I ceci cuociono più in fretta dei fagioli, quindi li preparo quando ho poco tempo.

Italian often uses the definite article when talking about things in general. So i ceci means chickpeas as a category, not necessarily a specific bowl of chickpeas already mentioned.

English often says Chickpeas cook faster than beans, with no article. Italian normally prefers I ceci cuociono...

The same idea applies to fagioli in the comparison too.

The singular forms are:

• il cece = the chickpea
• i ceci = the chickpeas
• il fagiolo = the bean
• i fagioli = the beans

So ceci and fagioli are both masculine plural nouns.

Cuociono is the third-person plural present of cuocere.

Here it means something like cook, cook through, or take cooking. The subject is the food itself:

• I ceci cuociono in fretta = chickpeas cook quickly

Italian often lets food be the subject of cuocere. Compare:

• Cuocio i ceci = I cook the chickpeas
• I ceci cuociono = the chickpeas are cooking / cook

Because cuocere focuses on the cooking process itself, especially how long something takes to cook.

• I ceci cuociono più in fretta = chickpeas cook faster

Cucinare usually focuses more on the act of cooking/preparing food as an activity done by a person:

• Cucino i ceci = I cook chickpeas
• Mi piace cucinare = I like cooking

So in this sentence, cuocere is the more natural choice because the point is the cooking time.

Yes. Più in fretta means faster or more quickly.

In fretta literally means in a hurry, but very often it functions like quickly. So:

• cuociono in fretta = they cook quickly
• cuociono più in fretta = they cook faster

You could also say più velocemente or più rapidamente, but più in fretta is very common and natural.

In comparisons like this, Italian normally uses di before a noun:

• più in fretta dei fagioli = faster than beans

Here dei is simply the contraction of di + i:

• di + i fagioli = dei fagioli

Important: in this sentence, dei does not mean some. It is part of the comparison structure: than beans.

Quindi means so, therefore, or as a result.

It connects the first idea to the consequence:

• I ceci cuociono più in fretta dei fagioli = chickpeas cook faster than beans
• quindi li preparo... = so I prepare them...

It is a very common connector in both spoken and written Italian.

Li refers to i ceci.

It is a direct object pronoun, masculine plural:

• lo = him/it, masculine singular
• la = her/it, feminine singular
• li = them, masculine plural
• le = them, feminine plural

Since ceci is masculine plural, the pronoun is li.

In Italian, object pronouns usually come before a conjugated verb:

• Li preparo = I prepare them

You could also repeat the noun and say preparo i ceci, but li preparo sounds less repetitive.

Preparare is broader than cook. In food contexts it can mean prepare, make, or sometimes simply cook, depending on the situation.

So li preparo can be understood naturally as:

• I prepare them
• I make them
• sometimes even I cook them

Here it works well because the speaker means they choose chickpeas and get them ready as the meal when they do not have much time.

Because the sentence expresses a general habit or usual choice, not just one event happening right now.

So the meaning is like:

• I prepare them when/whenever I have little time

Italian uses the present tense a lot for habitual actions:

• li preparo = I prepare them / I make them
• ho poco tempo = I have little time

In this kind of habitual sentence, quando can often be understood as when or whenever.

So:

• quando ho poco tempo = when I have little time
• but in sense, also whenever I have little time

Both are good ways to understand it.

Because tempo is being used in a general, uncountable sense here: little time.

Poco works as a quantity word:

• ho poco tempo = I have little time
• ho molto tempo = I have a lot of time
• ho un po’ di tempo = I have a little / some time

So poco tempo is the natural way to say little time in Italian.