Chickpea curry is an easy one-pot recipe with an exquisitely rich flavor and mouthwatering creamy texture.
Tender chickpeas simmer in a velvety gravy of Indian spices, tomatoes, and coconut milk, producing a deeply satisfying, nutritious, and comforting meal.
Chickpea curry is ready in just 30 minutes. Serve it with fluffy basmati rice or warm naan bread for the perfect family dinner.
What is chickpea curry?
Chickpea curry is a bold, flavorful, and fragrant one-pot meal with warm spices and tender chickpeas hugged by a creamy and velvety tomato-coconut milk sauce.
Our recipe is inspired by Northern Indian chana masala (Punjab), where chickpeas are cooked in a spiced tomato sauce, and coastal southern Indian cooking (Goa and Kerala), where curries are enriched with creamy coconut milk.
Like our popular lentil curry, aloo gobi, cauliflower curry, and most of our Indian vegetarian recipes, you can make chickpea curry with easy-to-find ingredients in less than 30 minutes.
It’s an excellent main dish for a weeknight dinner and perfect for meal prep, as it will be even more delicious the next day.
Serve it with rice, roti, or naan for a tasty, wholesome, and deeply satisfying family meal.
How to make chickpea curry
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page. Substitutions are in the chapter below.
1. Gather your ingredients
FLAVOR BASE: You’ll need olive oil, onion, garlic, and ginger.
SPICES: You’ll need curry powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, red pepper flakes, and optionally, garam masala.
OTHER INGREDIENTS: You’ll need canned or cooked dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans), crushed or diced tomatoes, coconut milk, vegetable broth, and spinach.
SERVES WITH: basmati rice or brown rice, naan or roti, fresh cilantro, Greek-style yogurt, lemon or lime juice, and Tadka.
2. Make the flavor base
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté on medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring often.
Add grated garlic, grated ginger, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and red pepper flakes.
Stir and sauté for another minute to toast the spices and release their fragrance. If the pan gets dry, add two tablespoons of broth.
3. Simmer until creamy
Add the chickpeas drained from their liquid and stir them in the spices for one minute.
Stir in vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, and coconut milk. Season with salt and black pepper.
Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes until you reach your desired consistency. Stir occasionally.
Add the spinach and cook for two more minutes or until they wilt.
Finally, stir in the garam masala, taste it, and adjust for salt. You might want to add two teaspoons of sugar to balance the spices. That’s optional but often used in Indian cooking.
Tip: To make an Indian chickpea curry with more gravy, you have two options: 1) add more coconut milk, or 2) add more vegetable broth. In this case, you’ll get a thinner gravy.
Tip: To thicken chickpea curry, let it simmer for a few more minutes until some liquid evaporates.
Serving suggestions
You can serve chickpea curry with brown or basmati rice, cauliflower rice, naan, or roti.
For toppings, we recommend a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, fresh cilantro or finely sliced scallions, and a dollop of Greek-style yogurt.
Optionally, you can drizzle with some quick homemade Tadka, a spiced Indian chili oil.
Substitutions for chickpea curry
CHICKPEAS: You can substitute red lentils to make lentil curry or yellow lentils to make dal.
SPINACH: You can substitute other vegetables for spinach. Try vegetable curry, pumpkin curry, potato curry, cauliflower curry, sweet potato curry, and eggplant curry.
OLIVE OIL: You can substitute coconut oil, mustard oil, or another neutral vegetable oil.
SPICES: They are available in most grocery stores and online. They last a couple of years in your pantry, and we use the same spices in many other recipes.
You can substitute red pepper flakes for chili powder, cayenne pepper, or thinly sliced red chili.
Garam masala is optional and can be left out, or you can replace it with 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Other Indian spices you can add are a pinch of curry leaves, 1/8 teaspoon of kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves, 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, and the tip of a knife (very little) hing or asafoetida.
TOMATOES: Substitute diced tomatoes or tomato puree for crushed tomatoes. If you prefer using fresh tomatoes, chop ripe vine tomatoes into small dice and cook them in the spices for 5 minutes before adding the chickpeas.
VEGETABLE BROTH: You can substitute water for vegetable broth.
COCONUT MILK: You can substitute light coconut milk or heavy cream.
SUGAR: Optional. You can use white or brown sugar. Palm and coconut sugar work, too.
Storage
Make ahead: Chickpea curry is an excellent meal prep recipe. It keeps well for several days and gets more flavorful as it sits in the fridge. The curry will thicken on the second day, so reheat it with a splash of water.
Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Let the curry cool completely, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge for several hours or in the microwave.
Reheat: Warm the curry in a saucepan or microwave with some water.
Similar recipes
CHICKPEA RECIPES: Chickpea stew, chickpea salad, chickpea fritters, curry chickpea salad, Moroccan chickpea stew, pasta e ceci, chickpea soup, and roasted chickpeas.
For more chickpea ideas, check out our compilation of 40+ chickpea recipes.
INDIAN RECIPES: Chana saag, chana masala, lentil curry, curry lentil soup, vegan butter chicken, vegan curry, navratan korma, eggplant curry, sweet potato curry, moong dal, mung bean soup, and chana dal.
For more Indian-inspired meals, check out our compilation of 30+ vegetarian Indian recipes.
Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas or 4½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 cups vegetable stock add more if you want a thinner curry
- 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
- 4 cups spinach optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 twists black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons sugar optional, to balance the spices
Serve it with
- 1 squeeze of lemon + basmati rice or naan, fresh cilantro, and a dollop of yogurt
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add 1 large onion (chopped) and sauté on medium-low heat for 4 minutes, stirring often.Add 3 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger (both grated), 2 teaspoons curry powder, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes.Stir and sauté for another minute to toast the spices. If the pan gets dry, add two tablespoons of broth.
- Add 3 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas drained from their liquid and stir them in the spices for one minute.Stir in 2 cups vegetable stock, 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes, and 1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 2 twists black pepper.
- Simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes until you reach your desired consistency. Stir occasionally.Add 4 cups spinach and cook for two more minutes or until they wilt.Finally, stir in 1 teaspoon garam masala, then taste and adjust for salt.You might want to add 2 teaspoons sugar to balance the spices.
- You can serve chickpea curry with brown or basmati rice, naan, or roti.For toppings, we recommend a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, fresh cilantro or finely sliced scallions, and a dollop of Greek-style yogurt.
Video
Absolutely delicious and tasted even better the next day. The batch I made didn’t last very long 😋
We loved this! Left out the red pepper flakes because we didn’t want it to be too spicy for our 8 & 9 year old and left out the sugar since we didn’t add the red pepper. We look forward to making it again and trying some of the optional ingredients. 😋
We loved this! Left out the red pepper flakes because we didn’t want it to be too spicy for our 8 & 9 year old and left out the sugar since we didn’t add the red pepper. We look forward to making it again and trying some of the optional ingredients. 😋
I have made this recipe three times now! Each time was a hit! I made it for two family functions and the last time was because there were no leftovers and wanted to make more for meal prep the following week before I left town lol. I hadn’t read any comments prior to now, but looks like many did the same as I and increased the spices (except the red pepper flakes). This recipe is going on a permanent rotation in my meal prep plans!! Thanks so much!!