Creamy and Delicious! Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry
This is a delicious and creamy coconut chickpea curry that you’ll want to eat with family and friends time and time again.
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Growing up in the nineties and naughties Britain, the curry was (and still is) an insanely popular dish.
An estimated 12,000 curry houses sprang up around the UK and some of my absolute favourite curries were even invented in Britain (I’m looking at you tikka masala).
In case you haven’t guessed, I really, really like Indian food, especially curry.
But what I’ve come to realise in the middle of a curry craving isn’t that I miss the chicken in a korma or the lamb in a vindaloo – not at all.
The meat itself was never important but it’s rather the meal itself as a whole.
The creamy sauce, the exotic spices and the crunchy poppadoms all combine together to make one of the world’s favourite meals.
As long as you get the sauce and rice right, you’re on to a winner.
Which is where this curry came from. I can’t take the credit – Kat’s fair hand is all over this chickpea curry recipe.
Not only does it do away with meat, but it’s vegan too! Swapping out the milk and cream for a soy or nut-based variety is easy as veggie pie.
Using chickpeas as the main bulk of the meal creates a lovely texture and provides us with a filling boost of fibre and iron.
If you’re looking for inspiration follow this link to find more vegetarian recipes like this one.
So what makes our vegan chickpea curry so special you ask?
Let’s take a look at what’s in this healthy one-pot meal.
Ingredients
This is a simple meal with a cooking time of under 30 minutes!
Base
To start any good vegan chickpea curry you need to make a base, but I’m not using gluten-filled rues or anti-vegan ingredients like ghee.
Instead, I chose to use simple and healthy ingredients that will give us a great base for our curry.
Onions and garlic are going to give so much flavour and don’t get me started on the curry paste. I chose a paste as the flavour is more concentrated than what you’d get from a curry powder.
It’s also going to give great colour to the dish.
You can choose to add more than what the recipe suggests depending on how hot you like it.
To finish off the base of this vegan curry I am adding a can of coconut milk. It’s vegan, creamy and creates a delicious curry sauce when combined with the paste.
Bulk
To bulk out this meal and keep you feeling full, I used two key ingredients. First of all, I added a can of chickpeas to the sauce. They’re going to give a great texture and they have a nice bite too.
The second ingredient is rice. I chose basmati rice, however, you can serve it with whatever rice you have in your store cupboard.
Rice is filling, healthy and gluten-free which makes it a great accompaniment to this dish.
Finishings
To finish this recipe off, as if it couldn’t get any better, I added chopped fresh tomatoes. You know the kind that tastes like a sunbeam burst in your mouth? Throw them in.
Then add some basil, it gives a great pop of colour next to the tomatoes.
And finally, to really make this curry taste out of this world I added a combination of lime juice for zing, soy sauce for the umami tang, and maple syrup for that sweet balance.
There you have it, a top recipe that you will want to make way more than once!
How many calories are in coconut milk chickpea curry?
I love it when comfort food is also really healthy it makes my taste buds even happier!
In this dish there are 465 calories which is an ideal amount for a well-balanced meal.
There is also 13 grams of protein.
Here are the other nutritional facts about this tasty weeknight dinner:
Health benefits
Although traditionally curries may be viewed as unhealthy junk food a recipe such as this one can is actually be really healthy.
In particular, curry paste provides some top health benefits which come from the various Indian spices.
These include memory-boosting, anti-inflammatory and fat-loss properties.
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are high in fibre so eating meals containing them is a great way to help you feel fuller for longer.
They also contain high levels of plant protein so they make the perfect animal protein alternative for vegans and veggies like us!
As this meal is higher in protein than some, my delicious coconut chickpea curry can help you not only reach your protein goals but in turn, it may help you towards losing weight or gaining muscles depending on what journey you’re on.
If you’d like more high-protein meal inspiration make sure to download your free 7-day high-protein meal plan, and if you love it we also do a recurrent weekly high-protein plan too to keep the ideas flowing.
In fact, if you’re struggling with losing the pounds you might find this article on how to break your weight-loss plateau useful.
How to make curry with chickpeas?
This recipe is super simple to make especially as you can easily find all the fresh ingredients in the grocery stores.
Total Time: 25 minutes
Prep time
To start with cook the rice according to the instructions on the packet. Chop the onions, garlic, basil and juice the lime.
Cook time
Fry the onions in oil over medium-low heat in a large saucepan until they start to turn clear. Add the garlic, fry for a further minute.
Add 1 teaspoon of curry paste, and the creamy coconutmilk, and stir well. Add salt and taste test – you can choose how much flavor you’d like. If you’d like it a little stronger then add another teaspoon of curry paste.
Add drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (and optional fave veg), and bring the curry to a boil. If it burns though, be sure to reduce the heat.
To finish
Add the chopped tomatoes, basil, lime juice, soy sauce and gently simmer the curry. Taste test again, and if desired add a second tablespoon of soy sauce and then the syrup. Stir again. Serve and enjoy!
Top tip!
To make it gluten-free use GF soy sauce or you can leave the soy sauce out altogether.
Chickpea coconut curry FAQs
If you’ve got questions about chickpea curry it’s a good thing we have the answers!
You can store my chickpea curry in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat place in a microwave-safe bowl and warm until heated throughout (It also tastes better the next day too).
I served my chickpea curry with rice, but you could serve it with extra veg or even some naan bread (or of course vegan naan bread).
You could make this chickpea curry ahead of time and reheat it later or if you make it in a slow cooker you could keep it warm in there too.
The key ingredient to making any curry nice and creamy in any restaurant is definitely the canned coconut milk.
Coconut milk is preferred to other dairy and non-dairy milk alternatives in curry as it is rich and creamy. It helps to give a thicker sauce and carry the flavour of the spices in the dish.
As it is made from cocount, coconut milk is a healthy, non-dairy alternative to milk and works great in creating a creamy curry sauce.
It also comes in a light version if you want to reduce the overall calories of the dish.
Recipe variations
There are a couple of delicious ways you could tweak this recipe next time:
- Extra veg: Add extra vegetables to the curry, how about some sweet potatoes, baby spinach or cauliflower?
- Different spices: How about trying a Thai red curry paste (or even green) to change up the variety of spices?
- Low carb: To keep those carbs down swap out the basmati rice with cauliflower rice.
More recipes like this
If you enjoyed this meal take a look at these ones below:
- Easy Vegan Cauliflower Curry
- Amazing Aubergine Curry
- Marvellous Mango Curry
- And if that’s not enough try these 21 Incredible Vegetarian Curry Recipes
Ingredients
- ½ cup basmati rice
- 1 cup water
- 2 pinch salt
- 2 onions
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 clove garlic
- ½ lime
- 1-2 tsp curry paste (your favourite or a Tikka Masala curry paste would work great as well)
- 1 can low fat coconut milk (1 can = 1.5 cups = 375ml) (use regular if you prefer the taste!)
- 1 can chickpeas (1 can = 15oz = 435g)
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce (try one tbsp first, add another if required)
- 2-3 medium tomato (or handful cherry tomatoes, chopped. The sweeter the better ;))
- 1 cup basil, fresh
- 1 tsp maple syrup (sugar is fine too)
Optional:
- ½ cup sugar snap peas (any green veg you like)
Instructions
- Add the rice, water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Keep an eye on the rice – when the water is boiling put a lid on it, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 8-10 mins (or as per packet instructions).½ cup basmati rice, 1 cup water, 2 pinch salt
- While this is happening chop the onions, garlic, basil and juice the lime.2 onions, 3 clove garlic, 1 cup basil, fresh, ½ lime
- Put the oil and onions into a large pan and cook on a low-medium heat until the onions start to soften and turn clear, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic for a further 1 minute.1 tbsp olive oil
- Add curry paste and the milk, stirring until the curry is dissolved. Add a pinch of salt. Taste test – if you’d like your curry a little stronger then add another tsp.1-2 tsp curry paste, 1 can low fat coconut milk
- Throw in the drained and rinsed chickpeas. If using sugar snap peas (or other green veg), add them now too. Cook on a medium heat for around 5 minutes, bringing the curry to a boil. If it starts to burn, reduce heat immediately.1 can chickpeas, ½ cup sugar snap peas
- Add the chopped tomatoes, chopped basil, lime juice, soy sauce and gently simmer the curry for another 2 minutes.2-3 medium tomato, 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
- Taste test again, and if desired add a another tbsp soy sauce and the syrup or brown sugar. Give it another stir.1 tsp maple syrup
- The rice should be done by now too – fork it through to make it fluffy.
- Serve the curry and rice together with papadoms and naan bread as optional sides.
NOTES
Nutrition
There you have it a meal that takes little effort but produces maximum flavor! It’s my opinion that this curry tastes amazing, but I’m sure you’ll also soon agree.
It is a family favourite recipe in our household and I know it will also become yours too. It would be too easy to eat the whole thing so don’t forget to share!
What our readers are saying
‘My husband made this for us last night. I’m not a huge fan of chickpeas outside of hummus, but MAN was this good. This is a keeper in our house. He said that the lime really made a different in taste.’
– Kari ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Whyyyyyy haven’t I made this before now???? EFFING DELICIOUS!!!!! I’m fooling myself into believing that I made enough for 5 days….I’ll be lucky if it lasts two! YUM!!!
– Stormy Vegan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is my favorite recipe ever! I stumbled across it on Pinterest & have been making it ever since. I’m not even a vegetarian/vegan; my husband liked to add chicken to this dish but I prefer it just as the recipe calls. It’s so quick & easy too – I make it about once every week! Thanks so much for sharing!
– Rachel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hauke Fox
I’m always on the lookout for these damn smart recipes. You know, those that only take a few minutes to put together and taste delicious. Vegetarian Cooking at home is a way to take back control over what I eat. I don’t like what many companies do to animals and the environment with their products.
This article has been medically reviewed by James LeBaigue MSc Learn More
James LeBaigue MSc
James has a Masters Degree in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Human Nutrition.
He loves combining his scientific knowledge along with food in the real world, and these recipes are the result.
He’s on top of all the latest evidence and guidelines to make sure our nutrition advice on the website is as accurate as it can be.
By day he works as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in a busy NHS GP Practice.
Each recipe is tested and then eaten (much to James’ delight), many times before it is deemed worthy to be published. Bon appetit!
Comments
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317 comments
I dont like the taste of coconut milk. Is there anything I can use instead?
Hey Lorraine! You could use a soy cream – it wouldn’t be a coconut type curry then of course, but that doesn’t sound like a problem for you 😀
Just finished dinner! I only had a can of diced tomatoes so I used that with the juice, dried basil because I didn’t have fresh and dried minced garlic because I didn’t have fresh…but the dish was still awesome. I used a green curry paste that was left in my fridge by a friend years ago..maybe 5-6.. Just read that ‘shrimp’
was on the ingredient list..the expiration date was long ago rubbed away. Will this be my ‘to die for’ good recipe!?
I also sauteed red onion, yellow zucchini squash, and broccoli with and a dash of soy sauce before adding the coconut milk. I also added some fresh ground pepper while the garbanzos were heating in the coconut milk. I thought a little bit of butter added would mellow out the spiciness of the green curry a bit, but didn’t have any so used a dollop of coconut oil and mixed it in instead. It was delicious along with my short grained brown rice…(browned first in ollive oil before boiling to bring out the flavor.) Jasmine rice or basmati would have been my first choice IF I had them! It’s fun to just ‘work with what you have and create something interesting!
I just bought a bunch of spices and herbs that I have not used before and my kitchen is full of them now…Can’t wait to try things like fenugreek, and I’m already addicted to tarragon!
I was thinking that some fresh chives on top and maybe a dollup of good Greek yogurt on top would be nice as well.
Niceee!! I liked the idea to brown the rice first! I remember a Spanish flatmate of mine doing that. Will try that out again. Yeees, bummer about the Curry Pastes. Many of them have shrimps in them. But usually the yellow version doesnt! Really great to read your comment, Melissa. I think that’s what I enjoy the most. With every recipe I learn something new and in the end freestyling with ingredients gets soo much more fun 🙂
Hey I can’t seem to find a single curry paste that doesn’t have shrimp paste in it to keep this recipe vegan????
Oh no!! That’s not good. Hmmm, have you tried the Indian curry pastes? I find they’re normally more vegan-friendly than the Asian pastes. Could be worth a look, maybe 🙂
We LOVE this recipe, but we make one simple change that adds such an awesome layer. Oven roast the cherry toms – it adds no extra time because you put them in at the start while the rice is cooking and you’re making the curry. Amazing!
Sounds lovely!! Thanks for the idea Kat, will give it a bash! Glad you enjoy the recipe 🙂
I commented on how delicious& healthy this recipe is back in December. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction of a similar vegan recipe that uses the jarred spice paste and is sweet ,sour savoury similar to this one you guys kindly shared? I would make this every week using different veg but my palette does get tired, sadly! And its good to mix things up! I often go back to this one 😉
Hi Ellie! How are you doing? How about this vegan cauliflower curry? It’s one of my faves, too. https://hurrythefoodup.com/easy-cauliflower-curry/
You can use your favourite spice paste to direct the flavour to just how you like. What curry paste are you using at the moment, if you don’t mind me asking? Judging from what you’ve said, a tandoori paste might fit perfectly. It’s pretty spicy, definitely has a sour kick to it, and with the little maple syrup in the recipe you would get the sweet too. You could also swap the lime for lemon for extra sourness, or maybe it’ll be just right how it is. Hope that helps! 🙂
I just bought Sharwoods Tikka Masala(14.1 oz)creamy tomato
Can you please tell me how much of this I use in the vegan chickpea curry recipe thank you
Hi Vail, I’f I’m not mistaken, the Sharwoods creamy tomato is a sauce, and not a paste. That means you’d use pretty much the whole thing – but you wouldn’t need to add any curry paste or coconut milk at all. The paste and milk are essentially a homemade curry sauce – the creamy tomato sauce from Sharwood’s is ready-made. So just throw it all in. It’ll still be delicious.
Thank you for this recipe!
I’m not a great cook but have recently converted to veganism where cooking is now a must!
Needless to say, I gave this a try last night and whoah, even my family were impressed! It was truly delicious though I substituted chick peas for butternut and potatoes. Really great recipe.
Glad I have another recipe to add to my collection rather than relying on tofu and veg stir frys!!
Hey Amy, yes the more the merrier when it comes to recipes in the collection! Really glad you enoyed it :). I’ll bet the butternut and potatoes was a great version!