This vegetarian Mediterranean chickpea pasta bake is an easy weeknight meal, with lots of vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and chickpeas mixed with pasta and topped with cheese.
How is your week going? Pasta is one of my favourite Wednesday dinners, as it’s fun yet quite easy to prepare. This chickpea pasta bake is a variation on a weeknight supper that my mom made quite often when we were kids. It’s a staple that I hope you enjoy as much as our family does.
the inspiration
I love pasta, I love casseroles, and I love Mediterranean ingredients such as chickpeas, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and herbs. So, I combined the three together into a hearty vegetarian pasta bake. It’s a nice dish to enjoy in these early days of spring, especially when it’s cool and rainy. Serve it with a green salad topped with the nutritional yeast dressing from this recipe, and perhaps some fresh sourdough baguette and butter, to complete the meal.
ingredients you’ll need
This chickpea pasta bake calls for the following ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper, spinach or kale, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, sea salt, pepper, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, chickpeas, pasta sauce, rotini, and mozzarella cheese.
how to make
Begin by warming the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook for three more minutes. Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, another pinch of salt, freshly ground black pepper, oregano, basil, chili flakes, and spinach or kale. Cook just until the spinach is bright green and wilted. Add the chickpeas and pasta sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then turn down heat to medium-low and cover. Keep stirring occasionally while you cook the pasta.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
Cook the rotini according to the instructions on the package. Drain and return to the pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and stir gently to combine.
Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Top with the grated cheese and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Serve!
some final thoughts, suggestions, and tips
If you want to make a vegan pasta bake, top with your favourite vegan shredded cheese, soft cashew cheese, tofu ricotta, or sweet potato cashew cheese sauce.
You can use any type of bean or lentil in place of the chickpeas. White beans, kidney beans, black beans, and lentils are all great.
This recipe is really forgiving, so you can use any shape of pasta and any combination of vegetables that you have on hand.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days and reheated at 350 degrees F for ten minutes. You can always add some more pasta sauce when you reheat it to moisten it up.
more healthy pasta recipes
- Vegan Date Night Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
- Cilantro Jalapeno Avocado Pesto Pasta with Corn and Beans
- Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Pasta (With Chickpea Flour)
I hope that you love this Mediterranean chickpea pasta bake! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Enjoy! 🙂
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Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta Bake
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This vegetarian Mediterranean chickpea pasta bake is an easy weeknight meal, with lots of vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and chickpeas mixed with pasta and topped with cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- ¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives, finely chopped
- Sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large bunch kale or spinach, de-stemmed and chopped (4 heaping cups)
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
- 750 mL your favourite pasta sauce (use more if you like it more “saucy”)
- 4 cups uncooked rotini, fusilli, or penne
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Begin by warming the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook for three more minutes. Mix in the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, another pinch of salt, freshly ground black pepper, oregano, basil, chili flakes, and spinach or kale. Cook just until the spinach is bright green and wilted. Add the chickpeas and pasta sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then turn down heat to medium-low and cover. Keep stirring occasionally while you cook the pasta.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
- Cook the rotini according to the instructions on the package. Drain and return to the pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and stir gently to combine.
- Transfer the pasta to the prepared baking dish. Top with the grated cheese and bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Serve!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keywords: Mediterranean chickpea pasta bake
P.S. Happy spring from me to you!
John
My family loved this pasta dish. Now on my list to make frequently.
★★★★★
Allison
Thank you- I really appreciate that! Glad you enjoyed this pasta bake.