Creamy Hummus Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers
grated carrot salad
We love the way store-bought hummus creates a creamy, savory sauce in this surprisingly healthy and filling vegetarian pasta. For a crunchy side, we've added a fresh grated carrot salad. Smarts: Using bagged pre-grated carrots in this recipe can be a real time-saver!
Ingredients
- Bell peppers, red - 1, chopped
- Shallots - 1, chopped
- Spinach, fresh - 5 oz, chopped
- Pasta (we like Fusilli or Cavatappi in this recipe) - 8 oz
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Hummus - 6 oz
- Carrots (sub bagged shredded carrots) - 10 oz, grated
- Lemons - 1, juice of
- Oil, olive - 2 tsp
- Paprika - 1/2 tsp
- Sugar - 1/2 tsp
- Harissa paste (opt, sub other hot sauce) - 1/2 tsp
- Pine nuts (opt) - 1/4 cup
- Parsley, fresh, flat-leaf - 3 Tbsp, chopped
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make carrot salad - Grate carrots in a food processor or using a box grater. Combine carrots with lemon juice, oil, paprika, sugar and harissa paste. Season with some salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Toast pine nuts (if not already toasted earlier in the week) in a frying pan over medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until pine nuts are golden and fragrant. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Bell peppers / Shallots - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Spinach / Parsley - Prep as directed.
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Make
- Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt generously and add pasta. Cook until al dente, tender but not soggy. Save 1 cup (235 mL) of pasta water (amount is for 4 servings; adjust accordingly if customizing).
- While pasta cooks, heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add bell peppers and shallots and saute until tender, ~3 minutes. Add spinach and saute until spinach cooks down and residual water evaporates, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and add pasta, hummus and half the reserved pasta water. Stir to evenly coat pasta in sauce. If sauce still seems thick, add remaining pasta water a bit at a time until sauce appears smooth and creamy. (The sauce will thicken as it cools.)
- Toss carrot salad with pine nuts and parsley. Serve pasta with carrot salad on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
42 reviews
It would be a nice meal during winter when you want something light and bright. Make sure you choose a hummus with flavors, since that’s the main sauce of the dish.
0 HelpfulI used roasted garlic hummus to kick up the flavor, but I still found the pasta bland. The carrots were just strange, overly sweet and oddly flavored. I usually love harissa in everything, but not this. Pass.
0 HelpfulThis is a super easy, in your back pocket, healthy meal that tastes good! Added chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic, tons of salt and pepper, fresh grated Parmesan, a smidge of red pepper flakes, and sweet smoked paprika. I think it would have been pretty boring without all of that. I used the full 10 oz (not 6) roasted red pepper hummus, and about a cup of pasta water. Even Erik loved it, and he was convinced it would be disgusting.
0 HelpfulI roasted the pepper, removed charred skin and diced as directed. The salad was very tasty.
0 Helpful