Baking soda appears in many traditional chickpea and bean recipes as a trick for getting pulses tender. There is a real reason for it: by raising the pH of the water, it changes plant cell-wall structures and can help the seed soften more quickly. The mistake is assuming that if a little helps, more must help more. Too much can produce mushy beans, badly split skins and an unpleasant alkaline taste.
Used sparingly, baking soda can be useful with older dried pulses, hard water or dishes where an especially creamy texture is wanted, such as hummus. It is not required for good pulse cooking.
What does baking soda actually do?
Pulses contain structural compounds that help their cells hold together. A slightly alkaline environment encourages some of those structures to weaken during soaking and cooking. In practical terms, chickpeas and beans can hydrate and soften more easily.
This is why baking soda can help when the real obstacle is hard water or very old pulses rather than simply insufficient cooking time.
Do you always need it?
No. Good-quality dried pulses that are not excessively old can become perfectly tender with proper soaking, suitable water and enough cooking. For dishes where you want each bean to remain intact, skipping baking soda may even give you better control.
Think of it as a tool, not a compulsory ingredient. If your usual method already gives tender chickpeas or beans, there is no culinary reason to add it.
How much should you use?
The important point for home cooking is to keep the amount small. A practical starting point is roughly half a teaspoon per litre of soaking water. You do not need a strongly alkaline solution. Much more increases the chance of excessively broken skins and a soapy taste.
A small amount can also be added to cooking water when an especially creamy result is required, but do not keep adding baking soda at every stage without a purpose.
Soaking water or cooking water?
Both approaches exist. Adding it to the soak lets the higher pH act while the pulses hydrate; the water is then drained and the pulses rinsed. Adding a little during cooking intensifies softening under heat and can be useful for very soft chickpeas.
For everyday cooking, the soaking stage is easy to control. If the pulses remain hard later, also consider age, water hardness, acidic ingredients added too early and simple undercooking before reaching for more baking soda.
Why can too much taste strange?
Baking soda is alkaline. At high levels it can leave a soapy, mineral or slightly bitter impression that masks the natural flavour. It can also break down the surface too aggressively, leaving the cooking liquid thick and the pulse structurally weak.
The goal is not to make the pulse collapse as quickly as possible; it is to achieve the texture the dish needs.
Hummus is a good use case
For hummus, a perfectly intact chickpea skin is not the goal. We want a very smooth puree, so a small amount of baking soda can be helpful because it encourages the skins to soften and makes blending easier. Even here, a small dose plus thorough cooking is better than excess.
Whole beans for a stew may not need it
In bean stews and salads, keeping the grain intact matters more. If the beans are already good quality, overly alkaline water can encourage skins to split. Gentle simmering and delaying strongly acidic ingredients until the beans are nearly tender are often more important.
What about lentils?
Many lentils, especially smaller varieties, do not require soaking and cook far more quickly than chickpeas or large beans. Baking soda is therefore rarely essential. See our guide on whether lentils need soaking.
Baking soda cannot rescue spoiled pulses
It can help older hard grains, but it does not reverse poor storage. Insects, dampness, mould, abnormal odours or visible deterioration are storage problems, not cooking problems. Our guide to storing dried pulses covers what to check.
A simple method
- Sort and rinse the pulses.
- Cover with plenty of water.
- If using baking soda, add a small amount—about half a teaspoon per litre.
- Soak for the appropriate time.
- Drain and rinse before cooking.
- Test texture during cooking rather than automatically adding more soda.
Bottom line
Baking soda can genuinely help pulses soften, especially stubborn chickpeas and beans, but it works best as a fine adjustment rather than a universal cure. Start small: enough to help the structure soften, not enough to damage flavour and texture.
Pulses
Explore chickpeas, lentils and beans available at El Mercado de Origen:
