I saw this recipe for Big Beans and Tomato Vinaigrette in Bon Appetit magazine, said to myself “What a great idea! Let’s save that for the peak of tomato season.” And…I promptly forgot it. Peak Tomato came and went here in Northeastern Ohio. My wife brought in the last of the cherry tomatoes from her backyard garden, sparking my memory, and a scramble to the farmers market to get more for this recipe. Before I miss tomato season entirely, here is my recipe for Instant Pot Chickpeas and Tomato Lemon Vinaigrette.
The original recipe called for butter beans and a red wine and tomato vinaigrette; I swapped out a few of the ingredients for what I had on hand.
First, I switched the beans to chickpeas; I’ve been cooking a lot of white beans, and wanted something different. Of course I pressure cooked the chickpeas – I keep calling the Instant Pot my secret weapon for beans, but is it really a secret when I mention it almost every month? (And when I published that original pressure cooker chickpeas recipe back in 2010? Yikes, I’ve been doing this for a while.)
The other big switch was lemon instead of vinegar. Originally, I went with balsamic vinegar, because I don’t have a good red wine vinegar in my pantry. Balsamic did not go with the chickpeas; the sweet chickpeas and the sweet-sour balsamic were too similar. Lemon is what the chickpeas need – still sour, but with a tart citrus edge to balance out the chickpeas and tomatoes.
How good is this recipe? No one minded the two pounds worth of chickpeas in a weekend of recipe testing. In fact, I was asked when there would be more chickpeas – someone wants them for lunch. I’d say that’s a success!
Recipe: Instant Pot Chickpeas and Tomato Lemon Vinaigrette
Inspired by: Big Beans and Tomato Vinaigrette, from Scribe Winery/Kelly Mariani in Bon Appetit magazine, Aug 2019
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Instant Pot Chickpeas and Tomato Lemon Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
Description
Pressure cooked garbanzo beans tossed with cherry tomatoes and lemon dressing, for a hearty side dish or vegetarian main course
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), sorted and rinsed
- 4 cups water
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Tomato Lemon Vinaigrette
- Juice of ½ a lemon 🍋 (1 to 2 tbsp)
- Zest from ½ a lemon
- pinch of salt
- pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced basil
- ½ clove if garlic, finely minced (optional)
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 pint (about 10 ounces) cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
- Pressure cook the chickpeas for 40 minutes with a quick pressure release: Put the dried chickpeas, 4 cups of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in your pressure cooker. Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 40 minutes in an electric pressure cooker (or 36 minutes in a stovetop PC). Quick release the pressure in the pot and drain the chickpeas, then transfer the drained chickpeas to a medium bowl.
- Whisk the vinaigrette (the easy way): put the vinaigrette ingredients (except for the tomatoes) in a medium bowl and whisk until the oil is emulsified. Add the halved tomatoes and whisk a few more times to coat with vinaigrette.
- OR: Whisk the vinaigrette (the finesse way): Whisk the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until the salt dissolves. Stir in the minced basil and garlic clove. Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl, whisking constantly to emulsify the oil in the lemon juice. Stir in the tomatoes to coat with vinaigrette.
- Toss the chickpeas and vinaigrette: Pour the vinaigrette over the drained chickpeas, and stir and toss gently until the chickpeas are coated and the tomatoes are evenly mixed. Serve, and enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now →Notes
- Make ahead: The chickpeas can be cooked ahead of time, and refrigerated in their cooking liquid for 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw and drain the chickpeas, then toss them with the vinaigrette.
- Quick vs natural pressure release: I used to let my beans finish with a natural pressure release – they seemed to need the extra cooking time – but these chickpeas were coming out fine with a quick release. You can use a natural pressure release if you don’t like the noise or mess of a quick release, but I don’t bother waiting for the pressure to drop on its own any more, and quick release the steam.
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Instant Pot Chickpeas and Tomato Lemon Vinaigrette, Pressure Cooker Chickpeas and Tomato Lemon Vinaigrette
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker and Oven Roasted Chickpeas
Pressure Cooker Hummus
Instant Pot Pasta con Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)
My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes
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