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This Indian-spiced zucchini chickpea curry bakes in a single pan! It’s a super easy, 2-step recipe that’s packed with amazing curry flavors.
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Zucchini season is upon us and this super quick, one pan chickpea zucchini curry is perfect to use it up! We just add everything to the baking pan and bake for a delicious curry that you can serve with rice, flatbread, naan, or sourdough. The zucchini gets roasted then cooked with the sauce. The slow roasting in the oven adds so much flavor. This quick, hands-free recipe doesn’t require standing around sautéing. It’s a two baking step process that’s almost like a dump-and-done recipe.
I use a mix of sambal oelek ( Asian chili garlic sauce), hot sauce and garam masala for the deep flavor in the curry. To make the curry, you first bake the aromatics with the zucchini, spices, hot sauce, and sambal oelek. This first round of baking adds this delicious, caramelized, spicy heat to the curry’s finished flavor profile that makes it stand out from other chickpea curries. You can also add whatever other seasonal veggies of choice instead of the zucchini, like pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potato, fennel, root veggies etc. This caramelized base is delicious added to other curries, as well.
Then, you add the remaining curry ingredients, give everything a stir, and bake until the sauce is bubbly, thick, and aromatic. That’s it!
This curry is super quick and easy in the oven, but if you’d rather make it on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot, I have those directions included in the recipe card for you.
Why You’ll Love Zucchini Chickpea Curry
- easy, quick, 1-pan dinner
- hands-off recipe – almost a dump-and-done!
- savory, caramelized onion-zucchini-spices base gives the sauce an amazing flavor!
- naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free
More Baked Curries
Spicy Baked Zucchini Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
For the Zucchini
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4” slices or cubes
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek, or other Asian chili garlic sauce, use less for less heat and less chili sauce flavor
For the Spices
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 to 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Rest of the Curry
- 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste, or use 5 cloves of minced garlic and 1” of ginger, minced
- 8 ounces canned tomato puree, or use 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 15 ounce can full fat coconut milk, or 1.5 cups thick non dairy milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach, or more, to taste, or use chopped, well-packed spinach
- cilantro and lime juice, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C). Use the oil to grease an 9×12” or similar-sized baking dish, and add the onion, zucchini, hot sauce, and sambal oelek, tossing well. Mix all the spices in a small bowl, and sprinkle all over the zucchini mixture, and then even out the onion and zucchini in the pan. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven when the onions are translucent. Mix in the ginger garlic paste and tomato puree, then add in the rest of the ingredients (except garnish), and mix really well. Even it out with a spatula. Put the baking dish back in the oven to bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sauce is boiling evenly and is thickening a little bit. Depending on your oven, this can take 30 minutes or so.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, garnish with cilantro and lime juice. If the curry isn’t thick to your preference, mix in a few tablespoons of non dairy yogurt or nut butter while still hot. Serve with toasted sourdough, garlic bread, naan, flatbread or rice, Or with roasted veggies.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- oil – To grease the baking dish.
- onion – Adds so much amazing umami to this curry! Use more zucchini to substitute
- zucchini – This is your veggie, and you can use other veggies instead, like winter squash, summer squash, , root veggies, mushroom, fennel etc .
- hot sauce and sambal oelek – Add moisture and heat to the veggies. Omit to reduce heat.
- ground spices – Coriander, cumin, garam masala, and salt season this curry. Use curry powder or Berbere, Babarat or Cajun blends for variation
- ginger garlic paste – Adds more umami and heat to the curry! Use minced if you don’t have paste
- tomato puree – For umami and color. You can use tomato paste instead, if needed.
- coconut milk – Makes the curry creamy. Full-fat coconut milk is ideal. For coconut free, use other thick non dairy milk such as cashew milk
- chickpeas – For your protein. You can use white beans or tofu instead, if you like.
- spinach – Use fresh or frozen spinach.
- garnishes – Top your chickpea zucchini curry with cilantro and lime juice.
💡 Tips
- Depending on your oven and baking pan, the baking time can vary by 5 minutes or more.
How to Make Chickpea Zucchini Curry
Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C). Use the oil to grease an 9×11” or similar-sized baking dish, and add the onion, zucchini, hot sauce, and sambal oelek, tossing well. Mix all the spices in a small bowl, and sprinkle all over the zucchini mixture, and then spread the onion and zucchini in the pan. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the oven when the onions are translucent, and mix in the ginger garlic paste and tomato puree.
Then add in the rest of the ingredients (except garnish), and mix really well. Even it out with a spatula.
Put the baking dish back in the oven to bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sauce is boiling evenly and is thickening a little bit. Depending on your oven, this can take 30 minutes or so. Remove the baking dish from the oven, garnish with cilantro and lime juice. If the curry isn’t thick to your preference, mix in a few tablespoons of non dairy yogurt or nut butter while still hot. serve with toasted sourdough, garlic bread, naan, flatbread or rice.
What to Serve with Zucchini and Chickpea Curry
This curry is great served with naan, flatbread, rice, garlic bread or make a bowl with roasted veggies or baked potato.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is nut-free, gluten-free, and soy-free.
To make this on the stovetop, follow the first step of cooking the onion and zucchini with the hot sauce and the spices over medium heat for 7 to 9 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients, partially cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the zucchini is cooked to preference. Garnish and serve.
To cook this in the Instant Pot, add the onion and the spices to the Instant Pot, and sauté for 3 minutes or so, then add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix really well, close the lid, and cook at high pressure for 2 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Then, open the lid, and garnish and serve
Love the recipe. Left out the hot sauce and it was just right.
So glad you enjoyed!
Richa, I love your recipes. I eat so well now. Prefer to eat at home, going out for dinner holds very little interest because your recipes are hard to beat. Thank-you so much.
You’re so sweet!
Wow this recipe was so easy to prepare and turned out flavorful and delicious. I tripled the zucchini and used a cup of frozen spinach. I served it over quiona with roti bread. I loved that everything is in one casserole.
I’m going to try the bbq chickpea and potato salad tonight. Thanks Richa
Awesome
is it necessary to thaw the spinach first or can you toss it in as frozen?
You don’t need to thaw it.
I made this last night as I cook my way through some of the marvelous recipes on this week’s Richa meal plan! I used sambal oelek and did not find the flavor overpowering. It’s a really easy recipe to assemble and I would like to make it again, but there are sooo many recipes here that I’m finding it hard to circle back to do repeats! My husband and I both agreed it was the best chick pea curry we’ve ever had!
Yay!! Thanks for sharing.
Very delicious & super easy!
Very tasty and came together so fast! I followed the exact recipe (used 2 TBSP of tomato paste) and cooked on stovetop. It was creamy goodness!
Thank you Richa!
Yay!! Glad you enjoyed it.
Made this one today. I don’t have any sambal olek, so omitted.
For the hot sauce I actually used a mexican chipotle hot sauce. Otherwise made as written and served with limi and chilli corn chips. It really popped as a combo.
Thanks for another yummy meal.
Yumm
Great idea in the one dish, but disappointed in the result. A waste of beautiful aromatic spices. The dish was totally overwhelmed by the amount of chili, all the other flavours were drowned out.
Oh no. Reduce the chili sauce and hot sauce or omit. I’ve made similar non spicy baked curries before already , so this is a spicier version with the tang from the sauce as well. Heat is adjustable to preference.
I made this tonight in my instant pot. I used eggplant instead of zucchini. I had it with Basmati rice. I used dry soaked dry chick peas so had to set the pressure timer for 19 minutes. Next time I eill pre cook the chick peas. Very flavorful!
Awesome!
Wow Richa! This was a great recipe! So hands-off and easy to make, yet never compromising on flavor! I’m so impressed by how soft all the veggies turned out in the oven; it turned out just as soft and creamy as it would have as if it were pressure cooked in the instant pot! Thank you so much for your delicious and creative curry recipes! Do keep them coming!
Awesome!! There’s a lot more flavor in the baked version because of the roasted flavor!
I made this yesterday night. I saw your post in the morning and went out and purchased to ingredients to make that evening. It was delicious! We are a family of 7 and there were no leftovers even though I doubled the recipe. I want to make it again next week but want to change up the veggies (so my family doesn’t complain about not having variety). What other veggies do you think would be good in this?
Thanks so much! We love your recipies!
Awesome!! Summer squashes(yellow, opo(lauki), fennel, peppers, mushroom, root veggies( golden beet, potato sweet potato), cauliflower etc all will work!