This easy, flavorful coconut chickpea curry is ready in no time and packed with flavor!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and pinced
- 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.
Recipe 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.
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).
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
This looks and sounds terrific! I’m new to your blog and would LOVE it if I could link you up and visit and comment more often! Gotta LOVE new vegan blogging buddies! Swing by my place when you can!
I love the sound of this! I definitely make those easy curries sometimes (although do take your approach to spices!) but this looks like a still easy, but more sophisticated, take.
This was amazing! Easy and delicious. I accidentally spilled my salt shaker into it after adding the lime juice, but after I mixed it with rice I liked having it on the salty side anyway.
Hi, Shannon! I’m positively SMITTEN with your chickpea curry, especially since it uses garam masala instead of generic curry powder. And you’re right — tomatoes add another layer of flavor that makes it more full-bodied.
Thanks for sharing your recipe! XOXO
made this for the first time as a “raid the cupboards” dinner…and even my committed carnivore boyfriend loved it and went back for seconds! Reheats really well and arguably better the next day when the flavours have really developed…or so I’m told as I didn’t get any today as boyfriend ate everything that was left!
So glad to hear it!! Thanks for sharing.
This curry looks amazing! but I was wondering what is the side accompanying the curry in the photograph?
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
It’s a blend of forbidden rice, black quinoa, and black lentils that’s made by Village Harvest Organics.
Hope you enjoy!
Question: If I am using a pre-made ginger paste in lieu of fresh ginger, do you know how many tbsp equals 1 inch of fresh grated ginger?
Hi Avery, I’d go with about a teaspoon of the ginger paste for this recipe.
Per the web and how I made it 1 inch equals one tablespoon. I added a bit of water when adding the ginger powder
Hi, Shannon! I’m going to make this recipe tomorrow and am beyond excited to experience the pungent aroma from the chickpea curry dissipating throughout my household. I have a question in regards to the serving size: does 1/4 of the recipe equate to one cup per person? Thank you in advance for my tastebuds eagerly awaiting a trial of your enticing creation. 🙂
I don’t have a precise volume measurement for the serving – depends on some factors including how much liquid evaporates. If the precise portion size is important to you then I recommend weighing the whole thing and divvying it out that way. Otherwise, just eyeball a quarter of it 🙂
Hello,
I would like to make this for vegan guests over Christmas, but can I make it beforehand and freeze it?
Hi Sara, this recipe should freeze beautifully. I’d go easy on the salt and acid when you initially cook it, and then later when you reheat it, season it to taste again.
As a Vegan I try to look for creative new tastes for my legume protein. I actually posted this recipe to my FB page!! It was ABSOLUTELY delicious!! Literally the BEST I’ve had!! I added yellow curry and green curry as a modification. My only suggestion is to double or triple (for a family) the recipe for leftovers!!!
I never comment on these page but my NYE resolution has been to cook more curries so I found this one. Absolutely LOVED it! Thanks so much
I made this for my family and they loved it! Super easy recipe and very flavorful. Thanks for sharing!
Great recipe! I was going through my “bean stash” and noticed I am over supplied with garbanzos. I’ve added this to my meal plan for the week. Can’t wait to try it!
I ran out of tomatoes from my last dish. Can I use crushed tomatoes for a similar result?
Yep! Canned tomatoes have a more concentrated flavor and more acidity, so reduce the quantity by about 25% for best results.
Lovely flavour, and great to have a recipe I can make with ingredients I keep on hand.
Great way to do chickpeas. Thank you. I added a teaspoon of mustard seeds to the oil and let them crackle before adding the onion. The dish is sensational.
Wow! 5 stars! My kids, 2 and 4, asked for seconds! And so easy to make – will definitely add this to my regular list of recipes.
This was incredibly delicious!! Thanks for posting such a tasty, healthy and easy to prepare meal
Recipe was easy-to-follow, simple, and ultimately yielded a tasty result. One modification I made was (before adding the coconut milk and chickpeas) I lightly blended the tomatoes and onions into a paste so that the consistency of the final product was smoother. I’m sure it’s equally good either way but that is a tip straight from my Pakistani mother to you all!
Thanks for the idea Salma!
Really, really good stuff. Made this tonight in about 30 minutes. Fun and easy to make. I’m a big guy, so I ate about half the pot with some jasmine rice. Really looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow. Tha is for posting such a great recipe.
Just made this for dinner – sooo good and simple to make!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’ve made this twice now – everyone in the house loves it. Added fresh chillies the second time around 🙂
Can I use canned chickpeas? Also can I use white onions instead of the red onions?
Yes – I used canned chickpeas myself and you can interchange the onion if you’d like.
Made this wonderful coconut curry today and it’s absolutely amazing💜
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe🙏🏽
First time making it — and made a triple batch. Big success all the way around. I will look forward to trying to variations. Made it in the Instapot — briefly sautéed tomatoes and onion but then just dumped everything else in (except lime and cilantro) and cooked at high pressure for 25 minutes.