This vegan chickpea curry brings together canned chickpeas, fire-roasted tomatoes, coconut milk and fresh spinach in a simple stovetop dinner. Fresh ginger, garlic and curry powder flavor the sauce, and the spinach goes in at the end. Serve it over rice or quinoa.
Canned chickpeas. Coconut sauce. Spinach stirred in at the end.
Real Talk
This is a stovetop curry. Cook the rice or quinoa separately, then serve it alongside or underneath the curry.
Why This Recipe Works
- Canned chickpeas keep the preparation simple. They are already cooked, so the simmer develops the sauce rather than cooking dried beans.
- Tomatoes and coconut milk make the sauce. The fire-roasted tomatoes bring a roasted flavor, while the coconut milk gives the curry its creamy character.
- The spinach goes in last. Stirring it into the hot curry at the end wilts the leaves without giving them the full simmer.
Ingredients
Curry
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 medium onion, diced (about ½ cup)
- 1½ inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 14.5 oz. fire-roasted petite diced tomatoes, drained for a thicker sauce or undrained for a thinner sauce
- 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
- 15.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 8 oz. fresh baby spinach
- Black pepper, to taste
Ingredient Notes
The full quantities are in the recipe card below. Start with these ingredient forms so the method makes sense.
- Chickpeas: Use a drained 15.5-ounce can. You can also use about 1½ cups of chickpeas that have already been cooked from dried beans.
- Fire-roasted petite diced tomatoes: Drain the 14.5-ounce can for a thicker sauce, or include the juices for a thinner sauce. Both choices are part of this recipe.
- Coconut milk: The recipe calls for a 13.5-ounce can of coconut milk. Choose unsweetened coconut milk intended for cooking. Sweetened cream of coconut is a different product. Some cooking coconut milks come in cartons, so read the product label rather than relying on packaging alone.
- Curry powder: I usually keep Jamaican-style curry powder in my pantry and use it here. Use a blend whose flavor and heat you enjoy. The recipe calls for curry powder, rather than a curry paste.
- Onion, fresh ginger and garlic: These are cooked before the sauce ingredients are added. Peel and grate the fresh ginger, dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Fresh baby spinach: Stir in the full 8 ounces after turning off the heat, and mix until wilted.
- Oil: Use grapeseed oil, olive oil or another mild-flavored oil.
Choose the Sauce Texture
Drain the tomatoes for a thicker sauce, or include their juices for a thinner sauce. Both choices are part of the recipe. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.
Watch How to Make It
How to Make Vegan Chickpea Curry
Step 1: Cook the aromatics and curry powder
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the diced onion and grated ginger, then cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the curry powder and cook until fragrant, less than 1 minute.
Step 2: Simmer the sauce with the chickpeas
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk and drained chickpeas. Drain the tomatoes first if you want the thicker version, or add their juices for the thinner version. Bring to a boil, season with the salt and black pepper, then reduce to medium-low heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.
Step 3: Wilt the spinach and serve
Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh baby spinach. Keep mixing until the leaves have wilted into the curry. Spoon into bowls and serve with rice or quinoa.
Expert Tips
- Use cooked chickpeas. The short simmer is for the sauce. Uncooked dried chickpeas need their own cooking step first.
- Watch the curry powder while it heats. It only needs the brief cooking step in the method before the wet ingredients go in.
- Choose the tomato option before you begin. Draining gives a thicker sauce; including the juices gives a thinner one.
- Cook the rice or quinoa separately. This recipe is for the curry.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow, covered containers and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until the curry reaches 165°F, stirring so it heats evenly. The USDA leftover guidelines recommend refrigerating within 2 hours, or within 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F.
FAQs
Either way works. Drained tomatoes give a thicker sauce, and tomatoes with their juices give a thinner sauce. Choose the consistency you prefer, and use that choice in the simmer step.
You can use about 1½ cups of chickpeas cooked from dried beans in place of the can. They must be cooked before being added to the curry; do not add uncooked dried chickpeas to this short simmer.
That depends mainly on the curry powder you choose. Blends vary in heat, so choose one you already like. I use Jamaican-style curry powder. Check the heat level on your blend when choosing one for this dish.
Plain fire-roasted tomatoes get their roasted flavor from the way they are prepared. Fire-roasted does not mean chili-spiced. Check the can if you are buying a version with added chilies or peppers.
No. These directions use a saucepan on the stovetop. The rice or quinoa served alongside the curry is a separate preparation.
More Plant-Based Dinners
Thai Noodle Salad with Sweet and Spicy Peanut Sauce is a warm or cold noodle meal with crisp vegetables.
Butter Bean Burgers use baby lima beans, cooked rice and oats for the patties.
Air Fryer Portobello Mushrooms make another plant-based dinner with pesto mayo.
Did you make this Vegan Chickpea Curry?
Please leave a star rating and tell me how it turned out!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chickpea Curry with Spinach and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. grape seed oil
- 1 medium onion diced (about ½ cup)
- 1.5 inches fresh ginger peeled, grated
- 1 Tbsp. garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp. curry powder
- 14.5 oz. fire roasted, petite diced tomatoes drained for a thicker sauce, or undrained for a thinner sauce
- 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
- 15.5 oz can chickpeas drained*
- 1 ½ tsp. sea salt
- 8 oz. fresh baby spinach
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion and ginger. Cook over medium-high heat until softened (about 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Then add garlic and continue cooking for about 1 minute. Add the curry powder, mix well, and cook until fragrant (less than 1 minute).
- Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and drained chickpeas. Drain the tomatoes for a thicker sauce, or include their juices for a thinner sauce. Bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and simmer over medium-low heat until slightly thickened (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally.
- Turn off heat and stir in the spinach, mixing until wilted.
- Transfer to a bowl, serve, and enjoy!
suzi
YUMMMMM~!!! I've made this sort of dish often and yours is super simple and perfect in fact. Dunked a warm flour tortilla and made a delicious mess tonite for dinner. House still smells good 6 hours later!! Thanks for sharing!!
Carole
Should the tomatoes be drained or not? The list of ingredients says they should be drained but the instructions say to add the tomatoes with their juices. Thanks!
Gary White
Either way works, Carole. Draining the tomatoes gives you a thicker sauce. Including the juices makes it thinner. Thanks for catching the conflicting directions!
Harris
I made this a few times. It is delicious! Thank you for the good recipe!!
Nance
Gonna make tonight & double the recipe cuz I no I’ll luv it but 1 ? U refer to the Tomatos & their juices in recipe but in the list of ingredients u say drained? I’m using my instapot & concerned need more liquid @ that point in recipe. Pls clarify! Your other recipes look amazing & glad Chickpea Curry got me to u! I’m still mastering my Instapot & jazzed u’ve got a bunch more IP recipes so I can keep learning!! Thanx!
Vickie
This was so delicious,! I will definitely be making this again and again. I only had 5 oz of spinach so I added 3 oz of kale from my garden and it was perfect. Thank-you for this simple but delicious recipe.
Katie LaMonte
Im so glad we found this recipe! I make it about once a week and we add ground turkey sometimes to mix it up! So delicious 😋
nancy annette
I just finished preparing this and it is a hit! I may put my own spin it next time, but it is quick, easy and good..
Gary
Glad you enjoyed it!
Barbara
I’d like to try this but I’m worried about the spice level. How spicy is this? Mild salsa is spicy to me haha! Would 1 tablespoon of curry powder still be spicy?
Gary
It will really depend on the type of curry you use, as some are more spicy than others. I actually really like Jamaican curry because it's not too spicy on its own. But if mild salsa to spicy to you, I'd try adding just 1 tablespoon. This really isn't meant to be a spicy dish, so I think you'll be okay. The coconut milk also help balance it.
Summer
Hi. What if you’re using dry beans for this recipe ? (Newbie) lol.
Chef Gary
I don't think I would use dry beans for this one. Dried chickpeas take FOREVER to cook!
Julia Paschke
I can’t wait to try this simple recipe. Could I use another oil instead of grape seed and still maintain the flavor?
Thank you!
Chef Gary
Absolutely. Olive oil (or any mild flavored oil) will work just fine. Hope you like it! Let me know what you think.
Sam
I recommend a coconut oil as a delicious substitute for grape seed oil.
Laura
My friend made this and shared it, and it was DELICIOUS. Not over spicey. I'm not a curry snob, but I like curries and this was right on target.
Katie
This recipe is my #1 go-to recipe when I need something quick and delicious! I've also brought it to several potlucks and it's always a hit!
Michele
We also are sensitive to spicey hot foods. What about the fire roasted tomatoes? Are they too spicey? Would it be better to use stewed tomatoes, or just canned tomatoes?
Gary White
Fire roasted tomatoes are not spicy at all, they are just tomatoes that have been roasted over fire.
MIchelle
Delicious and simple! I added diced potato because I had it on hand and used frozen peas instead of spinach because I didn't have fresh spinach. It made several hearty servings! Perfect for leftovers!