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!
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.
MY LATEST VIDEOSI 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 Video
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.
Made this yesterday for supper, and just finished the leftovers. So delicious! Already looking forward to making it again. I used garlic powder, ground ginger, and dried cilantro as I live in northern Labrador and you just can’t get those things fresh here. It worked perfectly!
I rarely ever comment on anything, but I absolutely had too with this recipe. It’s incredible!. So flavorful and you’re absolutely right about the need for tomato’s within the recipe, that tang and acidity along with the fresh lime really lifts this dish to another level. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Thanks for your sweet comment! Glad you enjoyed it.
This was absolutely delish! Loved it! I didn’t have a red onion so I used 2 leeks I had in the fridge. Tasted fabulous- even my non-vegan hubby devoured it!
This recipe was so delicious! My 3 year old and 15 month old gobbled up every last morsel served with quinoa! Yum. I’ve done so many curries in my life but for some reason this has been the absolute best. I added cubed sweet potatoes and peas along with the chickpeas and omitted the cayenne pepper due to children eating.
AMAZING, thank you!
Hi Shannon
I noticed you used the term èspice crewè in this recipe. It assume it is just a play on words meaning that you are adding all the spices together, is that right.
Thanks for your web site. Am jsut making the coconut curry tonight and look forward to trying other vegan recipes you post.
All the best.
Yes, exactly, just being playful with words there. Hope you enjoy!
Why is the Saturated Fat 80% of your daily value?!
It’s because of the coconut oil and coconut milk. Any dish with these ingredients will be high in saturated fat. I’m not sure what benchmark is being used for daily value in these nutrition facts, so I would recommend looking at the grams of fat and determining your own target amounts. You can reduce it a little bit by using vegetable oil instead of coconut oil.
Fantastic dish! The addition of cauliflower really added another dimension as well as bulking up the meal nicely.
I made it and it was very flavorful. I added some frozen peas otherwise I followed your recipe exactly. I’m a wimp with spicy food so I didn’t add the cayenne pepper. My husband sprinkled some Red Hot on his serving and thought it really enhanced it. I will be making this again. Thanks! And Well Dine!
Delicious and easy to make. I substituted light coconut mild for full fat but don’t feel like anything was missing. I garnished with some toasted cashews and avocado…definitely a winner!
Hi,
Can you freeze this?
Thanks
Yes, this recipe freezes well.
Easy to follow!
Great way to use chickpeas. I just made this recipe. It’s love at first taste. I will make this recipe again.
This recipe was ok. We’re huge fans of avial, so were really looking forward to it. The recipe came out more like thoran. I used dried coconut with a Vitamix. Even after adding extra water and letting it sit, I couldn’t get it to blend up smooth. I added it anyway and flavorwise it is good, just not the creamy avial we are used to.
Edna, it sounds like this issue is related to the changes you made, since the recipe doesn’t call for dried coconut. I’m familiar with neither thoran no avial so cannot make claims about their similarity. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor.
I mixed it up a little and added about a tablespoon of hot curry paste when it reached the simmer stage. This kicked the heat up a bit. In fact, it worked perfectly. My wife didn’t like the heat, so i got it all! Yes, I made her one to her liking, following this recipe exactly, and she loved it.
I’ve been making this weekly for my family (and friends!) for the past two months. My husband doesn’t typically appreciate meatless dishes, but this one blows him away every time. Penzey’s Garam Masala blend is perfection in this recipe.
Made this. Definitely a keeper!
This is simple, quick, and delicious! I did learn the hard way not to stand over the pan after adding the spices. The fumes were like mace! I started coughing from breathing it in. I will definitely be making this again, but will be careful when cooking it.
This is delicious. I added cauliflower, baby spinach and a teaspoon of cumin. Such a tasty curry and the line juice finishes it perfectly. I’m looking forward to leftovers for dinner tonight
OMG! This was absolutely delicious! It has a bold fresh taste. I will definitely cook again. I’m not a big chickpeas person, but this was excellent!
Absolutely delicious and so easy with ingredients I had on hand. I added some greens to wilt at the end, but otherwise this is heavenly! Thank you!
I just made this chickpeas recipe the smell/aroma is so atracting. Will taste tonight with family for dinner, thanks it is very easy to make no complications.
This is AMAZING! Great recipe, my favourite vegan recipe yet❤️