Chickpea Pasta with Spinach
on Mar 28, 2022, Updated Aug 18, 2026
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Ready in 20 minutes, this easy chickpea pasta recipe pairs pantry and fresh ingredients for big flavor. It has baby spinach, fresh lemon, garlic and pecorino cheese. It’s vegetarian and gluten-free and great for a quick weeknight dinner.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It’s an ode to chickpeas, which have a permanent spot in my top 10 list of pantry staples. I even have a roundup with my go-to chickpea recipes including soups, salads, side dishes and this pasta.
This is a quick & easy pasta dinner that’s a total vegetarian crowd-pleaser. Red pepper flakes, pecorino, lemon and parsley add lots of flavor and personality. This is a low effort, maximum results kind of recipe.
I’m a big fan of chickpea pasta, but you can make it with regular pasta. Use what you have in your pantry, keeping in mind dietary preferences of who you are serving.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This is what you need:
- Chickpea pasta, according to the info on the box has more fiber and protein and less carbs and calories than traditional pasta. I have tasted different brands, and I would say it’s a bit chewier and has more texture. Besides rotini, my other shape recommendations include penne, cavatappi or gemelli.
- Chickpeas: Pulling the skins off the canned chickpeas is optional. I like doing it, so I don’t see them mixed throughout the pasta. I also find they crisp up slightly more without them.
- Baby spinach: I tear the spinach, so it softens even faster stirred into the hot pasta. You could also use kale or arugula. Tougher and heartier leaves will require a couple extra minutes to soften.
- Pecorino is an Italian hard cheese made from sheep’s milk. It’s salty, nutty and more bold than parmesan, which is why I prefer it.
- Lemon is a must for simple pastas that rely on oil and cheese instead of something more substantial like tomato sauce to coat the noodles. Using both the zest and the juice really gives it a nice, strong hit of citrus.
- Garlic: Three minced garlic cloves may sound like a lot, but it will balance with the flavor of the lemon and Pecorino.
- Red pepper flakes, kosher salt, black pepper and olive oil are the base pantry ingredients. They all saute with the garlic. Red pepper flakes are there for some heat and spice.
- Parsley: For me, the pasta doesn’t taste quite complete without fresh herbs like parsley. You can also use minced chives or a mix.
Optional Additions
If you want to include more flavors and textures, you can treat this like a base and add a few extras including:
- Nuts such as toasted pine nuts, walnuts or almonds are all great crunchy extras. Chop them if they are larger pieces.
- Rotisserie chicken is good if you’re looking for a more hearty pasta. You can slice or shred it. Or serve the pasta as a side dish to go with it.
- Vegetables including mushrooms, red peppers or chopped fresh tomatoes can be sautéed in the skillet. And you can also use leftover roasted veggies too and reheat them before combining them with everything else.
How To Make Chickpea Pasta with Spinach
Cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Make sure not to overcook it. You want the noodles to be al dente and have some bite. Rinse the pasta with cold water in a colander.
1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Sauté the chickpeas until they are golden and crisp. This will take 5-6 minutes. Stir them around the pan, so they cook evenly on all sides.
3. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Keep cooking, giving the garlic 30 seconds to a minute to become fragrant.
4. Stir the pasta, lemon juice & zest and another tablespoon of olive oil into the chickpeas.
5. Add the spinach, Pecorino and parsley. Stir everything together. The greens will wilt in a couple minutes.
6. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino before serving.
Serving
This chickpea pasta recipe is great for a fast and easy lunch or dinner. You can serve it with a simple lemon arugula salad or something a little more involved like a classic house salad.
More Chickpea Recipes
Chickpea Soup
Chickpea Greek Salad
Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas with Herby Tahini
Roasted Vegetable Chickpea Pasta Salad
This pasta is part of my guide to simple pasta recipes for every season featuring veggie-packed ideas for all year long.
Chickpea Pasta with Spinach
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rotini chickpea pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 1 cup torn baby spinach
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
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Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse in a fine mesh strainer.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chickpeas and sauté occasionally stirring around the chickpeas. They will turn crispy and golden in about 5-6 minutes.
- Then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, cooking for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Stir in the pasta, lemon juice, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Add the spinach, Pecorino cheese, and parsley. The greens will wilt in a couple minutes.
- Top with additional Pecorino before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was very easy and delicious! I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic and lemon juice instead of fresh lemon and it was still very good and filling.
So easy to be sooo good!!
Delicious. Added more salt and pepper and pecorino when I served it. Added some pasta water to keep it from drying out. Packed with protein and will make again.
Can you use frozen spinach if you don’t have fresh?
You can use frozen spinach. Just thaw it first and squeeze out as much excess water as you can.
didn’t have red pepper flakes (which never happens- going to the store ASAP), but I used chili powder and doubled the amount… perfect! Also only had lemon juice, and added a little extra to sub for the zest. Quick, easy and healthy! Thank you!
Loved it! I added chicken and tomatoes in mine as well. And the store didn’t have pecorino so I used shredded Parmesan which worked well. It was a refreshing change from the everyday pasta dishes. Thank you.
I made this tonight & it’s delicious! Thanks!
Lovely recipe. Very tasty. Really easy to do. Full of flavour.
Have made it a few times and it’s always great. Plenty of ways to adapt it.
Thanks.
This recipe is simple, yet amazing. It even tastes better on the second day, with additional oil and some balsamic. I did notice that the oil volume in the recipe doesn’t change if you change the number of servings. This has become a part of my staple rotation. Thanks!
Loved this recipe! I made it almost verbatim except the chickpea pasta, I had to use a substitute – I used Barilla Protein angel hair pasta. I loved the mix of nutty, buttery chickpeas and heat with the lemon – will definitely make this again!
Excellent results — except I forgot the lemon! Next time… This was great with a Pinot Grigio, but next time adding in the lemon, I will go with an Albarino.
Delicious and quick!
YUM!! The proportions are just right. I’ve made similar dishes before, but there’s not enough lemon taste, etc. My three garlic cloves were of a substantial size. I had two slices of speck I needed to use up, so I rendered them in the olive oil before I started adding the ingredients in the recipe. Was tasty, but it would still be wonderful without that. I was lazy and just drained my chickpeas. I didn’t rinse them, but it seemed to work out just fine. I saved a little pasta water in case I need it. Kind of stir everything together at the end and I did. Will be making this again!
I really liked this. I have used chickpea pasta for a while as part of my low carb prediabetes diet. I loved the chickpeas in the recipe and used frozen spinach and kale, defrosted of course. I also added pignola nuts since I had some. Yum. I may add leftover rotisserie chicken next time. Thanks for this!
Made this tonight with a few adjustments. I could not find chickpeas pasta, so I just used regular fusilli pasta. To make it vegan, I used nutrional yeast instead of the Pecorino cheese. I also added crispy tofu and threw those in for each protein. Also added, crispy bread crumbs I stir fried a bit with some vegan butter and garlic. It was quite flavorful and delicious!