Chick me in or out?
To be absolutely brutally honest,
I wasn’t too sure about trying Chickpea: Pepper and Parm “pasta”.
I am a huge “Carbie,” and pasta is one of my biggest weaknesses… next to potatoes.
But I was willing to give it a go since it had 15 grams of protein, 8 grams more than my regular pasta.
I was looking at other reviews online (Amazon, to be exact) and there were actually a lot of positive reviews. A lot of people were stoked that it was a gluten-free alternative to their regular box of pasta, and they said it “tastes great”, while others were not too fond of it, especially the price.
A box of Chickpea Pepper and Parm costs $4.99 from Thrive Market, and that is where I purchased it.
You can also buy it from Walmart in a 6 pack for about $29 (about $4.81 per box). I was hoping it was worth nearly $5,
because my regular box of pasta costs a mere $1.09 at my local Aldi.
Chickpea promises that this pasta will satisfy all cravings for pasta, and it promises to make your body feel amazing.
They probably say this because of all the health benefits that naturally come from chickpeas—just a guess.
The Chickpea box itself says,
“Think of Chickpeas like a powerhouse of nutrition and protein. But that’s not all. Chickpeas are also full of fiber (100% more than a regular box of pasta), antioxidants, and numerous vitamins and minerals.”
So basically, the product makes lots of promises, including tasting great, but time will tell if these promises are spot on or empty.
Off to the kitchen to cook up some pasta.
…
Now, how much should I cook for me, myself, and I? How much is a single serving? I don’t really know, so I’ll just dump some in the water.
…
While cooking the pasta, it smelled just like parmesan and black pepper.
What bothered me about cooking the chickpea pasta was that it turned the boiling water yellow.
But to be fair, sometimes when I cook regular pasta, it turns the water a yellow color from artificial dyes.
I had read in someone else’s review on Amazon to not cook it too long, as it will turn to complete mush.
I started out with cooking it for 6 minutes, then checked the pasta for fork tenderness. It was not quite ready, so I let it boil for another minute and a half.
I feel this is important to note, because if you’re going to buy this pasta,
you don’t want you to end up wasting $5 because the cook on the pasta was a fail. ;)
After draining the pasta, I started to get a little concerned. The noodles seemed to have a residue on them that was much like glue.
I wasn’t able to stir the pasta well, so I added a bit of butter. (Again, to be fair, the box even recommended adding butter to make the pasta creamier when mixing in the seasoning packet, but it wasn’t required.)
I did try the noodles by themself before adding in the seasoning packet. I definitely didn’t expect it, but they were very similar to regular pasta. However, they left a starchy-like residue in my mouth. Not a fan of that!
As the box directed, I added a bit of milk, the seasoning packet and stirred well.
The flavor of the pepper and parm, let me tell you, was POPPIN.
It was the perfect balance of black pepper and parmesan. If you have time to make yourself some lunch, this could be a great option because it had a lot of protein, was flavorful, and was filling.
But I can’t forget the residue on my tongue,
which brings me to an IMBHO-NO
Couple the unwanted “residual” ending along with the high price and this
“Momma on a budget” just isn’t going to budge.
Yes, it’s a great source of protein.
Yes, the parmesan and black flavor profile was kicking.
But I can add real chicken and fresh parm to my go-to, low-price pasta from Aldi and get all I need—with leftovers!
