When you're craving a pasta dish that's different from the typical red sauce or cream sauce recipe, try Hummus Pasta. This easy-to-make entree is packed with bright veggies and creamy flavor and is so easy to customize to your family's tastes!
Just because I'm craving pasta, doesn't mean I'm craving red sauce. But I don't necessarily want a cream sauce either. However, I still want a pasta dish that's packed creaminess and I definitely want more flavor than simple butter.
That's when I turn to hummus. Believe it or not, hummus makes the perfect creamy sauce that complements so many different pasta dishes.
This hummus pasta contains lots of flavor-packed ingredients into an entree that your whole family is sure to fall in love with.
❤️ Why this recipe works
Creaminess without cream: I love creamy pasta dishes, but don't always want to add heavy cream to my dinners. Using a hummus pasta sauce gives your pasta lots of creaminess with no heavy cream involved.
A little extra protein: Using hummus as a pasta sauce adds a little extra protein to your pasta since chickpeas contain a good amount of it. This is especially helpful if you're keeping the pasta vegetarian.
Amazing flavor combos with umami: All of the flavors of this dish work so well together from the tahini in the hummus to the lemon juice to the umami of the olives and feta cheese. This is one flavorful pasta!
Lots of veggies: You get multiple servings of veggies in this dish thanks to the red peppers, tomatoes, and spinach... Of course, you are welcome to add more of your favorites, too!
Easy to customize: There are so many ways to suit this pasta to your tastes and really make it your own. You can use any flavor of hummus you want, you can add any veggies you want, and can use any pasta shape you like best.
🗒 Ingredients
Here's everything I recommend for my version of hummus pasta... But remember, this dish is SO easy to customize! I also share lots of recommendations for ingredients you can add later in this post (and be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Pasta shape of your choice
- Olive oil or cooking oil of your choice
- Red bell pepper
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Minced garlic
- Baby spinach
- Hummus in the flavor of your choice, but I especially like garlic or lemon
- Lemon juice
- Ground paprika
- Kalamata olives: optional, but they add great flavor!
- Basil
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt & pepper
- Feta cheese: for topping
- toasted pine nuts for topping pasta
💡 Recipe tips
- Cook your veggies until tender, but don't let them get overcooked or mushy. Your peppers should still have some crunch.
- Use any flavor of hummus you want to give your pasta all kinds of different flavors. I usually stick to garlic or lemon hummus, but consider trying everything bagel, buffalo-style, kalamata olive, or even hot honey.
- The hummus gets mixed with a little lemon juice and reserved pasta water to thin it out a bit so it coats the pasta really well.
- Use any shape pasta you like. I like using pasta with ridges so the sauce adheres to it.
- Once your pasta and veggies are tossed together, add in as much of the hummus sauce as you want. I use it all because I like my pasta saucy. I also add in kalamata olives.
- You can also add more of the reserved pasta water into the dish to thin the sauce out more if desired.
- And I recommend topping the individual dishes off with toasted pine nuts, crumbled feta cheese, and more basil. Plus, an extra dollop of hummus!
This unique and delicious hummus pasta dish is sure to become a hit in your family... Especially since there are so many ways you can customize it!
🎉 More add-in ideas
Here are some additional ingredients that would be great to add into this hummus pasta:
- Grilled chicken
- Roasted salmon
- Grilled shrimp
- Crispy prosciutti
- Chickpeas
- Grilled eggplant
- Roasted squash
- Edamame
- Avocado slices
- Artichoke hearts
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Capers
- Parmesan Cheese
- Za'atar seasoning
Honestly, this is a sort of kitchen sink pasta where you can toss in pretty much anything you have in your fridge and pantry!
Or you can simply toss plain pasta in the hummus sauce and keep it at that... Kind of like a fancied up version of buttered noodles!
Hummus is one of my favorite versatile recipes and I love using it in unexpected ways, like in these Hummus Breakfast Bowls.
If you want a pasta dish that's different than the typical red sauce or cream sauce recipes, but still packed with awesome flavor, I hope you'll give this hummus pasta recipe a try!
📖 Recipe
Hummus Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta shape of choice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil of choice
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper (from 1 medium pepper)
- 1 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (from about 3 cloves)
- 3 cups packed baby spinach
- ¾ cup hummus flavor of choice, but I especially like garlic or lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground paprika
- ½ tablespoon sliced kalamata olives optional
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil plus more for topping
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- crumbled feta cheese for topping
- toasted pine nuts for topping
Instructions
- Add pasta to a large pot of salted boiling water and boil until al dente. When draining, reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water.
- Heat cooking oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add diced peppers and halved tomatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until veggies are justsoftening.
- Stir minced garlic into veggies and let cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add spinach and cook for about 2 minutes, until wilted.
- In a separate medium bowl, stir together hummus, lemon juice, paprika, and 1 tablespoon reserved pasta water until smooth and creamy.
- Add drained pasta to the skillet with the veggies, pour in hummus sauce, and toss together, until pasta is well coated. Add reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time to thin sauce to your liking.
- Stir in olives (if using), basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper until combined.
- Serve hummus pasta topped with crumbled feta, more basil, and toasted pine nuts, if desired.
Notes
- Feel free to customize this recipe to your tastes and add in any additional protein (chicken, shrimp, salmon, chickpeas, etc.) or vegetables you want!
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