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Crispy Chickpea Pantry Pasta with Spinach and parmesan cheese
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5 from 3 votes

Crispy Chickpea Pantry Pasta

This Crispy Chickpea Pantry Pasta recipe is a great "clean the pantry" vegetarian meal, full of great flavor and textures!
Course main dish
Keyword chickpeas, dinner, easy recipe, pantry pasta, pasta, vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces Penne Pasta
  • 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 15 ounce can Chickpeas
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh Basil coarsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup broth (vegetable for vegetarian, chicken for non)
  • 4 handfulls fresh baby spinach
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese plus additional for garnish
  • Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of salted pasta water after draining pasta.
  • While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium low heat. Add garlic, chickpeas, red pepper flakes and basil. Sautee until chickpeas are crispy. Remove 1/3 cup of chickpeas from the skillet and set aside for later.
  • Add the broth to the skillet. Begin mashing the chickpeas in the skillet as you cook. Add the reserved pasta water and increase heat to medium. Continue cooking until liquid has reduced by 50%.
  • Reduce heat and stir in cooked pasta, fresh baby spinach, lemon juice, lemon zest and parmesan cheese. Cook until spinach is wilted. Top with reserved chickpeas and additional parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with Kosher salt, to taste.

Notes

Recipe inspired by Bon Appetit TV pantry pasta special.