Middle-Eastern Style Chicken Cavatappi
with Chickpeas, Spinach, Tomato & Feta
- Milk
- Wheat
You’ve had middle-eastern flavors in salads, grain bowls, and gyros—but have you tried ‘em in a pasta? If not, consider this your lucky dinner! Chickpeas, spinach, and onion are cooked with garlic and our signature Shawarma Spice Blend, then swirled in a creamy white sauce. Next, you’ll add tender cavatappi, fresh tomatoes, and feta cheese for brimming bowls full of bright flavors. It’s pasta night, perfected!
Ingredients
1 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Feta Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Chopped Chicken Breast
1 unit
Chickpeas
½ unit
Onion
5 ounce
Spinach
6 ounce
Cavatappi Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon
Shawarma Spice Blend
2 unit
Tomato
2 clove
Garlic
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and finely chop onion. Peel and mince or grate garlic. Drain chickpeas over a small bowl, reserving liquid; rinse chickpeas and pat dry with paper towels. Dice tomatoes into 1⁄2-inch pieces.
• Once water is boiling, add cavatappi to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve 3⁄4 cup pasta cooking water (1 1⁄2 cups for 4 servings), then drain.
• Meanwhile, heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, chickpeas, Shawarma Spice Blend, a big pinch of salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan, until onion is softened and chickpeas are lightly browned, 5-6 minutes. • Add spinach and reserved chickpea liquid. Cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted and liquid has mostly absorbed, 2-3 minutes. TIP: Add spinach in batches if necessary.
Rinse shrimp under cold water. Pat shrimp or chicken dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a second large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken or shrimp in a single layer; cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, 4-6 minutes.
• Reduce heat under pan with chickpea mixture to low. Stir in stock concentrate, cream cheese, sour cream, and 1⁄3 cup reserved pasta cooking water (1⁄2 cup for 4 servings) until melted and combined.
• Stir in drained cavatappi, tomatoes, half the feta, and 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings). Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is thoroughly coated in sauce.
• Divide cavatappi between bowls. Top with remaining feta and serve.
Stir half the shrimp or half the chicken into pan along with drained cavatappi. Top bowls with remaining.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many enjoyed the tasty seasonings and ingredient combination, though some found it bland or oddly spiced.
- Ease of prep: While most found it easy to make, a few noted it took longer than expected.
- Suggestions: For spinach-averse eaters, try cutting stems off and halving leaves to blend better with pasta.
- Texture: Some loved it, but others found it mushy; consider adjusting cooking times for preferred consistency.
- Portions: A few felt the pasta was oversized and dominated the dish; you might reduce the amount slightly.
Reviews from our home cooks
If spinach is not your favorite, cut off the stems and cut the leaves in half. This will allow for it to mix well into the pasta and you won't end up with large spinach clumps. Recommend having this with water, wine, or juice because soda will cause bloating.
I thought the meal was fine! It took quite a long time to make though. Also, my husband thought it was too much spinach and too much tomatoes, but I didn't mind that part.
Easy to make and delicious. Pleasantly surprised by how good it was.
Wasn't sure about this one. Everyone came back for seconds!
This was super tasty! Great seasonings and combination of ingredients!
