Quick curries are my favorite kind of weeknight dinner because they’re incredibly flavorful, require very little effort, and the leftovers are even better the next day. Plus, that creamy curry sauce makes everything taste good, so you can pack them with all sorts of nutrient-dense goodies, like chickpeas and kale. So basically, what I’m trying to say is, you need to make these Coconut Curry Chickpeas ASAP!
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What’s in Coconut Curry Chickpeas
You’ll only need a handful of ingredients to make this warm and hearty dish, most of which you can keep on hand for last-minute dinners. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make coconut curry chickpeas:
- Aromatics: onion, garlic, and ginger create a powerful flavor base for this dish.
- Spices: Curry powder and cumin. If you want a hot curry, you can always add a bit of cayenne pepper, too!
- Tomato sauce: a little bit of tomato sauce adds just the right amount of acidity to the dish to balance the creamy coconut.
- Coconut milk: full-fat coconut milk gives the curry sauce a ton of body and provides a creamy base to balance the potent flavors of the spices and aromatics.
- Chickpeas: Inexpensive chickpeas fill out this dish, providing tons of belly-filling power and good-for-you fiber.
- Kale: kale adds a little more variety in texture, color, and flavor to this dish. If you’re not into kale, you can substitute with fresh spinach.
What Kind of Curry Powder to Use
Curry powders can vary quite a bit in flavor from brand to brand, so make sure you experiment to find one that you enjoy. I’ve never met a curry powder that I didn’t like, so I don’t have one particular brand to suggest, but you definitely want to make sure it’s fresh! Old spices that have been sitting in your pantry a while begin to lose flavor and become dull and bland with time.
You also have the option to use either hot or mild curry powder. If you enjoy spicy foods you can use a hot curry powder, OR simply add some crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper to the dish when adding the curry powder and cumin.
How to Serve Coconut Curry Chickpeas
This warm and saucy dish is great over rice, or crusty bread or homemade naan for dipping. You definitely want some sort of starchy goodness to soak up all of that sauce! You can also experiment with topping your chickpeas with fresh cilantro or even a squeeze of lime. Something light and refreshing, like Creamy Cucumber Salad, would also pair nicely with these curry chickpeas.
Coconut Curry Chickpeas
Servings 4 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.38)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.41)
- 1.5 Tbsp curry powder ($0.45)
- 1 tsp cumin ($0.10)
- 2 15oz. cans chickpeas, drained ($1.58)
- 1 8oz. can tomato sauce ($0.50)
- 1 13.5oz. can full-fat coconut milk ($2.99)
- 4 oz. chopped kale (about 3 cups) ($0.75)
Instructions
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large deep skillet along with the olive oil. Sauté the aromatics over medium-low heat for about five minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the curry powder and cumin to the skillet and continue to stir and cook for about one minute more to toast the spices.
- Drain the chickpeas, then add them to the skillet along with the tomato sauce and coconut milk. Stir everything to combine.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high to bring the sauce up to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat back down to medium-low and allow the curry to continue to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the kale and stir it into the sauce. Continue to cook and stir until the kale has wilted to your desired tenderness (I cook for about 5 minutes more). Finally, taste the curry and add salt to taste (about ½ tsp). Serve hot with rice or bread for dipping!
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Nutrition
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How to Make Coconut Curry Chickpeas – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, mince two cloves of garlic, and grate about one teaspoon of fresh ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a deep skillet along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the aromatics over medium-low heat for about five minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add 1.5 Tbsp curry powder and 1 tsp cumin to the skillet. Continue to stir and cook for about one minute more to toast the spices.
Drain two cans of chickpeas, then add them to the skillet along with 8 oz. tomato sauce and a 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk (full fat).
Stir until everything is evenly combined, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it continue to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add 4 oz. (about three cups) of fresh chopped kale to the skillet. I buy the pre-chopped bagged kale to make this easier.
Continue to cook and stir until the kale has wilted to your desired tenderness. I enjoy the kale with a bit more texture, so I only simmer for a few minutes more. Taste the curry and add salt to taste to help the flavors pop (about ½ tsp).
Great result, simple and quick to make and lovely flavor.
Super quick and easy! Wish my family liked beans more, or I would make this every week. I used spinach, but I think kale would be even better because it is hardier.
WOW I threw everything I to the crock pot before work. And just added kale when I got home. This was DELICIOUS. It made me think of the Indian take out place we have close by except it’s so much cheaper !! Thanks for another winner!!!
Loved this dish! It was quick, healthy, nutritious & delicious. Next time I would add diced celery in the beginning & I also added red pepper flakes & a splash of lime juice, garnish with cashews. Yum!
Ooh, good idea about the red pepper flakes. I liked the recipe, but thought it was a little bland. Might have been my curry powder, but now I will remember to add the red pepper flakes if it needs some spice.
Great recipe. Made as listed. Will definitely make again!!! Thank you
Missing your potato curry (had poached egg on top); Any chance I could get recipe?? Thx, loyal BB fan here
Oops sorry, it’s meant to be the tomato *paste* that’s “Triple Concentrated”, not the canned tomatoes.
Hi Beth, Barb in Australia here. Could you tell me a bit about the 8oz can of “tomato sauce”. Here, “tomato sauce” is what we squirt out of a squeeze bottle onto a Hot Dog. It usually contains quite a lot of added sugar and salt (and we love it!). In cans, we can get tomato puree, tomato paste, and various iterations of whole, chopped(triple concentrated) or crushed tomatoes. I think we can also get tomato juice in cans, the sort you might add to a Bloody Mary.
Which one of the above, if any, might be the equivalent of your can of tomato sauce, please?
Many thanks,
Barb
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Barb,
Another Aussie here. Looking at the ingredients on the can listed in the ingredients it looks very much like ingredients of highly seasoned tomato puree.
At different times I used one of the following:
– Leggo’s Tomato Puree
– or – half bottle of passata (one from Coles) (I froze the rest)
– or – can of condensed tomato soup (Coles brand I think)
– or – can of diced tomatoes that I pureed with my stick blender (immersion blender)
Each tasted similar but slightly different.
To allow for some of the flavours on the can, I did add:
– quarter teaspoon garlic powder
– 1 teaspoon Italian herbs (masterfoods)
– quarter teaspoon sweet paprika (dried, ground bell pepper [capsicum])
– quarter teaspoon onion powder
This has become a family favourite :D
Thanks, Beth, and thanks so much Tess B. for the replies!
Our puree in cans comes with nothing aextra added, but I’ll scan passatta ingredients looking for something similar.
Tess B, you’re a much braver cook than I am. Thanks for the inspiration! You rock!!
Hi Barb! Tomato sauce in the U.S. is pureed cooked tomatoes with a little bit of salt and seasoning (usually just a touch of garlic and/or onion powder, but not much). Do you have passata in Australia? That would probably be the closest in texture and flavor.
Thanks, Beth, and thanks so much Tess B. for the replies!
Our puree in cans comes with nothing aextra added, but I’ll scan passatta ingredients looking for something similar.
Tess B, you’re a much braver cook than I am. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi.
I’m stewball, an ex Brit and I’ve been wondering for years what the American equivalents are for our sauces.
I’m pleased to see I can use passata. Makes life easier.
I’m thanking you because you asked the question.
this was so so dang good! made it last night after it came through the email and just finished leftovers for lunch. this will be going high on my list of repeats for sure!
Yup! Awesome, fast, delicious! I didn’t have kale but I did have frizen spinach. Perfect! And I put in some frozen butternut squash cubes too. Can’t wait for lunch! I cooked my meal , rice included early in the morning so I wouldn’t be cooking at the hottest time of day. This is quick anyway but a good tip for those who lose energy in the heat like I do!
Do you rinse the chickpeas or just drain them?
If you want less sodium, rinse. If not, just drain.
I ALWAYS rinse canned vegetables extremely well. Who knows what’s in them to preserve their shelf life etc…
Any preservatives used will be listed in the ingredients on the can—typically salt is used as the preservative.
I made this for dinner tonight.
My 8 month old crushed it and my husband asked me to add it to the weekly rotation.
This recipe seems to be your Coconut Curry Lentils recipe, just using chickpeas instead. Not that that’s a bad thing!
This looks great! I’m wondering if you ever tried freezing it and if so how that worked.
I haven’t frozen this one, but I have frozen similar dishes with good success! :) Sometimes you just need to give them a good stir after they thaw.
I’m making this tonight. You seem to have left the olive oil off the ingredients list.
Thanks, Eric! I had it in my notebook, but forgot to type it in. :P It’s all fixed now! :)