Quick Spicy Garlic Spinach Pasta with Chickpeas (Ceci)
Chickpeas and Pasta is a nutritious and delicious meatless pasta dish that combines chickpeas, baby spinach, and ditalini pasta into a vegetarian side dish or main meal in just 15 minutes!
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Course: Main Course Pasta, pasta side
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 548kcal
- 8 ounces ditalini pasta cooked al dente
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more for sprinkling
- 12 ounces fresh baby spinach
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 14 oz ceci (chickpeas) drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup pecorino romano cheese freshly grated more for sprinkling on top.
Cook ditalini according to package directions. Set aside.
Be sure to save ½ cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the olive oil and add butter.
Stir in the garlic cloves and the red pepper flakes.
Cook for 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant.
Add the spinach and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir cooking until the spinach wilts.
Stir in the chickpeas. Mix in the cooked pasta and the ⅓ cup of cheese until combined.
Serve immediately with extra red pepper flakes and grated cheese.
TIPS:
- It's best to serve the Chickpea pasta immediately with extra red pepper flakes and grated cheese.
- Reheat the leftover chickpea pasta with garlic and herbs in the microwave or a saucepan over medium-low heat.
- I usually shave off about 2 minutes of the recommended cooking time for the pasta on the packaging so that I don’t go beyond the al dente texture. The pasta will continue to cook when stirred in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Opt for low-sodium canned chickpeas if you’re watching your sodium levels, or just make sure to drain and rinse the canned chickpeas properly.
- Use some of the saved pasta water to reheat the dish if necessary without diluting the flavor.
Calories: 548kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 183mg | Potassium: 915mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 8198IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 241mg | Iron: 6mg