Sun dried tomato chickpea one pot pasta with mushrooms and spinach, which can be assembled up to 3 days ahead for a super easy meal prep dinner recipe!
You know what I love? A fridge full of possibilities. Even better if those possibilities are already half way to a healthy meal.
Today’s sun dried tomato chickpea one pot pasta is inspired by 5-pm, when your brain wants to power down for the day. You don’t want to think of a dinner idea. You don’t want to measure stuff. You just want to dump something into a pot and be done with it, right?
This recipe takes only ten minutes to toss together in the pot, which seems pretty darn easy. But doing this step ahead of time? Even easier.
Barely any measuring, hardly any thinking involved, and you can use your brain for other pressing 5-pm matters…like keeping your toddler from crashing his singing elephant ride-on toy into the wall, and your husband from opening the tortilla chips <– “it’s literally TEN MINUTES till dinner!!!” Those were weirdly specific examples. Not inspired by my own family, I swear!
We’ve been eating more and more vegetarian meals, which is a-OK with me because it’s better for the environment, and a lot easier on our grocery bill.
Plus, a lot of you are looking for prep-ahead vegetarian recipes, and I’m 1000% happy to help out with this 😉
It’s been awhile since I posted a prep head one pot pasta recipe (this Make Ahead One Pot Black Bean Fajita Pasta was posted waaaay back in February!), and it was time to revisit the concept.
Ben is sometimes of the mindset that vegetarian can’t be filling, but both of us agreed: this sundried tomato chickpea pasta is very filling!
If you haven’t tried one pot pasta before, prepare to have your mind blown. So much flavor absorbs into the pasta as it cooks, and it gets so creamy even without adding cream.
For this sundried tomato chickpea pasta, the flavor comes from the sundried tomatoes and mushrooms, which go together like two peas in a pod. This pasta was actually inspired by the sundried tomato, mushroom & spinach egg muffins in this post! Once you find a great flavor combo, you run with it 😉
Tips for your perfect sun dried tomato chickpea one pot pasta
- I used my favorite 6 cup glass storage container
to store for up to 3 days in the fridge - these re-usable labels are awesome for reminding yourself of ‘use by’ dates and specific cooking instructions
- looking for more one pot pasta recipes? Check out this One Pot White Bean Pasta, this One Pot Healthy Cajun Chicken Orzo, or this round up of 19 Healthy One Pot Pasta Recipes
to store for up to 3 days in the fridge
are awesome for reminding yourself of ‘use by’ dates and specific cooking instructions
Sun Dried Tomato Chickpea One Pot Pasta (Meal Prep)
Ingredients
- 6 oz mushrooms quartered
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes oil drained off and chopped into small pieces
- 19 oz can of chickpeas drained & rinsed
- 2 cups dried pasta smaller shapes work well; 6.5 oz
- 2 cups vegetable stock
Just before serving
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 cup cheese (mozzarella or swiss cheese) shredded
Instructions
- To Cook Right AwayIn a medium pot, combine the mushrooms, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, sun dried tomatoes, chickpeas, pasta and stock.
- Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and cheese until cheese is melted and spinach is wilted.
- Enjoy!
- To Assemble AheadIn a storage container, combine the mushrooms, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, sun dried tomatoes and chickpeas.
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days (good for 5 days without the chickpeas).
- When you're ready to cook, add container contents to a pot along with the pasta and stock and follow the cooking directions above.
Jill
This was super yummy. I did add an extra cup of water because I was cooking with rice noodles.
Denise
Hi Jill, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed! Thank you for sharing your modifications with us 🙂
Kara
Hi! Seems like too little liquid?? Is it right just 2 cups veg stock and 2 cups pasta with all the other ingredients?? I feel like I have no liquid to boil! Haha
Denise
Hi Kara! How did it turn out for you? For one pot pasta, you don’t use much liquid as you don’t want to end up with a soupy pasta in the end. Of course if there is NO liquid, you’ll want to add a bit more. 1/2 cup at a time is what I’d recommend. Hope you enjoyed!
Chris
I used 3 cups of liquid, because I had a bit more vegetables. Mind ended up being a bit more soupy, but the soupy stuff at the end was amazing … so win/win.
ash
i am allergic to mushrooms. which vegetable can i use to replace?
Denise
Hi Ash! So sorry for my late reply (holidays!). I would just leave them out. If you are not freezing, you could add some zucchini or maybe asparagus if you want extra veggies.
kaneisha hall
I made this and it was amazing! Thank you for sharing
Denise
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Kaneisha! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review 😀
Madison Martinez
I just recently started meal prepping and I was so excited when I found this recipe! It was very easy to make and tasted incredible. I will definitely be saving this to make again and again.
Denise
I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review, Madison!
Olivia P
I made this to eat for my lunches this week. I’m on day three and I’m still not tired of it!! So good
Denise
Yay! SO happy to hear that! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, Olivia 🙂
Kat
Hi there!
I’m meal-prepping for someone else who doesn’t have um…. a kitchen haha. Do you think I could cook this ahead of time and keep in the fridge for her? How long do you think it could keep? Thanks!!
Denise
Gasp! No kitchen! LOL! This should keep in the fridge for 2-4 days I’d think.
Jared
Love this! I also doubled a lot of ingredients, and added half an onion, a little garlic, and juice/zest from half a lemon. Lots of good flavors for such a simple recipe. Oh and I used Parmesan for more of a salty “bite” to the cheese.
Denise
So happy to hear that, Jared! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a nice review, as well as your modifications <3
Chris
Perfection! I upped all of the veggies and added some zucchini I needed to use since I didn’t have any chickpeas and wanted to be sure it’d still be robust. Mission accomplished!
Denise
So happy you enjoyed it!
Olga
The sodium seems high for me ..is that because if the broth.
Denise
Hi Olga, I believe the sodium comes from the sun dried tomatoes…delicious but high in sodium.
Cassandra
This is so good! I just omitted the cheese to make it vegan.
Denise
I’m so happy you liked it, and great to know it’s good without the cheese, too 🙂
Dena Englander
Does the mushrooms get rubbery with being boiled instead of sauteed?
Denise
I don’t find them rubbery, but if you are not a fan of boiled mushrooms, you could certainly sautee them separately and add in.
Erin
Do you have a suggestion for substituting the mushrooms?
Denise
You can use another veggie…what about zucchini or bell peppers?
Cathy
This was awesome! And forgiving. I doubled the mushrooms, tomatoes, and chickpeas and added a chopped zucchini. Used just one cup of pasta and lowered broth to 1 cup too. Threw in a little paprika and basil. I’ll be making this again and again!
Denise
Awesome! So glad to know you were able to make it work with all those substitutions. Thanks for sharing, Cathy 🙂
Kinga
Hello, cN i use canned spinach instead?
Denise
I’ve never used canned spinach before so I can’t say for sure…if you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Karl @ Healthy Kreation
This dishy looks so hearty and so delicious. I have a hard getting chickpeas where i am for some reason but i’m sure that wont last forever so I’ll try this soon enough. Thanks for sharing this.
Denise
Hi Karl! If you can’t find chickpeas, you could sub with other cooked beans…maybe black beans or white kidney beans would be tasty? I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Sera
This looks so good! I’ve never thought to combine sun dried tomatoes and chickpeas with pasta. I love a one-pot meal! Thanks!
Dionne Hindell
Is this ok to freeze?
Denise
Hi Dionne, I’m testing whether the ingredients can be assembled ahead and frozen. I’m not sure about the mushrooms, as I’ve heard that raw mushrooms turn black after freezing.
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
YES to meal prep recipes that are super hearty and healthy like these! Pinning 🙂
Denise
Thanks, Medha!