Pasta with Chickpeas (Pasta e Ceci)
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This delicious pasta with chickpeas aka Italian “pasta e ceci”, is one of the best one-pot family meals you can cook in less than 30 minutes. It’s budget-friendly, vegan, and uses a handful of cupboard essentials.
If you’re looking for a delicious one-pot pasta recipe full of flavor, plant-based protein, and easy to make, here it is!
Pasta e ceci is more of a stew than a soup. In Italy, we cook pasta with pulses in various ways, from classic pasta e Fagioli, which is made with lentils, to this easy pasta with peas.
Once you sauté onion and garlic in olive oil, dump the chickpeas, rosemary, tomato paste, and broth. Cook, then puree or smash part of the chickpeas and potatoes, stir in pasta, and let it simmer gently.
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Everything will cook in one pot until the pasta absorbs the liquid completely. The longer it sits on the stove, the thicker and more delicious it will become.
The final result is a pot full of delicious pasta e ceci, so filling and satisfying!
List of the ingredients
- Chickpeas
- Short pasta (ditali, orecchiette, shells)
- Onion
- Garlic
- Rosemary (fresh or dried)
- Olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
- Tomato paste
- Potato (optional)
- Parsley (optional)
- Salt & pepper
How to make pasta with chickpeas
(Note: This is a quick description with step-by-step photos; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page.)
- Sauté minced garlic and diced onion in olive oil.
- Stir in chickpeas, diced potato, rosemary, and tomato paste.
- Give a good stir, and add broth, salt and pepper.
- Cook for 10 minutes and turn the heat off.
- Remove the rosemary, blend half of the chickpeas, or smash the potatoes with the back of a spoon. This step thickens the broth.
- Bring to a boil, add the pasta, reduce the heat, and cook gently.
- When the pasta is done, adjust the seasoning and stir in a handful of chopped parsley.
- Serve with freshly ground black pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and grated parmesan cheese.
Are chickpeas healthy?
Chickpeas are nutrient-dense food rich in protein and fiber. People who regularly consume chickpeas have higher intakes of several key nutrients. These include fiber, vitamins A, E, and C, folate, magnesium, potassium, iron, and antioxidants.
RECIPE NOTES & TIPS
Tips to cook pasta with chickpeas in 1 pot
There are many pasta with chickpeas recipes, but I love cooking mine all in one pot. Here are a few tips:
- Start with a soffrito base. Onion and garlic are a must, but you can add diced carrots and celery, as I do with this soffritto recipe.
- Cook pasta and chickpeas together, all in one pot, not separately!
- Puree or smash some chickpeas and potatoes.
- A small starchy potato lends a lovely texture.
- Let the stew simmer and stir often.
- Add water gradually only if needed; you don’t want a watery broth.
- Serve with freshly ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and parmesan cheese.
Note: The quantity of liquid in the recipe card is an estimate. Depending on the type of pasta, you might need to add or reduce the amount of water.
How long does it keep?
If you have leftovers, keep pasta with chickpeas in a tight-lid container for 2 days in the fridge.
However, the pasta will absorb liquid as it sits. To reheat, add 1 cup of water until it’s thinned to the desired consistency, then gently warm over medium-low heat.
More recipes with chickpeas?
The delicious and protein-packed chickpeas are one of the best cupboard staples ever: they’re so versatile, healthy, and perfect for a quick and healthy family meal.
If you love them as much as we do, don’t miss this helpful collection of delicious chickpea recipes. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Creamy chickpea soup
- Mediterranean chickpea soup
- Chickpea Bruschetta
- Couscous salad with chickpeas
- Spicy chickpea salad
- Tomato chickpea soup
- Chickpea bean soup
- Lemon chickpea soup
Let me know if you make this pasta e ceci or if you have any questions! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it.
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Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 2 cans (14oz/400gr each) chickpeas, drained
- medium-sized potato, cubed
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 rosemary sprig (or ½ tsp or dried rosemary)
- 4 cups (960 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth (or water), use more if needed
- 1 tsp fine salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ½ lb (8oz/220 grams) short pasta shapes (shells, orecchiette, ditali...)
- 2-3 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
To serve (optional)
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- grated parmesan or pecorino cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-based pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, the cubed potato, and the tomato paste, and the rosemary sprig. Stir to coat in flavor, about 1 minute.
- Then add vegetable broth or hot water, salt, and pepper (1 tsp of salt is fine if you use water or low-sodium broth. But if you use regular broth, it's important to adjust the seasoning at the end rather than at the beginning; see notes below).
- Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pot, reduce the heat, and cook for 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
- Turn the heat off, remove the rosemary, and puree only part of the chickpeas with an immersion blender. Alternatively, smash the chickpeas and potatoes with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. Be careful; the liquid is still hot.
- Turn the heat on, bring to a light boil, and add the dried pasta.
- Let it simmer and stir often (otherwise the pasta will stick to the bottom of the pot). Cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite. You don't need to cover the pot with a lid, but make sure you keep an eye on it. If the soup seems too thick, add a touch of water and thin to the desired consistency.
- When it's ready to serve, taste and adjust the season with salt and pepper according to your taste.
- Stir freshly chopped parsley, divide into bowls and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese if you don't keep it vegan. Enjoy!
I made this as written except I omitted the oil. I water sautéed the garlic and onion, then proceeded as written. This was amazing, thank you so much. I can’t believe how few ingredients and how incredibly tasty it was. It reminded me of a meal I had in Florence, but better than I remember!
What a wonderful feedback, Joanne!
I’m so glad you loved it, thanks so much for sharing. xx
Hi can I cook the pasta before I put it with the sauce,I had to keep adding water , because it took a long time to cook thank you .
Hi Violet, yes, you can cook pasta separately if you wish. However, when you cook the chickpeas make sure to reduce the amount of liquid accordingly (since you’re not cooking the pasta in the same pot, you might need less water). Start with 2 cups of liquid and then add a bit more if needed until you get your favorite consistency. Hope you enjoy the recipe : )
Hi! Did you use dried chickpeas or canned? How much of the dries ones should I use?
Hi! : ) The recipe calls for 2 cans of chickpeas (approx 2 cups of dried chickpeas).
However, if you use dried ones, make sure to soak them overnight first, then drain and cook them separately until tender before you start making this recipe. Unfortunately, you can’t use dried chickpeas straight away for this recipe. Hope this helps. x
Can you make this with gluten free pasta?
I’ve never used gluten-free pasta in this recipe but I think it works. However, gluten-free pasta is less resilient than regular pasta, just reduce the cooking time accordingly x
This tasted so authentic (my grandmother would be proud of you) I would not make this without the potato it gives a nice creamy texture. I am making this again this weekend. Thank you for sharing
You’ve made my day, Marie! I’m so happy you loved this recipe and thanks for sharing your lovely feedback.
Happy 2022! x
I’ve made this a few times as I like to experiment making different pasta as I’m vegan, so it’s so good to find one that’s actually vegan! My sister tried this dish in Italy this summer so I wanted to recreate it and it’s gorgeous! Thank you very much
You’re so welcome, Millie! I’m so pleased you loved it and thanks for your lovely comment x
This was absolutely delicious and everyone in the family loved it. We pretty much always have these ingredients in so it will definitely become a regular. Many thanks 😊
You’re so welcome, Cara! Thanks for sharing your feedback, I’m so pleased everyone loved it! 💛
You mention cubed potato in directions but I don’t see it in ingredient list just wanted to double check..thanks
Ops, I omitted the potato, I’ll add it now! A medium-sized potato is optional, but it makes the soup thicker and more substantial.
Thanks for your comment 🙂