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Dinner recipe · from the recipe book

Cauliflower Chickpea Pasta Bake with Seed Crust

Tender whole-wheat pasta and chickpeas in a velvety blended cauliflower-cheddar sauce under a crunchy pumpkin and sesame seed crust.

Cauliflower Chickpea Pasta Bake with Seed Crust

Ingredients

  • 12⅔ cups3,000 gWater
  • ¾ tsp5 gSalt
  • 10 oz280 gWhole-wheat pasta, dryshort shapes such as penne
  • 4¼ cups florets450 gCauliflowercut into florets
  • 1½ tbsp20 gOlive oil
  • 1 medium110 gYellow oniondiced
  • 3 cloves9 gGarlicminced
  • 1¼ cups (300 ml)300 gMilk, 2%
  • ⅔ cup shredded80 gCheddar cheeseshredded
  • 2 tsp10 gYellow mustard
  • 1¼ tsp3 gPaprika (sweet or smoked)
  • ½ tsp1 gBlack pepper
  • 1 can, drained254 gChickpeas, canned, drained and rinsedpatted dry
  • 4 cups loosely packed120 gBaby spinach
  • ⅓ cup40 gPumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 1½ tbsp15 gSesame seeds
  • ¼ cup25 gPlain dry breadcrumbs
  • 2½ tbsp chopped10 gFresh parsleychopped

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with a little of the olive oil, saving the rest.
  2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot with half the salt. Add the cauliflower and cook 8 minutes until very tender, then lift it out with a slotted spoon into a blender.
  3. Add the pasta to the same boiling water and cook 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
  4. In a skillet, warm half of the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion 5 minutes until soft, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then scrape the onion and garlic into the blender.
  5. Add the milk, three-quarters of the cheddar, the mustard, the paprika, the black pepper and the remaining salt to the blender. Blend until smooth to make the creamy sauce.
  6. Stir the sauce, the chickpeas and the spinach into the pasta until the spinach wilts slightly, then spread it in the baking dish.
  7. For the seed crust, mix the pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, breadcrumbs, the remaining cheddar and the last of the olive oil in a small bowl. Scatter it evenly over the pasta.
  8. Bake 25 minutes until bubbling and the seed crust is golden. Rest 5 minutes, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Contains: Milk, Gluten, Sesame. Some brands contain egg, soy.

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Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

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