Pasta e Ceci

Pasta e ceci is one of the great Italian pantry dinners: pasta cooked with chickpeas, tomato, garlic, and olive oil in a single pot. The dish is filling in a way that pasta alone is not — chickpeas contribute 8.4g of protein per 100g — and costs approximately €0.52 per serving using ingredients that are entirely shelf-stable. No fresh produce, no refrigeration required.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 320g dry pasta (ditali, tubetti, or pasta mista)
• 400g canned chickpeas (1 can), drained and rinsed
• 200g canned peeled tomatoes (half a 400g can), crushed
• 15g garlic (3 cloves), lightly crushed
• 30ml extra virgin olive oil
• Salt

Instructions

1. Build the base Heat the olive oil in a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic cloves and cook 2 minutes until fragrant and pale gold — do not let them brown. Add the crushed tomatoes, season with salt, and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes until the raw tomato taste cooks off and the sauce is lightly concentrated.

2. Add the chickpeas Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the tomato base. Stir to coat. Add 600ml of water and bring to a boil. Mash approximately one-quarter of the chickpeas with the back of a spoon — this thickens the cooking liquid and creates the characteristic dense, soupy consistency of pasta e ceci.

3. Cook the pasta in the sauce Add the dry pasta directly to the chickpea-tomato base. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente — approximately 9–11 minutes. Add hot water 50ml at a time as needed to keep the pasta moving. The finished dish should be thick and slightly soupy, not dry.

4. Serve Rest for 2 minutes before serving — pasta e ceci thickens further off the heat. A drizzle of raw olive oil at the table is traditional. Parmigiano Reggiano is optional.

Notes

Use small pasta formats (ditali, tubetti, pasta mista) rather than long pasta. The small shapes integrate with the chickpeas and the thick, dense liquid more naturally than spaghetti.

Crushing a quarter of the chickpeas is the step that determines texture. Leaving all chickpeas whole produces a lighter, brothier dish. Mashing half creates a creamy, hummus-like base. One-quarter is the traditional middle ground.

Cost Context

At Italian supermarket prices (Q1 2025): pasta-secca (€1.65/kg), ceci (€1.90/kg), pomodori-pelati (€1.90/kg), aglio (€8.00/kg), olio-extravergine-oliva (€9.50/L).

• Pasta-secca 320g: €0.53
• Ceci 400g (1 can): €0.76
• Pomodori-pelati 200g (half can): €0.38
• Aglio 15g: €0.12
• Olio 30ml: €0.29
• Total: €2.08 for 4 servings — €0.52 per serving

All five ingredients are priced (HIGH confidence). Ceci at €0.76 accounts for 37% of total cost — the largest single ingredient cost in this recipe. Despite this, pasta e ceci is more filling per euro than any other recipe in this price range: chickpeas provide satiety through protein and fibre that pasta alone does not.

For the full cross-category ranking see Italian Recipes Under €1 Per Serving. For cheap pasta dinner ideas organised by occasion see Cheap Pasta Dinner Ideas. Use the Recipe Cost Calculator to model exact cost per serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does pasta e ceci cost per serving? Approximately €0.52 per serving at Q1 2025 Italian supermarket prices: €0.53 pasta + €0.76 canned chickpeas + €0.38 tomatoes + €0.12 garlic + €0.29 olive oil = €2.08 total for 4 servings. All five ingredients are shelf-stable — no fresh produce required.

Is pasta e ceci more filling than pasta al pomodoro? Yes — substantially. Chickpeas contain 8.4g of protein and 6.7g of fibre per 100g. A single serving of pasta e ceci provides approximately 15g of protein from the chickpeas alone, versus under 5g from pasta al pomodoro. The additional fibre also slows digestion. Pasta e ceci is noticeably more satisfying as a standalone meal.

Can I use dried chickpeas instead of canned? Yes — dried ceci yield approximately 2.5× their weight when soaked overnight and cooked for 1.5–2 hours. 160g of dried ceci produces the equivalent of a 400g can. At €1.00–2.00/kg for dried, this reduces the chickpea cost from €0.76 to approximately €0.20–0.32. The trade-off is 8+ hours of advance preparation. For weeknight cooking, canned chickpeas are the standard choice.