This super easy, ultra creamy, and heavily spiced Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala is my new favorite dinner! That spicy-creamy sauce is just so 👌that I have to sop up every last bit with a piece of naan. This dish comes together super fast, requires very little chopping, is insanely inexpensive, and holds up well in the fridge, so it’s great for meal prep! This one is going right into my weekly rotation. :)
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How to Serve the Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala
I’ve been eating my Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala with a piece of naan bread to scoop up that delicious sauce, but this dish would be equally as good over a bed of hot rice. Either way it’s creamy, spicy, and oh so delish!
Make it Spicy or Mild
You can adjust the heat of this sauce by increasing, decreasing, or even eliminating the amount of cayenne pepper in the spice mix. The amount listed below creates what I would call a “medium” spice level, but that’s extremely subjective, so take that with a grain of salt.
Make it Vegan
An easy sub for the heavy cream in this recipe would be full fat coconut milk (the stuff that comes in cans, NOT the dairy milk substitute). You can play around with the quantities, but I’d guess somewhere between 1/2 to 1 cup would work well.
Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala
Servings 4 About 1.25 cups eachIngredients
Masala Spice Mix
- 2 Tbsp garam masala ($0.60)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly Cracked Pepper ($0.03)
Skillet Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.21)
- 3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.15)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 12 oz. frozen cauliflower florets ($1.00)
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas, drained ($0.49)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce* ($0.59)
- 1/4 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream ($0.26)
- salt to taste ($0.02)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the spices for the masala spice mix (garam masala, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper).
- Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add all three to a large skillet along with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the spice mix and continue to sauté for one more minute.
- Add the frozen cauliflower florets to the skillet with the aromatics and spices, and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes more, or until the cauliflower have thawed through and are completely coated in spices.
- Add the drained chickpeas, tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup water to the skillet. Stir to combine, then allow them to simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. This will help mellow the acidity of the tomato sauce and allow the spices to blend. If the mixture becomes too dry as it simmers, add a couple more tablespoons of water.
- After the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Give the masala a taste and add salt as needed. Serve in a bowl either over rice or with a piece of bread for dipping.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Cauliflower Chickpea Masala – Step by Step Photos
Begin by combining 2 Tbsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a small bowl.
Finely dice one yellow onion, mince three cloves of garlic and grate about 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger (ginger is hard to measure, so this is flexible).
Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the spice mix and continue to sauté for one more minute.
Add 12oz. frozen cauliflower florets to the skillet and continue to sauté until the cauliflower is thawed through and coated in spices.
Next, add one 15oz. can chickpeas (drained), one 15oz. can tomato sauce, and about 1/4 cup water to the skillet. Stir to combine and then let the sauce simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce starts to dry out as it simmers, add a couple more tablespoons of water.
After the sauce has simmered and the tomato sauce has mellowed a bit, turn off the heat and stir in 1/3 cup heavy cream.
After stirring the cream into the sauce, give it a taste and add more salt to taste (I added about 1/4 tsp).
I garnished here with fresh cilantro, but didn’t find that it added a lot to the flavor, so that’s entirely optional!
Dig in!
YUM! This is sooooo good! Easy, healthy and cheap?! It doesn’t get better than that! :) Thank you!
I love the flexibility of this recipe. It’s easy to adapt to use what I already have – while trying to keep to the balance of ingredients in the original recipe. Today I used the slow cooker and cooked this version of the recipe on High for 4 hours.
Changes:
1 1/2 TB garam masala (the mixture I have is pretty strong) instead of 2TB
Powdered chilli pepper instead of cayenne
400g tin of peeled tomatoes instead of tomato sauce/passata (google the grams to oz conversion)
One small cauliflower (about 2 cups worth) and one large peeled carrot, chopped into chunks – instead of frozen cauliflower
The washed/clean leaves of the cauliflower
Half a 400g tin of coconut cream (leftover from another recipe) instead of heavy cream
I sautéed the onion, garlic, ginger and spices together then added all the ingredients to the slow cooker. I ate it with brown rice (cooked in a rice cooker with some finely chopped kale). Wonderful! Thanks for the inspiration.
This is one of my favourite weekday recipes! I usually use fresh cauliflower (increase water and simmer for longer, covered) and make it vegan by using coconut milk in place of heavy cream. I usually add a bit more cinnamon even though my garam masala blend already has a bit. Perfect with garlic naan!
I love this dish! I want to make it for friends tomorrow. What side dish would be a good pairing? I am looking for something easy to make and filling.
Thank you!
P.S. – I use fresh cauliflower, but I have learned to boil the cauliflower a bit first before adding it in with the onions and seasoning.
I love this recipe. My husband loves all curry and I’ve always used a simmer sauce because I’m the past I’ve never made it right homemade. Recently some of the sauces have added food dye and I’m allergic. So I would make two meals, one for him and my toddler and odds are a grilled cheese for me lol
When I found this recipe, I eyeballed it for months. I was intimidated because of my past failures. Then my toddler found an extreme love of chickpeas and I said ok that’s it I’m going for it.
Not only was this recipe so easy but I’ve made it five times now. Everyone loves it and I can eat it! Yay! I’ve even tried it by sautéing chicken before the onions.
What I love about this recipe after making it so many times is that when I’ve messed up by adding too much garlic or other spices, I can just balance it with an extra touch of cream. It really is foolproof.
Thank you so much for your recipes. I’ve been a long time follower and you’ve saved me a lot of time and money over the years. I’ve enjoyed all the recipes I’ve made and I will continue to do so.
PS my husband says thank you as well for this recipe.
I love this recipe, great use of frozen cauliflower, but could fresh cauliflower be used in the same way or would it have to be cooked first?
Yes, since frozen cauliflower is blanched before freezing, it’s already partially cooked and requires less time in the skillet. If you want to use fresh cauliflower you can either steam or boil it briefly before adding it to the skillet, or you can add a little water to the skillet when you add the florets and let it simmer until the water is pretty much gone, then proceed with the recipe. :)
Great recipe! We pan fried some tofu to go with it too. I made some rice with lime and cilantro which was a really nice fresh contrast. I think I’ll try coconut milk instead of cream just to see what that’s like.
I’m having the same issue. Would it be possible to get the recipe emailed to me? Thank you!
You got it!
Yep, I can email that recipe to you. :)
Hi- I actually have the same problem as well! The link I saved for Chana Aloo Masala took me here. Could you let me know how I could get the recipe?
Yep, just emailed it to you! :)
Can I also get the chickpea and potato recipe via email? Having the same issue. Thank you!
Yep! Just emailed it to you. :)
Hi, I am also having the same problem. I cannot find the Chana Aloo Masala Recipe, could I also have the recipe emailed to me?
Just sent. :)
Hi there! Would you be able to send me the Chana Aloo Masala recipe as well? Thank you! :)
Just sent! :)
Could I please also get the Chana Aloo Masala recipe? I love both! :)
Just sent. :)
This is the best recipe ever!! All of my friends and family love this recipe. Thank you so much. I have made it so many times and it is very good :
I have made many of the BB recipes. This one is my favorite. One change, for the sake of a healthy heart, is that I substituted canned milk, full fat, for the cream. Yum!!
Best curry I have ever made!
Hi! I love your recipes! I’m allergic to chickpeas…which bean would you recommend as an alternative?
I’d probably do a lentil :)
Oh wow this looks soo good I can’t wait to try this out!
That was delicious! I used Coconut Milk (I’m vegan) and added a bunch of spinach toward the end. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow night, thank you so much!!!