Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto

Simple and quick This Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto Pasta is ideal for a vegetarian weeknight meal! Pesto and lemon juice are mixed with caramelized cauliflower and crunchy chickpeas. For a quick and easy meal, top it with ricotta and Parmesan cheese!

Skillet with Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto Pasta and a tiny dish of pesto with a spoon behind it.
If eating more plant-based meals was one of your resolutions for the year, you’re in luck! This Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto Pasta is ideal, and it’s tasty! Roasting the cauliflower and chickpeas adds not just taste but also texture. Pesto is a simple way to add a lot of flavor to meals.

This pasta meal also has a lot of fiber, which we could all use more of. Both chickpeas and roasted cauliflower increase fiber content, which can help you feel fuller for longer.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto Pasta ingredients.
Ingredients Required for Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto Pasta
olive oil extra virgin
florets of cauliflower
pesto lemon chickpeas canned
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Ricotta cheese garnished with parsley (optional)
In a white dish, roasted cauliflower and chickpea pesto pasta is topped with ricotta.

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto
This is a simple pasta dish that should take no more than 30 minutes to prepare. Begin by spreading the cauliflower florets and chickpeas on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 20-25 minutes, tossing everything together.

Cauliflower and chickpeas roasted on a rimmed baking sheet.

Cook the pasta while the cauliflower and chickpeas roast. When draining the pasta, save roughly a cup of the pasta water. This will be used to make the sauce.

Return the pasta to the pan it was cooked in, along with the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. Combine the pesto, lemon zest and juice, and Parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl. Stir everything together and add pasta water to loosen the sauce as required. Finish with dollops of ricotta cheese, chopped flat leaf parsley, and more grated Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta.

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto

Skillet with Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pesto Pasta and a tiny dish of pesto with a spoon behind it.

Ingredients

1 pound pasta

1 and 1/2 tbsp olive oil

4 cups florets cauliflower

15 oz. washed, drained, and patted dry chickpeas

To taste, season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3 teaspoons pesto

1/2 lemon plus zest

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (half skim)

Garnish with chopped parsley

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400° F and prepare a baking sheet with foil. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower and chickpeas on the sheet pan. Season with salt and pepper, then toss until evenly coated. Make a single layer of cauliflower and chickpeas. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft and caramelized, and the chickpeas are crunchy. Toss everything together midway during cooking time.
Cook the pasta while the cauliflower and chickpeas roast. Before draining the pasta, save 1/2 cup of the water.

Return the pasta, roasted cauliflower, and chickpeas to the saucepan they were cooked in. Add the pesto, lemon zest and juice, and Parmesan cheese to the pan on low heat. Stir everything together and thin the sauce with some of the pasta water. Season to taste and cook until warm.
Dollop ricotta cheese, chopped parsley, and more Parmesan cheese over the spaghetti.
Information about Nutrition: YIELD: 4 SERVING SIZE: 1 CALORIES PER SERVING: 481 CALORIES 19g TOTAL FAT 5g SATURATED FAT 0g TRANS FAT 12g UNSATURATED FAT 16mg CHOLESTEROL 458mg SODIUM 58g CARBOHYDRATES 11g FIBER 8g SUGAR 21g PROTEIN