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This is the easiest Vegan Chickpea Curry you'll ever make! It calls for pantry staples and takes 30 minutes on the stove. Plus, it's full of mouth-watering flavor and all made in one pan, too!
Short on ingredients? No problem—you can still whip up a mouthwatering dinner with this Vegan Chickpea Curry, using simple pantry staples you likely have on hand.
The recipe is highly adaptable—feel free to add, substitute, or skip ingredients to match your preferences. It’s family-friendly, budget-conscious, and deeply satisfying.
A squeeze of fresh lime and a sprinkle of cilantro elevate the dish, but for an extra punch, try topping it with quick-pickled onions or a dollop of vegan yogurt or vegan sour cream. Want a different curry option? My butter bean curry is another crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients Needed
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is ideal, but frozen or jarred works fine.
- Ginger: Use fresh if possible; frozen or jarred are good alternatives.
- Curry Powder: Store-bought is convenient, or make your own with this simple recipe.
- Crushed Red Pepper: Substitute with ¼–½ teaspoon cayenne pepper if needed, or omit for mild heat.
- Diced Tomatoes: Fire-roasted adds smokiness, but regular are delicious, too. add. Crushed tomatoes can be used instead.
- Chickpeas: Use canned or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas. Northern beans or cooked lentils are great alternatives. Add the Northern beans during the last few minutes of cooking since they are softer.
- Vegetable Broth: Water works if you don’t have broth, though broth adds extra flavor.
- Agave Nectar: It balances the tomatoes’ acidity. Swap with any sweetener or skip it if you prefer less.
- Full-Fat Coconut Milk: Homemade cashew cream or unsweetened store-bought vegan cream can replace it.
- Lime: Fresh lemon is a great substitute. Use about half of a medium lemon..
How to make Vegan Chickpea Curry
- 1 - Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add garlic and ginger, then sauté until fragrant.
- 2 -Now add the curry powder and red pepper. Sauté until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
- 3 - Add diced tomatoes, chickpeas, water/broth, agave, and salt. Cook to reduce the liquid, meld flavors, soften tomatoes, and chickpeas.
- 4 - Pour in coconut milk and lightly simmer to reduce and thicken.
- 5 - Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed.
What to Serve with Curry
It goes perfectly with rice, naan, lime wedges, and fresh-cut cilantro, but you can serve it with anything you can think up. It's delicious on its own, too! It goes well with salad, quinoa, cauliflower rice, artisan bread, steamed or roasted veggies, and more!
More 30-Minute Meals to Enjoy
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Recipe
Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil , or preferred oil
- 4-5 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger , grated or minced (fresh, frozen or paste)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes , canned - fire-roasted or regular
- 15 ounces chickpeas , canned - rinsed and drained
- ⅓ cup vegetable broth , low sodium (sub with water)
- 2-3 teaspoons agave nectar (or any sweetener)
- ¾ teaspoon salt , more to taste
- 1 ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk , canned (shake the can before use)
- 1 lime , halved
For Serving (Optional)
- Naan
- Rice (about 3 cups cooked)
- Cilantro , chopped (about ⅓ cup)
- Lime wedges
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the curry powder and red pepper. Sauté until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
- Add diced tomatoes, chickpeas, water/broth, agave, and salt. Simmer for 5-8 minutes to reduce the liquid, soften tomatoes, and meld flavors. Stir occasionally.
- Pour in coconut milk and lightly simmer for 5-8 minutes to reduce and thicken (lower heat if needed). If it's too thick, add a few splashes of broth/water to thin it out. If too thin, gently simmer longer.
- Remove from heat and squeeze in the lime juice. Give a good stir, taste for seasoning, and add more if needed. Top over rice and serve with naan, lime wedges, and cut cilantro if desired. Enjoy!
Valerie Schey
I have never made a curry dish before. This was easy and delicious!
Melissa Huggins
I'm so glad you loved it, Valerie! Thank you for giving it a try. 🙂
Irene
Hello! Sorry, but switching the measurement options from imperial to metric doesn't actually change them. It still features ounces. I'm converting the measurements manually though, because I really want to try this recipe!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Irene, sorry about that. I fixed it now. Let me know if you still have any trouble. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Hernan
I have to admit that this recipe is really easy to make. The first time I did it, my wife was skeptical about how it looks, but once she tasted it, she was hooked!. Now it’s one of our favorite recipes for more than a year, definitely a keeper. Thanks, Melissa!
Melissa Huggins
I'm so happy you both love it! It's a family favorite over here too. Thank you for sharing wonderful feedback. 🙂
Chris
Wonderful recipe. Very easy and tasty. The only things I did different was to add same fresh serrano pepper to spice up a bit more and some cornstarch to make to curry a bit thicker. Thanks much!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Chris, I'm happy you loved it! I love it with extra spice too. Thanks for taking the time to share feedback. 🙂
Patty
Another keeper recipe; I added a tsp of tikka masala spice mix and a minced jalapeno.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Patty, I'm so happy you loved it! Thanks for sharing feedback. 🙂
Lorenz
Absolutely delicious recipe, and so easy to whip up even for a beginner cook like myself. I made this for my mom’s lunch and can’t wait to hear her reaction
Melissa Huggins
Hi Lorenz, I'm so happy you loved the recipe and I hopr your mom loved it too. Thanks you for trying it and sharing your feedback. 🙂
Lisa
Delicious! This recipe is a go-to weeknight recipe! Always gets rave reviews!
Melissa Huggins
This is so great to hear, Lisa. 🙂 Thanks for sharing wonderful feedback.
Debra
I added all of the spices and it’s delicious! For some reason, this would not thicken up and was a very liquid soup. I wanted something thick- so I ended up adding a solution of 3 tablespoons arrowroot starch with two tablespoons of water. When I mixed it in, the sauce thickened up and was delicious!
Melissa Huggins
I'm so glad you loved it, Debra. Thanks for trying it out. Did you use full-fat canned coconut milk? The dish is definitely on the thick side. I'm glad you made it work though. 🙂
Margaret Smith
I love this! Spices are perfect! I throw in some spinach after I take it off the heat. Thank you!
Melissa Huggins
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Margaret! Thanks for the feedback. 🙂
Alan
Delicious, thank you! My first time making a chickpea curry, and Will definitely be cooking again.
A couple of tweaks I did:
I had a large bag of dry chickpeas so first, separately cooked approx 1.5 cups giving approx 2 large cans of shop chickpeas (from UK here!). This seemed to be the perfect amount for the volume of sauce you get from 1 can of chopped tomatoes and 1 can of coconut milk from the recipe.
I blitzed the tomatoes with a stick blender turning it into passata before putting into the pan, giving a nice smooth curry sauce and used light coconut milk as had it in the cupboard, knowing that I can use full fat coconut milk to make it more indulgent next time!
I used the extra spices and added a chopped medium onion at the beginning cooking it for 5 mins before adding the garlic and ginger etc.
The lime juice at the end really lifts the flavour and compliments the cocnut milk very nicely. Next time I'll add some chopped fresh coriander (cillantro!) at the end.
Melissa Huggins
Hello Alan, I am very happy to hear that you loved this recipe. And great work for making those substitutions and add-ons. That's the beauty of these curry recipes, you can tweak them to your liking, and everyone is happy. 🙂
Shauna
This is THE BEST CURRY. My husband and I eat Indian food all the time, but this one has been on regular rotation since we discovered it. We make it literally every week. Sometimes we make it with the flavor enhancing spices, sometimes without, but it’s always amazing. I recommend coconut cream for an even more delicious experience. SO GOOD.
Melissa Huggins
I am pleased you and your husband loved it! And giving it some flavor variation is always a good idea. 🙂
Marie
It’s absolutely delicious. I had it with long grain white rice. All the flavors meld perfectly. It reheats well and has 7grams of fiber!! I will make it again and again. As always, thank you for your great, nutritious, easy recipes!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Marie! We are so happy to hear that you loved the recipe! Thanks so much for trying it out 🙂
Liz
Either I over-did it with the ginger or garlic because it started out very, very bitter. Quickly fixed by doubling the tomatoes and chickpeas. Voilà! Soooo good, quick and easy. Just don’t go crazy with the spices 😆 beautiful color too!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Liz, glad you were able to recover the dish. That is part of the beauty of this, it is so easy to make, adjust and fix. I am happy you liked it. ❤
Erin
We make this all the time! We like to add potatoes and tofu and use the full can of coconut milk!
Melissa Huggins
Sounds lovely Erin. 🙂 Happy weekend!