Pasta with chickpeas. This recipe brings me back. My Italian grandmother used to make something similar with white beans. The sauce was creamy and comforting. Just like this chickpea sauce.
It is perfect for cool spring days like the ones we’ve been having lately. This pasta with chickpeas almost makes up for the fact that the sun hasn’t graced us with its presence in the better part of a week. I’d still like to glimpse the sun sometime soon, but at least it gives me reasons to make comfort food.

Delicious, creamy pasta with chickpeas
As comfort food goes, it’s pretty healthy too. The fat in the dish is from olive oil, and the chickpeas are a nice vegetarian source of protein. It makes me feel almost virtuous. It’s that healthy. But being the absolute perfect comforting meal it still feels creamy and luxurious without any added heavy cream or gobs and gobs of cheese. Not that I am against cheese gobs. They have their time and place.
Plus it’s an easy meal that comes together in about 30 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights. Also, if you omit the sherry, it’s very budget friendly. And, have I mentioned? It’s really yummy. I could seriously take a cue from my Goose and faceplant directly into a plate of this night after night and be very happy.

pasta with chickpeas
Speaking of my Goose, I’m not the only one in this house that could eat pasta with chickpeas day after day. She loves all things with chickpeas including hummus and actually gobbles this up. I don’t know why this surprises me given that one of her go to foods is broccoli, but still. It makes me feel a lot better about letting her eat 3 brown butter oatmeal cookies for breakfast the other day. I see it as a win and with parenting, I take what I can get.
Serves 6-8
10 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
30 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 1 package of spaghetti*
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 c of Sherry
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cans of chickpeas (approximately 4 c), drained and rinsed
- 29 ounces of tomato puree
- 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- crushed red pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Chop the onion and saute the onion in the oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add sherry, 1 can of the chickpeas and minced garlic to the pot with the onions. Simmer until the sherry reduces down by half, approximately 6 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor along with the tomato puree. Blend or process to a creamy consistency. Pour mixture back into pan and turn heat to medium low.
- Add the bay leaves, Parmesan cheese, and the rest of the chickpeas. Let simmer for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over pasta.
Notes
*I use gluten free pasta. My favorite is brown rice or quinoa pasta. Feel free to use regular pasta in place though.
This is one of the recipe gems that tastes even better the next day, so if you are feeding a crowd, double the recipe and have left overs!