Chickpea Veggie Curry with Coconut Milk
Chickpea veggie curry made with homemade curry paste and coconut milk. A creamy, nourishing dish packed with broccoli, chickpeas, and spinach.
I love simple meals like this. A comforting bowl of curried vegetables and chickpeas served over rice with extra sauce and a good dose of my homemade chili crisp on top.
It’s the kind of meal that says you want to eat veggies but you certainly aren’t in the mood for a salad. It’s warming, nourishing and packed with so much flavor thanks to the homemade curry paste.
I’m taking a lot of liberties with this veggie curry recipe– a mash-up of the kind of flavors that I enjoy. I call for homemade curry paste, but it’s really just blending onion, garlic and ginger with dried spices.
Then you saute that with coconut milk, broccoli, chickpeas and fold in spinach and cilantro at the end. If you love my other curry-inspired recipes (especially my slow cooker potato curry and summer vegetable curry) then you’ll love this one.
See below for more details on how to make this veggie curry or scroll down for the full recipe.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
This chickpea veggie curry is customizable, but depending on the number of ingredients you add, you may have to adjust the cooking time.
I don’t recommend altering the curry paste the first time you try it. I think it’s got a really nice balance of flavor and also don’t recommend skipping an ingredient as the paste is dependent on the medley of spices: chili powder, turmeric, curry powder, garam masala, and salt. If you want more heat, you can add a little cayenne pepper.
For the veggies, I’m using just broccoli and spinach but you can use other leafy greens, like kale, in place of the spinach. You may have to cook the greens longer as spinach tends to cook faster than kale.
Cauliflower can also be used in place of the broccoli but I prefer the broccoli for color.
I always serve meals like this over rice — and naan bread for my kids! But you can also enjoy it on its own.
How to Make this Veggie Curry
Make the paste
Place the onion, garlic, ginger and spices in the base of a food processor and process until smooth.
Toast the chickpeas
Place the chickpeas in a skillet and toast for a few minutes.
Add the broccoli
Add the broccoli and onion and cook until just tender, stirring often.
Add the paste
Add in the curry paste and coconut milk and whisk until combined. Stir in the spinach until just wilted. Season with salt.
Serve
Serve over rice and enjoy.
More Veggie Curry Recipes
- Spicy Coconut Curry Lentils
- Easy Chickpea Curry with Coconut Rice
- Tofu Thai Red Curry
- Slow Cooker Coconut Curry
If you make this chickpea veggie curry with coconut milk, make sure to come back to leave a rating and a comment. Your feedback helps other readers, and seeing you make my recipes makes my day.
Chickpea Veggie Curry with Coconut Milk
Equipment
Ingredients
Quick Curry Paste:
- 1/2 cup onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon dried chili powder
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Remaining Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 15 ounce can coconut milk, full fat preferred
- 1/4 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1 large handful fresh spinach leaves
- Squeeze lemon
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients for the curry paste in the food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chickpeas and cook until toasted, about 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and broccoli and cook another 5 minutes, until just softened and broccoli is bright green.
- Add the curry paste, coconut milk and salt; whisk together until very smooth. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened. Taste, adding more salt as desired.
- Add in a the spinach leaves, a squeeze of lemon. Stir until spinach has just wilted. Stir in the chopped cilantro and serve over cooked rice.