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This No-Boil Chickpea Noodle Casserole is cozy, hearty, and as easy as it gets! Noodles, chickpeas, and veggies get cooked in a creamy dairy-free sauce.
Imagine: a fuss-free, dump-and-bake casserole that tastes like the combination of chicken noodle soup and a creamy pot pie. Except, it’s also totally dairy-free & vegan. Sounds like a dream, right?
This post is proof that dreams do become reality – because this No-Boil Chickpea Noodle Casserole is all that, and more. This recipe is cozy, healthy, ridiculously easy, and incredibly satisfying.
INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKPEA NOODLE CASSEROLE
This recipe comes together using only simple, whole-food ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Dry Pasta: I used gluten-free rotini, but regular pasta will work as well. I recommend using shorter shapes for this recipe (spirals, shells, macaroni, etc). Spaghetti or other long shapes won’t work here.
- Chickpeas: pack a plant-based protein punch and give this recipe some extra heartiness!
- Soaked Cashews act as the creamy base for our dairy-free pasta sauce. If you have a high-powered blender, it’s ok if you forget to soak them 😉
- Chicken-Flavored Bouillon: adds a TON of faux-meat flavor! If that’s not your thing, use vegetable broth instead.
- Allll the veggies: a.k.a. onion, celery, carrot, and peas! Each of these budget-friendly veggies helps to add volume, extra flavor, and some fun color as well.
- Spices & Seasonings: nutritional yeast adds some cheesiness, while smoked paprika and poultry seasoning adds some smokiness and depth of flavor. Garlic powder and black pepper add a little extra zing – and let’s face it, garlic just makes everything taste better.
HOW TO MAKE NO BOIL PASTA
The secret to No-Boil pasta bakes is to use just the right amount of liquid. We want enough liquid to cook the noodles properly, plus a little extra to create a creamy sauce. Luckily I’ve already done all the testing for you, and all you have to do is follow the recipe!
- Blend some soaked cashews with water, spices, and vegan chicken-flavored bouillon until thick and creamy.
- Toss the uncooked pasta with the diced vegetables, then pour the creamy sauce on top.
- Cover & Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, then let sit for 5 minutes to set.
- Serve and Enjoy!
This Chickpea Noodle Casserole is everything — it’s cozy, it’s creamy, it’s delicious, and it’s also packed with veggies and great for you! Cooking the pasta noodles in the creamy sauce allows them to become infused with even more flavor, plus the starch from the pasta helps to make the sauce even creamier.
This fuss-free meal is the perfect weeknight dinner, but it’s also fancy enough to serve to guests! It’s surprisingly budget-friendly too, so basically it’s the best recipe ever. Don’t just take it from me though — now it’s your turn to make it and see for yourself! I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
If you’re looking for more cozy (yet wholesome!) recipes, you’ll also love this One Pot Mushroom Stroganoff, this Spinach & Artichoke Casserole, and this Chickpea and Rice Casserole!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
No-Boil Chickpea Noodle Casserole
This Vegan No-Boil Chickpea Noodle Casserole is cozy, hearty, and as easy as it gets! Noodles, chickpeas, and veggies get cooked in a creamy dairy-free sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the Creamy Sauce:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight*
- 3 1/2 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon vegan chicken-flavored bouillon (or sub 3 1/2 cups veg broth)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning*
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
For the Casserole:
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta* (gluten-free or regular)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, sliced
- 2/3 cup (100 g) carrot, peeled and diced
- 2/3 cup (100 g) frozen peas; no need to thaw
Instructions
- Prep: preheat the oven to 425F and set a 9×13″ casserole pan aside.
- Blend: add the soaked and drained cashews, water, bouillon, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper to a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 45-60 seconds, until the cashews completely dissolve and you are left with a smooth and creamy sauce.
- Mix: add the pasta, chickpeas, onion, celery, carrot, and peas to the casserole dish and mix until evenly distributed. Pour the sauce over the casserole, then use a spatula or spoon to press everything down evenly into the sauce, especially the pasta noodles.
- Bake: Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil (or parchment paper, followed by aluminum foil) and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before uncovering. You may notice that the pasta is cooked, but a few noodles on top are not covered in sauce; because of this, I like to stir the casserole before serving, to evenly distribute the sauce.
- Serve warm; leftovers can be stored in the fridge and are best eaten within 5 days
Notes
- If you forget to soak your cashews ahead of time, you can (1) cover them in boiling water and let sit for 20 minutes, or (2) cover them with water and microwave for 3 minutes, then let sit for 3-5 minutes before draining.
- Substitutions: vegan chicken broth can be replaced with vegetable broth. Poultry seasoning is mostly a blend of dried sage and thyme, so you can replace it with either one or both of those spices. To save prep time, use 1 1/3 cups of a frozen carrot and pea blend instead of cutting fresh carrots into small pieces.
- Pasta: I recommend using a short noodle for this recipe, such as rotini, shells, or macaroni.
I love this recipe! It’s filling and very flavorful! Everything about it is perfect, and it’s great for warm meals as the weather gets cooler out!
so happy you enjoyed!
Quick and easy casserole for a dinner party when you use frozen vegetables. I did however find it really lacked flavor. I would double or triple the spices in the cashew cheese blend. I couldn’t find vegan chicken broth so I used vegetable broth. The casserole needed a lot of salt which isn’t listed in the recipe. Thanks for a great recipe but I think it needs to be revisited to be more flavorful.
Amazing! I add chopped portobello mushrooms before baking when I have them. Tonight I used 1 tsp onion powder instead of chopping half of an onion (long day). Still delicious! So yummy!
yum! Happy you enjoyed!
Wondering about substituting Marmite – of which I have an abundance – for the nutritional yeast, which I don’t have. Thanks in advance.
I’d say the flavor is quite different but it will probably work! I’d use about 1/4 of the amount of marmite though.
Thanks very much for the speedy reply! I think I’ll not chance it given such different flavor profiles. (Turns out they sell it in bulk at our nearby co-op so I don’t need to buy a boatload from the regular grocery.)
This is so good and smells wonderful while it’s baking. The noodles cook perfectly. I made it per the recipe the first time. It was good, but the celery was a little overpowering and stayed too crunchy for our liking. The second time I replaced the chickpeas with a cup and a half of soaked soy curls and replaced the celery, peas, and carrots with a little over two cups of frozen mixed veg (peas, carrots, corn, green beans). Perfection. It reminds me of chicken pot pie.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this a subbed the bouillon for broth. So that’d 3.5 cups of water AND 3.5 cups of broth? That’s a lot of liquid lol is that correct as written in this recipe? Cause it’s def not creamy lol in the oven now but I’m nervous
Oh no! The substitution note means sub the water for broth in place of the the bouillon paste + water
This recipe most certainly serves more than 4 servings. I can’t imagine eating 1/4 of this for a meal. Maybe a man could eat that much. More like 6-8 servings. Not complaining, but serving size is way off.
I wish I would have used veg broth instead of water.
Please excuse my ignorance, but I soaked the cashews overnight and used 3 1/2 cups of broth to blend, but the sauce was so watery. It never became creamy. Thanks for your help!
I’m sorry to hear this, the pasta should have absorbed most of the liquid as it cooked! It could have been the type of pasta or variance in oven temp!
Hi. Do you use 3 1/2 cups of water and 31/2 cups of broth?
Thanks.
Hi Sandy! The recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of liquid — if you do not have bouillon concentrate, I recommend blending the cashews with broth instead of water
Wow what a great meal, and easy to make too. Really loved it thank you for your recipe.
Thanks for the review Michael! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe
Hi! Could you sub the blended cashews with cashew butter?
Yes! I’d recommend using 1/3 cup of cashew butter, and reducing the liquid to only 3 cups
Not only was this a flavor bomb, but the creamy texture was to die for! I made this for my two non vegan adult children and they LOVED IT! Definitely a keeper. Thank you for this new family favorite!
So happy you and your family loved it, Serenity! Thank you for your review.
I’ve made this recipe a few times at home and it is definitely a favorite; so flavorful and comforting!
Quick question: if I wanted to share this recipe with my family while on vacation, would it work just as well to prepare the sauce in our blender at home before leaving and then keeping it refrigerated in an air-tight container for a day or two before using it?
Hi Emily! Yes, that would work well! I’d recommend making the sauce no longer than 3 days beforehand. You could also pre-chop and mix the chickpeas, onion, celery, carrot, and peas and store in a container in the fridge for the same amount of time! I’d also recommend letting the sauce/veg come to room temp before mixing and baking in the oven, or you could bake it straight from the fridge and increase the cook time by a few minutes.
Hi hi Caitlin, What can be used to sub for the cashews? If this wasn’t vegan would the cashews be cream cheese?
Hi Christine! You could replace the cashews with equal parts cream cheese. I would also reduce the liquid to 2 1/2 cups – if the sauce is too thick in step 3 you can add more liquid in 1/2 cup increments.
This recipe is SO GOOD!! So cozy and delicious and comes together easily. My picky eating family all love it! We make it almost weekly all winter long. I recommend it to everyone I know!
So happy to hear that! Thanks Katie 🙂
Made this for dinner and it was delicious!!! My non-vegan fiancé even loved it! I subbed 1 1/3 cup frozen veggie mix (corn, carrots, peas, and green beans) for the peas and the carrots because that’s what I had on hand. I will definitely be adding this to my rotation and will be making it again!
Glad you both enjoyed it, Miranda!
I love love love this recipe. Have made it so many times over the years and always come back to it! It’s one of my favorite quick and easy comfort food meals
Thanks so much, Danielle!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes! You can prepare the casserole up until step 3, then cover it tightly and store it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. When you’re ready to bake it, simply remove it from the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes while the oven preheats, then proceed with baking as directed in step 4. This makes it a convenient option for meal prep or for preparing in advance for gatherings or busy weeknights. Enjoy!