Indian Chickpea and Spinach Curry is quick and easy to make with pantry staples! It’s vegan, gluten-free, packed with protein and fiber, and full of bold, authentic Indian flavor. Perfect for meal prep and one of our go-to Indian vegetarian dinners!
If you are looking for healthy Indian vegetarian curries, try my red lentil dal recipe next!
Why You'll Love This Chickpea Spinach Curry
It’s rich, creamy, and packed with warm, comforting Indian flavors without requiring any hard-to-find spices. Made with pantry staples like canned chickpeas, coconut milk, and tomato sauce, it’s a lifesaver for busy weeknights.
It’s hearty, naturally vegan and gluten-free, and the best part? No defrosting or chopping a pile of vegetables. Just a few simple steps and dinner is on the table in under 30 minutes. Serve this rich, bold, and seriously delicious chickpea curry with garlic butter naan or my favorite avocado naan!
-maria doss
★★★★★
"I made this for my family last night and it was absolutely delicious! I loved the combination of spices...a little "bite" with loads of flavour! It's a new favourite:)"
-DAWN
Jump to:
Is This Chickpea Curry Chana Masala?
Well... not exactly! While both dishes feature boiled chickpeas as the star ingredient, traditional chana masala is a bold and tangy North Indian dish made without cream or coconut milk. It’s heavily spiced—especially with garam masala—and gets its signature tang from tomatoes or amchur (dry mango powder). The texture is thicker, more rustic, and deeply flavorful.
This creamy chickpea curry, on the other hand, is milder, subtly spiced, and has a rich, velvety texture thanks to the addition of coconut milk. Think of it as a more comforting, cozy version—perfect for weeknights or when you're craving something nourishing but not too intense. It is lighter than the Indian butter chickpeas.
Notes on the Main Ingredients
Spinach: A couple of handfuls of baby spinach wilt beautifully into the chickpea masala curry and require zero chopping. No spinach? No problem—it’s still delicious without it.
Tomato Sauce: Use canned tomato sauce like Hunt’s or Contadina, or tomato passata. This shortcut saves time and skips the traditional step of sautéing fresh tomatoes. Avoid pasta sauce, marinara, or pizza sauce—they’ll change the flavor completely.
Coconut Milk: Full-fat canned coconut milk gives this curry its creamy, rich texture without making it taste like traditional chana masala.
Chickpeas: One can of drained and rinsed chickpeas works great. If you’re using home-cooked chickpeas, use about 2 cups. (Need help cooking garbanzo beans from scratch? Check out how to cook chickpeas in the instant pot)
Oil: I use coconut oil for an extra boost of coconut flavor and added health benefits, but any neutral oil like vegetable or avocado oil will work too.
Spices: No store-bought curry powders needed. All you need are a few pantry-friendly Indian spices—turmeric, cayenne, coriander powder, and garam masala—for authentic flavor.
Cumin Seeds: Known as jeera in Hindi, cumin seeds are traditionally toasted at the beginning of most Indian vegetarian dishes to build flavor. While you can skip them if you don’t have any on hand, don’t substitute with ground cumin or jeera powder—it changes the flavor profile completely.
Tips For Success
- Chickpeas: Use one or two cans of chickpeas. If using homemade cooked garbanzo beans, about 2 cups works perfectly.
- Add water with spices: Adding 1-2 tablespoons of water when adding the spices prevents them from burning, helps them toast evenly, and keeps them from sticking to the pan.
- Spiciness: Adjust the cayenne powder to your preferred heat level. Note: cayenne pepper is equivalent to Indian chili powder.
- Resting time: Let the curry chickpeas with spinach rest for at least 5 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to thicken and flavors to meld.
- Tomato sauce: Use canned tomato sauce (like Hunt’s or Contadina). Avoid marinara or pizza sauces, as they can alter the flavor.
- Ginger garlic paste: Use 3 tablespoons of homemade ginger garlic paste instead of the minced garlic and ginger.
FAQ'S
A few simple things can make a big difference in the texture and flavor of your curry:
1. Use fully cooked chickpeas. If you’re starting with dried chickpeas, cook them separately until tender before adding them to the curry. Chickpeas need a long cooking time, while this curry comes together quickly. Plus, the acidity in tomatoes can prevent dried chickpeas from becoming tender.
2. Don’t overcook the spinach. Spinach is delicate and cooks in just a few minutes. Add it toward the end and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, just until wilted. This keeps it fresh and prevents it from becoming overcooked.
3. Bloom the spices. Don’t skip this step! Cooking the spices in hot oil helps release their natural oils, making them more aromatic and flavorful. Adding them directly to the liquid can leave the curry tasting bitter or harsh.
4. Mash some of the chickpeas. Gently mash a portion of the chickpeas right in the pan. This releases their natural starches and helps thicken the sauce, giving the curry a richer, more cohesive texture without needing flour or cornstarch.
5. Drain and rinse canned chickpeas. Always drain and rinse canned chickpeas well under cold water before using. This removes the packing liquid, along with excess salt and starch, and gives the curry a cleaner, fresher flavor.
Spinach is delicate and cooks in just a few minutes, so add it toward the end and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, just until wilted. This helps preserve its fresh flavor and prevents it from becoming overcooked.
If you let the spinach boil for too long, it can lose its vibrant color and turn soft and mushy, which can make the curry look dull and muddy.
Yes, I recommend draining and rinsing canned chickpeas before adding them to your curry.
The liquid in the can, known as aquafaba, is useful in recipes like egg substitutes and vegan baking, but I prefer not to use it in curry. Draining and rinsing gives the chickpeas a cleaner flavor and removes excess salt and starch from the canning liquid.
It also helps keep the curry from becoming overly thick or starchy. Simply drain the chickpeas in a colander and rinse them well under cold running water before adding them to the curry.
If you’re sensitive to beans, rinsing may also help remove compounds in the canning liquid that can contribute to digestive discomfort.
Well... not exactly! While both dishes feature boiled chickpeas as the star ingredient, traditional chana masala is a bold and tangy North Indian dish made without any cream or coconut milk. It’s heavily spiced—especially with garam masala—and gets its signature tang from tomatoes or amchur (dry mango powder). The texture is thicker, more rustic, and deeply flavorful.
This creamy chickpea curry, on the other hand, is milder, subtly spiced, and has a rich, velvety texture thanks to the addition of coconut milk. Think of it as a more comforting, cozy version—perfect for weeknights or when you're craving something nourishing but not too intense. It is lighter than the Indian butter chickpeas.
Indian Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion (about 1 medium)
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic (minced or grated)
- 2 teaspoons minced or grated ginger
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt (or to taste), divided
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce (don't use marinara or jarred sauces)
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- 1 can chickpeas (drain & rinse) (or use 2 cups cooked)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 3 handfuls baby spinach
Instructions
- Saute aromatics. Heat 3 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Stir in the 1 ½ cups onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoon ginger, and about ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and become translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Toast spices. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add all 2 teaspoon coriander, ½ teaspoon cayenne, ¼ teaspoon turmeric, and ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, along with 2 tablespoons of water. The water helps prevent the spices from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant and glossy.
- Simmer. Add the 1 can tomato sauce, ¾ cup coconut milk, 1 can chickpeas, ½ teaspoon sugar, remaining salt, and ½ cup water. Stir well, then cover the pot and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring once or twice in between to prevent the curry from sticking to the bottom.
- Optional step 👉 Use a potato masher to gently mash the curry a couple of times— just enough to break down some of the chickpeas. This helps naturally thicken the sauce and creates a creamier, heartier texture. Avoid mashing too much—you still want plenty of whole chickpeas.
- Finish. Stir in 3 handfuls of spinach and cook uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes, until just wilted. Remove from heat and let the curry rest for about 5 minutes before serving—this allows the flavors to settle and the sauce to thicken slightly.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
Chickpea Spinach Curry Variations
This Indian chickpea spinach curry is super flexible—once you’ve got the base recipe down, you can easily adapt it to what you have on hand. Here are a few tasty ideas:
- Swap the protein: Try cubed paneer instead of chickpeas for a delicious vegetarian twist.
- No spinach? No problem—just leave it out.
- Use kale: Replace spinach with chopped kale. Since it takes longer to cook, add it in along with the tomato sauce so it softens fully.
- Add potatoes: Skip the spinach and toss in peeled, chopped potatoes (about 1-inch cubes). Add them with the tomato sauce, cover, and cook until tender. No need to mash.
- More veggies: Feel free to mix in other vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, or sweet potatoes along with or instead of spinach.
- More plant-based protein: Swap the spinach for frozen green peas as we did in the chicken keema matar recipe to bump up the protein!
- Make it lighter: Use light coconut milk if you prefer a lighter version of the chickpea spinach curry.
How to make chickpea and spinach curry?
🫘 Looking for more chickpea dishes for dinner? Try my chickpea lettuce wraps, chickpea burrito bowl, or chickpea tacos.
More vegetarian curry recipes for rice
- Beetroot curry with chickpeas tastes so good that it will leave you amazed and craving more. This vegan chickpea curry is pretty in pink, healthy and made in the instant pot in about 30 minutes.
- Thai red curry with tofu is bursting with bold flavor—and it’s way better than takeout! Ready in under 30 minutes, it’s the perfect quick and tasty vegetarian dinner to serve with rice.
- This butternut squash curry with cashews is thick, creamy, vegan, wholesome, and full of warming Indian spices.
- This instant pot dal recipe is packed with Kale! It is full of flavor, cozy, nourishing and immensely satisfying. It is a fantastic way to incorporate a lot of kale.
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Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
really filling and tasty! it almost gives me tomato soup vibes with the creaminess and the tomato-y flavor. i added some green onions on top to help break up the richness.
K
So delicious! We didn’t end up adding the sugar, but it was so very good.
Maria Doss
Glad to hear, have a great day - Maria
Dawn
I made this for my family last night and it was absolutely delicious! I loved the combination of spices...a little "bite" with loads of flavour! It's a new favourite:)