This is a 30-minute curry built on pantry staples, canned chickpeas, baby spinach, onion, garlic, ginger, canned tomatoes, coconut milk, and a tablespoon of curry powder. Brown the onion, bloom the spices, add the liquids and chickpeas, let it simmer, then wilt the spinach in at the end.
It’s vegan, it reheats well, and it feeds four over rice or with naan. Add a squeeze of lime and a handful of fresh cilantro before serving if you have them.
Bloom the Spices
Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the diced onion for 5 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and grated ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the curry powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. This step is what builds the aromatic foundation of the curry. 
Simmer the Chickpeas in Coconut Milk
Pour in the diced tomatoes and full-fat coconut milk. Stir in the drained and rinsed chickpeas and kosher salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens and the chickpeas are heated through. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. If it is too thin, simmer uncovered for a few more minutes.
Wilt the Spinach and Finish
Stir in the fresh baby spinach in handfuls, letting each addition wilt before adding more. Cook for 2 minutes until all the spinach is incorporated and wilted. Squeeze in the fresh lemon juice and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve over basmati rice, garnished with fresh cilantro. The curry keeps for 5 days refrigerated and the flavors only improve.
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Chickpea and Spinach Curry
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This is the weeknight curry that lives in your pantry — canned chickpeas, canned tomatoes, a bag of spinach, and a handful of spices you probably already own. It comes together in 30 minutes with no special technique and produces a rich, creamy, deeply spiced bowl that tastes like it simmered for hours. The chickpeas hold their shape while soaking up the sauce, and the spinach wilts in at the end to keep its color.
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 1 can (13.5 ounces) full-fat coconut milk
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Steamed basmati rice for serving
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onion 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and ginger, cook 1 minute.
- Add the curry powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Stir 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir in the chickpeas and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the spinach in handfuls, letting each addition wilt before adding more. Cook 2 minutes until all the spinach is incorporated.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Serve over basmati rice, garnished with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Blooming the spices in oil before adding liquid is the step that separates a flat curry from one with real aromatic depth.
- Lemon juice at the end brightens the entire dish and balances the richness of the coconut milk — do not skip it.
- This is one of the best meal prep curries you can make. It keeps for 5 days refrigerated and the flavors only improve.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 385
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 690
- Fat: 18
- Carbohydrates: 42
- Fiber: 10
- Protein: 14
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen spinach instead of fresh?
Yes. Use about 10 ounces of frozen spinach. Thaw it, squeeze out all the excess water, and stir it into the curry at the end. Frozen spinach will not wilt like fresh spinach, so just heat it through for a minute or two.
Can I make this curry spicier?
Yes. Add more cayenne pepper to the spice blend, or stir in a minced green chile with the garlic and ginger. You can also serve the curry with hot sauce on the side so everyone can adjust the heat to their liking.
Can I substitute lite coconut milk for full-fat?
You can, but the curry will be thinner and less rich. Full-fat coconut milk gives the curry its creamy texture and body. If you use lite, you may need to simmer it longer to thicken the sauce.
been my sunday meal prep base for a few weeks now. make a big pot and it holds up for lunches all week, flavor actually gets better.
Simple and satisfying. My 4 year old ate it over rice with no complaints which is basically a miracle in this house.
Decent but kind of bland? I followed the recipe exactly and it needed way more salt and spice than listed. I ended up adding extra cumin and a bunch more cayenne to get it where I wanted it.
Sorry to hear that AJ, maybe your spices were on the old side?
Same experience — I think the spice amounts in the post undershoot a bit. I doubled the cumin and added a teaspoon of garam masala at the end. Much better second time around.
frozen spinach works here, agreed. I squeeze it hard in a dishtowel first before it goes in or the whole thing turns watery.
30 minutes and mostly stuff I already had in the pantry. This is going to be my lazy dinner go-to. I used frozen spinach and it was fine — just squeezed out the extra water first.
Using frozen spinach sounds like a smart shortcut! I’m all about those lazy dinner days too.
Frozen spinach for the win! I always keep a bag handy for quick meals like this. It’s such a time-saver on busy nights.
Great idea to use frozen spinach! I usually have some in the freezer too, so it’s nice to know it works well here.
Does anyone know if I can make this chickpea and spinach curry in a slow cooker for a few hours?
Yes, it can — with a small adjustment.
You can add everything (except the spinach) to the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6–7 hours or high for 3–4 hours. Then stir in the spinach at the end and let it wilt for a few minutes before serving.
One thing to keep in mind: you won’t get the same depth from sautéing the spices at the start. If you have time, it’s worth quickly cooking the onion, garlic, and spices in a pan first, then transferring everything to the slow cooker.
I’ve done it on low for about 4 hours. Add the spinach in the last 15 or 20 minutes or it turns to mush.
So comforting.
Effortless and yum.