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
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 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 aindividual 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.
Pasta with Chickpeas
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
- 4 Tbsp 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
For the one-pot pasta with chickpeas:
- Start by draining and rinsing your chickpeas — keep each portion in a separate bowl.
- Chop your carrot and onion for the soffritto and set aside. Be sure to chop it finely, making it smaller than the pasta.
- Crush your garlic and set aside, or wait to crush the garlic directly into the soffritto when you reach this step.
- Add a generous amount of EVOO to one of the bowls of chickpeas (at least 2-3 Tbsp) and start blending with your immersion blender until you get a creamy consistency. Add a few splashes of water if you’re unhappy with the consistency.
- Next, give the immersion blender a rinse before using it again to gently crush your tomatoes.
- Now heat your large pot on low heat and add about 4-5 Tbsp of EVOO. Once the oil is sufficiently heated, add the soffritto.
- Stir and allow to simmer then add in your bay leaves and fresh rosemary. Continue stirring to coat it all in the oil and cover the pot so the flavors infuse.
- After approx 5 minutes, remove the lid and add crushed garlic. Stir the ingredients again and add about 2 Tbsp of water to prevent the garlic from burning. Cover for another 5 minutes so the flavors further combine.
- Next, remove the lid and some of the rosemary leaves from the stem. Then, remove the stem from the pot.
- Add the crushed tomato sauce to the pot and quickly stir then add the second can of chickpeas plus salt and pepper to taste. (Don’t overdo it with the salt!)
- Stir again then remove the bay leaves and add your pasta. Once your pasta is added, stir vigorously to combine with the sauce and soak in the flavor.
- Once everything is well mixed, add one mug (236.58 mL/ 8 oz) of water and stir continuously as the pasta cooks.
- After about 5 minutes, add a second mug of water and keep stirring for an additional 5-8 minutes.
- Now add your chickpea cream, scraping the sides of the bowl or container to remove itv all.
- Stir the chickpea cream into the pot to mix with the sauce and pasta.
- Continue to stir and as you you mix in the chickpea cream, add up to another ½ mug of water (118 mL/4 oz). Don’t worry if it looks a little runny at this point. Both the pasta and chickpea cream will continue to absorb the water and thicken up nicely.
- Keep stirring for another 2 minutes or so for the pasta to cook al dente. (It’s best to taste as you go to make sure it’s perfect!)
- Once the pasta is al dente, remove the pot from the heat and move it around then quickly stir to release heat.
- Add some pecorino cheese (as much as you’d like) and stir once more. (This is optional).
- Now your pasta with chickpeas is ready to serve! Scoop a large spoonful into a shallow pasta bowl, top with some more pecorino cheese and DEVOUR.
Video
E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!
If you’re a One-Pot 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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A perfect balance of flavors! Like being wrapped in a warm blanket after a long day. This is going in my weekday dinner rotations until the end of time.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. It is such a warm and cozy dish, that it truly brings the comfort like a hug from a blanket. Cheers to many more cozy weekday dinners ahead!
The dish turned out absolutely delicious. For some reason it turned out very watery at the end. I had to evaporate the excess for several minutes on the stove.
Thank you!!!
Waiting for the water to evaporate was an excellent idea. It’s possible that the chickpeas released more liquid during cooking than expected. Nevertheless, I’m still glad that it turned out pretty well at the end.
i’m so glad, that i found this delicious recipie :-)))
I’m so thrilled you found the recipe. I hope you’ll give this a try!