Hummus pasta is the easiest, in-a-rush dinner recipe! And one that’ll make you feel good, too – much better than my old standby of buttered noodles or even plain marinara. This is ready in about ten minutes from start to finish, or the time it takes pasta to cook.
Hummus is the ideal vegan pasta sauce add-in. I love it with butternut squash mac and cheese, and it’s even good mixed with tomato sauce or lentil bolognese to make it slightly creamy. If it seems a little weird, just try it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
With just four ingredients and lots of flexible add-ins, it’s a perfect empty-fridge dinner. It’s my go-to tired day meal and I feel a lot better eating this than plain olive oil pasta. With frozen peas and hardy greens as pictured, the added vegetables don’t add any cooking time.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Spelt Pasta: sub gluten-free or any pasta you like here. I do find that GF pasta water doesn’t work quite as well in the sauce, but it’s not too bad.
- Hummus: depending on how thick it is, the amount of pasta water needed will vary, so save more than you think you’ll need.
- Pasta water: this is important! You have to reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta – this is what makes the sauce creamy.
Recipe Notes
Pasta water adds starch to the sauce, which makes it smoother and helps it coat the pasta more effectively. It also adds some additional seasoning. If you ever need to thin a pasta sauce, use the water from cooking the pasta.
Homemade hummus is best, but use store bought if you prefer. Add any herbs you like.
I usually use frozen peas if they’re on hand, and whatever fresh greens are available in the garden. If you batch cook, roasted vegetables are a nice addition, as are additional fresh or frozen options like broccoli. Simply add any larger vegetables to the pot with the pasta a little earlier to ensure that they’re cooked.
How to Store
Storage: like most pasta recipes, the pasta will soak up the sauce as it sits. This is best served fresh but can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Thin slightly with water when reheating.
Freezing: while this can technically be frozen, the pasta is mush when thawed. I don’t recommend freezing it.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Season to taste: I never add salt, and if your hummus and cooking water are seasoned properly, you shouldn’t need any extra. Taste and add if needed before serving.
- Thaw frozen greens: there’s no space here to add blocks of frozen greens (other than in the pasta water, and that never really works) so it’s best to thaw in a sieve before adding.
- Use add-ins: while plain hummus pasta is pretty good as is, additions like peas, other vegetables, or anything to break up the texture makes a big difference.
More Weeknight Dinner Ideas
Spring Green Vegetable Coconut Rice Noodles
Carrot, Red Lentil, and Spinach Soup
Cauliflower Tikka Masala
Kale, White Bean, and Lemon Soup
If you make this Hummus Pasta or any other vegetarian mains on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Hummus Pasta
Ingredients
- 250 grams dried pasta
- 50-100 ml pasta water, reserved
- 150 grams frozen peas
- 200 grams hummus
- 50 grams fresh greens (kale, chard, spinach, etc.)
- Sea salt to taste optional
- Black pepper to taste optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions, in well-seasoned boiling water.250 grams dried pasta
- Two minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, add the frozen peas.150 grams frozen peas
- Before draining the pasta, reserve 100 ml (~½ cup) of the cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta and peas and add back to the pot.50-100 ml pasta water, reserved
- Stir in the hummus and half the cooking water. Add more pasta water as needed to thin the sauce to your desired consistency.200 grams hummus, 50-100 ml pasta water, reserved
- Add the greens and stir to wilt. Season with salt and black pepper if needed and serve immediately.50 grams fresh greens (kale, chard, spinach, etc.), Sea salt to taste, Black pepper to taste
- Leftovers are not bad the following day, but the sauce will thicken slightly as it sits. The pasta can be eaten cold.
Notes
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This recipe was originally shared in March 2018. It has been updated most recently as of December 2022.
Curious Veg says
I’m looking forward to making this for dinner this evening. It seems the recipe itself is missing chickpeas in the ingredient list. I’m assuming the recipe calls for one standard tin of cooked chickpeas?
Alexandra Daum says
I usually use a bit less than that (I think a can is about 400g?) but that would certainly work. This recipe will be updated soon!
Jenny says
I just made this, and it was so good and veggie packed! It also made a TON!
Alexandra says
I’m so glad you liked it, thanks Jenny! I had it for dinner last night too!