Creamy Chickpea Pasta With Spinach and Rosemary
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Kosher salt
- ¼cup olive oil
- 1(14-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
- ½teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or ¼ to ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
- Black pepper
- 1large shallot, finely chopped
- 2garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1cup heavy cream
- 1(6-ounce) bag baby spinach
- 12ounces spaghetti or bucatini
- ½cup finely grated Parmesan
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
881 calories; 45 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 94 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 28 grams protein; 798 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.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high.
- Step 2
In a wide, deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the chickpeas, rosemary and Aleppo pepper, if using. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas start to caramelize at their edges and pop, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about half the chickpeas to a bowl. Reserve for garnish.
- Step 3
Reduce the heat to medium, add the shallots and garlic to the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Add the pasta to the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the pasta until a couple minutes short of al dente according to package instructions, about 5 minutes. Do not drain the pasta, but using tongs, transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the spinach and cream sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking water and the Parmesan, and cook over medium-high, stirring vigorously with the tongs, until the sauce is thickened and the noodles are al dente, about 2 minutes. Add a splash of pasta water to loosen sauce, if needed.
- Step 5
Transfer to bowls, and top with reserved chickpeas, rosemary and black pepper. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges for squeezing on top.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Nancy
Instead of adding heavy cream (Italians would never dream of using it) purée half the chick peas into a smooth sauce and voila you get vey creamy sauce. Light and delicious M
MM
Why do people post to complain about calorie counts? The NYT posts a variety of recipes, if this one is too caloric, pick another one or make adjustments. This isn’t a site exclusively devoted to low calorie eating and not everyone is on a diet. This recipe looks great!
Linda G.
Forget about the high fat content from CREAM...use FAT FREE evaporated milk instead...I would defy anyone to know the difference!
Chris
What is behind the rise of pasta recipes that call for 12 oz of pasta? Pasta comes in 1lb boxes. It’s frustrating to see this approach in an increasing number of nytimes recipes.
Nate V
Really good! but OVERLY COMPLICATED STEPS! As written you're trying to cook pasta, thicken sauce and soften chickpeas at once. Instead, do pasta and sauce separately, perhaps like this: 1) Set water to boil 2) Cook Chickpeas as directed; after removing half, mash the rest of them and add the cream and spinach 3) Cook pasta to completion; add 1C pasta water to sauce. 4) Finish sauce to your liking 5) combine and serve
Dino
Keep the cream and the fat. Count net carbs, never calories. Robbing this dish of its heavy cream is like kissing through a screen door.
Lara
Added fennel seeds and doubled the spinach. Family of five all 3 kids asked for seconds which makes this a winner in my book. It was delicious!
Dee
My husband made it last night and we really enjoyed it. But, being constitutionally incapable of leaving a recipe untweaked, we made the following changes: Substitute good whole milk ricotta for the cream. Fewer calories, more flavor, still creamy enough for us. Pureeing the ricotta in a blender would help. Substitute thyme for rosemary, upping the thyme. More spinach. Either cut back on the salt, or omit pasta water. Too salty! Toast pine nuts and fresh sage leaves in olive oil as garnish.
Tasha
I followed the directions exactly and learned a lesson. DO NOT COOK THE PARMESAN IN THE SAUCE! It stuck fast to the pan and made for a very tedious cleanup. Also, although it tasted pretty good, and was pretty on the plate, it was awkward to eat. The bucatini or spaghetti calls for winding on to a fork, but the chick peas go flying. Shells would work better--you can tuck the peas into them and get both in one bite.
Karekin
If you use plain, whole milk yogurt you will get a similar outcome, with a slight tartness that is very satisfying.
Disco M.
This recipe came out incredible and I made it completely vegan, it was so easy! Instead of the heavy cream soak raw cashews in water for a few hours then blend them with half a can of chickpeas and water. The texture was perfect. Used a tiny bit of vegetable broth right before adding the spinach to loosen it up a bit. Also made vegan Parmesan by mincing garlic and blending with 1/2 cup raw cashews (unsoaked)2 tbsp nutritional yeast and some salt. Seriously delectable!
Courtney
I took Nancy’s advice and puréed half the chickpeas with only 1/4c cream and some extra pasta water. Worked perfectly. Also use baby kale rather than spinach b/c that’s what we had. Whole family loved it. Also agree with the 12oz vs 16oz issue with dry pasta. It’s odd not to have the proportions just be for a pound of pasta.
Roald
This was a good recipe - a nice variation on Cacio e Pepe. My one suggestion would be to up the ratio of chick peas to pasta. The chick peas seemed lost when I followed the recipe. Next time I might try 2 cans chick peas and 8 oz pasta.
Joe Kirby
Made this exactly as-written EXCEPT used Banza Chickpea Spaghetti in place of regular flour-based pasta: big boost in fiber and protein, plus the chickpea pasta-- a obvious no-brainer for this recipe-- adds interesting umami notes in contrast with traditional pasta which, let's face it, just sits there as a sauce-conveyor. :-) {FYI Banda chickpea pasta also comes in penne, shells, and fusilli shapes}
Elena
I made this with geek yogurt instead of cream and I regretted it. The yogurt curdled a bit and it never got the creamy texture I was hoping for.
T3quila
Made again, great weekend dish. No rosemary, full 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 handful of spinach, 1 large shallot, 3 cloves of garlic. Brought cream sauce to boil then added 2 Tbsp miso paste and mixed in. Filling spaghetti dinner
Judy
I just made this tonight. I didn't have cream so I substituted sour cream. I also was a little short on Parmesan so I added shredded mozzarella. I threw in some fresh basil at the end. It was ymuy!
AlissaTM
Really enjoyed the dish! I made it with what I had which was slightly different. Crème fraiche instead of cream, spring onions and garlic scapes instead of shallot and garlic. All else was the same and it was great!
evelyn
Double the spinach!!!
ck
Use 2 cans of chick peas Do not drain the chick peas - pour in all the liquid. As beans cook, take some out for garnish and then use use a potato masher to mash some of the ones left in the pot to make the sauce. No heavy cream or milk needed. A splash more water may be needed.
kbm
Agree with another commenter that this would be better with TWO cans of chick peas, rather than one.
Sandra Tee
This turned out beautifully. I happened to have a fennel bulb that needed to be used so I halved and thinly sliced a proportionate amount (basically keeping the quantity in line with the amount of chickpeas and spinach going in), then added it after the first five minutes of cooking the chickpeas. I think I could’ve added another half a cup of chickpeas and slightly more fennel and spinach just to up the vegetable and protein intake and it would’ve still been awesome .
Sue
There are a few pasta recipes on here with chickpeas and spinach which I combine as works for me each time. My favorite combination is using diced tomatoes instead of cream and adding thyme and cumin. So not really this recipe, but just adding this note to say making pasta with spinach and chickpeas is very versatile and tasty!
anner
used less pasta than recipe. really delicious. chopped some parsley too.
my notes too salty. agree should decrease salt by at least half. Also, i baked 1
Use plain, whole milk yogurt instead of cream.
Marion Beram
Rather than a full cup. I used 1/2 cup of cream and could have used 1/3rd. Mash the chickpeas for creaminess and add some of the liquid from the canned chickpeas to supplement. Used lentil pasta for extra protein and less carb. This will def be a staple in my house. It was absolutely fab!
cole
Could prob make w/o cream for healthier. Use more garbs and garlic. more spinach, was good too. Not sure it really needs fresh rosemary in a pinch. To try
Bex
Took Dee’s advice on the whole milk ricotta just because I had some left in the fridge. Blending did help and it ends up just as creamy with a bit extra pasta water.m. Also added thyme with the rosemary and it was not overly aromatic. Delicious!
Sophia
I made this with oregano in place of rosemary because that was what I had on hand, and it turned out great! I also subbed out the heavy cream for a cup of milk with 2 tbsp of cornstarch and increased the amount of red pepper flakes. Will definitely make again!
Matt
Just made it for lunch and it's just what I needed for lunch. Very flavorful and hits the right notes.
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