Chickpea curry, one of my all-time favorite chickpea recipes. It's so creamy, flavorful, nutritious, easy, and ready in just 30 minutes.
This chickpea curry is the easiest and simplest recipe you can make. It requires easy-to-find ingredients you can get at any supermarket, and it's so nutritious you could eat it every day!
It is delicious just by itself, as it has a lot of flavors, but I like to eat it with some carbs, like Basmati rice (any other rice will work too), or pita or naan bread. I also like to serve it with more veggies on the side to get a balanced meal.
Besides, this chickpea curry recipe is easily customizable with your favorite spices and herbs. I usually add some fresh cilantro or parsley, although any other fresh herb will do. Go ahead and add anything you have on hand!
Chickpea curry, affordable, delicious, and creamy. It's made with simple ingredients and it's so flavorful and easy to prepare. To make it you only need 30 minutes!
How to make chickpea curry - Step by step
- Heat the oil in a large pot (photo 1) and cook the garlic, onion, and ginger over medium-high heat for 5 to 10 minutes (photo 2), stirring occasionally.
- Add the spices (photo 3), stir, and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, coconut milk, tomato paste, and salt (photo 4). Stir and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the stove, add the lime juice and coconut flour (photo 5), stir and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving (photo 6).
- Serve your chickpea curry immediately.
Pro tips
- If you don't eat oil, just use some water or vegetable stock instead.
- You can also use 1 and ½ cups of cooked garbanzo beans (250 g) instead of the can of chickpeas.
- Feel free to customize your chickpea curry recipe with any veggies and spices you have on hand.
- I'd use fresh garlic and onion, although garlic and onion powder are also good options.
- Ground coriander is optional; if you can't find it, just omit it.
- You can also replace red pepper flakes for cayenne powder, jalapeños, fresh chilies, or anything you want to make your curry spicy. If you're not into spicy food, omit this ingredient.
- Use some tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, or even fresh tomatoes if you can't find tomato paste. If you use fresh tomatoes, just chop them and cook them with the other veggies.
- You can replace the lime juice with lemon juice.
- Coconut flour is a great way to make your curry creamier and thicker, but it's totally optional.
Can I freeze this chickpea curry?
Yes, you can! Just let it cool, incorporate it into a freezer-friendly container, and put it in the freezer. I suggest you freeze it in individual portions so it's easier to defrost.
To thaw, transfer it into the fridge overnight and reheat it in a pot or saucepan over medium heat. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How long will this chickpea curry keep?
As it's made with natural ingredients, remember to keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and it will last for 5-7 days.
Can I make chickpea curry without coconut milk?
Yes! If you don't like coconut milk, feel free to add any other kind of milk, although I suggest you use full-fat plant milk so the chickpea curry has a better texture.
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Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- ½ onion, chopped
- 1-inch piece of ginger root, about 2.5 cm, chopped
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander, optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (see notes)
- 1 14-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice, optional
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot and cook the garlic, onion, and ginger over medium-high heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
- Add the spices (curry, cumin, turmeric, coriander, black pepper, and red pepper flakes), stir, and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, coconut milk, tomato paste, and salt. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the stove, add the lime juice and coconut flour, stir and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve immediately (I added some chopped, fresh cilantro on top) with some Basmati rice, naan or pita bread, and some more veggies on the side.
- Keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
- If you don’t eat oil, just use some water or vegetable stock instead.
- You can also use 1 and ½ cups of cooked chickpeas (250 g) instead of the can of chickpeas.
- Feel free to use any veggies and spices you have on hand.
- I'd use fresh garlic and onion, although garlic and onion powder are also good options.
- Ground coriander is optional; if you can't find it, just omit it.
- You can also replace red pepper flakes for cayenne powder, jalapeños, fresh chilies, or anything you want to make your curry spicy. If you're not into spicy food, omit this ingredient.
- Use some tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, or even fresh tomatoes if you can't find tomato paste. If you use fresh tomatoes, just chop them and cook them with the other veggies.
- You can replace the lime juice with lemon juice.
- Coconut flour is a great way to make your curry creamier and thicker, but it's totally optional.
- If you don’t like coconut milk, feel free to add any other kind of milk, although I suggest you use full-fat plant milk so the chickpea curry has a better texture.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in March of 2019, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in February of 2022.
Van says
Loved the recipe, added the coconut flour with the spices to toast, so delicious even my pickiest eater enjoyed it. Very comforting, creamy, savory, a good bite and lots of warm. Thanks so much!
Iosune Robles says
Hello Van, thanks for your words 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Neena says
Hi, I wanted to try something different .So I made this recipe yesterday. Wow...it was heavenly. I do make chickpea curries but never made using coconut milk. I loved the taste. Thank you so much.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Neena! It is great you liked the recipe!!!! Have a great day!
Debbie says
Hi Iosune!
I made this recently, its amazing. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes.
Allison says
I made this for my family and they both kids liked it. I doubled most ingredients except the spices (1.5x the amount) and added small cauliflower florets. I used Kashmiri pepper (not pepper flakes) and Penzey’s Sweet Curry Powder so it wasn’t too spicy.
Will be making this again by request.
Iosune says
Hi Allison! So glad you and your family enjoyed it 🙂
Violet says
I love this recipe! I just made it tonight and it was super delicious and easy to make.
Iosune says
Hi Violet! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Chelsea Gravelyn says
This was delicious! Very creamy and just the right amount of spice. We served it with some brown rice, sautéed broccoli and naan. Our picky two year old even tried a bite. One bite is better than nothing, right? 😂 thank you so much for this recipe!
Iosune says
Hola Chelsea! Sounds so good 🙂 Hahaha, yes, it's something!
Celia says
Just made this tonight and it was really simple and delicious, thank you!
Iosune says
Hi Celia! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Lucy Williams says
I love curries and I am anxious to try this delicious, yet easy curry. My quiestion is, when you say "curry powder", what type of curry powder do you use? There are so many different curry powders. Garam Masala curry powder is one of my fav. but I want to make sure it is ok to use. Thanks for all of your great ideas and tips.
Iosune says
Hi Lucy! Any curry powder will do 🙂 You're so welcome!
Camryn says
Made this tonight and it was beyond delicious! I added sweet peppers to the onions at the beginning, and then stirred in steamed broccoli right at the end of the cooking process and it made a nice hearty meal! I will definitely make this again, it was so easy and so delicious!
Iosune says
Hi Camryn! Thanks a lot 🙂 Sounds amazing!
JANN STRUBE says
I just made the recipe. It is fantastic. Even guest worthy.
Iosune says
Hi Jann! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
UmAli says
Yummy!!! Everyone loved it. Thank you
Iosune says
Hi Umali! Thanks a lot 🙂 SO glad you loved it!
Curt Ackley says
This was yummy! I took a pic but don’t have Instagram. Anyway we added green peas for color and a pop of flavor!
Iosune says
Hi Curt! Sounds great 😉 So glad you liked it!