This smoky and spicy harissa pasta is a satisfying, flavor-packed meal made with rich, fire roasted tomato sauce, warming Mediterranean spices, hearty chickpeas, and spinach. It’s a delicious and satisfying vegan dinner that can be ready in about 30 minutes!
This isn’t your typical pasta dinner — especially if you grew up with traditional Italian food, like I did. This pasta has a completely different flavor profile, and it’s absolutely DELICIOUS! My harissa pasta is full of smoky, fiery flavor. If you’re a fan of my Mediterranean red lentil soup, smoky chickpea stew, or my spicy chickpeas bowls, you’ll probably love this one. It’s a total flavor bomb, and it comes together in just about a half hour — perfect for a busy weeknight meal.
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Harissa paste is the star of this dish. Harissa is a spicy red pepper paste that's used in lots of North African and Mediterranean recipes. It's smoky, and generally adds a nice spicy kick to dishes that it's used in (but check out my tips below in the FAQ section for keeping it mild if that's not your thing!). Pairing it up with warming spices and fire roasted tomatoes makes for a totally different pasta experience, but trust me, it's a good one! This is the pasta dinner you probably didn't know you needed in your life, but once you try it, you'll be hooked!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Pasta. I like this recipe with linguine, but any dried pasta variety will work!
- Olive oil.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Spices. You'll need ground cumin, coriander, and a touch of cinnamon.
- Tomato sauce.
- Fire roasted tomatoes. Regular diced tomatoes will work in this recipe as well, but you won't get nearly as much smoky flavor.
- Chickpeas. These make the dish extra hearty, and they go great with the spicy harissa tomato sauce. Other types of beans, like cannellini beans or lentils, can be substituted if needed.
- Harissa paste. Look for this in the international foods aisle if your grocery store.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to ensure the recipe stays vegan. Conventional sugar is often processed using animal products.
- Baby spinach.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh parsley.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Cook the pasta. Start boiling your pasta while you work on the sauce. The dish comes together quickly, so if you time it right, the pasta will be done at about the same time as the sauce.
Step 2: Cook the onion. Cook diced onion in some olive oil for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften.
Step 3: Add garlic and spices. Stir minced garlic, ground cumin, coriander, and cinnamon in with the onion. Cook the mixture briefly, stirring constantly.
Step 4: Simmer the sauce. Add the tomato sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, chickpeas, harissa paste, and sugar. Bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook for about ten minutes.
Step 5: Add spinach. Stir in the spinach, then let the sauce simmer for a few minutes longer, just until the spinach has fully wilted.
Step 6: Add the pasta. Stir the cooked pasta into the sauce, then let it cook for a minute or so more — just long enough to ensure the pasta is heated through.
Step 7: Finish the dish. Give the dish a taste-test and season it with some salt and pepper. You can also adjust any other seasonings to suit your preference at this point.
Step 8: Serve. Your harissa pasta is done! Divide it onto plates, sprinkle each one with chopped fresh parsley, and dig in.
Variations
- Stir-ins. This dish is great with some salty add-ins, like Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, store-bought vegan feta, or homemade tofu feta.
- Creamy harissa pasta. Stir a half cup of full-fat coconut milk or vegan heavy cream alternative into the sauce.
- Roasted vegetable harissa pasta. Add roasted veggies! Broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, cauliflower, and asparagus would all work particularly well.
- Harissa chickpea bowls. Skip the pasta and serve the sauce over rice, couscous, or quinoa.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! Just use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Yes. Harissa is generally pretty spicy. If you'd like to lower the heat level, use less harissa than the recipe calls for. Mina brand also makes a mild variety of harissa, which has virtually no heat at all, so you can use that for a very mild dish.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. They can be reheated in a skillet on the stove, or by microwaving in one minute increments and stirring in between.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Smoky Harissa Pasta with Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 10 ounces dried linguine pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 (15 ounce/425 gram) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce/411 gram) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup harissa paste, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons organic granulated sugar
- 2 cups baby spinach
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, then cook it according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain the pasta into a colander when it's done.
- While the pasta cooks, coat the bottom of a large pot with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Cook the mixture for about one minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, chickpeas, harissa paste, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat and let it cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens slightly.
- Stir in the spinach and let the mixture continue to cook for about two minutes, until the spinach wilts.
- Stir in the cooked pasta. Continue cooking everything for about one minute, then remove the skillet from heat.
- Season the dish with salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide onto plates and top each portion with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Serve.
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I’m wondering how it would taste bulked with a bunch of vegetables
I think it would be delicious! You could increase the harissa and spices a bit if needed. Enjoy!
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