Last Updated on January 7, 2019 by Slow The Cook Down
This easy, one pot chickpea & spinach curry is packed full of flavour for a great, no fuss weeknight dinner. Inspired by Indian cuisine, this healthy vegan curry is quick to make and also perfect for meal prep.
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How to make chickpea & spinach curry
Making a curry can sometimes seem like a huge task, a tonne of spices and lots of washing up at the end, so I wanted to make my version super easy with as few ingredients as possible. This is a very easy, simple and quick recipe, that even if you have zero experience in the kitchen, you will be able to dish this up in no time at all! I've been playing around with this chickpea & spinach curry recipe for a few weeks and it's definitely going to be on my meal rotation for the foreseeable future.
Chickpea & spinach curry is a perfect one pot meal for easy weeknight dinners
When I tell people I'm a food blogger, one of the things they always ask me is 'what do you have for dinner in the week?'. It's something that lots of people struggle with, finding new recipes and finding the time and motivation! Guess what, I'm no different! Even though I'm either working with, writing about or talking about food most days of the week, that weeknight dinner can be elusive! This one pot chickpea and spinach curry is the perfect answer to the age old question of 'What's for dinner tonight?'.
Is chickpea & spinach curry healthy?
Despite my unashamed love of food indulgence, in the week we do try and keep things fairly healthy (mainly so we can eat the city on weekends!), and during the week we do try and cut down our meat intake. Without meaning to make it this way, this curry is vegan, therefore contains no cholesterol or bad fats and is low in calories. But hey, I'm not a health food blog!!
Chickpea & spinach curry is a hearty and flavourful weeknight meal
I've been cooking with turmeric more and more recently and have come a bit addicted to its flavour. It has a earthy, slightly bitter taste, that works wonderfully with the chickpeas in this curry. The coconut milk brings a subtle sweetness and creaminess to the dish. It's a great recipe to try out some new flavours and add a bit of interest into weeknight menu.
If you are looking for some more easy and tasty weeknight meals, be sure to check out my Marinated Beef Stir Fry or my Stuffed Chicken One Sheet Meal
Chickpea & Spinach Curry with Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ cups coconut milk 800ml
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 green chillies sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 star anise *optional
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced
- 16-18 oz canned chickpeas 500g
- 8 oz spinach leaves 225g
- juice ½ lime
Instructions
- Stir the turmeric into the coconut milk and leave to one side.
- Heat the oil on a medium heat in a saucepan. Once hot add the chilli, garlic, star anise and cinnamon stick. Heat for a few minutes to release the aromas.
- Turn the heat to high, and add in the sliced onion. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened.
- Add in the coconut and bring to a boil, them simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add in handfuls of the spinach and stir into the curry until wilted. Stir in the lime juice.
- Serve with rice and naan.
Wonderful dish. Need to add only a small piece of cinnamon and this dish is a hero if coconut milk is thick. Loved it! Added cilantro to the dish in the end to indianise it further. I got compliment from my husband that it tastes like shrimp curry. thanks
Hi Swathi, so glad you both enjoyed this dish! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Was so looking forward to trying this but was bitterly dissapointed and thankfully didn't add the chickpeas and spinich and ended up throwing the sauce away, sorry but star anise, cinnamon and coconut milk just do not work!
Hi Tania, so sorry that you didn't enjoy this - we have it nearly every week and really like it. It may be worth trying without the star anise as that sometimes that flavor can be quite strong.
I love that this curry uses chickpeas as they are so nutritious and easy to use straight from the can. Super simple instructions too, so thanks for this recipe.
Your eating habits match mine entirely - healthy in the week, with little to no meat and everything at the weekend. We love to create an Indian inspired feast quite often at the weekends, so I think this vegan curry would work equally well for both healthy weekday or as a veggie option on a table of dishes to pick from.
I loooooove curries like this! And I love that this is a light dinner!