Hummus is a super food in that it’s so versatile that it can often be used as a healthier alternative to diary like eggs and cheese. The Complete Hummus Cookbook by Catherine Gill features over 200 delicious, vegan-friendly recipes for you to try including the one below which gives an Italian classic a hummus twist!
Honestly, I’m not sure why I hadn’t used hummus in place of ricotta before now. All these years, I have been using tofu to make my baked pasta fillings (and don’t get me wrong, I am team tofu all the way, but dang is hummus is delicious and super easy!). Hummus works great and you can make your own hummus “ricotta” filling, like in this recipe, or easily substitute it with store-bought or pre-prepared to save time and for convenience. I love the flavor combination of the pasta with the hummus filling and the tomato sauce. What a delightful recipe! Anyone you make this dish for will be pleasantly surprised by the special ingredient of hummus!
Hummus Stuffed Baked Shell Pasta
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package jumbo shell pastas, cooked according to package instructions and drained
3 cups tomato marinara sauce
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained or equivalent cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons tahini
¼ cup lemon juice or juice from 1 large lemon
½ garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1–2 tablespoons water
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (not required, but recommended). Pour 1 cup of the marinara sauce evenly on the bottom of the baking dish and top with cooked pasta shells.
Using a food processor, blend remaining ingredients until the desired consistency is reached and hummus is well-combined. Spoon hummus filling into pasta shells then top with remaining 2 cups of marinara sauce.
Cover and bake for 30–35 minutes, then allow to set for a few minutes before serving.
Tip: This dish can also be topped with vegan cheese; however, it is definitely not lacking in flavor without the cheese. The nutritional yeast does a great job adding cheesiness to this homemade hummus filling and is beyond satisfying!
