Easy Vegan Chickpea Sauce

A pan with pasta and chickpea sauce with parsley.

5 from 1 vote

Easy vegan chickpea sauce makes a delicious pasta dinner in 30 minutes with simple ingredients, no added oil or nuts for a healthy, low-fat blended sauce.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Low Fat, Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 357kcal

Author: Denise Perrault

Ingredients

1 medium onion diced small, 1 cup
1 cup carrots diced small
4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon red chili flakes
15 ounce can of chickpeas include liquid, aquafaba
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
8 ounces dry pasta
Ground black pepper and salt to taste
¼ cup parsley or basil, chopped, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start the water for the pasta. Plan to add the pasta before blending the sauce.
Heat a skillet or large pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add ½ cup of vegetable broth and garlic, oregano, and red chili flakes. Keep the heat low and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remember, the softer the carrots, the smoother the sauce.
When the carrots are cooked, cut the heat and add the veggies to a food processor or blender with undrained chickpeas, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and ½ cup of vegetable broth. Start slowly for a minute, then increase the speed. Add up to 1 cup more vegetable broth until you reach the desired consistency.
Before draining the pasta, scoop out a cup of cooking liquid. If the sauce is too thick after adding the pasta, use a little pasta water to thin it out.
Return the sauce to the pan to reheat. Mix it with cooked pasta. If the sauce is too thin, let it reheat a little longer. It will thicken as it cools.
Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil.

Notes

The softer the carrots, the smoother the sauce. Dice the carrots small, simmer them in the vegetable broth, and check for tenderness. If the sauce is gritty, it's likely the carrots. Add more vegetable broth and keep blending.
Leftover chickpea sauce, with or without pasta, can be stored for four days. It can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove. A little vegetable broth can thin out the sauce.
Freeze chickpea sauce for 3 months. Thaw before reheating.
To add greens, stir in chopped or baby spinach or kale after blending the sauce and returning it to the stove.

Nutrition