Pasta e Ceci Soup
Is there anything more comforting than pasta with chickpeas? A healthy, weeknight pasta e ceci ricetta featuring ditalini pasta with garbanzo beans in a nourishing tomato broth. Vegetarian and easily vegan.
Pasta e ceci ricetta literally means pasta with chickpeas recipe– simple, Italian comfort food that will soon become a staple in your kitchen.
This time of year, soup is my go-to dinner meal. It’s easy to throw together and very forgiving to ingredient swaps. If you love soup as much as I do, then you’ll want to put this Pasta e Ceci soup on your must-make list– along with my other popular soup recipes like my lemon chickpea soup, my Tuscan kale soup, chickpea noodle soup, and red lentil soup.
Growing up, we ate Pasta e Ceci (aka pasta and chickpeas) often! Similar to my grandmother’s Pasta e Fagioli, pasta e ceci was the perfect meal to feed a hungry family– it’s economical and uses mostly pantry ingredients. My kinda meal!
Scroll down for more details and tips for success, or scroll to the full recipe below.
Pasta e Ceci Ingredient Notes
I’ve added a few more vegetables to my family’s traditional recipe, but I think it makes it even better– and contains more fiber! Plus, my son is much more likely to eat vegetables in a soup when combined with both pasta and beans.
As with any good soup recipe, the broth helps to make it. I recommend using a good vegetable broth that you like the flavor of.
I always like to finish my soups with a touch of acid, in this case I use red wine vinegar to help balance the rich tomato sauce and brighten the beans. Parmesan cheese and finely chopped parsley are a fantastic garnish on top!
Substitution Notes
As I mentioned above, my family’s version of pasta e ceci does not contain leafy greens. However, I love adding kale to my soups (I’ve got 15 Healthy Kale Soup Recipes here!) and find that the hearty greens pair perfectly with the chickpeas and pasta. You can omit!
Whole tomatoes are my go-to choice here, as is the case with most of my tomato soup and tomato sauce recipes, as I find they have more flavor than diced. However, you can substitute crushed or even tomato sauce for the canned whole tomatoes. Tomato paste can also be substituted, though you only need a few tablespoons and won’t get the same texture as using the whole tomatoes. It still works and I’ve done it in a pinch!
I almost always use dried herbs as that’s what I have in my house this time of year, but fresh herbs also work! Like in my heathy pasta fagioli recipe, a rosemary sprig simmered with the broth (and then removed before serving) adds a lovely aroma to the entire soup.
Ditalini pasta is my go-to shape, but it can be harder to find depending on your grocery store. Another small pasta shape, like a macaroni, also works.
Can I make this soup vegan?
Like many of my soup recipes, this soup is naturally vegan! (And most pasta is vegan too— more on that here).
Dairy-free parmesan can be added on top or skipped altogether, depending on preference. My favorite vegan parmesan cheese brand is Violife, or you can make your own using my homemade vegan parmesan cheese recipe.
Tips for Success
They key in transforming pasta with garbanzo beans into true pasta e ceci is the texture of the broth. To get the rich, hearty stew taste without any cream is to mash some of the chickpeas into the soup. I usually do this with the back of my wooden spoon, but you can also use a potato masher.
Take care not to mash ALL of the chickpeas– I usually do about 1/3 as I prefer a little more brothy pasta e ceci but up to you. You can also use an immersion blender, but take care not to puree too many of the beans.
Dried and cooked chickpeas can work great in this recipe– and provide even more of the silky texture that you want for the broth, but I use canned chickpeas 98% of the time. With two young kids, I usually need dinner on the table pronto and don’t always have the foresight to soak and cook dried beans first. Don’t worry– canned chickpeas taste fantastic in this recipe!
The pasta will continue to soak up the liquid of the soup as it sits, so if you plan on making this ahead of time then I recommend making the chickpeas without the pasta, then adding cooked pasta in before serving. If the pasta with chickpeas become too thick for your liking, thin it with a little broth before serving.
How to Store Leftovers
Serve leftover pasta with garbanzo beans in an airtight container for a day or so (see the note above on how the pasta e ceci with thicken significantly upon standing) or in the freezer for 2-3 months.
More Italian Soup Recipes
- One Pot Creamy Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Chickpea Tortellini Soup
- Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
- Cranberry Bean Fagioli
- Vegan Tuscan Lentil Soup
- Italian Farro Soup
If you try this recipe, make sure to come back to rate it and leave a comment. Your feedback helps other readers and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!
Pasta e Ceci Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced white onion
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups finely chopped kale leaves
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
- Parmesan cheese, for garnish (regular or dairy-free for vegan pasta e ceci)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, salt and pepper and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Add in the spices and cook for 1 minute until just fragrant, then add in the canned tomatoes and chickpeas, crushing the tomatoes with either your hands or a wooden spoon until broken up. Simmer for 10 minutes. Using the back of a wooden spoon (or even a potato masher or immersion blender), mash some (not all!) of the chickpeas to create a thicker broth. I usually do about 1/3 of the chickpeas and leave the rest whole.Â
- Add in the ditalini pasta and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes until pasta is tender.
- Stir in the kale and cook until just wilted, then add in the red wine vinegar. Taste, adding in salt/pepper as desired. Divide into bowls and top with parsley and parmesan cheese (and more red pepper flakes!) if desired.