You know those nights, right? The ones where you open the fridge at 6 PM and just stare, wishing dinner would magically assemble itself? Me too! That’s why I’m obsessed with this creamy, bright Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil. It’s truly simple, but tastes like you spent way more time on it than you actually did. I first threw this together when I realized my crisper drawer was full of aging broccoli and had exactly zero ambition. Trust me, the way the garlic blooms in the olive oil is just pure happiness. It’s so light but leaves you totally satisfied, which is exactly what I need on a chaotic Tuesday!

Why You Will Love This Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

It’s ridiculously fast—we’re talking under 25 minutes from start to finish.
Super light; no heavy cream needed, just pure garden flavor.
Perfectly balanced—the chickpeas give it heft and flavor.
It’s vegetarian, hearty, and practically foolproof!

Why You Will Love This Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

Honestly, what’s not to love? This dish is my go-to when time is short but flavor can’t take a backseat. It just works, every single time.

It’s ridiculously fast—we’re talking under 25 minutes from start to finish!
The sauce is light as air, but the chickpeas make it feel substantial.
Zero heavy cream here; just wholesome veggies and good oil.
If you own garlic and a can opener, you can nail this recipe.

Essential Ingredients for Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

Since this pasta doesn’t rely on big amounts of cheese or heavy cream, the ingredients really have to shine on their own. That means using the best quality you can grab! Seriously, pay attention to your olive oil here. Because the sauce is basically just garlic infused oil, if your oil tastes bitter or grassy, your whole dinner will taste that way. I love using a good, medium-fruity variety, but something robust works, too! For everything else, don’t stress too much. Here is exactly what you need for four great servings:

One full pound of pasta—I usually grab spaghetti or linguine because those long strands grab the sauce so perfectly.
One whole head of broccoli, chopped into little florets. Don’t make them giants; we want them tender after just a few minutes in the boiling water.
One 15-ounce can of chickpeas. Make sure you rinse these off really, really well and then drain them.
Six cloves of garlic. Yes, six! But they need to be sliced super thin. Thin slicing helps them release their sweet flavor without scorching.
A generous half-cup of olive oil—our main sauce component!
About a quarter-cup of that starchy pasta water we save. This is liquid gold, don’t forget to keep it!
A tiny pinch of red pepper flakes. You want a little warmth, not fireworks!
Salt and black pepper, just to taste at the very end.

If you’re looking to level up your savory base flavors even more, you might want to check out how I make my Garlic Herb Butter recipe; it uses similar infusion methods that really wake up the aromatics!

Expert Tips for the Perfect Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

This dish looks simple, and it totally is, but timing is everything! You don’t want that delicious garlic to turn bitter on you, and you definitely don’t want a puddle of oil at the bottom of your bowl. My secret weapon, like with so many Italian-ish dishes, is making that starchy water work overtime. It’s the binding agent that turns clear oil into a luscious, clingy sauce. Pay attention when you get to the garlic stage; that’s where most people rush and end up with a scorched mess instead of fragrant flavor. If you ever want to try adding more depth to your olive oil infusions for future recipes, you should look at how I whip up my Garlic Herb Butter; the infusing principles are similar!

Garlic Slicing and Sautéing Secrets

Please, please, please slice your garlic thinly and evenly—no huge chunks allowed! They need to infuse the olive oil gently. Keep your heat on medium, or even medium-low if your burner runs hot. You’re looking for the edges of the garlic slices to just start turning a pale, soft gold color, and the oil should smell wonderfully sweet and pungent. The second you hit that light golden stage, you need to toss in those chickpeas because we want that gentle heat infusion, not sharp, burnt bitterness. If you see any dark brown shadows on the garlic, toss the whole batch of oil and start over; it happens to the best of us!

Mastering the Emulsion with Pasta Water

The magic here is creating an emulsion. That starchy water isn’t just there to thin things out; it has starch clinging to it, which loves to grab onto the oil and create a creamy coating that sticks to every strand of spaghetti. Don’t dump the whole quarter-cup in at once! Add just a splash, toss like crazy until the oil looks milky, toss some more, and then add another splash if it still seems dry. We are building the sauce slowly, step by step, until the pasta is totally coated and there is no visible pool of separated oil left on the bottom of your skillet. It’s so satisfying when that creamy coating forms!

Step-by-Step Instructions for Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

Alright, let’s get cooking! This is the easy part. Since everything happens so fast once the pasta is done, have your skillet ready and waiting. Remember, if you want to check out a super simplified version of just the oil and garlic part, you can look at my Simple Spaghetti Aglio e Olio technique, although this recipe adds the chickpeas and broccoli for extra love!

Cooking the Pasta and Broccoli Together

Get your big pot of water boiling vigorously and salt it until it tastes like the ocean—this seasons the pasta from the inside out!
Toss in your pound of spaghetti or linguine. Set a timer for about 10 minutes based on what your package says.
Here’s the trick for timing the veggies just right: During the last three minutes of the pasta’s cooking time, drop in all those little broccoli florets. This keeps them tender-crisp, not mushy.
Right before you drain everything, use a mug or ladle to scoop out about a half-cup of that cloudy, starchy water. Set it aside immediately!
Drain the pasta and broccoli together quickly and set them aside.

Preparing the Garlic Olive Oil Base

Now we build the flavor foundation. Grab your largest skillet—you’ll need room to toss everything later!

Set the skillet over medium heat and pour in that half-cup of good olive oil.
Toss in your thinly sliced garlic and your red pepper flakes.
Stir constantly for just one to two minutes. You are watching for the moment the garlic turns fragrant and just starts to get that beautiful, pale golden rim. Don’t leave the counter! If it burns, it turns bitter, and we have to start this part over.
Once it’s golden, add your rinsed and drained chickpeas. Let them warm through and soak up that garlic goodness for about two minutes, stirring them around gently.

Combining and Saucing the Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

This is where it all comes together in a flash. Make sure your pasta and broccoli are ready to go right by the stove!

Dump the drained pasta and broccoli directly into the skillet over the garlic oil and chickpeas. Toss everything well so that warm oil coats every single piece.
Now, grab that reserved pasta water. Add it to the pan just a splash at a time—maybe a tablespoon or two—while tossing constantly. You’ll see that clear oil start to miraculously turn into a light, creamy sauce that clings to the pasta. Keep tossing until you’ve used enough water to coat everything nicely.
Taste it! This is when you finally add your salt and pepper. Adjust until it tastes perfect just for you.
Serve this beauty immediately! If you want that little zest boost I mentioned, sprinkle on some fresh lemon zest right before it hits the bowl.

Variations for Your Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

You know I always say that the best recipes are the ones you feel free to mess with! This Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil is such a wonderful blank canvas. Since the base is so clean—just garlic, oil, and pasta—you can introduce new textures and flavors every time you make it without making it taste like a totally different meal. Consistency is great, but changing it up keeps weeknight dinners exciting, right?

Adding Fresh Herbs or Zest

If you want to bring a blast of sunshine into this dish, you have to finish it with acidity. That little bit of sharpness cuts right through that lovely olive oil richness. My absolute favorite addition, especially as we head into warmer weather, is fresh lemon zest. Just grate the yellow part of a lemon right over the top before you toss it with the sauce. It smells incredible! If you’re using jarred chickpeas, a handful of finely chopped fresh parsley added in right at the end gives it a lovely green pop and herbiness that pairs beautifully with the garlic.

Boosting the Vegetarian Protein

While the chickpeas definitely beef this up, if you’re trying to get more crunch or a “cheesy” vibe without dairy, I have two quick ideas! First, toastsome pine nuts in a dry pan until they smell nutty, then toss those in when you serve. They are so buttery and rich! Or, if you’re feeling the need for a salty, almost Parmesan-like flavor, take about two tablespoons of nutritional yeast and toss it in right when you add the reserved pasta water in step six. It melts slightly into the starchy coating and gives this light pasta a surprisingly creamy, umami finish without actually adding any cheese. Give that a try—it’s magic!

Serving Suggestions for Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

Because this Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil is so beautifully light and garlicky, you don’t want to weigh it down with anything too heavy, you know? We want sides that either soak up the leftover pan juices or provide a super crisp, refreshing contrast to the warm pasta. When I serve this, I treat it like a main course that deserves a little sidekick!

First up, and this is non-negotiable for me, is some really good crusty bread. I mean the kind that has that thick, chewy crust you have to wrestle with a little bit. You need something sturdy to swipe up every last drop of that fragrant, garlicky olive oil left in your bowl. We hate waste around here, so if you have some homemade Garlic Bread ready to go, even better, but plain baguette slices work just fine for dipping!

If you want something fresh, a simple side salad is the perfect counterpoint. Don’t go crazy with heavy dressings! Just some sharp mixed greens, maybe a few slivers of red onion, and a dressing based on white wine vinegar or a tiny bit of lemon juice. The acidity cleanses your palate beautifully between bites of savory pasta.

Lastly, if you just want something easy that cooks while the pasta boils, a small side of roasted asparagus seasoned with just salt and pepper is fantastic. The slight char carries over nicely from the broccoli, and it keeps the whole meal feeling super fresh and garden-focused.

Storage and Reheating Instructions for Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

This Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil is one of those dishes that travels okay, but you have to manage expectations a tiny bit when it comes to leftovers. Because the sauce is entirely oil-based, it behaves differently once it chills in the fridge. It’s not bad, but it’s not exactly the same perfectly emulsified sauce you had straight out of the pan.

When you know you’ll have leftovers, try to err on the side of using a little *more* pasta water when you finish the dish initially. That little bit of extra starch helps everything stick together when you try to reheat it. Store any remaining pasta in a truly airtight container—snapping that lid shut is important to lock in that moisture.

When it comes to reheating? Skip the microwave if you can, honestly. It heats unevenly, and you risk turning the broccoli a dreadful shade of army green. I much prefer using a skillet on the stovetop. Reheat the pasta over medium-low heat, and this is the crucial part: add a tablespoon or two of *fresh* water, or maybe even a tiny drizzle of fresh olive oil, while you toss it. This extra liquid helps reactivate that sauce and loosens everything up. It only takes a few minutes before it’s wonderfully fragrant and ready to eat again!

Frequently Asked Questions About Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

It happens every time I post a photo of this easy dish—people have great questions about how to tweak it! Since it’s such a simple recipe, people want to know what happens if they swap out one key component. I’m happy to share a few tricks I’ve learned over making tons of batches of this Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil. If you’re looking for even more inspiration on oil-based sauces, you should definitely browse my collection of Aglio e Olio Pasta Recipes; they share similar techniques!

Can I substitute the chickpeas in this pasta?

Absolutely! Chickpeas are fantastic because they offer great texture and protein, but if you’re not feeling them, or just ran out, go for something else with structure. My favorite swap, flavor-wise, is creamy cannellini beans—they essentially melt right into the sauce beautifully. Or, if you want a complete texture change, skip the beans entirely and toast up some slivered almonds or pine nuts separately in that garlic oil until they are deeply golden. Toss those in at the end for a fantastic crunch instead of that soft bean texture!

Is this Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil vegan?

That’s a great question! As written, with just the pasta, broccoli, chickpeas, garlic, and oil, this recipe is 100% vegetarian and also totally vegan. The minute you start sprinkling on that optional Parmesan cheese (which, don’t get me wrong, is delicious!), it switches over to vegetarian only. If you want that salty, sharp, cheesy flavor without the dairy, try tossing in a few spoonfuls of a good quality vegan Parmesan alternative. Many brands now make excellent aged cashew or almond versions that melt right into that starchy sauce perfectly!

What kind of pasta works best with this light sauce?

For any sauce that is oil-or-butter based, like our beautiful Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil, you really want a pasta shape that helps carry that flavor coating all the way to your mouth. Long, thin shapes are the champions here! Spaghetti is my number one choice because the oil coats every strand evenly while you toss it. Linguine is a close second, as its slight flatness gives the sauce a bit more surface area to cling to. Shorter shapes, like penne or ziti, tend to let the sauce pool at the bottom of the bowl, which is not what we want!

Estimated Nutritional Information for Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil

Now, I always tell people that tracking calories isn’t my favorite hobby—we bake for love, not for scales, right? But since this Broccoli Chickpea Pasta With Garlic Olive Oil is so light, I know a lot of you are curious about how it stacks up nutritionally. This dish really shines because the macros are solid—you get great protein from the chickpeas and the whole wheat if you use that kind of pasta!

Keep in mind, these numbers are just an educated guess based on my standard ingredient amounts for four generous servings. If you pile on extra oil or use a different brand of pasta, things might shift slightly! This is just a helpful guideline so you know what you’re working with.

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: Roughly 550 (not bad for a satisfying dinner!)
Sugar: Only about 5g
Fat: Around 20g total (remember, most of that is that wonderful, healthy olive oil!)
Saturated Fat: Very low, only 3g or so.
Carbohydrates: About 80g, coming mostly from the pasta.
Fiber: A chunky 10g, thanks to the broccoli and chickpeas providing major gut fuel!
Protein: A solid 20g to keep you full until breakfast tomorrow.
Cholesterol: Zero, thankfully, since we aren’t using any cheese or meat!

These figures are just estimates, so if you’re meticulously tracking, you know the drill: weigh your ingredients for the absolute most accurate count!

Broccoli Chickpea Pasta with Garlic Olive Oil

Author: ferecipe.com
Total Time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

A simple pasta dish featuring broccoli and chickpeas tossed in a light garlic and olive oil sauce.

Ingredients

Scale

1 pound pasta (spaghetti or linguine)
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup reserved pasta water
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli florets to the boiling water during the last 3 minutes of cooking.
Reserve about 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining the pasta and broccoli. Drain well.
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes to the oil. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and lightly golden. Do not let the garlic burn.
Add the drained chickpeas to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the drained pasta and broccoli to the skillet. Toss to coat everything with the garlic oil.
Add the reserved pasta water, a little at a time, tossing constantly until a light sauce forms that coats the pasta.
Season with salt and black pepper to your taste. Serve immediately.

Notes

You can add grated Parmesan cheese at the end if desired.
For extra flavor, use fresh lemon zest in the final toss.

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Category: Dinner
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 550
Sugar: 5
Sodium: 150
Fat: 20
Saturated Fat: 3
Unsaturated Fat: 17
Trans Fat: 0
Carbohydrates: 80
Fiber: 10
Protein: 20
Cholesterol: 0

Keywords: broccoli, chickpea, pasta, garlic, olive oil, vegetarian, quick dinner