Quick and Easy: Vegan Gemelli Pasta
This healthy vegan recipe makes the perfect weeknight dinner! Gluten-free Banza Gemelli pasta is packed with protein from chickpeas. Blistered tomatoes and fresh lemon create a light, aromatic sauce. Baby arugula adds a pop of green. You’ll love this oil-free recipe for a simple, plant-based meal!
How to Make Oil-Free, Plant-Based Pasta
Many Italian pasta dishes will start with lots of olive oil. However, oil is loaded with empty calories and can add a heavy, greasy flavor. Instead, this simple, light recipe uses the juices from fresh tomatoes and vegetable broth for a simple sauce. The flavors are simple and light. Plus, you get more nutrition with fewer calories.
What Shape is Gemelli Pasta?
Gemelli translates from the Italian word for “twins”. It references the twin noodles that spiral around each other. This spiral shape creates a pasta with lots of nooks and crannies. In turn, it’s perfect for holding the tomatoes, arugula, and pumpkin seeds in this plant-based recipe. Plus, it soaks up flavor from the delicious, light sauce.
Simple and Light Gluten-Free Vegan Pasta
You’ll love this pasta dish! It is:
- Light and Refreshing
- Has only 5 Ingredients
- A Simple Weeknight Dinner
- Gluten-free, Oil-Free, Plant-Based, Vegan
Chef Katie’s Plant-Based Cooking Tips:
No Chickpea Pasta? Gluten-Free Chickpea pasta is a healthy way to add extra plant-based protein to your meal. However, you can use any whole grain pasta for this recipe. Whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and lentil pasta all work well.
No Gemelli Pasta? If you don’t have gemelli pasta, use another curvy noodle with ridges. Macaroni, penne rigati, and rigatoni would all work. You can use brown rice pasta, lenil pasta, mung bean, black bean, or any other gluten-free pasta variety.
Pasta Water: One chef’s trick for creating a rich, creamy sauce is to use some of the water from cooking the pasta. Before draining your cooked pasta, reserve some of the water. Use this in your sauce. Use this trick any time you make pasta.
Gluten-free Gemelli pasta are made from chickpeas. They look like regular pasta but are gluten-free and have tons of healthy, plant-based protein 
Yellow tomatoes have less acidity than red tomatoes 
When the tomatoes start to release their juices, it’s time to add the vegetable broth 
A microplane is a handy tool for zesting lemons 
Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce so that it absorbs the flavors 
Baby arugula adds a peppery finish and green color to this easy pasta 
This gluten-free pasta has a simple sauce from fresh tomatoes 
Finish the dish with toasted pumpkin seeds for crunchy richness
Watch the Farmer’s Market Video to Learn More About Tomatoes:
Simple and Light Vegan Gemelli Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes
- Easy
- Servings: 4
- Ready In: 20 minutes
If you like this, you’ll also
- Pasta “
alla Norma” withEggplan t - Oil-Free Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad
- 1-Pot Pumpkin Sage Pasta with Chickpea Gemelli Noodles
- Gluten-Free Fusilli Pasta with Walnut Sauce
- 10-Minute Pasta Romana
Simple and Light Vegan Gemelli Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Gemelli Chickpea Pasta or other whole grain pasta
- 1 1/4 pounds yellow or red tomatoes cut into bite-sized chunks
- 4 ounces baby arugula
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 lemon zest and juice
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds toasted
Instructions
To Cook the Gemelli Pasta:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. When the pot of water is boiling, add the Gemelli chickpea pasta noodles. Stir. Return to a boil. Cook a couple of minutes short of done, when the pasta is still “al dente”. This is usually 4-5 minutes. When the pasta is done, scoop out 2 cups of the pasta water. Then drain the pasta. Set aside. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare the tomatoes
To Blister the Tomatoes and Make the Sauce:
- Preheat a wide saute pan over medium heat. Add the tomato chunks. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the skin is starting to blister, before you stir. Then, stir and blister again, another 1-2 minutes.
- When the tomatoes blister, they should start to release their juices. At this time, add the vegetable stock to the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of tomato from the bottom of the pan.
- Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer. Simmer 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to soften. Be careful not to boil or overcook — we don't want the tomatoes to become mushy.
To Finish the Gemelli Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes:
- When the pasta is done and the tomatoes have simmered, add the pasta to the pan with the tomatoes. Also add the arugula and 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Increase heat to a simmer. Stir often. Cook until the arugula is wilted and the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce. Season with salt and pepper
- Remove from heat. Stir in the zest and juice from half a lemon. Sprinkle on the pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 313 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 7 g | 11 % |
| Saturated Fat 1 g | 5 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 2 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 205 mg | 9 % |
| Potassium 823 mg | 24 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 45 g | 15 % |
| Dietary Fiber 11 g | 43 % |
| Sugars 7 g | |
| Protein 20 g | 41 % |
| Vitamin A | 64 % |
| Vitamin C | 27 % |
| Calcium | 23 % |
| Iron | 31 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Shopping List
- Banza Chickpea Pasta, Gemelli
- Dry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Calphalon Classic Nonstick Saute Pan With Cover
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