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.
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
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
Nutrition
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).
Leigh says
Hi Shannon, I cooked this for supper last night and it was a resounding success! Cannot wait to make it again! The combination of spices (together with a pinch of chilli powder for those who like a bit of heat!) was what made it extraordinary. Thank you for a simple, easy and totally delicious recipe.
tes says
Just made this!! how delicious!! as i was cooking and tasting i added more of each spice to make it spicier and it turned out PERFECT!! This will for sure be my lunch probably for the next two days. yay no cooking.
Baz says
A simple great tasting curry – fam loved it. Great on an australian cold day Thx so much for sharing ur recipe
Peggy O’Connell says
I made this dish for dinner tonight! It was scrumptious!! I loved it and will make it time and time again!
Jill says
Delicious recipe, I made it last night and it turned out really well. I found a recipe for pumpkin curry that is really good and totally vegan incase anyone needs some new curry recipes to try out!
Chellie DeVries says
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.
Mary Watkins says
Made this wonderful coconut curry today and it’s absolutely amazing💜
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe🙏🏽
Dee says
Can I use canned chickpeas? Also can I use white onions instead of the red onions?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Yes – I used canned chickpeas myself and you can interchange the onion if you’d like.
Kris says
I’ve made this twice now – everyone in the house loves it. Added fresh chillies the second time around 🙂
Justeen Hartigan says
Just made this for dinner – sooo good and simple to make!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yosemite Sam says
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.
Salma Q says
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!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks for the idea Salma!
Monica says
This was incredibly delicious!! Thanks for posting such a tasty, healthy and easy to prepare meal
Cynthia says
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.
William Laws says
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.
Michelle says
Lovely flavour, and great to have a recipe I can make with ingredients I keep on hand.
Tiffanie says
I ran out of tomatoes from my last dish. Can I use crushed tomatoes for a similar result?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Yep! Canned tomatoes have a more concentrated flavor and more acidity, so reduce the quantity by about 25% for best results.
Lydia from Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen says
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!
Emily says
I made this for my family and they loved it! Super easy recipe and very flavorful. Thanks for sharing!
Amelia Jane Benson says
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
Rachel Gavish says
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!!!
Sara says
Hello,
I would like to make this for vegan guests over Christmas, but can I make it beforehand and freeze it?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
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.
Andrea says
I’d love to know… Did this freeze okay?? Thanks
Sam says
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. 🙂
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
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 🙂
Avery says
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?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Avery, I’d go with about a teaspoon of the ginger paste for this recipe.
Rachel Gavish says
Per the web and how I made it 1 inch equals one tablespoon. I added a bit of water when adding the ginger powder
Alejandra says
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.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
It’s a blend of forbidden rice, black quinoa, and black lentils that’s made by Village Harvest Organics.
Hope you enjoy!
Jen says
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!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
So glad to hear it!! Thanks for sharing.
Jenny says
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
Kara says
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.
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says
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.
Jennifer Bliss says
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!