Pasta with Chickpeas and Garlic Sauce

Definitely will be making this again, especially in winter. I found the broth too much liquid, so I will make more pasta next time. I can also see this as a versatile start to other flavor mixes by adding vegetables, or adding mushrooms.  

I loved this recipe! I put the chickpea mixture in the blender and didn't find the texture to be at all odd. As other reviewers suggested, I put all of the garlic cloves in the first step. I think putting raw garlic might be a little too intense. I also added broccoli to the pasta water and then in to the mix. I think it worked really well. Because I'm allergic to parmesan, I used Monterey jack instead. I gave it four stars because it's not necessarily something I would serve to guests, but it is going in my rotation!

Loved this! Only problem for me was the pasta I used didn't expand to 4 cups (can't get shells here) so I had two small servings of pasta – my fault not the recipe’s. However, that gave me leftover sauce for my lunch today - yay! I used juice of 1/2 a lemon, more than 1/4 tsp pepper flakes (we like spicy) and only about 8 oz. of broth. I used an immersion blender for a lovely silky sauce. Might add broccoli or other veggies next time. I don’t think the cheese is necessary.

Very delicious. I think I will process the chickpeas and garlic broth longer next time I make it. I loved the lemon and garlic flavor and the cheese gave it a tangy flavor.

I'm somewhat in the middle on this one. You definitely need the pepper flakes if you don't want blah. I second the comments to use all of the garlic initially, not adding some raw later (unless of course you are a garlic fiend.) Finally, I think less is more with the broth. Maybe 10 oz. max. This makes for a thicker sauce that clings better to the pasta. Next time I make this I'm also going to use canelli beans or Great Northern beans instead as they are a bit softer.

I love all these tastes separately - and even used grape tomatoes straight from the garden. There was something about this recipe that was just off to me. I won't make it again.

excellent I'm giving 4 for the changes I made -- but its really a five star recipe--- I plan to make again,and will go into my vegetarian recipe file, as we have been trying a meatless diet for the past year. I did add more broth - 1/4 cup each of white wine and cream -I added more fresh garlic and some basil. I pureed this in my vita mix and it came out very smooth and creamy- maybe the best way to make this sauce, to get the right consistency and not have it grainy -- don't skimp on parmasan or lemon juice. It had a lot of flavor.

This was really good. I added chicken and chopped kale and a little skim milk to get the creamy texture a little smoother. But overall my husband and I LOVED it!!

I made this recipe tonight. I really liked it! My daughter who is 16 didn't. But oh we'll. This is the start of us trying new things. :)

This recipe is a great starting point for those of us who are lactose intolerant. As is, it is so-so. I split the liquid into 1/2 veggie broth and 1/2 white wine (I used Chardonnay). I used twice as much garlic and added some basil and diced onions. Making sure there's enough liquid is important to getting the correct creamy consistency. Don't skimp on the lemon. I used grated Manchego (sheeps) cheese, again for a lactaid free solution. After these additions and substitutions, both my husband and I loved it. He's asked me to put it on the regular rotation around our house. And both my vegetarian daughter and my lactose-free needs are satisfied.

this was terrible. the texture and flavor were both weird. my husband couldn't even eat it. it was grainy and the lemon flavor didn't go with it. i would not make it again.

Nasty, nasty, nasty! Do not make! First recipe EVER from cooking light I would never make or eat again!

I totally agree with Joandannie on her comment. 70% of the reviews including the 5 stars, are from people that haven't even tried the recipe or have drastically changed it. What good is that?

I just put this in to balance those that gave this 5 stars without trying it. What sense does that make? Please do not review a recipe unless you have actually cooked it. Also, although this does not apply here, now that I'm venting, why change almost everything in a recipe and then rate it ?. Reviews should be based on following the recipe pretty closely, if not exactly. Thanks for listening.

This reminds me very much of a dinner my Mom made. She used dry chick peas and wide noodles, it was great for meatless days. I will try it, but not puree the " sauce". Thank you, you brought back fond memories.

This is one of my favorite recipes! I found it on here a while ago. I've made a couple of changes to it. Use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth. I add an extra can of garbanzo beans and the extra can I DON'T put in the food processor, just leave them the way they are. I also leave off the cheese. This makes a wonderful meat-less meal!

This was a disappointment. The texture was not enjoyable. If you want these flavors, you are better off making pasta and bean soup.

This was scrumptious. I put all the garlic in to cook (don't like fresh garlic in my food). I had 9 ounces of chicken broth in the fridge so I added white wine to make up the difference. I didn't use all the sauce (saved about half for another meal). Used just enough to coat 2 cups of uncooked pasta. Will definately make this again.

This recipe was nothing amazing. It liked the health benefits of using chickpeas instead of a cream based sauce (although they aren't really comparable taste-wise). The only change I made was I simmered all of the garlic before adding it; I didn't add any raw garlic. However, I will probably not make this again although it's worth giving a shot since it's quick.

I thought it was awesome. I added spinach and a tablespoon of butter and blended it with my magic bullet so it was very creamy.

I loved this. I used a lot of fresh basil instead of parsley, as that's what was growing in my garden. I also only had one smallish tomato, would have liked to have more. The sauce was much too thin, so I dissolved some corn starch in cold water and stirred it in....that made all the difference. I will definitely make this again. It's different than anything else I've tried, but it is sure yummy!

There was nothing redeeming about this, and I don't even know how to alter it to make it taste better. It was VERY thin. You would have to cut the broth by more than half to make it a workable consistency for a sauce. I used beef broth, because I had it on hand, and it turned the "sauce" a very unappealing brown color. I would be surprised if the color of sauce with chicken broth was any better. The lemon was odd. Really, I would advise against this. I substituted it for an alfredo because I thought I could cut some saturated fat and increase the protein. Ugh. I should have just sucked it up and had an unhealthy dinner.

Flavor was good, but I thought the sauce was way too thin. Might try again, but cut the amount of broth in half.

Kind of weird, but in a good way. Easy and cheap, anyway, and my girlfriend liked it, too. It still was a little mealy out of the blender, so I'd definitely use that instead of the food processor. Oh, and I halved the garlic (figuring I could add in more later, which I didn't do).

Yeah...this one was not a winner. It is a quick and easy recipe. I like the garlic and tomatoes. However, the finished product is unappealing to the eye and the dish could use lots more veggies. My sauce turned out mealy (I will use my immersion blender next time to see if it makes a difference). I'd add spinach or kale, more tomatoes and (while I LOVE chickpeas) I may sub white beans to tone down the icky color.

Made this last night because we had all ingrediants on hand. We really enjoyed it and it's very quick to make. The sauce was a little soupy but not mealy, used a stick blender. Had leftovers for lunch today, tasted great! Will make it again,adding spinach, as someone suggested.

This was really easy and super good. I do think you have to like chickpeas and garllic though because the sauce does have a strong flavor. I added all the garlic to the puree. In the pan I added fresh sauteed spinach and grape tomatoes to the pasta then covered it with the sauce and reheated it all ending with a sprinkling of parmigiano. Will definitely make again.

This was super easy, but I wasn't a big fan...and I really like chick peas and pasta!

Both myself and my meat-loving boyfriend LOVED this dinner. I made it exactly as written, except I replaced the parsley with cilantro, and it was great. You have to love garlic, though (which we do!).

This is one of our regulars and is my meat-eating husband's favorite dish, even though it's vegetarian. We usually double the chickpea sauce and tomatoes and cook all the garlic instead of adding the raw garlic at the end. We've found that lessens the power of the garlic, without sacrificing the garlic flavor. Easy to make and even easier to eat!

I haven't made a sauce out of chickpeas before and I think you have to get use to the taste. The second day it seemed to taste better. I put in 2-1/2 cups of the pasta and next time will put in more tomatoes. Had a lot of sauce. Will make again.

This is a fast and easy recipe. If you like chickpeas, you should enjoy this one. The only changes I did was added more garlic (5 in total)...cooked some broccolini in the pasta water...and added more Parmesan cheese (about 5T). My "meat loving" hubby really enjoyed this recipe. As I have most of the staples on hand...I can see myself visiting this recipe again and again!

flavor is good, recipe is easy to make, but i found the garlic a little too strong for my taste. the garbanzos make a good substitute for a cream-based sauce, but as the directions say: serve immediately - no leftovers for this dish, doesn't keep well.

This is a great recipe. I used 16 oz veg broth and a handful of cilantro. Very good. I served it with saute spinach, dressed with evoo and red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Outstanding.

I roasted my Vegetables and used Vegetable Stock and it turned out great! I also used Cilantro instead of parsley...

This was delicious. And very easily adaptable into a vegetarian recipe. Its definitely a nice, easy weeknight dinner that is a change of pace from the typical pasta and tomato sauce.

Yum! I'll make this often, for sure. It's like pasta dipped in a thinned out hummus. I made it with whole wheat pasta and went with other reviewer's suggestions to add more tomatoes (at least doubled) and added 3/4 cup pasta water to the sauce to help it thicken. I threw in a couple palmfuls of parsley because I like to taste it, not just use it as a garnish. Believe it or not, it could stand to use another clove or two of garlic. Despite tweaking it a bit to suit my tastes, I'm still giving this 5 stars because it's outstanding and I'm so happy it was featured on the site. I'll bet this would be good with some veg or mushroom stock, too.

If we could give this recipe a 0 or a -1 we would. Made it exactly as written. to the "T". It was awful. The taste of raw garlic took Scope and Creme de Menthe to get out of our mouths, and it had no redeeming values. What anyone else sees in this recipe is beyond the three adults who ate it tonight.

I loved this dish. I had everything on hand except fresh tomatoes, so I substituted some sun-dried tomatoes. I tossed them into the food processor with the garbanzo bean mixture. Delicious!

We love garlic and we love chick peas, but we did NOT love this recipe. Overall, it was bland, sauce texture was strange, and even four cloves of garlic was enough to salvage this. The two of us ate it for dinner, but threw away the rest. Definitely won't be making this again.

Yummy! This is a great way to make a thick/creamy sauce that's still healthy. I added extra tomatoes and quite a bit more lemon juice. Paired it with sauteed shrimp and it was very good.

I added more tomatoes. This was very good, not much to look at but tasty.

I made this recipe tonight. I think it has great potential, however, I do not know if chicken broth is the best option for this dish. Did anyone else notice an unpleasant smell when the chicken broth, garlic, and chick peas were simmering? I also noticed a strange flavor that I thought was because of the chicken broth. I wonder if it would be better with vegetable broth? Anyway, I a major garlic and hummus fan so I was surprised that I didn't love this dish.

I tried this for the first time last night and it was pretty good. The only thing that could make it better is about 1/2 cup more noodles. It was entirely too soupy for the amount of noodles that it calls for.

Haven't tried this yet...sounds great. Wonder if it could be made REALLY fast by starting with a good store-bought hummus, then adding broth, etc.? I really hate cleaning the food processor, so I'm always looking for ways around that. I'll try my idea and let you know how it turns out!

I haven't made this yet; but it sounds absolutely amazing; having read the reviews - I think I may add a little of the pasta water to the "sauce" to 'thin it out' and also the get rid of the 'mealy' texture that peoople are commenting on.

This will keep the vampires away. I liked everything about this recipe except too much garlic, even for this garlic-lover. Next time, I will either halve the raw garlic, or cook all of it.

So beyond garlicky, I was sick all night after eating it. I would omit ALL of the minced garlic in the recipe and just keep in the couple crushed cloves in the sauce. The idea of the sauce was good, the chickpeas were good mashed up, but it was just an overpoweringly strong dish. My boyfriend and I agreed this one was for the trash!

Surprised by all the negative reviews. This has been my go to pasta recipe for years. I have passed the recipe on to all my vegetarian friends and they love it too. If you like hummus and garlic, this recipe is worth a try.

Great recipe. I would definitely add more tomatoes and either less sauce or more pasta. Fast and easy ... perfect.

love it!! hv made it several times, n quite easy too, love the chickpea n garlic flavor!! :)

Loved this unique pasta dish. Great different sauce to use when you're sick of tomatoes! I happened to use a tomato fresh out of our garden, and boy did it add zing. The rest of the flavors are mellow, but delicious!

Wonderful, hearty meal. Doubled the recipe to make leftovers. Substituted veggie broth for the chicken, halved the garlic (4 cloves only and done all before blending), added extra tomatoes and 1 can of pitted olives which I cut in half, and extra black pepper. Using a handblender produces a nice creamy sauce. Cheese was tasty, but not necessary. Fast, filling, and easy, would surely make again.

I thought this was good. I found the sauce a little mealy, so forced it through a fine-mesh strainer which improved the texture. I agree with others who said there was more sauce than needed. Next time I will use more pasta, or maybe add some vegetables. I'm also thinking about trying cannellini beans in place of the chickpeas.

I added a lot of lemon at the end directly to the dish and it is absolutely divine! A nice lunch for guests, and so easy to prepare! I served it with a low fat panne cotta for dessert.

This recipe is awesome. We didn't have cherry tomatoes but I bet they would be great with this. We loved how garlicky it was and followed the directions exactly except we used bow tie pasta, didn't have tomatoes and used dried parsley. My husband and I both loved it and can't wait to make it again! We served it with the fish with the caper lemon sauce and sauteed green beans. YUM.

I did find it somewhat mealy, but the flavors are wonderful! I think I would process it longer next time. Husband liked it even without the tomatoes.