When I finished cooking these Curried Chickpeas with Spinach I took a look at my notepad to make sure I had written down all the ingredients. I looked it over a good three or four times thinking that I had surely forgotten something. The list was just too short. How did I just make so much yum with so few ingredients?!
That’s how food should be. Uncomplicated, fast, and super tasty. I couldn’t stop sneaking spoonfuls of this dish as I photographed it—it was just that flavorful. The simple tomato sauce is kicked up a few notches with curry powder (hot or mild, your choice) and would probably be good poured over just about any vegetables. I like this combo of spinach and chickpeas because it’s filling, very nutritious, and just down right pretty.
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Use Fresh or Frozen Spinach
I used fresh spinach because I bought a HUGE 2.5 lb. bag of fresh spinach the other day and now I’m committed to using it all before it goes bad, but you can sub frozen spinach to fit your budget. Just add 8 oz. of frozen spinach to the skillet in place of the fresh and sauté until thawed and warmed through, then proceed with the recipe as usual. I also used a very large can of chickpeas, but if that’s not available in your area, just use two regular 15-oz. sized cans. Not a fan of chickpeas? Lentils would also be great here!
How to Serve Curried Chickpeas with Spinach
I served my curried chickpeas with spinach over rice, but it would also be awesome with some naan to soak up the sauce instead. NOM.
What Kind of Curry Powder Do You Use?
You can use either hot or mild curry powder, depending on how spicy you’d like your curried chickpeas to be. I’ve enjoyed both 365 brand curry powder and Sharwood’s curry powder. You can also try making your own curry powder using this recipe for Easy Homemade Curry Powder from Spiceitupp.com.
Curried Chickpeas with Spinach
Servings 4 1 cup eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.47)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 inch fresh ginger ($0.16)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder ($0.45)
- 8 oz. spinach (fresh or frozen) ($1.49)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce ($0.59)
- 2 15oz. cans chickpeas ($1.10)
Instructions
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger on a small holed cheese grater. Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger in a large skillet with the olive oil over medium heat until the onions have softened (3-5 minutes).
- Add the curry powder and continue to sauté with the onion mixture for one minute more. Add about 1/4 cup of water to the skillet along with the fresh spinach and continue to sauté until the spinach has wilted. The water will help steam and wilt the spinach (no water needed if using frozen spinach).
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add them to the skillet along with the tomato sauce. Stir well to distribute the spices in the sauce and heat through (5 minutes). Serve over rice or with bread.
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Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Curried Chickpeas with Spinach – Step by Step Photos
Start by dicing one onion and mincing two cloves of garlic. I used a small cheese grater to grate one inch of fresh ginger (or you can mince it). I usually use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin from the ginger before grating it. Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger in a large skillet with olive oil until they are soft (about 5 minutes).
Add 1.5 Tbsp of curry powder and continue to sauté the mixture. You can use either hot or mild curry powder. Continuing to sauté after adding the spices will toast them just slightly and increase their flavor.
Next, add a little water to the skillet (about 1/4 cup) and 8 oz. of fresh spinach. It will likely fill up the skillet, so stir carefully until it wilts down. Most fresh spinach is sold in either an 8 or 16 oz. bag, so use the label to help you estimate 8 oz. The water will help steam and wilt the spinach. If you’re using frozen spinach, you don’t need to add any water, just warm it through in the skillet.
Drain and rinse a large 29 oz. can (or 2 15oz. cans) of chickpeas then add them to the skillet along with a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce. If you don’t have tomato sauce in your area, strained tomatoes or tomato purée is a good substitute (although you may need to add a little salt at the end).
Then just stir it all together well and let it warm through. How easy is that? I say “Pshhhhftfttfft.” to all boxed skillet meals.
Tasty recipe, though like others I made a few tweaks. Wanted lots of leftovers so upped the scale to 8, tho used less onion than that called for. Felt lazy so used frozen chopped up onion. decided to throw in a 12oz bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, plus a 12oz bag of just cauliflower, And I had a 12oz bag of frozen spinach so used all of that. Stuck with just the two cans of chickpeas since I had all that veggie filler. Liked the suggestion of using coconut milk so I used one can tomato sauce, one can coconut milk. I used sunbeam curry powder- which is plenty salty but I always add extra in recipes so I used an extra 1 TBS or so. As is was good but thought it could benefit from something else so used about 1/4 tsp of ground coriander, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp turmeric and Cumin. Could have upped the spice factor a bit but that brand of curry powder has a little bit of kick so it was still good. Pretty sure it was the cumin that did the trick and added that extra touch. Oh and I added a few twists of pepper too. Wish I had some cilantro to throw in there too. :) gunna very much enjoy these leftovers!
This is amazing with Beth’s savory coconut rice recipe. Yum.
It really was easy to make! And it tastes so good!
I made this last night! My non-vegan Hispanic family enjoyed it very much.
I think I may have added a bit too much of the pasta but it’s okay because it still came out fantastic.
Super quick meal when short on time while still packing in nutrients and some yummy plant based protein. I ate mine with some toasted pita bread
Could Cumin and Chili Powder be substitutes for fresh ginger and curry powder. It’s hard during Covid to find certain food items😔
Those are definitely two very different flavor profiles, so while it won’t taste the same at all, it might be good in a different way. :)
If I don’t have ginger, can I skip it?
Technically the recipe will still work, you’ll just be missing some of the flavor. Whether or not it’s “good” without the ginger will likely be more of a personal call. :)
Can this recipe be frozen?
Yes, this recipe should freeze very well.
I make this all the time and use Danielle Walker’s Coconut-cilantro-lime cauliflower rice recipe. I make it for family and friends and have never had anyone not give it a full five stars and ask for the recipe.
Hi,
Not a big fan of Curry, is there an alternative or can I just leave it out. BTW, love your blog!
Love this recipe! I chopped up 3 carrots and used those in place of one of the cans of chickpeas, and added 1/4 cup of soy milk at the very end to make it a little creamy, and it was AMAZING. Perfect for spooning over a bowl of white rice :)
I made this last night – and when I started pulling all the ingredients, I realized that I bought whole tomatoes instead of tomato sauce! :S BUT some comments below mentioned coconut milk, which I had on hand. Such a lifesaver! And I thought it tasted AMAZING! I put in about 2 tbps of tomato paste, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 15 oz container of coconut milk, and doubled the curry, and added maybe 1 tsp of cumin, and 1 tsp of turmeric, and maybe 2 tsp of red peppers to bump up the flavour. Fantastic results!
This recipe is simply delicious and very filling. Will definitely make again in the future!!!
Cooked exactly as the recipe specified, except we ended up using ground ginger instead of fresh (about 1/4 tsp.). Really delicious and so easy to make! Literally the hardest part was cutting the onion (it’s always so sad)
Could I sub out thai red curry paste for curry powder? Working with a limited pantry at the moment!
Despite having similar names, Thai curry paste and curry powder are actually two very different ingredients. They have completely different flavors (and ingredients), so it’s not something you’d want to use in this recipe, unfortunately!
This looks so good! In lieu of tomato sauce would blending canned tomatoes work? Trying to work with what’s on hand these days ; )
Thank you !
Yes that will work if it’s what you have on hand. Just may not be as flavor packed.
Could I somehow add coconut milk to this recipe?
You could certainly give it a try and see how it goes!
I added a can of coconut milk and it turned out great! Recipe was delicious without it as well!