Easy Chickpea Curry

This Chickpea Curry is the perfect healthy and easy weeknight dinner! It’s ready in 20 minutes, plant-based and full of flavor.

Everyone always asks for easy weeknight dinners. Guess what: so do we! Even if we like Cooking, there are always evenings when Alex and I need to quickly prepare dinner. Both of us are always experimenting and looking for the best concepts for quick and easy dinner recipes. That’s why we bring you: our new favorite weeknight meal: this chickpea curry! It only takes about 20 minutes to make! The hot spices and coconut milk undoubtedly make this one of the tastiest things you can make in this short amount of time.

Other good curry recipes? Quick vegan curry, vegetable curry, butternut squash curry or lentil curry.

Why this is the best chickpea curry recipe

This chickpea curry is made for weeknights. That means it’s 100% designed to get dinner on the table fast. At the same time, there are no shortcuts. You’ll sauté real onions, garlic, and fresh ginger, then add tomatoes, chickpeas, and coconut milk to make a thick sauce. The way it comes together will wow you as a quick dinner must-have. Here’s why it’s the best chickpea curry for weeknights:

• It takes about 20 minutes to do this. Of course, it depends on your ability to quickly chop some veggies. But the cooking time is only 12 minutes, making it a super quick meal!
• It’s a healthy dinner full of plant-based proteins. The chickpeas and spinach provide plenty of nutrients, as does the vegetable-based sauce. The result is a hearty and healthy dinner.
• It has great taste. Onion, garlic and ginger form an aromatic base, cumin, coriander and curry powder complete the whole. There’s a swirl of coconut milk at the end for a creamy body.
• Tomatoes roasted over fire shorten the cooking time. This type of tomato tastes sweet straight out of the can, which reduces the cooking time a bit.

Need a sub for the coconut milk in this curry? Discover all our best ideas!

Is it an authentic Indian curry?

Is this chickpea curry authentic Indian food? It’s actually similar to Chana Masala, the traditional Indian curry chickpeas. While this is not a 100% authentic Indian curry recipe, it uses the flavors of Indian cuisine to make a quick weeknight dinner.

If you are looking for an authentic Indian dinner recipe, head to our Masoor Dal (Indian Red Lentils). This recipe was shared with us directly by Asma Khan, an Indian chef from a popular London restaurant. You’ll love these creamy and flavorful lentils, and you can serve them with basmati rice too! Another great resource for authentic Indian recipes is chef and author Madhur Jaffrey.

What to serve with chickpea curry

How do I serve this chickpea curry during the week? We love it with long grain basmati rice. Here’s what we recommend serving:

• basmati rice: Here is our method for cooking brown or white basmati rice: white takes about 15 minutes total and brown about 20-25 minutes. Brown rice is slightly more nutritious than white rice, which is why we like to take a little extra time when we have it. You can also prepare basmati rice immediately.
• Naan bread: If you’re in a hurry, store-bought naan bread makes a great quick side to this chickpea curry. Or try our homemade Garlic Naan or Vegan Naan.

What else do you like to serve with curry? Let us know in the comments below.

What if I can’t find Fire Roasted Tomatoes?

Fire roasted tomatoes are key to this recipe due to their sweet flavor straight from the can. These tomatoes were charred over an open fire and then canned. Other types of tomatoes can taste bitter out of the can and require longer cooking.

Would you like to order them online? If you like online shopping like we do, here is a link to buy Fire Roasted Tomatoes on Amazon.

If you can’t find fire roasted tomatoes for this recipe, you can substitute any variety of quality canned tomatoes. You may need to cook the sauce a little longer to get rid of the bitterness. Taste before adding the coconut milk at the end and see if it needs a little extra love. There’s a lot going on flavor-wise in this recipe, so you can be happy with the cooking time as it’s printed based on the quality of the tomatoes you’re using.

Do kids like curry?

Our son Larson is 2 years old and Alex and I have made it our goal to introduce him to many flavors! He’s very open minded about food, but when it’s very spicy he sometimes says it’s too “spicy”. When he was served this chickpea curry, I wondered how he would like it. I could see the “spicy” comment prepared and ready in his mind.

But he took a bite and said, “It’s good! Then he started eating a whole bowl of this chickpea curry with basmati rice on the side. So we can’t speak for your kids, but ours absolutely loved it!

Easier weeknight dinners

If you’re looking for easy and healthy weeknight dinners (like us!), we’ve got plenty of ideas on this page! But here are some of our best recipes for when we’re in a hurry on a weekday. They have been tested on him since we had a 2 year old and are absolutely family-friendly.

• Epic tacos in 5 minutes: One of our favorite quick dinners is this 5 Minute Taco Recipe! Featuring seasoned eggs that taste like meat (we call them “chorizo ​​eggs”) and topped with quick toppings.
• Easy Creamy Gnocchi: It’s basically a quick, gourmet mac and cheese made with just pecorino romano cheese, butter, and pepper. With pasty gnocchi dumplings, it’s to die for.
• Cilantro Lime Shrimp: This 10-minute recipe pairs with rice, fries, and salsa or guacamole for a quick and easy dinner. Or throw it on a salad!

This chickpea curry recipe is…

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.