Add chickpeas and baking soda to a bowl and cover with cool water by about 3 inches (ensuring they’re well submerged). Soak overnight, or for at least 6-8 hours at room temperature.
Drain and rinse chickpeas well, then add to Instant Pot and cover with just enough water to submerge (as original recipe is written, we found 1 cup soaked chickpeas to require ~2 - 2 ¼ cups water).
For more flavor, add onion, garlic, oil, herbs, salt, and pepper.
Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes, or up to 17-18 minutes for super buttery, tender chickpeas. For chickpeas with some bite, try 13-14 minutes. NOTE: If you soaked your chickpeas for longer than 8 hours (for instance, overnight or 10+ hours), you can likely cook your chickpeas even faster (anywhere from 12-14 minutes).
Quick release* (always being careful of the steam). We prefer picking out the onion, garlic, and herbs before serving. Drain off any excess cooking liquid as well. You can also reserve the cooking liquid as it's quite flavorful and can be added to soups and stews (though we don't believe it would be effective for using as aquafaba).
*Cook time includes both active cook time (15 minutes as recipe is written) and the time it takes for the Instant Pot to heat up (~8 minutes). *In this recipe we recommend a quick release to get chickpeas on the table faster! However, the Instant Pot manual recommends a natural release with foods that expand to avoid splatter. Using a cloth or towel over the valve when quick releasing can help avoid a mess. Exercise caution when using the quick release method. *Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without seasonings.