Rustic Pasta with Rapini, Fava Beans & Mushrooms (Easy Plant-Based Recipe)
This Pasta with Rapini, Fresh Fava Beans, and Mushrooms is a rustic, satisfying dish that celebrates simple seasonal ingredients and bold Mediterranean-inspired flavors. Tender pasta is tossed with earthy mushrooms, vibrant greens, and buttery fava beans for an easy plant-based, vegan, and vegetarian meal that feels both hearty and fresh. With just a few wholesome ingredients—and the option to substitute broccolini or broccoli for rapini (also known as broccoli rabe)—this delicious vegan pasta recipe is perfect for weeknight dinners or cozy gatherings. You can easily make it gluten-free by using your favorite gluten-free pasta.
If you’ve spied fresh rapini and fava beans in the supermarket or farmers market, or you’ve tried growing these hearty vegetables in your own garden, here’s a simple way to showcase their rich, green, nutritious flavors: this Pasta with Rapini, Fava, and Mushrooms. Simply put a pot of pasta on to cook, while sautéing up a rich mix of rapini, fava beans, onions, garlic, mushrooms, white wine, oregano, and extra virgin olive oil, then toss it altogether into a rustic, easy plant-based meal in one! You can get this super easy, Italian-inspired, 8-ingredient recipe on the table in under 30 minutes. To make it even easier, serve your pasta right out of your sauté pan or skillet. This nutrient-rich meal is great as leftovers the next day too!
What Is Rapini?
Rapini, also known as broccoli rabe, is a leafy green vegetable related to the turnip family rather than broccoli. It has tender stems, small florets, and pleasantly bitter leaves that become mellow and savory when sautéed or roasted. Popular in Italian and Mediterranean cooking, rapini pairs beautifully with garlic, pasta, beans, mushrooms, and olive oil. Learn more about cooking with rapini here.
Fresh fava beans from my local farmers market in Ojai; just peel the pods and use the beans in many recipes.
What Are Fava Beans?
Fava beans, also called broad beans, are creamy, slightly sweet legumes (or pulses) enjoyed in cuisines around the world for centuries. Fresh fava beans are rich in plant protein, fiber, folate, iron, and other important nutrients, making them a nutritious addition to plant-based meals. Their buttery texture and earthy flavor work especially well in pasta dishes, salads, soups, and grain bowls. Fresh fava beans are harvested in their immature, green state, thus they take much less time to cook. Just remove from their pods and cook. Dried fava beans are dried before they are packaged, thus they need to be soaked to rehydrate and then cooked, which takes much longer. Both fresh and dried fava beans have an outer covering that some people may find tough. You can remove it before cooking, if you prefer (I rather enjoy leaving it on!). Learn more about cooking with fava beans here.
This rustic pasta with rapini, fresh fava beans, and mushrooms is a simple, hearty plant-based recipe packed with flavor. Learn about rapini and fava beans while enjoying this easy vegan pasta dish made with wholesome ingredients.
Fill a medium pot about two-thirds full of water, cover, and bring to a boil.
Add olive oil, and pasta and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta water.
In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes.
Add white wine and fava beans and sauté for an additional 8 minutes, until fava beans are beginning to get tender but are still firm.
Add mushrooms, rapini, oregano, salt and pepper (as desired), and ½ cup reserved pasta water. Sauté for about 4-6 minutes, until greens are tender, but bright green.
Stir in cooked pasta.
Sprinkle with Cashew Parmesan and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings (about 2 cups each).
Notes
To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta.
Dried fava beans does not work for this recipe. You may substitute canned fava beans, which have been rehydrated and cooked, however.
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:19 minutes
Category:Entree
Cuisine:American, Italian
Nutrition
Serving Size:1 serving
Calories:320
Sugar:6 g
Sodium:110 mg
Fat:12 g
Saturated Fat:1 g
Carbohydrates:41 g
Fiber:6 g
Protein:11 g
I love to use my Dutch oven to cook up this recipe! I serve it straight out of the pan, too.
