This chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe makes pasta e ceci with chicken. The iconic Roman dish pasta e ceci or pasta and chickpeas is not traditionally made with chicken, but it’s so incredibly delicious with chicken… just don’t tell your Italian friends. It’s a fantastic use of leftover roast chicken or you can pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way home.
Got cans of chickpeas and pasta in the pantry? Leftover roast chicken? Or chicken breasts you poached to shred for salads, soups or sandwiches in the fridge you need to use up? No? Then buy a rotisserie chicken, and try my quick and easy chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe, one of our best chickpea recipes, and one of our best chicken soup recipes. You’ll be ladling this soul-nourishing broth into bowls in 30 minutes.
There are countless recipes for pasta e ceci and as I adore the quintessentially Roman dish I’ve made many from scratch, including Lorenza de’Medici’s recipe which calls for 12 hours soaking dried chickpeas and three hours simmering them. But sometimes you don’t want to wait for chickpeas to soak and can’t be bothered puréeing half the soup, another step in most pasta e ceci recipes. Save those recipes for a weekend cooking project.
If you’ve had the stressful week I have – a week you wish you’d never had – and need to hug a bowl of comforting soup or stew on the sofa as you begin a weekend of Netflix binge-watching or get lost in a good book, this chickpea, pasta and chicken soup is just what you need. You can dunk thick slices of crusty sourdough into it, but it’s hearty enough to satisfy on its own.
Before I tell you more about this chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe, if you’re a chickpea lover, try some of our best chickpea recipes, including a rich Moroccan chickpea soup; a North Indian Punjabi chole, a spiced chickpea curry; lots of hummus recipes, from a healthy carrot hummus to hummus with spiced beef; and my favourite fatteh recipe with crispy pita, spiced chickpeas, a yogurt sauce, nuts, and fresh herbs, which I liken to a Middle Eastern nachos or chilaquiles.
And if you’re looking for more speedy pasta recipes, try my creamy tomato pasta sauce with gnocchi, penne Bolognese recipe for a ‘cheat’s Bol’, this asparagus, mushrooms and bacon gnocchi, cherry tomato feta pasta, my bacon and mushroom pasta, canned tuna pasta with scallions, capers and fresh herbs, and lemon pasta recipe for pasta al limone.
Before you scroll down, we have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by buying something on Amazon, such as classic cookbooks for serious cooks or cookbooks for culinary travellers or cookbooks by Australian chefs; buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; or shopping our Grantourismo store for gifts for food lovers designed with Terence’s images.
And if you’re looking for more cooking inspiration, we have many hundreds of recipes from around the world in our archives, and note that you can save your favourites by clicking on the heart on the right of any post to create your own private account. Now let me tell you more about this chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe for my pasta e ceci with chicken.
Chickpea Pasta and Chicken Soup Recipe for Pasta e Ceci with Chicken
This chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe for pasta e ceci with chicken was the result of using up leftovers. I made a pot of pasta e ceci, but with a can of chickpeas rather than soaking dried chickpeas, sprinkled on plenty of parmesan, drizzled on a good extra virgin olive oil, and garnished it with fresh rosemary.
It was the comforting Italian chickpea pasta dish that I adore and love to make when I need a hug. The next day, I didn’t have quite enough for two bowls, but I had some rotisserie chicken leftovers that I shredded and added to the pot. It was absolutely wonderful, adding texture and flavour.
I wondered why I’d never thought to add chicken to pasta e ceci before. But of course I knew why. Although now eaten all over Italy and around the world, pasta e ceci is such an iconic Roman dish that cooks don’t want to mess with it. With Italian food, more than any other cuisine, cookbook writers and food bloggers focus on recreating ‘authentic’ recipes, rather than reinventing them.
I’m also a little obsessed with cooking historic recipes – I love finding out what dishes would have tasted like in the past – but I also like to get creative with recipes. I’m a spice lover, so I’m often bumping up spice levels, and I adore dishes with big flavours and loads of texture, so I’m always adding ingredients.
While pasta e ceci recipes do vary from cook to cook – for instance, one recipe might call for a soffritto of onion, garlic and celery; another for finely diced onion, garlic and pancetta – the key ingredients are always pasta and chickpeas, and the basic process is essentially the same with some minimal variations.
Dried chickpeas are soaked overnight then simmered, often with a little olive oil; a soffritto is usually made, to which the chickpea liquid, water and/or stock is added; fresh rosemary is added at some stage; pasta is cooked in the soup, and more water added if needed; and after ladling into bowls, the soup is finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano.
I searched English and Italian recipe sites and cookbooks but couldn’t find a pasta e ceci with chicken recipe. If you do, I’d love to hear from you. Just a few tips to making this chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe for pasta e ceci with chicken.
Tips to Making this Chickpea Pasta and Chicken Soup Recipe for Pasta e Ceci with Chicken
Just a few tips to making this chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe for my inauthentic pasta e ceci with chicken, starting with the chickpeas.
The Chickpeas
Chickpeas are also called garbanzo beans. Traditional pasta e ceci recipes call for soaking dried chickpeas overnight – or for however long the instructions on your packet of chickpeas recommend – in enough water to cover the chickpeas by a few centimetres. Some Italian cookbook authors also add a little extra virgin olive oil.
Feel free to soak dried chickpeas or use canned chickpeas. I’ve had so much to deal with over the last 12 months. I’ve been into quick and easy cooking this year. I use a can of chickpeas, which with the pasta and shredded chicken will make two very generous bowls of pasta e ceci, four starter-size bowls, or 6-8 little bowls if you’re serving a multi-course Italian meal.
To drain or not to drain the chickpeas? Some pasta e ceci recipes call for draining and rinsing the chickpeas, whether you soak dried chickpeas or use canned chickpeas, then adding water or stock. Other recipes call for using the chickpea liquid or chickpea broth, which is called aquafaba.
I am all for using aquafaba and rarely discard it, especially from canned chickpeas. Aquafaba is starchy, like pasta cooking water, so it’s a fantastic thickener and binder. Aquafaba also gets used as an emulsifier, especially by vegans in mayonnaise and aioli.
Depending on how many people you’re feeding, you could bump up the cans of chickpeas, and vary the measures of chickpeas, pasta and chicken based on what you have on hand. If you only have a mix of pasta ends, use those, and whatever leftover chicken you have in the fridge.
The Pasta
Traditional pasta e ceci recipes call for ditalini or tubettini, which are dried pastas that take the form of short fat tubes of pasta. I’ve found both tricky to source here in Australia, and only stumbled across ditalini once, which were wonderful, as they served as containers for the soup and were similar in size to chickpeas.
I’ve been using a short straight macaroni, rather than elbow-shaped macaroni. In The De’Medici Kitchen, which I’ve been cooking from, Lorenza de’Medici uses ‘stracci’, a handmade noodle. Other cooks use maltagliati, ‘badly cut’ pasta squares, while I remember lagane, short ribbon pasta, being used in Calabria and Puglia.
The Soffritto
Found in many cuisines, soffritto is a mix of finely diced vegetables that are slowly sautéed in olive oil and serves as a base and flavour booster for many dishes, but especially soups, pasta sauces and stews.
A typical soffritto consists of onion, carrot and celery, often referred to as ‘the holy trinity’ – in French food, it’s called a mirepoix. You’ll spot variations of these ingredients, with recipes calling for additions such as garlic or bell peppers (capsicums), pancetta or bacon, and herbs or spices.
Feel free to get creative, as there are loads of regional variations in Italy to serve as inspiration. Roman pasta e ceci calls for anchovies, which adds loads of umami. I do love that addition, but not everyone is a fan of anchovies and I also adore bacon or pancetta.
Rosemary and Other Aromatics
Most but not all pasta e ceci recipes call for fresh rosemary, but only a little rosemary; some recipes call for as little as a single sprig. I adore the fresh heady herb and have access to enormous rosemary bushes at a nearby neighbourhood community garden, so I use loads of the stuff. Feel free to reduce the amount if it’s too much.
Some recipes suggest using whole fresh rosemary sprigs in the soup that you can pluck out when ladling the soup before serving it to guests. Other recipes call for finely chopped fresh rosemary; pull the leaves off the hard stem first and then chop them. I’ve tried both and prefer the second method, as it removes the hard stem and releases even more flavour and aroma.
Other recipes list fresh bay leaves to go in after the soffritto and showering with fresh chopped parsley before serving. Do as you like.
The Cheese
I like to stir through some good quality grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, sprinkle more on top of the soup just before serving, and provide more on the table. Some recipes call for adding a Parmigiano rind, which is wonderful if you have more time and choose to go low and slow with this.
If you don’t keep your rinds, do start saving them. You can pop them in a ziplock freezer bag (make sure to squeeze the air out or wrap them in cling wrap first) and freeze them, then pull one out an hour or two before starting to prep.
The Chicken
Use leftover roast chicken, pick up a rotisserie chicken, or poach chicken breasts, then use your hands or two forks to pull the chicken apart.
I add the pulled chicken to the soup with the pasta so it’s soft and hot by the time the pasta is done; important if it’s been in the fridge for a couple of days and is cold and hard.
If you’ve just bought a hot rotisserie chicken from the supermarket or a chicken shop, you could add the pieces a couple of minutes before serving and stir them through.
Timing
This chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe was designed to be a quick and easy, yet still hearty and comforting soup, that doesn’t take long to get on the table yet tastes like it’s simmered for hours.
Having said that, if you do have more time and you want to cook it low and slow as traditional pasta e ceci recipes call for, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for longer. But add the pasta later as you don’t want it to be too soft and break up completely.
To Finish
Stir in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano – be as generous as you like – taste and add more salt, pepper and/or chilli flakes to suit your palate.
To Serve
Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle on more grated cheese and chilli flakes, drizzle on some good quality extra virgin olive oil, garnish each bowl with a sprig of rosemary, and serve with crusty sourdough bread.
Chickpea Pasta and Chicken Soup Recipe for Pasta e Ceci with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion - finely diced
- 1 garlic clove - minced
- 60 g bacon - or pancetta, diced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes - or ground paprika
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs - finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 400 g can of chickpeas
- 4 cups water - and more as needed
- ½ tsp salt - or more to taste
- 125 g ditalini - or tubettini or macaroni
- 200 g shredded chicken - leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken, or poached chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano - or Pecorino Romano
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
- In a soup pot or large deep pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering, add the onion, garlic and bacon and fry for around five minutes or so until fragrant and the onion is translucent.
- Add the chilli flakes or paprika and finely chopped fresh rosemary to the mix, stir to combine well, and sauté for a minute.
- Pour in a can of chickpeas, including their liquid, and add the tomato paste, water, salt, and stir, increase the heat, and bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta and shredded chicken, stir, and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed to maintain a soupy consistency, until the pasta is done.
- Stir in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, taste and add more salt, pepper and/or chilli flakes and adjust as needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle on more grated cheese and chilli flakes, drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil, garnish each bowl with a sprig of rosemary, and serve with crusty bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Please do let us know in the comments below if you make this chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe for pasta e ceci with chicken as we love hearing how our recipes turn out for you.
