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Home » Dinner » Easy Coconut Chickpea Curry

Easy Coconut Chickpea Curry

November 10, 2017 By Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan 320 Comments

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This easy, flavorful coconut chickpea curry is ready in no time and packed with flavor! Now with a recipe video, above the curry recipe below!

Coconut chickpea curry in a white bowl with forbidden rice and fresh coriander, atop a patterned black plate

 

Okay. I still have a couple MORE Thanksgiving recipes coming for you in the next couple of weeks, but right now I sort of need another break. As you may have realized, I eat all of the recipes that I make and test for this site and two straight months of Thanksgiving food is *a little much*, even for this potato lover.

I realized that I haven’t yet shared a basic coconut chickpea curry recipe here and it seemed like the perfect easy, budget-friendly, not-weird meal to break up the comfort food monotony. This healthy but comforting dish is inspired by Indian cuisine and easily customized with whatever nutritious vegetables and accompaniments you prefer.

A scoop of chickpea coconut curry being spooned out of a white bowl on a brown wooden table.

Sometimes I see curry recipes on food blogs that basically amount to stirring together chickpeas, coconut milk, and curry powder*. We are not making our coconut chickpea curry like that today. We are building together several layers of seasoned umami flavor that will not leave you disappointed. Not to worry – this naturally vegan, gluten-free stew is still VERY easy to make, just follow the instructions and you will be good to go.

Tomatoes are a crucial part of the sweet, tangy, and savory background notes for the garbanzo beans here, so please don’t leave them out – if you do, your coconut curry chickpeas will taste a little blah. Fresh tomato season is finally over here in Maryland but canned tomatoes are perfectly fine in this recipe.

Overhead view of coconut chickpea curry, black lentils, quinoa, and fresh coriander in a bowl with a black spoon.

Anticipating another question I might get, you can adapt this to the slow cooker if you want to, but because there’s only about 10 minutes of simmering time anyway, I question whether the crock pot is really going to add anything. Same goes for the Instant Pot. This recipe is already quite fast and easy on the stovetop!

See the recipe notes for instructions on how to incorporate a few other common veggies like sweet potato, cauliflower, and spinach! For even more veggie power, you can also serve this with cauliflower rice!

*If I could change one thing about the way people make curries, soups and stews, it would be that everyone should STOP stirring raw spices into liquid, and instead toast them in the oil with the aromatics, which releases their flavors and allows them to be infused uniformly into the rest of the dish.

Coconut Chickpea Curry | Yup, it's Vegan
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4.96 from 173 votes

Easy Coconut Chickpea Curry

A classic easy coconut curry with chickpeas, inspired by Indian flavors. This garbanzo bean curry skips the complicated steps but doesn't skimp on flavor! Naturally vegan and gluten-free. Also free of grains, soy, and nuts.
Course curry, dinner, Main Course
Cuisine dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword chickpea curry, coconut curry chickpeas
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes minutes
Total Time 40 minutes minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 333kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 large red onion thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and minced or grated
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper (reduce to 1/8 tsp if freshly-ground)
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
  • 1 and 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (equal to 1 14-oz. can; drain before using)
  • 1 and 1/2 cups full-fat coconut milk (equal to 1 14-oz. can)
  • 1 and 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas (equal to 1 16-oz. can; drain and rinse before using)
  • 2 tbsp freshly-squeezed lime juice (1 lime) (lemon also works)
  • chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) for serving

Instructions

  • In a large pan, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the red onion with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened and starting to brown.
  • Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and ginger; stir and cook for 60 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in the garam masala, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Cook for 30 seconds more to toast the spices.
  • Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir well. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-5 minutes or until the tomatoes are starting to break down and dry up a little bit. Stir in the coconut milk and chickpeas. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
  • Simmer the coconut chickpea curry for about 10 minutes or until reduced slightly. Stir in the fresh lime juice. Season to taste with additional salt (I used about another 1/2 teaspoon at this point). Serve hot, over rice or other accompaniments of choice, and garnished with chopped fresh cilantro.

Video

Notes

TO ADD HEARTY VEGETABLES LIKE SWEET POTATO OR CAULIFLOWER: Cut the veggies into bite-sized pieces, and add them after the initial step of cooking the onion, but before adding the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes until the vegetable is softened a little bit. It can then finish cooking when the chickpea coconut curry is brought to a boil and simmered.
TO ADD QUICK-COOKING VEGETABLES LIKE SPINACH: After simmering the chickpea curry, turn off the heat, stir in the spinach, and cover the pan. Remove the lid after 2 minutes, or when the spinach is wilted to your liking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1fourth recipe | Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Sodium: 513mg | Potassium: 664mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1450IU | Vitamin C: 35.5mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 3.6mg

Pictured with my vegan coconut curry with chickpeas is a blend of forbidden rice, black quinoa, and black lentils (also featured here in my chickpea burrito bowls).

Filed Under: Dinner, Popular Tagged With: gluten-free, grain-free, Indian-inspired, legumes, nut-free, one pot, refined sugar-free, soy-free, sweetener-free

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Comments

  1. Curry loving lady! says

    May 22, 2023 at 20:38

    I love this so much! It was very easy!! I sprinkled in a little cardamom, cinnamon, and cumin because I love spices! I also added baby red and yellow potatoes and carrots cut into bite size pieces after the onion as you said, then when it was towards the end and everything was in, I threw in my spinach. I added the lime and cilantro when serving, One of the best Curry dishes I have ever had!! Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Holly says

    May 22, 2023 at 11:30

    5 stars
    This was delicious. I made it with lemon juice instead of lime as that’s what I had. Also threw in some tinned potatoes, cauliflower and green beans. Definitely will make again.

    Reply
  3. Dena says

    April 4, 2023 at 18:11

    5 stars
    Love this. I have made it a few times, always with cauliflower, sweet potatoes and spinach. Leftovers are great as well. Thank you.

    Reply
  4. Jimmy says

    March 16, 2023 at 22:05

    I really loved it but thought that the lime made it a little too sour. I would make again without lime. I also added jackfruit which was nice.

    Reply
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I'm Shannon, founder of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. I create healthy plant-based recipes that everyone will love, using seasonal produce and global inspiration.
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