lentils (green, red/split, beluga) are a notable exception: their small size and thin skin let cooking water penetrate them directly, with no pre-soaking needed at all. Soaking for more than about fifteen hours is generally discouraged, since it can degrade the legume's texture and encourage early fermentation, especially at high room temperature — keeping the soaking container in the refrigerator for a long soak is a simple precaution. Once soaked and cooked, these legumes go into many recipes; to scale quantities to a different number of diners, see our recipe portions calculator, or our rice cooking time calculator for another starchy side often served alongside them.
Example: chickpeas
Inputs
Legume type: chickpeas.
Calculation
Chickpeas, relatively large and thick-skinned, need the longest soak among common legumes: about 12 hours, usually left to soak overnight.
Result
Plan for about 12 hours of soaking for these chickpeas before cooking.
Frequently asked questions
Can I skip soaking and cook dried legumes directly?
It's possible, but the cooking time will be noticeably longer (sometimes double) and the final texture less even. Skipping the soak also misses the chance to remove some of the oligosaccharides responsible for bloating, generally better tolerated after soaking followed by a rinse.
Should the soaking water be discarded before cooking?
Yes, this is generally recommended: the soaking water contains some of the oligosaccharides and other compounds drawn out of the legume during soaking. Discarding this water and cooking in fresh water improves the digestibility of the final dish.
Why don't lentils need soaking, unlike chickpeas?
Mainly because of their size and the thinness of their outer skin: lentils, small and thin-skinned, let cooking water penetrate them directly within a reasonable cooking time, while chickpeas, larger and thicker-skinned, would take much longer to cook without a pre-soak that gets water absorption started.