One pot, 30 minute Tomato Basil Coconut Chickpea Curry – sautéed onions, garlic and gingered stewed in crushed tomatoes, coconut milk and a few herbs and spices make for a simple yet satisfying and delicious meal you can make without too much fuss! Gluten Free + Vegan
When it comes to cooking these days, I feel like every meal is a new episode of Chopped. What’s in? What’s good? What can we throw together to make a meal?
And that leads us to this Tomato Basil Coconut Chickpea Curry. It’s made with mostly pantry staples and kitchen essentials (coconut milk, chickpeas, canned tomatoes, etc).
If you haven’t already, now would be a great time to start expanding your spice cabinet. You’ll never get bored with you food so long as you’re able to spruce up basic things like tomatoes and chickpeas in new and different ways.
Altogether this dish is fairly easy to throw together. It’s made up all in one pot or skillet with about 5 minutes of prep and only 30 minutes of cooking.
Let’s get to it!
Coconut Chickpea Curry Questions & Substitutions
This recipe has room for a little deviation in a few places so my goal here is to provide you with a few different options so that you can feel comfortable making this recipe with what you’ve got.
Can I use light coconut milk or coconut milk from a carton?
- You can use light coconut milk if you want to cut calories.
- I do not recommend using coconut milk from a carton (like the one you might use in cereal) because the curry won’t be as creamy and silky.
- You can also use coconut cream in place of full fat coconut milk.
- Whatever you use just make sure it’s unsweetened.
Chopped Tomatoes Substitute
- You can use cans of: fire roasted tomatoes, passata, tomato puree (not the same as tomato paste), marinara, Italian flavoured chopped tomatoes, whole tomatoes in juices.
- Depending on what you use you may need to play around with the salt/spices. Marinara often comes with added sugar so you might need to add a little more salt or spice to tone it down.
- If you use a can of whole tomatoes make sure to break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
Spinach Substitute & Other Veggies
- You can use kale or other leafy vegetables in place of spinach.
- Feel to add other veggies that you have on hand: mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers. Most veggies would be best added when you add the spices and tomato paste.
- You can skip the added veg altogether if you like.
What do I serve this with?
If you’re looking to keep this low carb/low calorie then I recommend serving this over a bed of cauliflower to soak up all the extra flavour. The sauce really takes over the flavour of the cauliflower rice making it a great way to double up on veg! Otherwise you can’t go wrong piling this on over a big bed of rice or quinoa.
If you’ve got time you can also whip up of batch of gluten free flatbread/naan to enjoy as a side. I’ve got a couple of recipes to choose from: a chickpea flour flatbread, a cassava flour flatbread or my gluten free roti (with millet flour). To complete you curry night you also definitely should also check out these onion bhajis for your starter. They’re easier to make than you might think and one of my most popular recipes on this site.
Enjoy!
Tomato Basil Coconut Chickpea Curry
One pot, 30 minute Tomato Basil Coconut Chickpea Curry - sautéed onions, garlic and gingered stewed in crushed tomatoes, coconut milk and a few herbs and spices make for a simple yet satisfying and delicious meal you can make without too much fuss! Gluten Free + Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) coconut oil
- 1 large white, yellow or red onion, diced
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch piece, ginger mined
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 14 oz can full fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 14 oz can chopped or diced tomatoes
- 2 14 oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 3 big handfuls spinach
- Sliced fresh basil, for serving
Instructions
- Add the coconut oil to a large skillet or pot and warm on medium heat. When the oil starts to simmer add the onions and 1/2 tsp salt and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the onions and continue to cook another minute stirring the whole time. Stir in the tomato paste, curry powder, garam masala, cumin and basil. Mix well for another minute until the spices are fragrant.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, coconut milk and chickpeas to the pan. Mix until fully combined. Let the mixture come to a boil and then reduce the heat down so that it maintains a gentle simmer. Let cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the stew reduces down and thickens into a saucy, gravy.
- In the final few minutes of cooking, add the spinach and mix in until wilted. Taste and season with salt and more spice as you see fit.
- Serve topped with fresh basil if desired and enjoy.
Notes
- Full fat coconut milk is best for a creamier curry, but you can also use light coconut milk to cut down on calories. I don't recommend using coconut milk from a carton or sweetened coconut milk.
WHAT TO MAKE WITH LEFTOVER CHICKPEA BRINE?
Aquafaba: are you familiar with it yet?!
Basically the gist of it is that aquafaba = bean water. It’s the goopy brine/water you find in cans of beans. So all that weird bean water that you and I once use to pour down the drain actually has the ability to replace eggs in some instances. Don’t dump it out anymore! Save it, freeze and be in awe of it!
Here are a few recipes you can make once you finish making this chickpea kale salad:
- Vegan Chickpea Brownies
- Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse
- Espresso Martini Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan Meringue
- Gluten Free Baked Donuts
Hungry for More? If you’re looking for easy gluten free + vegan recipes check out my Effortless Vegan Cookbook!
Mike says
Any suggestions on making this in the instant pot?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Mike! Good question! I haven’t made this in that instant pot myself so I can’t say for sure, but based on my experience with the instant pot in general I think it would be a fairly easy adaptation.
– You’d need about 1 cup (225g) dried chickpeas. Soak the chickpeas for 6-8 hours in water then drain if you want them to cook faster.
– Follow steps 1 and 2 as written. You can cook the onion, garlic and spices in the pot using the sauté function.
– In step 3: Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, 1/2 cup (120ml) water or vegetable stock and dried chickpeas to the pot then cover and cook on high pressure for 55 minutes. If you soaked the chickpeas first then you only need to cook for 5 minutes.
– Allow the instant pot to depressurise naturally for at least 20 minutes.
– Since the steam can’t escape during the cook time your curry will be a bit watery at this stage. I recommend switching to the sauté function after opening up the pot to allow the liquids to simmer and reduce about 10 minutes. Make sure to give everything a good stir.
– In the last few minutes of simmering, add the spinach.
I’m assuming you would like to make this in the instant pot using dried chickpeas. If you wanted to use canned chickpeas you can follow the recipe as written (no need to add extra water). You could just cook the curry using the sauté function to emulate a stove top. This is a great option if you were to be without a stove for whatever reason.
Since the chickpeas are already soft they don’t need the added pressure to cook. Covering and cooking under pressure would likely take longer to cook compared to a stove top cook since you need to add time for the pot to pressurise/depressurise. You would also need to simmer after cooking under pressure to thicken up the sauce.
I hope this helps!
Allison says
Umm okay this recipe is killer! We have made lots of things like this, but this one is a stand-out. Instant classic and going into the rotation. The cool thing is that it has rich flavour even though it is not a heavy dish AND it is silly easy to make. I’m coming back here for more recipes!
Sarah Nevins says
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to hear you enjoyed it so much! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know what you thought – it really does make my day 🙂
Bailey says
I don’t ever buy coconut milk (don’t even know where to find it in the store), so in order to get some that’s not in a carton as you recommend, what kind of container should I look for? Specific brands? Thanks!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Bailey! If you don’t have any other options other than coconut milk from a carton, you can use that but your curry likely won’t have the same silky texture without the added fat. Just make sure to find a coconut milk that is unsweetened – most cartoned coconut milk is made for cereals and drinks so they usually contained added sugar and flavors.
As for finding canned coconut milk – this will depend on where in the world you live, but if you shop at large chain grocery stores you can usually find canned coconut in the sections that also sell Indian/Asian ingredients.
Hope that helps!
Henriette says
Loved this so much! Full of flavour and really easy to make, will definitely save for our meal rotation. We didn’t have any spinach and I only had one can of chickpeas so I added in some extra firm tofu (in cubes) – so delicious.
Sarah Nevins says
Ooh – love the sound of adding tofu to this!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know how it went for you 🙂
France Boudreau says
This recipe is absolutely amazing! Truly! Lots of recipes out there but this one is pretty much perfect!!!
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks, France! So glad you enjoyed it!
Alexia Freud says
This dish is amazing! It’s flavorful, colorful, and oh so delicious! I would definitely recommend this dish to anyone who is looking for a delicious, easy way to end their day. I cooked this for my family and guests and I’m only 10 years old. Once again, awesome dish! Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Alexia! I’m SO glad you enjoyed it so much! Thank you so much for coming back to write a review – I very much appreciate it 🙂
Lesley Hill says
Hi can this be frozen?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Lesley! I haven’t tried it myself yet but, based on how coconut-based recipes often freeze, you might find that the sauce separates and curdles a bit after defrosting. It doesn’t usually affect the taste but it can look unappealing.
adriana says
Hi in the instructions you say stir in the tomato paste but that isn’t listed in the ingredient list, could you clarify?
Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Whoops! Sorry about that! It’s fixed now – thanks for pointing that out to me!