Pasta with Legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas & lentils)

Recipes for pasta with legumes of various types are present in the local cuisine throughout Italy. Many of these recipes have their origins in the Italian cucina povera, meaning the kitchen of the poor. Some, even date back to the times of Ancient Rome.

This collection of pasta with legumes includes traditional recipes with beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Some of these are vegan or vegetarian, others include meat. Plus, there are recipes in which the legumes are the main condiment ingredient and others with a number of different ingredients.

History

Italians have been cultivating and eating various types of legumes since the times of Ancient Roman and even earlier. Lentils, chickpeas, peas and beans like fava beans (broad beans) and lupini (lupins) all originated in the Near and Middle East thousands of years ago.

However, the origins of some of Italy’s most well-known and popular common beans such as cannellini and borlotti (cranberry beans) and green beans can be found in the New World and were brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus.

Legumes have long been a staple in the Italian kitchen, particularly in what Italians call ‘La Cucina Povera’ or the peasant kitchen. In the past, they were a main source of protein for the rural and poorer populations who couldn’t afford to eat meat regularly.

It’s interesting that this ‘poor’ food is now considered a powerhouse of nutrients and a staple of choice among those who can afford meat, but choose not to! Pasta with legumes and soups with legumes are particularly popular.

Health Benefits of Legumes

Including legumes in your pasta dishes is a great way to boost the nutritional value of your meals. Legumes are incredibly nutrient-dense, containing high levels of protein, which is essential for muscle growth and repair, as well as dietary fiber, which promotes healthy digestion.

Additionally, legumes are rich in important minerals such as iron, which plays a crucial role in carrying oxygen throughout the body; magnesium, which is vital for muscle and nerve function; and potassium, which helps regulate healthy blood pressure levels.

Pasta Recipes with Legumes

Click the recipe name to learn more and get ingredients and instructions.

Beans in Italy.

Except for fava beans (broad beans) and lupini (lupin beans), most types of common beans and green beans were first brought to Europe from the Americas in the 1500s. So, despite their popularity in the Italian kitchen, these legumes haven’t been part of the Mediterranean diet for as long as lentils or chickpeas.

In Italy today, the cultivation of beans is widespread throughout the peninsula with many varieties, which are mostly types of borlotti and cannellini. Campania, Piemonte, Veneto Umbria, Tuscany, Lazio and Basilicata are the regions where some of the best Italian varieties of beans come from.

Pasta with beans.

Throughout Italy there are countless pasta with bean recipes. These recipes tend to be heartier and rustic, giving you filling and satisfying dishes.

1) Minestrone with Pesto Genovese (Liguria)

One of my favorite versions of Italian minestrone is this one from Liguria in North West Italy. It includes beans, fresh seasonal veggies and local basil pesto, giving it a unique and delicious flavor.

2) Italian pasta fagioli recipe

There are many variations of pasta e fagioli in Italy. This particular recipe comes from Southern Piedmont and is known as 'Perbureira'. It's the best Italian pasta fagioli recipe I've ever made.

It uses two kinds of beans, cannellini and borlotti (cranberry beans), homemade egg pasta noodles, and garlic oil (agliata), giving it its characteristic garlicky flavor! It's a must-try for garlic and bean lovers!

3) Tuscan Kale, White Bean and Pasta Soup

This hearty and delicious Tuscan soup is made with kale, white beans, and pasta. It's a nutritious meal that's perfect for cold weather and can be enjoyed as a starter or a main course.

4) Fresh Fava Bean Pasta with Pecorino and Ricotta

This tasty and easy-to-make Sicilian one-pot pasta brings together fresh fava beans (broad beans), fragrant wild fennel or dill, savory pecorino, and smooth ricotta. The combination of these ingredients creates a perfect harmony of spring flavors. It's one of the best spring pasta recipes I know!

5) Homemade Maltagliati Sausage Pasta Recipe

This mouth-watering recipe for homemade maltagliati originates from the Central Italian region of Marche. The pasta is prepared by blending corn and wheat flour, and it complements perfectly with a robust sauce made from sausages, pork ribs, beans, and tomatoes.

6) Pasta with Beans Soup (pasta e fagioli)

This soup has variations in most Italian regions, but it's most typical in Campania, Lazio, Lombardy, Piemonte, Veneto, and Tuscany.

This particular version of the soup comes from Veneto, where I live in Italy. It is immensely warming, rustic, and tasty, which makes it perfect for a colder-weather family meal.

7) Bread Gnocchi with Sausage

This recipe is a delicious and hearty traditional meal from Umbria. Its rich and flavorful sausage and bean sauce complements the gnocchi perfectly. You can make the recipe in less than an hour by using homemade bread gnocchi or in under 30 minutes by using store-bought potato gnocchi.

8) Pasta with fava beans and pancetta (fave in porchetta)

Pasta with fava beans and pancetta is a classic spring recipe from the Central Italian region of Le Marche. This dish, known as 'fave in porchetta', involves cooking fava (or broad beans) with pancetta or guanciale, garlic, and wild fennel. It can be eaten as a delicious side dish or with pasta for a more hearty meal.

9) Minestrone with Orzo Pasta (Tuscany)

Minestrone with pasta is a tasty Italian soup that's typically served during the autumn and winter months. Made with fresh seasonal veggies, beans, and pasta, it's a healthy and nutritious dish that's perfect for combating seasonal ailments. This particular recipe comes from Tuscany and is hearty and easy to make, making it a great comfort food.

10) Pasta with mussels and beans (cozze e fagioli)

This Neapolitan pasta with mussels and beans not only looks and tastes beautiful but is healthy and nutritious, too. It combines the hearty flavors of black beans and fresh mussels with the unique vesuvio pasta.

11) Chifferi Elbow Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Tuna

This tasty and wholesome elbow pasta recipe is perfect for weekday meals and times when you aim to prepare a nutritious dish using just basic ingredients from your pantry.

12) Pesto Pasta Liguria with Potatoes and Green Beans

This pesto pasta recipe from Liguria, featuring potatoes and green beans, is a classic method of enjoying pesto in the region. The pesto is always made from scratch and is served with green beans, potatoes and pasta.

It's a delicious and traditional approach to enjoying pesto pasta in Liguria, which is the birthplace of basil pesto.

13) Spaghetti with Green Beans

Spaghetti with green beans is a favored traditional vegetarian pasta meal in the southern part of Italy. It's ideal for hot days when you're looking for something light and simple to prepare.

While it's best with in-season beans and tomatoes, this dish can be enjoyed throughout the year. It's also an excellent method to encourage children to eat their vegetables!

Peas in Italy

Said to have originated in Mesopotamia and parts of the Mediterranean basin, peas are a very ancient crop that was eaten by the Ancient Romans and Greeks. However, peas were first eaten dried or ground to make flour. It wasn’t until after the Middle Ages that Europeans began to eat ‘fresh’ peas.

Peas are cultivated in different parts of Italy. In fact, they are an important crop in Emilia-Romagna, Sicily, Puglia, Campania and Veneto. However, the Veneto region where I live, is probably the region where peas have been grown the longest.

Pasta with Peas

Pasta with pea recipes are the most popular in springtime as this is the time of year when they are seasonally grown. You will find a lot of traditional Italian recipes paired with spring flavors and using common pea pairings like different types of pork.

14) Pasta with peas (pasta e piselli)

Whether you use fresh or frozen peas, this straightforward Italian pasta with peas dish is unexpectedly flavorful despite its mere four primary ingredients. Originally a springtime recipe prepared during the fresh pea season, this timeless dish can be enjoyed throughout the entire year.

15) Umbrian Wild Pea Soup with Casarecce Pasta

This tasty and wholesome wild pea soup with pasta from Umbria uses a distinctive and uncommon legume known as roveja. It's easy to make and seriously nutritious and warming. You can also make it with other legumes, such as chickpeas or lentils.

16) Gargati with spring ragu (il consiero)

This classic Venetian recipe for gargati pasta features a mixed meat ragu with spring vegetables, made from various white meats and seasonal vegetables such as peas and asparagus. It's a flavorful, complete meal that's sure to be a hit with the entire family!

17) Tagliatelle Pasta with Fresh Peas and Pancetta

This pasta with fresh peas, also known as 'pasta coi bisi' in the local dialect, is a traditional recipe in the Northern Italian region of Veneto. It's a simple dish with peas and pancetta is surprisingly delicious despite its few ingredients. Of course, the secret ingredient is fresh peas!

18) Pasta alla Pastora Recipe from Alto Adige

Maccheroni pasta alla pastora is a traditional meat pasta dish originating from the beautiful Alto-Adige (South Tyrol) region in Northeast Italy. It's a rich, flavorful recipe that is excellent for using up leftover Bolognese sauce.

19) Calamarata Pasta with Stewed Cuttlefish and Peas

Stewed cuttlefish with peas is a beloved Italian seafood dish that can be enjoyed as a main course or, as I prefer, paired with pasta. You can add tomatoes or, if you prefer, make it white (bianco). Either way, it's sure to be a winner with seafood lovers!

20) Gramigna with Sausage, Peas and Cream

This flavorful traditional gramigna pasta dish from Bologna is simple to prepare and bursting with rich flavors. It's an excellent choice for family dinners as well as for entertaining guests.

21) Pasta alla Papalina Recipe from Rome

Pasta alla papalina is a creamy pasta dish originating from Rome and is named after Pope Pius XII, who was the inspiration behind its invention. It's typically prepared with fettuccine and is an excellent method for utilizing leftover ham!

22) Neapolitan Tagliolini Pasta Pie (Crostata)

In Italy, particularly in the Southern regions, baked pasta is a versatile dish with many variations. This wonderful-looking Neapolitan tagliolini pasta pie is pretty easy to make and is a tasty alternative way to serve tagliolini or tagliatelle.

23) Pasta al forno (pasta bake the Italian way)

This recipe draws inspiration from my Sicilian mother-in-law's take on pasta al forno. It's flavorful and satisfying, ideal for feeding a crowd! It includes pasta tubes such as rigatoni, layered with a meaty ragu or Bolognese sauce and finished with béchamel or cheese on top—sometimes both.

24) Baked Anelletti (Timballo); Recipe from Sicily

The timballo of oven-baked anelletti stands as Sicily's favorite among "pasta bakes", especially for Sunday meals, festive gatherings, and celebratory occasions like Christmas. It takes a little time to make, but the looks on your guests' faces will make it worth it!

Chickpeas in Italy

Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are also a very ancient crop said to have originated in Southeast Turkey thousands of years ago. The ancient Romans enjoyed them fried in olive oil and some of the oldest pasta with chickpeas recipes date back to that time. The Romans also attributed chickpeas with aphrodisiacal properties!

Here in Italy, chickpeas are popular throughout the country although they are mostly grown in Liguria, Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria. They are an ingredient in many traditional dishes and soups. Chickpea flour is used to make Sicilian panelle (a type of fritter) and Ligurian farinata (a type of pancake).

Pasta with Chickpeas

Pasta with chickpeas, or 'pasta e ceci', is a delicious combination that you will find paired with many unique types of pasta. Many pasta with chickpea recipes include many pantry-stable ingredients, making them a good choice to keep bookmarked for when you don't know what to cook.

25) Sardinian Fregola with Chickpeas

This comforting vegan Sardinian fregola (fregula) with chickpeas is a wholesome and slightly spicy pasta soup that's ideal for the colder months. For an added boost of fiber, include spinach or incorporate pancetta/guanciale to transform it into a non-vegetarian dish.

26) Fried Sagne Pasta with Chickpeas

Known as 'sagne fritte con ceci' in Italian and 'sagne sfritt’e cice' in the local dialect, this fried sagne with chickpeas dish stands out as one of the most enjoyable pasta and legume recipes I've experienced. It features homemade sagne pasta, portions of which are fried with garlic and rosemary, adding a unique flavor and texture.

27) Pasta and Chickpea Soup from Tuscany

Pasta and chickpea soup is a beloved traditional dish in Tuscany as well as in other Central and Southern Italian regions. This Tuscan pasta and chickpea soup is both nutritious and wholesome. With just a few basic ingredients, it epitomizes good quality ingredients, serving warmth and satisfaction in every bite.

28) Lagane with chickpeas (lagane e ceci)

Lagane with chickpeas is a traditional vegetarian/vegan dish that is popular in Southern Italy, especially in Basilicata and Calabria. It consists of homemade lagane pasta, which is similar to tagliatelle but thicker and wider, combined with chickpeas and tomatoes and flavored with garlic, rosemary, and peperoncino (chili pepper).

Lentils in Italy.

Thought to have originated in the Near East or Mediterranean area, lentils have been a source of sustenance for our ancestors since prehistoric times. They are the oldest pulse crop known to man and one of the earliest domesticated crops. 

Food historians say that the ancient Egyptians were the first to bring lentils to Italy and Greece. Certainly, the ancient Romans enjoyed them.

Since the Renaissance lentils have been a symbol of good fortune here in Italy. In fact, Italians traditionally eat them on New Year’s Eve just after the stroke of midnight! Because they look similar to coins, lentils symbolize prosperity and once cooked, increase in size, evoking the idea of ​​abundance

Pasta with Lentils

Pasta with lentils tends to make rustic and hearty recipes. They are excellent for winter/fall and cold weather, as they are nutrient-packed and filling.

29) Umbrian Lentil Soup with Pasta

This simple and authentic Italian pasta recipe emphasizes the rich, creamy texture and nutty taste of Umbrian lentils, making it a hearty and comforting meal. It's a traditional, nutritious, one-pot vegetarian/vegan dish that is popular in Central Italy.

30) Red Lentil Ragu with Whole-wheat Pasta

This whole-wheat pasta with red lentil ragu offers a wonderful twist on traditional Italian cuisine, making it a healthier option. This modern take on a classic recipe is perfect for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone seeking a satisfying and nutritious meat-free meal.

More Recipe Collections You May Like:

• Best Penne Pasta Recipes
• Italian Pasta with Ricotta Recipes
• Italian Soup Recipes with Pasta
• Quick Pasta Recipes (Under 30 Minutes)
• Pasta Recipes Without Tomatoes

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If you are interested in learning how to make homemade pasta and different types of gnocchi, check out my shop page for some great video online courses from my friends in Rome! Nothing beats learning to make pasta from Italians! Plus while you’re there why not order a copy of one of my pasta recipe cookbooks or checkout some recommended pasta making tools?