Last updated on January 31st, 2021 at 08:28 am
This vegan chickpea and spinach curry is healthy, hearty and quick to make. Perfect for mid-week meals or meal-prep. Simply throw the ingredients in a pot and walk-away.
The resulting curry is full-bodied and loaded with gorgeous spiced flavours. Serve it with some homemade vegan naan for the perfect comfort meal.
Served with rice, quinoa or homemade naan and pudina chutney, this curry will easily feed a family with leftovers for tomorrow.
Why We Love Thie
This chickpea and spinach curry is a great one to have in the back pocket. I often find myself throwing it together mid-week when things start to get a little hectic and my time management skills fail. It is:
- Quick - 10 minutes prep + 30 minutes cook time
- Made from easily found ingredients - most of which you'll probably have in your kitchen already
- Naturally gluten-free
- A good source of iron with chickpeas. Vitamin C - rich tomatoes help with iron absorption
- So easy to make and
- Freezable!
Did I mention the walk-away part? A few minutes of stirring and you are good to just walk away while it does its thing.
Ingredients & Substitutions
While there are a few spices in this chickpea and spinach curry, they are all pretty common - you probably have them in the pantry already! The rest of the ingredients are kitchen staples.
Canned or dried chickpeas: I most often use canned organic chickpeas but if you prefer you can use dry chickpeas you've cooked from scratch.
Canned or fresh tomatoes: I like to add chopped fresh tomatoes but I've used canned chopped tomatoes in a pinch. You can also use regular tomatoes - you'll need around 3. Either will work although the canned may produce a slightly more acidic taste depending on the brand.
Spinach: You can add pretty much any leafy green you like here.
Recipe Instructions Step-By-Step
Steps 1 and 2: Melt oil in a heavy-based pot over medium heat and add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and tomatoes.
Steps 3 and 4: Stir in the spices, ginger, tomato paste and sea salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Steps 5 and 6: Add the chickpeas, coconut milk and vegetable stock and bring the mixture up to a boil.
Steps 7 and 8: Reduce the heat to low and cook with the pot lid off until the sauce is thick and creamy. Stir in the baby spinach and allow it to wilt gently. Remove from the heat.
Step 9: You're done. Serve with rice or quinoa, naan or both!
Want to Use Dried Chickpeas? Here's How.
- Wash 2 cups of dried chickpeas and pick out the gnarly brown ones.
- Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with cold water making sure you cover them by several inches of water to allow for expansion. Add 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth to soak overnight and expand.
- The next day drain and rinse the chickpeas in cold water.
- To cook your soaked beans, place them in a large pot and cover with several inches of water - about 1 litre (approx 1 quart) of water per cup of soaked beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Add salt if you like - a good amount is around an eighth of a teaspoon for each cup of chickpeas.
- Cook at a simmer for 60-90 minutes until desired tenderness.
- If you don't have time to soak your chickpeas overnight you can quick soak them. Cover the dried beans with cold water by several inches in a large pot. Place the pot over medium to high heat on the stove and bring it up to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and allow the chickpeas to sit in the hot water for 1 hour.
- Drain the beans before using.
What To Serve with Your Chickpea Curry
- Serve your curry with steamed Basmati recipe or for healthier alternative cook a batch of quinoa.
- Try it with some homemade vegan naan
- Simply a squeeze of lime and a spoon!
Recipe FAQs
Chickpeas are a great source of fibre which helps make us feel fuller for longer. They are also a good source of protein. Adding spinach to your chickpea curry provides iron while adding tomatoes, which contain Vitamin C, helps our body absorb that iron more easily. While coconut milk is high in fat, you can reduce the amount and simply substitute it with more stock or water.
Totally. I've used a 400 gram (14 oz) tin of chopped tomatoes in this recipe and it turned out great. The flavour is slightly more acidic but it's hardly noticeable.
The curry will keep well for 3-4 days in a sealed container in a fridge.
Yes. After cooking the curry allow it to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-proof container. Label the container with the name of the curry and the date you made it and store in the freezer safely for up to 3 months.
On its own, you'll get 4 good bowls but it will easily stretch to 6 serves with rice or quinoa.
If you like this curry, you might like to check out these quick and easy meals:
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Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 large onion or 2 regular (optional for a thicker sauce) finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 400 grams cherry tomatoes, halved approx 2 punnets
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt plus more to taste
- ½ tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 480 grams cooked chickpeas cooked or 2 cans (drained)
- 400 ml coconut milk 1 can
- 200 ml vegetable stock ½ can
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 3 cups cooked quinoa or rice to serve optional
- chilli flakes or sliced green chillies to serve optional
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in a heavy-based pot over medium heat and add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes or until soft.
- Add the garlic and tomatoes.
- Stir in the garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, ginger, tomato paste and sea salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and stir through to coat. Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock and bring the mixture up to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook with the pot lid off for approximately 40 minutes or until the sauce is thick and creamy. Stir in the baby spinach and allow it to wilt gently.
- Remove the curry from the heat and serve with a smattering of chilli flakes or chillies and cooked rice or quinoa.
I’ve been making this recipe on a weekly basis for some time now, so time I wrote a review. This is a family favourite and e we eagerly await chickpea curry night. Put it with some flat breads or pappadams and the whole family is happy. Thanks!
Awesome Anton. Thanks so much for leaving a comment. This is one of our favourites too. 🙂
This is such a lovely dish! I cannot believe I have only just discovered you. Today I have made this and your creamy 3 ingredient Zucchini Soup, 2 meals ready to go for a busy week. Both are lovely and quick and practical with easy to find ingredients. Thank you so much 🙂
Oh, I love this Catherine. I am glad you found me too! If you have any questions or ideas, please always feel free to reach out. 🙂
Do you think some butternut squash added to the mix would be good ?
Totally, Mallory! I've had some Pinterest friends add squash to the recipe and it looks delicious. Cut it in to cubes and cook it with the rest of the recipe. 🙂
I have made this recipe several times and it is delicious. A keeper! Thanks for sharing. I am making it again this evening but I have some ground turkey that needs to be eaten going to throw that into the mix and see if everyone still loves it with meat.
That's the beauty of recipes, you can take them and make them your own. x