Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Chickpea and spinach curry is rich in curry flavor and has a perfect balance of tomato and coconut milk. It’s the perfect diary-free curry sauce. The beautiful thing about this recipe is it’s not just easy to make and delicious, but it is vegetarian, vegan, dairy free and gluten free!
Chickpeas are a fun, versatile ingredient to use in meals to add depth of texture and protein without using meat. If you’re looking for more delicious chickpea recipes, you’ll love my chickpea curry and my chickpea gyros!
Why This Recipe Works
- Diet friendly! This chickpea and spinach curry recipe is perfect for a variety of food sensitivities and diets including diary free, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free!
- Amazing flavor and texture. Typically I feel like any of those diets would mean sacrificing on flavor and texture, but that is not the case with this dish! It is so yummy and filling and really delivers on delicious flavors.
- Additional seasonings = flavor depth. This recipe is my favorite chickpea spinach curry because of the additional flavorings. By adding cumin, cayenne, garam masala (which is a staple ingredient in my Indian butter chicken), coriander, turmeric, and ginger, we are getting additional spices that marry really well with the curry powder to add a depth of flavor to the dish.
- Easy, one-pot dinner recipe. This curried spinach and chickpea sauce is a one-pot recipe which makes clean up so much easier!
Ingredients
- Coconut Milk: Coconut milk will give us a depth of flavor with the coconut, but it will also give us a bit creamier texture to the sauce.
- Crushed Tomatoes: Crushed tomatoes are different than stewed tomatoes. Stewed tomatoes are chunkier while crushed tomatoes look more like a tomato sauce. This gives us a nice flavored base for the curry sauce.
- Spinach: Since we are cooking down this spinach, you’re welcome to use fresh or frozen spinach.
- Garbanzo Beans: Also known as chickpeas. These add flavor, texture, and protein as well as a bulk ingredient for a focal point of the dish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. When warmed, add the onion and cook until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more or until fragrant.
- Stir in all the ingredients except for the chickpeas and spinach. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the chickpeas and spinach. Cook until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
- Serve the chickpea and spinach curry sauce warm with a side of rice and homemade naan bread.
Recipe Tips
Can use fresh or frozen spinach. If using frozen, reduce the amount used to about 1 cup, since the spinach is already cooked down you won’t need as much. However, feel free to add more or less spinach to your liking.
If you aren’t a fan of chickpeas, you can swap them out for lentils, or if you’d rather have a meat option, you can add shredded rotisserie chicken or chopped grilled chicken.
This recipe isn’t spicy. I’ve used a family-friendly amount of cayenne pepper that my kids can handle. If you want to increase the spice, add more cayenne pepper to the dish.
This dish is already super healthy, but if you’d like, you can serve it over brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice as pictured.
FAQs
Thanks to chickpeas being high in fiber and protein, chickpeas are a great ingredient to use in weight loss diets. They are a great substitute for meats because of this. They also keep you fuller longer.
Yes, you can freeze this curry! Add the curry chickpeas and spinach sauce to an airtight container or Ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Remove and let thaw. Cook some rice and warm up the sauce on the stove on medium low heat. Enjoy!
Chickpeas taste a bit like pinto beans if you’ve had those. They have a legume-like texture and taste a bit like beans, too.
Yes you can! When you have a recipe that calls for spinach, if the spinach gets cooked down, you’re welcome to substitute frozen spinach for that.
More Curry Recipes
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Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 red onion - finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger - grated
- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 13.5 oz can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper - this is for family friendly, increase the amount of cayenne for more heat.
- 2 cans garbanzo beans - or chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups baby spinach - chopped
- basmati rice - cooked, for serving
- chopped cilantro - for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat add the olive oil, when shimmering add the onion and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more or until fragrant.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, coconut milk, curry powder, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt, and cayenne. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the chickpeas and spinach, cook until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
- Serve warm with a side of rice and naan.
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One Comment on “Chickpea and Spinach Curry”
Made this and loved it!! I am amazed how quick and easy it is. I will definitely be making this again especially on our busy nights.