Lemony Pasta With Chickpeas and Parsley Recipe • 5★

Updated August 17, 2025

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

You can used either canned or home-cooked chickpeas in this take on the classic Italian dish pasta con ceci, which is an excellent, nutritious, quick-cooking dinner. But even more appealing is the way the soft earthiness of the chickpeas plays off the al dente pasta, coating it like a rich sauce but without a lot of fat. The whole dish is zipped up with some lemon, garlic and red pepper flakes.

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Kosher salt, as needed

8 ounces regular or whole-wheat fusilli or other short, sturdy pasta

2 cups cooked chickpeas, home-cooked or canned

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Pinch of red pepper flakes, plus more as needed

1 ½ cups chickpea cooking liquid (from a homemade pot; do not use the liquid from the can), vegetable stock or water

3 cups fresh parsley leaves (from 1 large bunch)

⅔ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Finely grated zest of ½ lemon

Ground black pepper to taste

Step 1Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add fusilli and cook until it is just shy of al dente. (It should be slightly underdone to your taste because you’ll finish cooking it in the sauce.) Drain well.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add fusilli and cook until it is just shy of al dente. (It should be slightly underdone to your taste because you’ll finish cooking it in the sauce.) Drain well.

Step 2While the pasta is cooking, prepare the chickpea sauce: Place chickpeas in a large bowl and use a potato masher or a fork to lightly mash them; they should be about half-crushed.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the chickpea sauce: Place chickpeas in a large bowl and use a potato masher or a fork to lightly mash them; they should be about half-crushed.

Step 3Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic cloves and fry until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in onions, rosemary, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Then stir in chickpeas and the cooking liquid, stock or water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic cloves and fry until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in onions, rosemary, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Then stir in chickpeas and the cooking liquid, stock or water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Step 4Stir in pasta and parsley, and cook until the pasta has finished cooking and is coated in the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Quickly toss in cheese, butter, lemon zest, black pepper to taste and salt if needed. Drizzle with olive oil and shower with additional cheese before serving.

Stir in pasta and parsley, and cook until the pasta has finished cooking and is coated in the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Quickly toss in cheese, butter, lemon zest, black pepper to taste and salt if needed. Drizzle with olive oil and shower with additional cheese before serving.

I found this a bit bland until I doubled the amount of lemon zest and then added the juice of the entire lemon and a bit of freshly ground salt. That brightened it up considerably. Get your prep done before you cook the pasta, and it all comes together very nicely.

Melissa, don't throw out the pasta water!!! That should be the liquid that thins out the chickpea mash if you are using canned chickpeas, which is what most people who want a "quick cooking dinner" will use.

I make this recipe all the time, with the added difference of adding an anchovy when sautéing the onions. It is delicious, wonderful and one of my favourite "comfort foods".

Really good, I cooked some anchovies in with the onions as another person recommended and didn’t have any parsley so I added some frozen spinach while the sauce was cooking down. Also added the extra lemon juice. Very good

This was quick and delicious for a spring/summer dinner. I followed some of the reviews and used pasta water as the liquid. Also added fresh lemon juice. Since leeks are currently in season, I added two leeks to the onion sauté step. Fantastic!

Cleaned up my kitchen remains & used carrot greens, arugula & celery leaves (2:2:1) in lieu of parsley. Swapped 1 tsp tarragon for rosemary. OUTSTANDING

Adapted from "Dinner: Changing the Game" by Melissa Clark (Clarkson Potter, 2017)

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018591-lemony-pasta-with-chickpeas-and-parsley