Vegan Chickpea Florentine Pasta

Name: Vegan Chickpea Florentine Pasta
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 medium white or yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced; 4-5 cloves garlic, minced (to taste); 4 cups (1 pound) short pasta (I used fusilli bucati corti) (see note 1); 4 cups vegan chicken broth or vegetable broth (see note 2); 1 + ½ cups cooked chickpeas or a 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained; ½ to 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, optional (see note 3); Salt and pepper, to taste; 2-3 cups fresh baby spinach; ½ cup grated vegan parmesan cheese, optional (see note 4); ¼ cup cashew butter or tahini (see note 5 for other options); ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk; 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 small lemon yields), optional

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This Vegan Chickpea Florentine Pasta is a creamy, savory, cheesy, tangy pasta meal that comes together in just 30 minutes and only uses one pot! Loaded with veggies and protein-packed chickpeas, this light and saucy pasta is also super satisfying and delicious.

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Hey Internet, I have another 30 minute one-pot meal for you today! Many of you have told me you really like these, and, to be honest, I do too.

I have many one-pot pastas already on the website! My favorites are creamy vegan mushroom pasta, vegan sun dried tomato pasta, vegan creamy pasta, American-style vegan goulash, creamy vegan cajun pasta, vegan hamburger helper, vegan pasta puttanesca, creamy vegan rasta pasta, and probably more I can't think of at the moment.

I mean, who wouldn't want to save dishes AND time?! I'm lucky enough that my husband does all the dishes, but I'm always looking to save him some work since he also works so hard doing all the photography, videography, and technical back-end work for this website.

But you know, we're all busy, and some of us literally have only a half an hour or less to get dinner on the table. Or, you're exhausted, and it's between paying out the nose for delivery or eating something junky and fast for dinner.

What if you could make something that was healthy, easy, quick, AND delicious?

This Vegan Chickpea Florentine Pasta is super delicious and easy, and I beg you to try it. I've been making it on repeat for a couple of weeks now and you've asked questions on the Zardyplants Instagram so I figured I'd better share it with you all.

Florentine refers to a dish that's made or served with spinach. The spinach in this meal is vibrant and fresh, but it doesn't make it taste like a salad, for those who are not on speaking terms with veggies (like me 6 years ago).

These dishes are traditionally made with chicken. While you could use a chicken replacement like my seitan chicken, tofu schnitzel, or a store bought option, I think this dish is also delicious (and budget-friendly) with chickpeas.

You'll want to add this recipe to your arsenal of healthy, easy, and quick meals to make in a pinch, I'll bet. It's also lovely served with side of veggies, such as my air fryer frozen Brussels sprouts (instructions for fresh also included).

Why This Recipe Works

Seriously though, vegan one pot pasta is magic. You don't have to drain any water in this recipe. In fact, I'm not even really using water, I'm using broth. (I mean, there's water in broth, but the point is that there's much more flavor!)

You're going to cook this pasta in the exact amount of liquid it needs to make this delicious vegan chickpea florentine pasta.

So we'll start, though, by sautéing some onions over medium high heat. You can do this in a little vegan butter, a little olive oil, or just a little water. Note that if you're making this oil-free, you'll need to use a nonstick pot.

Then we add a little garlic, or a lot of garlic if you're like me and you really like garlic. Side note: if you love garlic, try my vegan garlic noodles, vegan garlic bread, vegan garlic aioli, or my garlic risotto.

Now we add our pasta and broth and bring everything to a boil. I recommend stirring occasionally. Since we're only using the exact amount of liquid we need for this vegan one pot pasta, we don't want anything to stick to the pot.

Once the broth is boiling, we add our chickpeas, stir, and turn the heat down to medium. The pasta will cook and the liquid will be absorbed. We'll add our remaining ingredients and poof! Easy vegan chickpea florentine pasta.

Ingredients and Substitutions

1 medium white or yellow onion
4-5 cloves of garlic: Amount is purely personal preference. I love a good amount of garlic, feel free to adjust to your own tastes.
4 cups or 1 pound of pasta: I used fusilli bucati corti for this recipe. I find that short pastas work best for vegan one pot pasta dishes, but use what you like. If using a long pasta, just stir a little bit more often. Note that your cook time may change if you are using a gluten-free or legume pasta so after a bit of cook time, test the noodles often.
4 cups broth: You can use vegetable broth or a vegan chicken broth. I like to use Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base mixed with some hot water but anything will work. This recipe will definitely work with just water, but the broth adds more flavor.
1 + ½ cups cooked chickpeas or a 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained: Feel free to skip this and add your favorite vegan chicken replacement at the end of the recipe, such as seitan chicken, soy curls, or a store bought vegan chicken replacement.
½ to 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, optional: This is an optional ingredient to add a little bit of chicken flavor to this recipe. Poultry seasoning is just a blend of herbs typically used in chicken dishes. If you're using a vegan chicken broth, you don't need to add this.
Salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 cups fresh baby spinach: If you'd like, you can give this a rough chop before you add it to the pasta but I don't usually bother. If you'd like to use frozen spinach, defrost it and squeeze the excess water out, pulling the clumps of spinach apart with your fingers (and reduced the amount, I'd use about 5 ounces).
½ cup grated vegan parmesan cheese, optional: I like to use Violife Vegan Parmesan Block for this but you can substitute ⅓ to ½ cup of my homemade vegan parmesan topping, nutritional yeast, or just leave it out if you prefer.
¼ cup cashew butter or other: There are many options of making you vegan chickpea florentine pasta creamy. Cashew butter is incredibly luxurious but it can also be fairly expensive. I've also tested this recipe with tahini, sunflower seed cream, cashew cream, and coconut milk and it's delicious with any of them. Note that regular non-dairy milk is too thin on it's own to create a creamy pasta, but you could also try blending some nuts with water or even could even try blending some tofu or white beans with water for your creamy base.
½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk: Use any to mix with your thick nut butter (or whatever you choose) to create a delicious cohesive sauce. Make sure to buy "original" flavor (I've accidentally used vanilla flavor before and it's not great, lol).
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 small lemon yields), optional: I really love the brightness that a little lemon juice adds to this recipe, but it's optional.

How do you cook pasta without draining?

There's a little trick to making vegan one pot pasta and not having to strain any liquid out and I'm going to tell you what it is. Are you ready? Use the same amount of liquid as you do pasta!

We're taught to boil our pasta in a lot of water and drain it. This is fine. But you don't really need to.

When making vegan one pot pasta, use a 1:1 ratio of pasta and liquid and it should work.

Disclaimer: I am not in your kitchen, I do not know what pasta you're using, I have not tried them all. I've tried quite a few this way, but I have not tried them all.

My best advice is to try it and monitor it. If you notice that all the liquid has cooked away before the pasta is done, add a splash of water. But in every instance that I've tested this, it's been totally fine in both broth and water.

Come on, I'll show you.

How to Make Vegan Chickpea Florentine Pasta

Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Note that if you're cooking oil-free, it's important to use a nonstick pot.
If cooking oil-free: Wait until the pot is hot and then add your sliced onions to the pan. When they start to stick, add a splash (1-2 tablespoons) of water to the pan and stir. Repeat this process until they have softened.
Otherwise, add a few tablespoons of vegan butter or olive oil to the pot and wait until the vegan butter melts or the oil starts to shimmer or about 1 minute. Then add the onions.
Regardless of whether you're cooking with oil or not, sauté your onions for about 5 minutes until they've softened and become somewhat translucent.
Now add the minced garlic and sauté for another minute. If cooking oil-free, add another tablespoon of water if needed to keep the garlic from burning.
Add the pasta and broth now, stir well, and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally during this time.
Now add the chickpeas and lower the heat to medium. Cover during this time, but remove it every 2 minutes or so to check the pasta, then replace the lid.
When the pasta is almost fully cooked, add the spinach and stir it through until it starts to wilt.
Add the grated vegan parmesan cheese (if using) at this point and stir that through. Now add the seasonings and stir again.
You can now add the cashew butter and the non-dairy milk. Stir well until the sauce is smooth and coats the pasta. Finally turn off the heat and add your lemon juice (if using).
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Like most pasta, I feel this dish is best the first night. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat gently over low heat (or in the microwave) and add a little more lemon juice and vegan parmesan cheese if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use vegan chicken broth over vegetable broth?

It's a matter of personal preference. I really love vegan chicken broth, and more specifically I really love the Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base mixed with hot water, especially in this recipe. I think these flavors go really well together. But I've tested the recipe with vegetable broth and it's still delicious. So use whatever you prefer.

Can I use broth instead of water?

Yup. The broth is for more flavor, but technically the recipe will work with water.

What can I substitute for the chickpeas?

You can use another bean like Great Northern beans (though I feel chickpeas are more firm so don't be surprised if the beans are a little softer, or you can add them closer to the time the pasta is finished cooking). Or omit the beans and add your favorite vegan chicken replacement when the pasta's finished cooking.

What if my pasta absorbs all the liquid before it's finished cooking?

Then you can add a splash of water, but I'd start with 2 tablespoons and stir it in before you add in any additional liquid. In all my testing of this recipe and other vegan one pot pasta recipes, I've never had this issue.

Can I halve the recipe?

Yes! Halve all the ingredients and keep an eye on your pasta. It might cook slightly faster since there isn't as much volume.

Does this recipe keep?

Yes. But like most pasta, this recipe is best the first night in my opinion. You can keep the leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Gently reheat in the microwave or in a pot over low heat. Add a little more lemon juice and vegan parmesan cheese (or a sprinkle of salt) when serving reheated leftovers to refresh the flavors.

Pro Tips for Success

I highly recommend measuring out all your ingredients before beginning. It takes a little extra time but in my opinion it makes cooking less stressful.
If you're cooking with oil or vegan butter, a nonstick pot is not a necessity. For the photos/videos I used my pretty Le Creuset Dutch Oven. That said, I cook most of my vegan one pot pasta in my favorite nonstick pot and I have good results with that.
Don't add more liquid unless you really need to. Steam will help cook the pasta so make sure you're using a lid to trap in some of that steam.
I recommend stirring every so often (I do it every 2 minutes or so) to keep the pasta cooking evenly and keep anything from sticking.
Make the recipe as written the first time. If you wish to change anything, you can experiment in the future, but, especially if you're new to making vegan one pot pasta, I highly recommend making the recipe as written the first time.

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