Vegan
Gluten Free
Jump to VideoVegan Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese Pasta is gluten free, full of flavor, and ready in under 45 minutes. Made with a lentil and chickpea pasta, jalapeños, and Mexican spices. It’s a healthy hearty plant based meal that can feed a big family or multiple dinners for two!
Oh hey there spicy bowl of goodness round two! Yes, another dairy free flavorful bowl for you today. Mmm k? This one has a good story. It promise. Yes, it involves Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese (what we call it) and all the plant based vegan gluten free vibes. YO!
So.. 11 years ago I met this cute curly head Kiwi triathlete. Um, my husband. I spent the next year trying to impress him with charm and cooking. Haha. Well..sorta.
At the time, we were both living in Hawaii and we often tried to save money by spending a date night in at my place. My 300 square foot hole in the wall place. Fun times! Anyway, this was around the time I first started eating gluten free (for health reasons). OYE!! That was a trial and error yea, for suree. Anyway, I decided to make the kiwi a romantic gluten free pasta dinner for our date night in. My first attempt at gluten feee pasta. I scoured the store for the best looking gluten free pasta noodles only to find 1 brand. One! And it was made with corn and about 20 other ingredients I didn’t know. But I bought it. Plopped it in the pot. And away I went trying to make a gluten free date night dinner. Only to realize that 5 minutes later my pasta was mush. Yes mush. Wanna know the worst part?
I served it anyway. Haha. And we laughed. And we “kinda sorta”‘ ate it.
Well fast forward a decade and boy gluten free pasta has changed. Thank goodness! I’ve literally tried dozens! And I’m happy to report that the kiwi and I both looooove Chickapea pasta. No mush. Just real past taste because it’s made from chickpeas and lentils. That’s it. Really! No fillers. No corn (phew!), no grains. And oh so filling. More on that below.
For now, let’s now narrow in on this Vegan Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese pasta.
In relation to that mushy pasta memory mentioned above of course. You see, jalapeño and cheese has been one of my husband’s FAVORITE combos for years. And since we’ve finally found a gluten free pasta that um.. tastes like pasta and doesn’t fall apart, I figured we should revive that memory. You know.. SPICE it up a bit. Because I’m “Cheesy”! Bahaha, yes I just went there.
That being said, 10 years later I totally made it up to the kiwi with this new pasta dish. I like to call this Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese pasta the Cotter Comeback (Welcome back Kotter) pasta dish. If you’re older than 30 hopefully you get that joke.
Yes, I’m in an extra loving and nourishing (healing) mood this week. It’s time to rekindle that romance (and that original gluten free pasta recipe), in Spicy Vegan chickpea Mac and Cheese PASTA form ya’ll!
So about that Chickapea pasta. Oh how I love thee.. let me count the ways.
Chickapea pasta is a Gluten Free pasta made with just 2 ingredients…chickpeas and red lentils.
It’s pulses POWER pasta! Did I mention I’m kinda obsessed with pulses? Lentils, beans, aquafaba goodness, etc.
Anyway, I don’t know how they do it ya’ll but Chickapea’s 2 ingredient pasta is spot on with texture and taste. Meaning, no weird gummy taste. Ya, impressive is just one of the words that come to mind. It’s gluten free, vegan, organic, kosher and comes packed with 27 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber per serving. Totally gets my nerdy nutritionist stamp of approval!
This Mighty Mexican Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese pasta is a must make. I know, I keep expanding on the title. But stay with me here. All you need to do is spice up those chickpeas, bake with your jalapeños, then toss into the “cheesy” pasta. Simple!
The “cheesy” base comes from mixing nutritional yeast with coconut milk as the “cream/cheese” part. And because it’s made with organic lentils and chickpeas, it adds in an even greater source of B Vitamins and Plant based iron! This is a HUGE health perk for vegans and vegetarians!
Now who’s hungry? I’v got the chickpea pasta recipe ready to share below!
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Vegan Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese Pasta {Gluten Free}
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 7 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
This Vegan Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese Pasta is gluten free, full of flavor, and ready in under 45 minutes. A healthy hearty plant based meal to feed a family or multiple dinners for two!
Ingredients
- 16 oz (2 boxes) chickapea shells (see notes for link to product)
- 8–10 c water
- pinch of sea Salt
- 2 sliced jalapeños. Keep seeds if you want extra spicy.
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (drained)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 2–3 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil (divided)
- Pinch of cumin
- 1– 2 tsp tsp garlic minced (divided)
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp each salt salt/pepper (divided)
- For the cheese sauce:
- 3/4 c coconut or almond milk plus 1/4 cup broth or water (add more if you need to thin out sauce)
- 3/4 c nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp gluten free flour or potato/tapioca starch
- Cilantro and crushed red pepper to garnish.
- Optional 2 tbsp taco sauce or Tabasco.
- Extra nutritional yeast if desired (see notes)
- For thicker vegan cheese sauce, you can also just use my Vegan Con Queso Cheese (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven 400F. Slice jalpenos 1/4 in to 1/2 inch thick. If you slice them too thick they will cook faster than the time I recommend.
- Mix, chickpeas, jalapenos, and paprika, cumin, salt/pepper, garlic salt in a bowl with oil. Spread on baking sheet and bake 400F for 15-20 minutes.
- While that is baking, cook your pasta.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and lightly rinse. Add back into the pot with 1 -2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp garlic minced. Add in 1/4 tsp salt/pepper to taste. Keep heat on low.
- Updated – In another small saucepan, whisk together 3/4 cup coconut or almond milk with 1/4 cup broth or water, 3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon gluten free flour or starch (tapioca or potato work great). Cook on medium until mixed and thickened “cheesy” sauce is formed. Add a few tablespoons more milk if you need to thin out sauce before adding to pasta. Notes: Depending on the type of pasta you use, you made need to make more sauce. Some pastas absorb the sauce more than others.
- Add this sauce to your pasta, mix together. Keep pasta on low or covered until Jalapeño chickpea bake is ready.
- Once jalapenos/chickpeas are baked, add them to the pasta.
- Cook all together for 5 minutes on low adding more salt/pepper if desired..
- Mix in Optional taco sauce if you want extra Mexican flavor!
- Serve and garnish with cilantro and chili pepper flakes.
Notes
- chickapea pasta is available on their site or amazon
- For Nutritional Yeast I used Bob Red Mill
- If you want a little creamier cheese, check out my Con Queso Cheese Sauce. You could add this would a bit of nutritional yeast.
- Category: main, dinner
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 431
- Sugar: 2.5g
- Sodium: 439.6mg
- Fat: 8.5g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.1g
- Trans Fat: 3.3g
- Carbohydrates: 68.5g
- Fiber: 16.6g
- Protein: 26.8g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: chickpea mac and cheese, vegan mac and cheese, gluten free pasta recipe, vegan cheese sauce
Ya’ll, this dish is perfect for hearty plant based meal or, dare I say it… a quick date night dinner in. SPICY! Ohhh lala!
Don’t worry, the red nails are not necessary for the spicy part. Mwah!
What’s your favorite gluten free pasta dish? Ever tried spicy chickpeas in your pasta? DO IT! So good!
This Jalapeño Chickpea Mac and Cheese Pasta recipe is sponsored by my Chickapea Friends! Thankful they supply us with such quality lentil chickpea pasta and the chance to try out a new nourishing gluten free product.
Keep up with the Chickapea on social media. They are full of recipe inspiration! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube
Cheers!
Hi, I’m Lindsay! Gluten Free Nutrition Specialist, food photographer and author of 
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Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 8:55 AMtest
Laurie Messer says
February 8, 2017 at 9:02 AMI can’t wait to try this! Looks so delicious! Oh and loved your joke! lol
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says
February 8, 2017 at 10:29 AMSo I commented on this earlier via mobile and got a weird error. Looks completely different on desktop. P.S. I wanna try these chickpea pastas!
Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 11:37 AMyes, i had major computer malfunctions. Ugh sorry!
Julia Mueller says
February 8, 2017 at 10:48 AMLol sounds like my exact first go at gluten-free pasta, too…it all just broke and turned out super mooshy. I love that there are more gf options available now that aren’t corn-based. I’ve tried Chickpea Pasta and love it! Definitely great texture, and I love that it’s made with quality ingredients. This jalapeno mac is right up my alley!
Sarah says
February 8, 2017 at 11:23 AMThis looks so good and my husband and I love spicy food! I’d have to make two batches so they girls could get their mac n cheese fix. I’ve yet to try chickpea pasta but might have to breakdown and try it. Only 2 of us like chickpeas and the other two aren’t fans. Plus the hubby got a pasta roller so he is all about making his own pasta but I think I’ll have to sneak this in some weeknight.
Taylor @ The Girl on Bloor says
February 8, 2017 at 1:15 PMThis recipe is GORGEOUS Lindsay!!! I definitely need to add it to my list of things to make – I still have a couple boxes of Chickapea kicking around and all I can say is that they definitely need to get covered in cheese and jalapenos!
Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 11:23 PMyay! let me know whatcha think Taylor!
annie says
February 8, 2017 at 1:18 PMThis looks amazing!!!!! We will definitely be trying this. It combines many of my food loves. Jalapenos, chickpeas, carbs, gooey vegan cheese sauce……
I’ve been eyeing those little chickpea shells in the supermarket. Guess now is a good time to try them.
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
February 8, 2017 at 2:24 PMThis is sooooo up my alley, I love all those gorgeous jalapenos ~ I bet they have even better flavor after you roast them. I love Chickapea pasta, too, it was a great idea to pair it with chickpeas ~ double the protein 🙂
Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 11:09 PMyes, i love roasting them with more spices!
Jenny says
February 8, 2017 at 2:26 PMNot only is this gorgeous, but it sounds amazing! I love my chick pea pasta!
Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 11:14 PMme too! the best!
Tricia @ Saving Room for Dessert says
February 8, 2017 at 2:43 PMWow Lindsay this looks wonderful! I love these Chickapea products and they taste great! Bring on the spices – I could dig into a bowl of this Mac and Cheese 🙂
Jody - Fit at 59 says
February 8, 2017 at 3:10 PMCotter Comeback 🙂 300 square feet! YIKES but Hawaii!!! Not a cheap place to live even back then!
Beautiful recipe!
Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 11:19 PMhaha i know you get this. Crazy $$. We were broke
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
February 8, 2017 at 4:52 PMDelicious of course! I love me some chickpea pasta!
Sandhya Hariharan says
February 8, 2017 at 5:12 PMThis looks absolutely wonderful Lindsay!! Love the heat with jalapenos with the chickpeas pasta !!!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine says
February 8, 2017 at 5:12 PMThe roasted chickpeas and jalapenos are such a magic addition! This dish looks absolutely perfect… and love that mac n cheese can be so high in protein.
nocrumbsleft says
February 8, 2017 at 5:21 PMi absolutely love this dish Lindsay! it’s absolutely beautiful. my son and his girlfriend are vegan and i’m really excited to make this for them. btw, like you, i’m a long time gluten free girl and i happen to think this is the best pasta ever!
Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 11:22 PMso glad!! let me know what they think! And yay for long time GF buds!
Ashley - Forking Up says
February 8, 2017 at 5:30 PMOhh I need to sub in some healthier dishes into my repertoire, and this looks like a great addition! Maybe I’ll make it and not tell my fiance it’s vegan 😉
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes says
February 8, 2017 at 5:58 PMI just made mac and cheese with jalapenos last night! But I was missing chickpeas- that sounds delicious!
Deanna says
February 8, 2017 at 6:01 PMThis looks sooo yummy! I love to have this for dinner tonight!
Jessica @Nutritioulicious says
February 8, 2017 at 6:45 PMWhat a gorgeous looking snd sounding meatless meal! Adding jalapenos is such a fun addition.
Laura says
February 8, 2017 at 7:23 PMPretty sure you’re cooking for Vegas this week. She thinks Mac and cheese is a food group. No joke. Love this. Love the jalapeños. Love you.
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 11:11 AMI think we all just need to move into the same neighborhood already. Cool?
Alexa says
February 8, 2017 at 8:22 PMDouble my chickpea love! This looks loaded with fiber and flavor … what a fun and creative way to get my beans. But you know what caught my eye first? Those jalapeños. Love, love, love the addition of full slices. I like it hot!! 🙂
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 11:23 PMyou and me both! SPICY!
Taylor Kiser says
February 8, 2017 at 10:07 PMI want to face plant into that bowl! Serious comfort food upgrade you have going on here!
Cotter Crunch says
February 8, 2017 at 11:30 PMhaha you so should!
Emily | OatandSesame says
February 8, 2017 at 10:29 PMI tried chickpea pasta once, but yours looks really yummy. I have to give it another shot with this recipe.
Casey the College Celiac says
February 8, 2017 at 11:18 PMI’m a sucker for pasta with a homemade vegan cheese sauce or pesto…add a bunch of veggies and I’m one happy girl!
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 11:21 PMohhh pesto! good call!
Edgar says
February 9, 2017 at 1:00 AMProtein Packed Recipe! Another one to be pinned 🙂
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 8:56 AMyea! let me know whatcha think.
Edgar says
February 26, 2017 at 11:57 PMWe liked it Lindsay. Jalapeno’s flavor was too good with this recipe.
Cotter Crunch says
February 27, 2017 at 10:04 AMso glad!! Thanks for feedback
Kortney says
February 9, 2017 at 8:03 AMThis sounds amazing. I can eat gluten and wheat but love to switch it up once and a while with chickpea pasta.
Laura says
February 9, 2017 at 9:32 AMAwww I love those memories! And yes, this dish definitely rocks! I am a spice wimp though…but I need to get my hands on some of this pasta!
Cotter Crunch says
February 10, 2017 at 12:01 AMI think I need to help you get spicy acclimated! Haha
amanda -runtothefinish says
February 9, 2017 at 10:25 AMDavid has slowly been increasing his spice tolerance so I might actually be able to sneak this by him, though I’m pretty sure he would ask where’s the cheese…cause he’s like that.
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 11:21 PMWe can break him in with this. 😉 Tell him the cheese melted already. It’s hidden. haha
Chrystal @ Gluten-Free Palate says
February 9, 2017 at 10:30 AMOh my word that looks good. I would have never thought to put chickpeas in my mac. But you have me convinced and ready to make this.
Karly says
February 9, 2017 at 12:55 PMSpicy Mac N Cheese, heaven… same thing, really? This looks SO stinkin’ good!! I cannot wait to try it and see the looks of pure joy on my hubby’s face when he realizes it’s not velveeta 😉 Awesome post!
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 3:42 PMYEa! let me know whatcha think Karly! and your family
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
February 9, 2017 at 1:03 PMOh you really combined all of my favs again. I feel like this could make my life better! 🙂
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 4:04 PMoh it so will Julie!
Sharon @What The Fork says
February 9, 2017 at 4:02 PMWow your recipe (and photos) are on point!! This meal looks so flavorful and it’s great how it can be done in less than an hour! Thanks for sharing!
Cotter Crunch says
February 9, 2017 at 11:34 PMLet me know if you try it Sharon!
Kerri Olkjer says
February 9, 2017 at 10:03 PMWow, this looks really good! Pinning so I can find it again…
Cotter Crunch says
February 10, 2017 at 12:00 AMthanks friend
Sonali- The Foodie Physician says
February 9, 2017 at 10:15 PMMac and cheese with a kick, YUM! And I’m adding chickpea and lentil pasta to my shopping list. It sounds like something I have to try!
Nicole Dawson says
February 10, 2017 at 1:24 AMOH YUM! I would even love to just eat those roasted chickpeas and jalapeño, that looks like a great snack too.
Cotter Crunch says
February 10, 2017 at 9:18 AMthey definitely make a tasty snack too! I”m a chickpea aholic! haha
RFC says
February 10, 2017 at 8:21 AMI promised myself after this last race that I’d finally take the plunge from vegetarian to Vegan. This mac and cheese recipe is making me think the change won’t be so bad!
Cotter Crunch says
February 10, 2017 at 9:18 AMawesome! let me know if you try it Heather!
Kristen @ The Endless Meal says
February 10, 2017 at 9:44 AMThis sounds so good! And Chickapea pasta is my new fav. LOVE it!!
Cotter Crunch says
February 10, 2017 at 2:42 PMmine too! soooo good!
Erica D. says
February 10, 2017 at 9:49 AMOh heck yeah! Delicious looking!
Alisa Fleming says
February 11, 2017 at 11:08 AMStunning and creative recipe Lindsay! So excited to see this pasta. The lentil pasta that I loved started cutting in brown rice flour and just wasn’t as good in my opinion. Beans make darn good pasta!
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets says
February 13, 2017 at 5:21 PMWhat is this magic you’re serving?
Also I know why you really ate dinner at your place? Saving money my foot. 😉
Cotter Crunch says
February 13, 2017 at 5:47 PMhow did you know? *blushes*
Kim says
February 18, 2017 at 1:27 AMOh, yum! Thanks for the tip on the pasta, I’m looking to reduce my rice intake after recent reports of G free people having higher arsenic and mercury levels in their bodies than the general population. BTW, after going through some old boxes I just came across a welcome back Kotter poster that I had hanging in my room when I was a kid, it was signed by all the actors, back when John was super cute!
Cotter Crunch says
February 18, 2017 at 8:55 AMOH good! I think you will really like this pasta then Kim!
Cotter Crunch says
February 18, 2017 at 8:58 AMand OMG i love that Kotter poster!! too funny
alex says
June 14, 2017 at 6:57 PMI’m excited to try this recipe. I have another vegan mac n cheese recipe that I have used that calls for butternut squash, curry, and nutritional yeast, but my family gave it a thumbs down. thank you for posting this! I will report back and let you know how my vegan kids like it! 🙂
Cotter Crunch says
June 14, 2017 at 10:54 PMplease do! It’s spicy, so keep me posted on the kids reactions.
Barry says
August 20, 2017 at 1:39 PMWe tried this last night. Apparently I sliced the jalapeños too thin as they burnt to a crisp. Undaunted we soldiered on and added more red chili flakes. It was tasty but boy did the pasta absorb the sauce (even with rinsing it first). Next time I’ll double the sauce which, I mean, how bad could that be 😉
Cotter Crunch says
August 20, 2017 at 3:02 PMOh no! So sorry Barry. I’ll make sure to share these tips in my recipe notes.
Summer says
August 28, 2017 at 5:31 PMThis was tasty but a bit in the dry side.
Cotter Crunch says
August 28, 2017 at 6:04 PMOh I’m sorry! Did you make more more sauce? I put that in notes but I will test Again and update it. I think it also depends on the type of pasta you use. How much sauce did you end up using? Thanks!
Stevie says
September 7, 2017 at 4:06 PMThis recipe did not turn out well at all. I had to put in 3.5 cups (yes) of almond milk to thin this sauce out, ad even then it wasn’t too creamy. I’ve tried nutritional yeast in some other recipes and wasn’t entirely convinced, so I figured i’d give it one last try. I will never put it in any recipe ever again. It just doesn’t cut it. I think for something like this you have to make a cheese sauce using cashews to make it really creamy. I’ve seen recipes for super gooey stretchy vegan cheese, and I think that’s needed here. This cheese sauce didn’t work out. Aside from missing the cheesy texture and flavor, the other flavors didn’t really liven things up either. I don’t know, I don’t think I would try this one again. Sorry 🙁
Cotter Crunch says
September 7, 2017 at 4:11 PMI’m so sorry to hear that Stevie. I’ve made this recipe several times and lots of people have given me great feedback. But i so appreciate your honesty and will look into the cashew cheese addition.
Cotter Crunch says
September 7, 2017 at 4:18 PMOh I do have a cashew cream sauce that you could try. Just thought of that. https://www.cottercrunch.com/how-to-make-vegan-cashew-cream-sauce/ it’s still not very stretchy cheesy though
Lauren C says
September 10, 2017 at 3:01 PMI made this this weekend for myself and my boyfriend (non-vegan) and we both LOVED IT. I used a new cashew milk I saw at the grocery store that looked thicker than must non-dairy milks. I would double the jalapenos or add other veggies next time – maybe roasted red peppers. But it was great. And I was inspired to try making chickpeas from scratch for this recipe and those were delicious too in this. My boyfriend loved it – he wants it again!
Cotter Crunch says
September 10, 2017 at 10:33 PMoh wonderful!! So glad. How was the sauce? I have been trying to make it more creamy but it always depends on the pasta you use. Glad it was boyfriend approved!
Sarah says
September 28, 2017 at 10:29 PMTHIS IS SO GOOD! I will be posting about how I used your recipe to make into a pizza too. You make such wonderful recipes <3
Cotter Crunch says
September 29, 2017 at 8:40 AMwoohoo! Yea! Can’t wait to see!
Aget says
October 7, 2017 at 12:32 AMI wanna try these chickpea pasta!
Christina says
December 31, 2018 at 8:29 PMI try to have these ingredients readily available , this is now my go to comfort meal and I find myself making it quite often! I love the flavours! Thank you!
★★★★★
Lindsay Cotter says
January 1, 2019 at 2:32 PMI am so glad you like this one! It’s one of my favorites 🙂 Thank you!
Sandi says
February 6, 2019 at 11:28 AMAbsolutely phenomenal recipe, I’ve had it pinned to my vegan board and finally tried it, and will for sure be making this on a weekly basis. It’s so simple, tasty and nutritious! Thank you!
★★★★★