Chickpea Spinach Curry

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This chickpea spinach curry is bursting with flavor and is ready in less than 30 minutes. It's going to be your new favorite weeknight meal!

This tasty recipe is made with multiple spices, including the spice blend garam masala, so you know every bite with be great.

The base of the recipe is crushed tomatoes and coconut milk - which combine to make the creamiest sauce. This is a mild curry recipe so will be popular with the whole family.

Why You'll Love This Chickpea Spinach Curry

This curry is based on Chana Palak Masala, an Indian recipe that would take a little bit longer to authentically make (think cooking with whole cumin seeds and simmering the tomatoes longer!)

For this recipe, we are using ground spices, crushed tomatoes, and spending a little less time simmering the sauce.

This dish is creamy and cozy without taking hours to make - making it a fantastic weeknight meal.

Like chili or soup, recipes with legumes plus creamy coconut milk and spices often taste even better after sitting in the refrigerator for a day. Making this a perfect meal prep recipe or great for leftovers the next day.

Spinach Chickpea Curry Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe - most of the ingredients are pantry staples, but I recommend the onion, garlic, and spinach be fresh.

Oil - You'll need 1 tablespoon of olive oil or any other kind of oil you'd like to use to sauté the aromatics. You can use a neutral oil like canola, safflower, or avocado oil.

Aromatics - You'll need 1 medium yellow onion (or 1 red onion) and 3 cloves of garlic.

Spices - You'll need 1 teaspoon of garam masala, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder, and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper,

Tomatoes - You'll use 1 can (14 ounces) of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree. You can also use diced tomatoes, but they'll be a different consistency. If you want a really creamy sauce, blend the chopped tomatoes before using them. Do not use tomato paste (that's concentrated tomato and the flavor will be overpowering).

Coconut Milk - You'll need 1 can of coconut milk. The nutrition information in this recipe is for a can of full-fat coconut milk. If you'd like to use light coconut milk you can (the recipe will be less creamy), but it will be about 80 to 100 calories less per serving.

Chickpeas - You'll use 1 can (14 ounces) of chickpeas. They might also be labeled garbanzo beans. You'll drain and rinse these.

Spinach - You'll need 5 ounces of fresh baby spinach. You can use frozen spinach, but allow it to warm up and release any excess water before adding it to the curry. Adding frozen spinach directly in will cool off the curry too much.

You can substitute the spinach for other types of leafy greens like chard, kale, collard greens, or mustard greens.

Optional Toppings - You can top the curry with chopped parsley or cilantro before serving. You can also squeeze some fresh lemon juice on before serving as well.

How to Make this Recipe

Prepare the Ingredients - Dice the onion and garlic. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

Cook the Onion - Heat the oil in a pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Heat the garlic and spices - Then add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add in the garam masala, cumin, salt, turmeric, and black pepper. Stir continuously for 30 seconds. 

Simmer the tomatoes - Then add in the can of tomatoes, scraping up any of the spices on the bottom of the post. Increase the heat till the tomatoes are gently boiling. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. 

Finish the sauce - Add the coconut milk and chickpeas to the onion tomato sauce and simmer for another 8 minutes. 

Add the spinach - Remove the curry from the heat and stir in the fresh spinach till it wilts.

Serve with white or brown rice or naan. 

More Curry Recipes to Try

If you like recipes with coconut milk, vegetables, and lots of spices - try some of these other delicious meals.

• Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk - a creamy and easy chicken curry
• Coconut Lentil Curry - a fantastic vegan curry recipe
• Vegetarian Thai Green Curry Recipe - the best veggie green curry
• Thai Fish Curry - a great way to enjoy white fish with Thai red curry
• Chickpea Curry Recipe - this vegan chickpea curry is easy to pull together

Tips for Making this Recipe

Links on some posts are affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Cooking Tips - I like to use a silicone spatula while cooking this recipe, so I can scrape up the spices and tomato from the bottom of the pot, to keep them from burning.

Recommended Tools - I recommend cooking this recipe in a heavy-bottomed pot like a dutch oven. It will keep the temperature even while simmering the curry.

Storing Tips - You can keep the curry for up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

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