Creamy, flavorful, and so easy to make, this is a delicious vegan Thai Red chickpea Curry the whole family will love. It’s protein rich from the chickpeas and is freezer friendly so it’s the perfect recipe for meal prep!
This Vegan Chickpea Curry could not be more perfect. It’s loaded with warming flavor and freezer friendly so it’s perfect for those chilly winter nights when you just don’t feel like cooking!
Like my Chana Masala and Tikka Masala, this curry is really easy to make and requires just a few ingredients you probably already have on hand like coconut milk, tomatoes and curry paste.
It also has the perfect amount of sauce to dunk some bread in or serve on top of fresh white rice. Or, you can throw in some sauteed vegetables!
It’s freezer friendly, perfect for a one pot family dinner and can be made as spicy or mild as you like it. Be sure to try my tofu red curry next!
How to make chickpea curry
Chop the onion into small piece and mince the garlic. Add to a large sauté pan with the oil and sauté until the onions are translucent (about 5-10 minutes on low heat).
You can use virtually any kind of oil for this recipe, I personally like coconut, avocado or olive.
Add in the grated ginger, turmeric, maple syrup, curry paste, salt, pepper and canned tomatoes and let simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. You’ll probably want to cover it so it doesn’t splash anywhere.
Transfer contents to a high speed blender or food processor and process until completely smooth. You may need to do this in 2 batches depending on the size of your blender.
Transfer back to the pan and stir in the canned coconut milk until everything is well incorporated.
You only need 1 cup of coconut milk for this recipe, which is about 2/3 of a can. You can add the rest to smoothies or make my banana pudding!
Slowly whisk in the starch, and mix well to make sure there are no clumps. Let simmer on low heat until the sauce begins to thicken.
Once thickened, add in the drained and rinsed chickpeas and mix until everything is well combined. Let simmer for 15 minutes to allow the chickpeas to absorb the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this chickpea curry with steamed white rice, but it’s delicious with naan, brown rice, or just as is!
This is Thai curry, so naan doesn’t really fit in the picture, but it’s the extra sauce is practically screaming for some bread to get dunked in it.
The best thing about curry is that you can really add in whatever you like. Tofu, chicken, chopped bell pepper, whatever you see fit!
You can steam up some veggies, or have a side salad, or just enjoy it exactly as is.
Does it keep?
Once prepared, this vegan chickpea curry will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Store it in an air tight container for best results.
However, this recipe is freezer friendly! Allow it to cool completely before transferring it to a container. Once cool, it will keep in the freezer for 1 month. Allow it to defrost in the fridge before reheating.
Make it spicy
This recipe is not spicy as written. If you want it to be spicy, you can add a pinch of cayenne, or a chopped chili pepper when you add in the ginger. Red pepper flakes on top also add a little kick!
As written, this curry will produce a good amount of sauce, which I personally love! This is a good thing because it will thicken a bit as it sits in the fridge, but also ensures the rice or whatever you serve this with gets nice and saucey too.
If you don’t like too much sauce, you can reduce the coconut milk to 1/2 cup.
Try these recipes next!
- Sticky Sesame Chickpeas
- Orange Chickpeas
- Sweet Potato Curry
- General Tso’s Chickpea Stir Fry
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
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Vegan Thai Red Chickpea Curry
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 3, 15 ounce cans chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 large yellow or white onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp oil coconut, avocado, olive etc. will all work
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1, 15 ounce can chopped or diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 6 tbsp thai red curry paste
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1-2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the onion into small piece and mince the garlic.
- Add to a large sauté pan with the coconut oil and sauté until the onions are translucent (about 5-10 minutes on low heat).
- Add in the ginger, turmeric, maple syrup, curry paste, salt, pepper and canned tomatoes and cook on low heat for 10 more minutes.
- Transfer contents to a high speed blender or food processor and process until completely smooth.
- Blend in the starch (for now start with 1 tbsp), then transfer back to the pan and stir in the canned coconut milk until everything is well incorporated.
- Let simmer on low heat until the sauce begins to thicken. If it's not thickening, whisk in the second tablespoon of starch. Keep in mind it will thicken quite a bit as it sits (in the fridge or just on the stove) so avoid adding too much starch if you're prepping this ahead of time.
- Once thickened, add in the drained and rinsed chickpeas.
- Mix until everything is well combined and let simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered (this will help it thicken a bit more).
- Serve with rice and a garnish of cilantro. Enjoy!
Vanessa says
Fantastic flavor. My husband is very sensitive to spicy foods and this was way too spicy for him, even cutting curry paste amount in half. I added an additional 2 cups of coconut milk and 2 tbsp of turbinado sugar and it was glorious. Hubby loved it.
Jonathan says
Can I use overnight soaked dry chickpeas? Just to reduce the Phytic acids and make it easier to digest? If so – how much dry chickpeas and how long to cook?
Thanks!
Claire Cary says
You can use chickpeas cooked from dried, but you will need to cook them before adding them to the recipe, otherwise the liquid proportions will change completely. Just make them per the package instructions on the stovetop, then add to the recipe!
Sofia says
I made this today and it was AMAZING!! Will definitely be making it again <3
Claire Cary says
Yay!! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Slowfood says
This was so delicious and so easy to put together with pantry ingredients! Thank you so much for this. I was at my wits end trying to find more meatless dinners that I can be excited about. So happy to add this to my rotation! I followed the recipe exactly except that it was thick enough that I didn’t need to add flour.
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed this one, hope you get a chance to try out some other recipes!
Nicole says
Easy and delish!!
Kate says
How much arrowroot starch did you add to it ? I just want to make sure I’m adding not too much or too little 🙂
Claire Cary says
I used GF all purpose flour, but you can use arrowroot starch in place of that, you’ll just need 1 tablespoon!
Marleena says
This was so freaking delicious!
Thank you for sharing.
Claire Cary says
So happy you enjoyed it Marleena!
Jon says
I will definitely make this recipe again.
I used yellow curry instead of red because that’s what I had in my pantry. I also didn’t have 3 cans of chickpeas, so I used one can and added 16oz of tofu that I baked in the oven first. Turned out absolutely delicious. As the post says, it seems like you can put whatever protein you want in it because the sauce will make anything delicious.
Just a note, the written directions in the How To Make This Recipe section mention arrowroot starch, which I assume should be changed to flour to match the rest of the post.
Claire Cary says
Thank you Jon! So happy you liked it and it turned out well with the tofu. Arrowroot starch and arrowroot flour are actually the same thing, just different names!
Carita says
Tasty & super easy to make
Emma says
Loved this recipe!
Rick says
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Claire Cary says
Thanks, Rick! Happy you enjoyed it!
BFC says
How many oz is “1 can” of tomatoes?
Claire Cary says
15 ounces!
Paula says
What do you recommend instead of curry paste? Every paste I’ve found got fish in it
Claire Cary says
There really is no substitution for the curry paste, but the one I recommend in the post does not have fish in it. It’s by the brand Thai Kitchen.
Michelle B says
Loved it!
Claire Cary says
So glad to hear that, Michelle!
Madison says
This is delicious and so easy to make. I added a tiny bit more sea salt because, well, just because!
Claire Cary says
More salt is always welcome! So glad you liked it Madison!
Trina Fentriss says
Wow is this delicious! I added a touch more sea salt and ground black pepper but that’s just me. This was easy and kept well in the fridge for a few days.
Claire Cary says
Sounds perfect! So happy you liked it!