Need a last minute idea for a potluck? Try this chickpea pesto pasta! Super easy to make in under an hour.
Last Minute Potluck Chickpea Pesto Pasta
When I showed up to work on Monday, I found out that we were having a little informal potluck the next day for lunch and guess who wouldn’t have been home til 10PM? This gal. Uh oh. Guess who was sooooo not prepared? This gal. Uh oh again.
So what could I make? I just knew that it had to be meatfree, easy to transport, easy to make, and did not need to be reheated. One thing I always have on hand is pasta so I thought maybe a pasta salad of some sort. My coworker was going to make spicy meatballs so something with heat was off the table to give my coworkers an alternative if they preferred a non-spicy dish.
By the morning, I had decided on a chickpea pesto pasta – quick to make, meatless, and easy to transport! I mean, who doesn’t love a creamy pesto pasta?
What You Need To Make This Simple Potluck Dish
For this crowd pleasing chickpea pesto pasta, you’ll need:
- pasta of choice, I used rotini
- chickpeas
- corn
- garlic powder
- butter
- greek yogurt
- pesto
- parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Want to kick it up a notch? Make this chickpea pesto pasta with this basil pesto recipe from Wholesome Yum!
How To Make This Easy Chickpea Pesto Pasta for a Crowd
- Boil water in a large pot to cook your pasta according to the package.
- While the pasta is cooking, place your chickpeas and corn into a pan with 2 tbsp of water. Cook it with garlic powder, salt, and pepper for 3-4 minutes.
- To make the sauce, add the butter into a small sauce pan. Once it’s melted, add in your greek yogurt (low heat) and stir in your jar of pesto and cheese.
- Combine the drained pasta, chickpea, corn, and sauce in a large container before topping it with additional cheese.
- Serve chilled or warm.

Chickpea Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 900 grams pasta, rotini
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup corn
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 160 grams pesto
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- extra parmesan cheese to top it
Instructions
- Boil water in a large pot to cook your pasta, following the package's instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, place the chickpeas and corn into a pan with 2 tbsp of water and cook it with garlic powder, salt, and pepper for 3-4 minutes.
- To make the sauce, add the butter into a small sauce pan. Once it's melted, add in your greek yogurt (low heat) and stir in your jar of pesto and cheese.
- Combine the drained pasta, chickpea, corn, and sauce in a large container before topping it with additional cheese.
- Serve chilled or warm.
Nutrition Per Serving
Let’s chat: what’s your go-to potluck dish?
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PS here’s a couple photos I took of the potluck for my IG stories – nothing fancy but we had enough food to keep us happy and fed :) (come follow me on IG if you aren’t already for more behind the scene stuff like this!)
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner
Love how you used the chick peas here looks delicious!
Kerri Olkjer
Looks like a great dish. I think it’s great to take dishes that give people options. Meatless, etc.
Christina Bauer
Mmm, I haven’t mixed chickpeas with pesto before! Looks like a tasty combo :) Don’t you just love it when you’re informed to bring a dish to pass in a day? LOL, you did a great job!!
Carmy
LOL! Right? I was racking my brain the entire shift! I didn’t want to buy like a veggie platter
Chrissy
Pasta salads always seem to come through in a pinch. Great idea to add the chickpeas!
abbey sharp
This looks amazing!! I love egg salad or also a pasta salad so easy to make and yummy!!
dixya @food, pleasure, and health
this sounds like a recipe i need to make for lunch on a regular basis :P
Julie @ Running in a Skirt
Now that’s a great fast dinner! Love how quick it is to put together!
[email protected]
This looks so good! I love things you can throw together last min. like this! And I love chickpeas
Carmy
Thanks Patrick!
Esther
Looks like a great recipe for a quick meal!
I pretty much love everything pesto!
Farrah
Pesto is one of my favorite things ever. :D! I love that this can be made so quickly though–it looks delicious! <3
Ilka
That’s one delicious pasta dish! Simple to make and super yummy!
Renée
Nice! I have to admit I generally through something “pasta salad” related together if I have to bring a dish somewhere. So easy. This looks great – I could do this also just in general so that we have something quick for lunch or pre-training “dinner”.
Amelia
What a great recipe! Do you think it could be made up the night before? Also, could you recommend an approximate amount of salt/pepper (I’m no good at judging “to taste”!) Can’t wait to give it a try!
Carmy
It might be even better if it’s the night before! Gives the pasta time to get all that flavour in. As for salt/pepper, it really depends on you! I like mine less salty, so less than 1/2 tsp but my partner likes more salt… I’d say start with just under 1/2 tsp then taste it and add more if needed :)