Creamy Tomato Pasta with Chickpeas
This creamy tomato pasta with chickpeas uses simple pantry staples for flavorful and satisfying pasta dinner that's better than a fancy restaurant meal. The pink tomato cream sauce is luxurious, with only a little bit of cream that you can adjust to your liking (a less guilty option). If you like, you can use milk instead of cream for a lighter sauce. And for a vegan option, swap out the cream for unsweetened oat creamer, and skip the cheese.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 8 ounces paccheri pasta, any short pasta will work
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 28- ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes with their juices
- 4 to 5 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 to 3/4 cup heavy cream, or Unsweetened oat creamer
- Grated cheese such as Pecorino Romano or Parmesan or your favorite alternative
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and garlic. Add the chickpeas. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, the oregano, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and season well with kosher salt. Add the pasta and cook to al dente according to package instructions (about 8 to 9 minutes). Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water then drain the pasta.
- After the sauce has been simmering for 10 to 15 minutes, over low heat, stir in the heavy cream (start with 1/4 cup and add as you need to) and a little bit of the starchy pasta water (again, start with ¼ cup or so). Taste and adjust the seasoning or add more heavy cream to your liking.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- To finish, stir in the parsley and a sprinkle of Pecorino Romano or grated Parmesan. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Vegan substitutions - Use unsweetened oat milk instead of heavy cream (it will taste a bit on the sweater side, however). Swap out the cheese for a vegan alternative, or omit it completely.
- Can you use milk instead of heavy cream? Yes. You can use a 1:1 ratio to substitute. If you want to replicate the consistency of heavy cream, use a tablespoon of flour to thicken the milk. Milk can curdle due to the acidity of tomatoes. Heat the milk a little before adding it to the tomato sauce to try and avoid this. Do not boil the milk, as this will likely cause it to separate.
- Serve it with - Start with a big salad. If you like, throw in some shredded rotisserie chicken or pan-seared salmon.
- Leftovers and storage - Store leftover tomato pasta in the fridge for 3 days or so. Warm up over medium heat, stirring regularly.
- Visit Our Shop for quality Mediterranean ingredients including extra virgin olive oils and spices.
Nutrition
Calories: 395.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 66.5g | Protein: 14.7g | Fat: 8.8g | Saturated Fat: 3.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.2g | Cholesterol: 20.4mg | Sodium: 738.5mg | Potassium: 687mg | Fiber: 8.8g | Sugar: 6.3g | Vitamin A: 549.7IU | Vitamin C: 19.6mg | Calcium: 134.6mg | Iron: 4.3mg
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