How to Make Pasta with Chickpeas (One-Pot Pasta!)
This one-pot Pasta with Chickpeas dish is one of my favorites. This style of dish is perfect for a simple but delicious meal and can be incredibly versatile, as you can choose from many pasta, vegetable, protein, and sauce combinations. It’s also the right way to make a one-pot dish so I’m excited to share it with you.
In my recipe, the pasta comes together with a creamy chickpea and tomato sauce, mixed with herbs that provide a unique aroma and a few hidden vegetables too. The chickpeas are the star of the show as they are full of protein and flavor.
As you know, I love using A LOT of pecorino cheese, but leave it out for an easy vegan option.
Watch the Pasta with Chickpeas video recipe:
One Pot PASTA with CHICKPEAS is Better than Meat Sauce Pasta when Cooked this Way
Vincenzo’s Plate Tips to Make Pasta with Chickpeas
Pasta Size Matters
For this one-pot pasta with chickpeas, you want to use a variety of pastina which literally means “little pasta.” My absolute favourite for this dish is Ditalini Rigati pasta, but if you cannot find it at the store, try another pastina instead – just don’t go for a long shape, it won’t do the pasta recipe any justice at all!
The small size is also important because you want it to cook sufficiently in the same pot with the sauce and other ingredients and be ready along with everything else. So, don’t use the larger varieties of pasta for this dish!
Use Whole Peeled Tomatoes
Whole peeled tomatoes from a can are the closest you can get to fresh tomatoes! They retain the perfect amount of flavor and texture compared to the cans of crushed tomatoes or even store-bought passata.
Fresh tomatoes are, of course, always best. However, blanching and peeling them takes away from the simplicity of this dish. So, don’t feel guilty and use whole peeled tomatoes from the can to keep this one quick and easy.
Don’t Forget the Soffritto
Soffritto is the base of many sauces in Italian recipes because the carrots, onions, and celery add lots of valuable flavor. For this dish, we will only be using carrots and onions for the soffritto, but the “soffritto rules” still apply.
Need a reminder of the soffritto rules? Chop everything down to the same size! (And that size should be very small — smaller than the pasta in fact!)
Separate the Chickpeas
This pasta with chickpeas dish calls for two cans of chickpeas. One can of chickpeas will be creamed and used as part of the sauce, and the other will remain whole. So, when you are straining your chickpeas, be sure to do so one can at a time and keep them separate.
Use an Immersion Blender
It’s best to use an immersion blender to cream the chickpeas and crush the tomatoes. If you don’t own one, a regular blender or food processor will also get the job done. Keep in mind when looking at the consistency (and comparing it to mine in the video), that immersion blenders are excellent for emulsifying ingredients, such as extra virgin olive oil, which you’ll be blending with your chickpeas.
Keep Some Water Nearby
You will likely need to add a little bit of water to your chickpea and EVOO mix to help the ingredients blend more easily. I also like to use a few tablespoons while cooking the soffritto once the garlic is added to keep it from burning and sticking to the pot.
You will probably also want to rinse any leftover chickpea cream out of the container once it’s time to add it to the pot, so will need a touch more water for this step too.
Make Sure Your Rosemary Is Fresh
It is always best to use fresh herbs as when dried they contain less of their natural and aromatic oils. Of course, if you don’t have fresh rosemary, dried will stil work, just try to source if you can.
Don’t Add the Garlic Right Away
Many people make the mistake of tossing the garlic in with their soffritto or other vegetables when cooking. However, garlic cooks quickly and therefore burns easily. So, cook your soffritto sufficiently (about five minutes or so) and then add the garlic.
Not too Much Garlic!
You don’t want to add more than one clove of garlic to this chickpea pasta recipe, as balance is key. Too much garlic will overpower the dish and likely ruin the other flavors.
Mix the Pasta With the Sauce First
Once it’s time to add the pasta to the crushed tomatoes and soffritto, you want to mix it all together nicely to really soak in the flavor. So, don’t add the rest of your water or start your timer until the pasta and sauce are combined.
Keep Stirring
It’s important that you don’t take your eyes off the pasta as it cooks with the crushed tomatoes. You want to keep stirring, using the “risotto technique” to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pot.
The technique is basically paddle-like stirring motions which help keep the ingredients from sticking as they simmer.
How to Serve the Chickpea Pasta
Serve the pasta with chickpeas by spooning it into individual shallow bowls. It’s ready to eat as-is right out of the pot. I (obviously) like to add some Pecorino Romano cheese on top for even more flavor, but you don’t have to do that if you want to keep the dish vegan.
For a fresh aromatic finish, chop some rosemary and sprinkle it over each bowl before serving.
Pasta with Chickpeas
Print Recipe
Equipment
- knife
- Chopping-board
- Small bowls and plates
- Small container for blending
- Immersion blender or food processor
- Mug or measuring cup for the water
- Chef’s pot or Dutch oven
- wooden spoon
- Kitchen Tongs
Ingredients
- 350 grams Ditalini Rigati pasta, 1.75 cups
- 2 cans Chickpeas , 443 g/15 oz each
- 1 Carrot, finely chopped
- ¼ Onion, finely chopped
- 1 Garlic clove, crushed
- 1 can Whole peeled tomatoes, 411 g/14.5 oz
- 1 spring Fresh rosemary
- 3-4 Bay leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil, plus a little more (EVOO)
- Pecorino cheese, as much as you like
- Salt and pepper, as much as required
- 2½ mugs of water
Instructions
- Drain and rinse 2 cans of chickpeas, and keep them in separate bowls. Set 1 can aside — this will go into the sauce later. Place the other can into a container for your immersion blender (or small food processor).
- Add 3–4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to the blender with the chickpeas. Blend until smooth and creamy. If it’s too thick, add 2–3 tbsp of water to help loosen it. Set the chickpea cream aside.
- Quick rinse your blender, then use it to gently crush your peeled tomatoes. Set aside.
- In a large pan over low heat, add 4–5 tbsp of EVOO, followed by diced carrots and onion. Stir gently and let them simmer. Add in bay leaves and a sprig of fresh rosemary. Coat everything in the oil, then cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes to infuse the flavors.
- After 5 minutes, add crushed garlic and 2 tbsp of water (this stops the garlic from burning). Stir again and cover for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid. Pull the rosemary leaves off the stem and discard the stem.
- Add your crushed tomato sauce to the pot and stir. Now pour in the second bowl of chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but don’t go overboard!
- Give everything a good stir, then remove the bay leaves. Add your uncooked pasta directly into the sauce and stir vigorously to coat the pasta in flavor.
- Add 1 mug of water (about 236 mL / 8 oz) and continue stirring over medium heat.
- After about 5 minutes, add a second mug of water and keep stirring for another 5 minutes.
- Now add in your chickpea cream — scrape the sides of the bowl to get every last bit! Stir it into the pasta and sauce mixture.
- As you mix, add up to ½ a mug of water (about 118 mL / 4 oz) if needed. Don’t worry if it looks a bit runny — the pasta and chickpeas will absorb the liquid and it will thicken beautifully.
- Keep stirring and cooking for 3 minutes or until the pasta is al dente — taste to check (this is the fun part).
- Once it’s perfect, remove from heat and give the pot a little shake and stir to cool slightly.
- Add pecorino cheese to taste and give it one final stir. (Optional, but highly recommended!)
- Serve in a shallow pasta bowl, sprinkle with more pecorino, and DEVOUR!
Video
E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!
If you’re a One-Pot Chickpea Pasta lover, I’m sure you’re gonna love these 2 recipes:
- LENTILS PASTA. This one-pot pasta recipe is super easy to make and requires just a few pantry ingredients.
- GNOCCHI ALLA SORRENTINA. This dish calls for simple ingredients and transforms them into a culinary masterpiece. Perfect comfort food.
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