Hummus Pasta with Lemon and Basil

If you've been vegan for any amount of time, it's likely that your culinary journey has taken you to some strange places where various beige foods collide in the name of convenience and/or laziness. Hummus pasta is one such example of a glorious gastronomical collision.

Don't mention it to any proud Italians, but hummus offers up a great way to create a creamy and flavour-packed sauce. This easy vegan recipe combines a few simple ingredients for a dish that's high-protein, dairy-free, gluten-free, and ready in just 15 minutes.

Simply fry off the veg then add the hummus and enough pasta cooking water to create a sauce that'll coat the pasta of your choice. With the addition of fragrant lemon and basil (optional), you'll have yourself a winning meal that's perfect as a cheap and cheerful weeknight option.

For more speedy vegan pasta recipes, check out this vegan one-pot pasta, easy cheesy pasta sauce, and 15-minute tomato tahini pasta.

What is hummus?

Hummus – sometimes spelled houmous – is a chickpea-based dip that usually includes tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. Traditionally found across the Middle East and Mediterranean, you'll now find it in most corners of the globe.

It's easy to make your own chickpea hummus at home, and in fact you can make similar dips with other legumes. This lemony butter bean dip and spicy kidney bean dip are good examples.

Can you make pasta sauce with hummus?

You certainly can. Whether shop-bought or homemade, hummus is a great way to make a creamy sauce while packing in some additional plant-based nutrients from those healthy chickpeas.

You could always just mix cold hummus through cooked pasta (with some of the cooking water retained) for an ultra-lazy meal, but this recipe adds a few extra flavours and textures that help bring it to life. It also includes pasta cooking water to help thin it out and create a creamier consistency, much like in this recipe for creamy tempeh pasta with cashew cream.

Is hummus sauce healthy?

As you might expect, combining pasta and hummus is a great way to load up on energy in the form of carbohydrates. But this combo also delivers on fibre, vitamins, and plant-based protein.

In one serving of this recipe you'll find:

• Calories: 699 kcal
• Protein: 30 grams (60% of RDA)
• Fibre: 16 grams (67% of RDA)
• Vitamin C: 38 mg (46% of RDA)

Amounts based on a third-party nutrition calculator. May vary depending on the pasta variety and any ingredients omitted from this recipe.

What you'll need

To make this simple pasta dish, you'll need:

• Dried pasta of your choice (gluten-free if necessary)
• Hummus to create the creamy sauce
• Nutritional yeast to add some cheesy notes
• Lemon and basil for those delicious fragrant flavours

How to make hummus pasta

Once the ingredients are prepped, start cooking your pasta in salted boiling water (according to package instructions). This should take around 10-12 minutes, giving you time to cook the sauce alongside the pasta.

Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat and add the sliced red onion, salt, and pepper. Fry gently for around 2-3 minutes to soften, stirring regularly. Once the onion begins to soften, add the chopped garlic and cook for another 2 minutes (1).

Next, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a few minutes to start breaking them down (2).

Once the tomatoes have started to soften, add the hummus, nutritional yeast, lemon zest, and a few large spoonfuls of the starchy pasta cooking water (3).

Mix well and cook for another 2 minutes, adding plenty of pasta water as required to maintain a creamy sauce consistency.

Roughly chop most of the basil and add this to the pan along with the lemon juice. Stir well and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast to taste.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain this and mix into the pan with the sauce. Stir well to coat the pasta and then serve.

Serving suggestions

Finish off this simple pasta dish with freshly chopped basil and toppings such as nuts, seeds, or homemade cashew parmesan. You could also mix in other ingredients like fried mushrooms or your favourite plant-based meat substitute.

Variations and tips for hummus pasta

• Lazy option: For an ultra-simple take on this concept, you could just mix cold hummus through cooked pasta (with some of the cooking water retained). But it will benefit from at least a few extra flavours such as lemon and basil.
• Other additions: Add other veg or mushrooms to the pan along with the onion, or spinach or frozen peas to the pasta pot for the last few minutes of its cooking time.
• Lighter option: For a lower-calorie meal, try swapping out the pasta for spiralised courgette (zucchini noodles).

Hey you – let me know what you think

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it – or did anything differently – I'd love to hear from you down below in the comments 👇

You can also find me and let me know on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook @thepeskyvegan 🌿

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More vegan recipe ideas

If you liked this recipe, you may also enjoy:

• 15-Minute Tomato Tahini Pasta
• Vegan Cheesy Pasta Sauce
• 5-Minute Peanut Noodles
• Spaghetti Arrabbiata
• Creamy Tempeh and Tarragon Pasta
• Tempeh Bolognese
• Vegan Pasta Puttanesca
• Ultimate Vegan Lasagne

You can also check out my full list of vegan pasta recipes.