Lemony Pasta With Chickpeas and Parsley
Updated Aug. 18, 2025
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Kosher salt, as needed
- 8ounces regular or whole-wheat fusilli or other short, sturdy pasta
- 2cups cooked chickpeas, home-cooked or canned
- ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- ½onion, diced
- 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, plus more as needed
- 1½cups chickpea cooking liquid (from a homemade pot; do not use the liquid from the can), vegetable stock or water
- 3cups fresh parsley leaves (from 1 large bunch)
- ⅔cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter
- Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
- Ground black pepper to taste
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
1284 calories; 52 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 153 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 53 grams protein; 1342 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add fusilli and cook until it is just shy of al dente. (It should be slightly underdone to your taste because you’ll finish cooking it in the sauce.) Drain well.
- Step 2
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the chickpea sauce: Place chickpeas in a large bowl and use a potato masher or a fork to lightly mash them; they should be about half-crushed.
- Step 3
Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic cloves and fry until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in onions, rosemary, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Then stir in chickpeas and the cooking liquid, stock or water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Stir in pasta and parsley, and cook until the pasta has finished cooking and is coated in the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Quickly toss in cheese, butter, lemon zest, black pepper to taste and salt if needed. Drizzle with olive oil and shower with additional cheese before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
I found this a bit bland until I doubled the amount of lemon zest and then added the juice of the entire lemon and a bit of freshly ground salt. That brightened it up considerably. Get your prep done before you cook the pasta, and it all comes together very nicely.
Melissa, don't throw out the pasta water!!! That should be the liquid that thins out the chickpea mash if you are using canned chickpeas, which is what most people who want a "quick cooking dinner" will use.
I make this recipe all the time, with the added difference of adding an anchovy when sautéing the onions. It is delicious, wonderful and one of my favourite "comfort foods".
Agree that more lemon would have been better but made as written it was very nice and fresh. The only thing I would change is cooking the chickpeas from scratch and being too optimistic with how fast they would be done. In the future if I don’t have them ready I’ll probably 3/2 this recipe and use 2 cans. Other than that, a few mise en place your ingredients it’s a quick weeknight meal
This is a great recipe and keeper. Agree with others, add more lemon zest and use water from pasta. Add additional rosemary and chili. Overall, just added more of the flavours - personal taste.
Why not canned chickpea water? It's thick and starchy and yummy.