Pumpkin Pasta is a great meal prep staple. It's creamy, savory, and of course filled with pumpkin flavor. This recipe is quick and easy and it tastes amazing!
Pasta for a Meal Prep?
After my total thyroidectomy, I gained a lot of weight. I thought the answer to my problems was to eat less, around 1,000 calories a day, and to do more cardio. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way and I ended up getting burned out.
After going through my own trial and errors, I realized what works for me, which was actually eating more than I currently was consuming.
When women say they're restricting their calories and only eating an apple and a hard boiled egg for the entire day, know that it's truly unnecessary to do so. You do not need to extreme diet to be able to loose weight.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This pumpkin chickpea pasta recipe is a great meal prep staple. It's creamy, savory, and of course filled with pumpkin flavor. It's a great single serve healthy meal, perfect for those days you really don't feel like cooking because it's a quick and easy meal with over 20 grams of protein!
On top of the 20 grams of protein from the chickpea pasta, you can also add in yor favorite choice of protein for an added boost. It pairs well with shrimp and salmon and many other protein options. You can even pair it with my vegan chickpea meatballs if your vegetarian or vegan.
What's in the Pumpkin Pasta?
- Pasta: For anyone that loves pasta but hates all the carbs with no benefits, Eat Banza is a great brand to try. I used this Banza rotini pasta is made from chickpeas, which also gives you a boost of protein.
- Protein: a protein boost in this dish comes from the pasta, but also feel free to add in more protein if you like. Some of the protein that pairs well in this dish is shrimp or salmon.
- Veggies: I also threw in some spinach because we could all use a little more veggies.
- Pasta Sauce: I topped the Pumpkin Pasta dish off with the Cucina Antica Tuscany Pumpkin Sauce, I found it at my local Whole Foods or Target stores. If you cannot find this product at your local store, you can also make the sauce from my Tuscan Pumpkin Herb Sauce dish, which would taste great as well.
More Pasta Options
Any regular or whole-wheat pasta works just fine. I chose to use rotini pasta from Banza's Chickpea pastas. They're certified gluten-free and come with an added bonus of protein from the chickpeas. Here are some other pasta variations:
How to Store and Reheat:
- To store: place leftovers in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days
- To reheat: reheat the leftovers in the microwave with a splash of dairy-free milk, or regular milk, to loosen the sauce and keep it from drying out.
More Pumpkin Recipes:
Pumpkin Chickpea Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 ounces rotini pasta dry
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach packed
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Sea salt to taste
- 1/3 cup Cucina Antica Tuscany pumpkin sauce or favorite pumpkin marinara sauce
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes optional
- 1 pinch parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Boil the rotini pasta according to the directions on the box.
- Once the pasta is done, remove it from the heat and drain the water from them using a strainer.
- Add onion into a skillet with olive oil and cook until translucent. Then add the spinach into the skillet on the stove and top with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Remove from the pan from the heat just as the spinach begins to wilt. It will continue to wilt from the remaining heat in the pan.
- Add the pasta to the skillet and top with the Cucina Antica Tuscany pumpkin sauce or your favorite pumpkin sauce. Toss everything together in the skillet until well combined.
- Sprinkle with a pinch of red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese and serve
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Although HalfPastHungry.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on which products you use, the brand that was purchased, or in other unforeseeable ways. HalfPastHungry.com will not be held liable for any reliance on given nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your physician first.
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