This healthy and easy Chickpea Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Chicken Sausage is the ultimate emergency meal. It relies on a few key pantry items and can be brought together in under thirty minutes. I discovered this flavor combination when it was late at night after work and I had not grocery shopped in days. I just had leftover produce in the fridge from previous dinners, frozen chicken sausage, plus chickpea pasta and vodka sauce in the pantry. It was a one-pot meal (almost) that was shockingly delicious. It was so good that we have it now frequently as a favorite go-to meal, even if we have time!
Easy Chickpea Pasta Recipe for a Healthy Weeknight Dinner
This easy dinner is a family friendly recipe, plus its gluten-free, sugar-free, and can be made dairy-free. My favorite vodka sauce from the store is paleo (no sugar or dairy), and I always keep a few in the pantry. If you can’t find a vodka sauce you like, this also would be delicious with your favorite marinara sauce. In another post I will share how to make homemade vodka sauce. But this dinner is all about ease and using what’s in the pantry — so I’m sticking to a little help from the store for now.
I also love that this quick and easy dinner recipe provides fantastic nutrition. Chickpea pasta is a great high-fiber and higher protein pasta option as opposed to traditional refined grains. Plus we bump up the fiber in the meal with added vegetables, and provide adequate protein with lean chicken sausage and healthy fats from the olive oil and vodka sauce. A paleo vodka sauce uses cashews as the fat source (instead of dairy cream), which are rich in monounsaturated fats. A healthy dinner recipe like this is a great way to provide our bodies with nourishing ingredients without sacrificing time. I hope you love this as much as we did!
Easy Chickpea Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Chicken Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 boxes chickpea pasta
- drizzle olive oil
- 4 links Italian chicken sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
- 4-6 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 large white onion, diced
- 1 large bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 23.5 oz paleo vodka sauce (or favorite vodka sauce of choice)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- sprinkle parmesan cheese (if desired)
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients: dice the onion and peppers and slice the chicken sausage into rounds.
- Set a large pot of water over high-heat and bring to a boil. Add the chickpea pasta and cook according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, heat a large saute pan over medium-heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add the sliced chicken sausage and saute until slices are golden-brown. Remove chicken sausage to a plate and set aside. Keep the pan on the burner.
- To the saute pan, add another drizzle of olive oil and add the onions and peppers. Saute over medium-heat until they are sweating out moisture and getting slightly caramelized.
- Return the chicken sausage to the pan. Add the chicken broth to the pan, which should bubble and steam once it hits the heat of the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan while chicken broth bubbles to remove any flavor (the fond) from the bottom of the pan. Stir throughly.
- Add the baby spinach to the saute pan and stir again. It will wilt and decrease significantly in volume. Once cooked down, pour the vodka sauce over the vegetables and sausage until you reach your desired amount of liquid. Remove pan from heat.
- Once pasta is done cooking, scoop the pasta into the sauce mixture and stir gently but throughly so that everything is coated in the vodka sauce.
- Season the dish with fresh parsley (or other herbs) and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!