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Vegan Chickpea Coconut Curry – Instant Pot or Saucepan. This 1 Pot Coconut Chickpea Curry uses dried chickpeas and coconut milk. Add other veggies like sweet potato, squash. No Tomato Curry! Vegan Glutenfree Nutfree Soyfree Oilfree Recipe. Jump to Recipe
Nothing beats the flavor and texture of chickpeas cooked from dried chickpeas. Canned chickpeas are good as a speedy option but they cant compare to freshly cooked chickpeas. This is where pressure cooking makes things faster. I cook the chickpeas directly with the creamy sauce in the Instant Pot. You can cook this in a saucepan over stovetop as well, with dried chickpeas or with precooked-canned chickpeas. See Notes under the recipe for instructions.
This Creamy Vegan Chickpea Coconut Curry, needs 1 Pot, is super creamy, freezer friendly (although you will want to eat all of it), and flexible to flavor preference. Coconut milk makes this a luscious coconut curry. Saute the onion, garlic, chile. Add in the spices such as turmeric, cumin, curry powder, garam masala or add thai curry pastes, or berbere. Add the soaked chickpeas and coconut milk and pressure cook! Finish the dish with pepper flakes and lime. Serve with rice/grains or flatbread. Lets get cooking!
More Instant Pot Recipes to try
- IP Lentil Chili. GF
- IP Mushroom Wild Rice Soup. GF
- Japanese Veggie Curry. GF
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup with Red lentils. – So Easy
- IP Potato Chickpea Soup. GF
- Tomato Soup with Tofu Croutons.
- Cauliflower soup. GF
- Tortilla soup with red lentils. GF
Step by Step Photos:
Soak your chickpeas for atleast an hour in hot water. Prep the ingredients.
Saute the onion, garlic, chili until golden. Then add in the spices and herbs and mix, and then the drained chickpeas.
Add coconut milk and water, close the lid and pressure cook.
Let the pressure release naturally. If the mixture is thin, mash some of the chickpeas and saute for a few mins to thicken.
When to add vegetables:
- If using dried chickpeas, the pressure cooking time of 40 mins will over cook the vegetables. Add vegetables such as sweet potato, cauliflower, squashes, root vegetables after pressure cooking for 35 mins. Quick release, add veggies, close the lid and pressure cook for another 6 to 8 mins, depending on whether the chickpeas were done at 35 mins.
- Or you can roast the veggies and add them when you open the lid and simmer on saute for 2 mins.
- If using canned, chickpeas, then add the veggies with the chickpeas.
Serve with rice, garnished with cilantro, lemon juice and coconut milk.
How to make your favorite Chickpea Coconut Curry
- This Recipe is flexible to your flavor preference. Use spices and herbs of choice. You can also add in some tomatoes with the chickpeas.
- Add veggies of choice such as carrots, sweet potatoes, celery etc.
- Serve it with quinoa or whole grain bread for a hearty higher protein meal.
- Chickpeas can have variable cooking time based of age of the dried beans. I like the chickpeas to be melt in your mouth in this creamy curry, so I cook for 45 minutes (if soaked for an hour). Adjust the times based you your preference of texture anywhere from 35 mins to 50 mins.
- To double, Use 2 cans of coconut milk and 1.5 cups of water.
Chickpea Coconut Curry (Instant Pot or Saucepan)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water or broth, or use 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 hot green chili, ,chopped (such as serrano, jalapeno) or use mild chili or omit
- 1 tsp each ground cumin,, , ground coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp each cinnamon, , ground cardamom
- 1/3 tsp cayenne or to taste
- 1/4 tsp grouond sage or dried oregano
- 1 red bell pepper, ,chopped or sliced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup dry uncooked chickpeas, ,soaked for atleast 30 mins in boiling hot water (4 hours to overnight soaking works best)
- 13.5 oz can coconut milk, , reserve 2 tbsp for garnishing
- 1 cups water, ,depends on curry consistency preference., use 1/2 cup for thicker, 1.5 cups for soupier
- lemon/lime juice, , cilantro, pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Press saute on the Instant Pot. Add onion, garlic, chili and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 3 to 4 mins until translucent. Deglaze with more broth if needed. (See notes for saucepan)
- Add the spices and mix in. (You can add spice blends of choice here such as curry powder, garam masala, berbere or jamaican curry powder, or curry pastes instead of listed spices).
- Add the bell pepper and ginger and mix in. Drain the chickpeas and add to the pot. Add salt, coconut milk and water and give it a good mix to pick up any stuck bits
- Cancel saute, Close the lid to sealing. Pressure cook at high pressure for 40 to 45 mins (30 mins for overnight soak)**. Let the pressure release naturally then open the lid.
- Taste and adjust salt and flavor, add more spices if needed. If the mixture is thin, Mash some of the chickpeas to thicken or blend half cup of the curry and mix in, saute for a few mins if needed. (Fold in some baby spinach at this point while the chickpeas are still hot). Garnish with lemon, pepper flakes, remaining coconut milk and cilantro and serve over rice or grains.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks amazing! Can I make this in my 8 quart without getting the burn alert?
yes.
This is a family favourite. I make it regularly. Thanks for creating it!
I made the recipe exactly as directed. It was rather bland and soupy. I added two spoonfuls of green Thai curry paste and salt and it was much improved. The chickpeas were nicely cooked, however. Much nicer than cannned.
Sometimes beans do not absorb as much liquid and you can saute to make it less soupy. Do adjust the spices based on your preference, spices depending on their age etc may vary. I am glad you liked the chickpeas.
This soup is A-MAZING!!! So good. I’ll make again and again. Family LOVED it. I used your spice mix instead of the premixed curry blend in my spice rack, and used dried chickpeas soaked for 4 hours. It came out perfect! And it’s so easy. I love the flavors you cook with Richa! Thank you for your fabulous recipes!!!
awesome!
Can these be made in a crockpot?
probably, i dontknow the times though
Thanks for the list of people’s favorites. I found it on my iPad last night and had a bit of trouble navigating, so am hoping for more success today and am printing out the recipes.
I have not tried this particular recipe yet, but intend to, since I love chickpeas more than any other beans. Unfortunately, they do not love me, and although I can put some into the soy tempeh that I make and eat them with no trouble, the last time I used canned chickpeas in a regular recipe, I later spent hours in pain from the gas they caused.
Maybe my innards or genetic makeup is giving me some special problem, but, anyway, this message is for anyone who, like me, loves chickpeas but suffers after eating them: A kind Indian lady I had a conversation with in our local store told me that I should soak the beans overnight and then rinse them 9 times, throwing out the rinse water each time, of course. She said that a kind of foam would appear and it contains whatever is responsible for the gas; so since this is the way to get rid of that foam, I should now be able to eat chickpeas with impunity! I am going to try her suggestion soon, and there will be no more canned chickpeas in my cooking!
Hi Dale,
My body doesnt like canned chickpeas either. I soak them overnight them rinse, then give them a quick boil and discard that water as well and then cook them. This helps reduce the phytic acid in them. Also, i dont eat day old chickpeas for the same reason as the acid builds up more as they sit. You can try a mix of both these methods and see what helps
If I soak the chickpeas overnight or off 5-8 hours how long would I need to cook it in the instant pot?
I feel with soaking chickpeas longer it has lesser impact during digestion.
30 mins. Its mentioned inthe intructions.
Followed it exactly – loved it! Then I added some lovely jasmine rice (already cooked). Your recipes are the best.
By the way, do you have an opinion (haven’t checked your whole website) about using coconut milk with our without guar gum? I can get either one at Whole Foods but I don’t know if it makes a difference in the recipe.
Awesome! I havent ever used the guar gum one. I imagine it would thicken a bit more.
So easy to make and this curry has amazing flavor
yay!
I was wondering if I could use the Pot in Pot method to cook the curry using canned chickpeas along with rice. If so what type of rice would work well for the PIP method? I’m using my Instantpot for cooking meals while camping this summer in our RV. I’ve made a few of your recipes so far in my RV. I only bring my 6 quart Instantpot so it would be great to cook curry with the rice in the same pot.
You can use white basmati rice. 1: 1.5 ratio (so for 1 cup of rinsed rice, use 1.5 cups water). Cook the chickpea curry inthe main pot. Then use a trivet and another pot withthe rice over it. Pressure cook for 6 mins. Natural release.
Thanks Richa!! I’ll try it out next week when we are camping in our RV.
I made this for dinner last night – following the saucepan directions exactly as written- and it was fantastic! I was not surprised because honestly I love your cookbooks and all of your recipes. I will certainly be making this ckickpea coconut curry recipe again in the future. Thank you Richa for another delicious recipe!
awesome!