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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.
Thank you so much for your help!!is there a certain type of coconut milk you suggest? I used Thai kitchen
I use Whole Foods 365 and Thai kitchen. Sometimes it’s just the pot or that batch etc. Just mix it all up to thicken.
Loved the taste! The flavor is mild but complex. Even though I soaked my chickpeas for many hours they still needed to be cooked for 45 minutes to get the nice soft texture I wanted. After cooking, I stirred in spinach, grated zucchini, and roasted sweet potatoes. I would recommend using a large red pepper because it gives a lot of delicious flavor!
Awesome
This is restaurant worthy delicious. My meat eating husband couldn’t get enough. I used a jarred red curry paste that I stir fried a bit in the Instant pot before adding everything else. Flavorful, filling and comforting, definitely going into the rotation!
Really loved how easy and flavorful this recipe is!! made it for meal prep for the week. I smashed up my chickpeas and loved the thicker texture. Will definitely be making again!
Yay!!! 😃 😄 thank you
Thanks for this recipe, i tried it last night and it was delicious. Replaced red peppers with yellow peppers (because that’s what i had) and i mistakenly put 1 cup of water instead of 1/4 (i was using already cooked chickpeas) but i let it simmer and it turned out well.
Thank you again.
yay!! good to know. Thanks
Great flavour!
Fabulous ! thanks for the amazing feedback
I’m giving 4 stars for the ingredients. Chickpeas and these spice combinations with rice; making my mouth water. 😂 I’ve never cooked with coconut milk, but so excited to try this recipe. And silly me who eats most of my Indian Cuisine at the Restaurant thought curry in name meant curry powder must be in dish. I do not have an instant pot. Took me forever to get a crock pot. I first have to make sure I’ll get many uses from it. I was taught to cook with a good set of stainless and cast iron; handed down tradition. Can this be made in a crock pot? Or just use your saucepan method?
The rating is unfair then, isn’t it? Curry isn’t just curry powder and that’s something you’ll learn as you look through my recipes covering curries from many parts of the world where many curries dont use any curry powder. This isn’t an Indian curry but just a made up everyday curry. Curry also isn’t synonymous with Indian. Indian food is way beyond curry.
Use the stovetop method. All my instant pot or pressure cooker recipes have stovetop/saucepan option.
Ok I’ll change to 0 star rating because I hate cardamon, ginger, cumin, coriander and will throw these spices in garbage. 🤣 Bit maybe I’ll wait till I make this.
You haven’t even tried it yet. Ratings are for when you try it
Made this for dinner last night over some basmati rice for me and my boyfriend and it was so delicious! He had seconds and I can’t wait to eat the leftovers :).
Yay
Hi Richa, instead of canned coconut milk , can I use So Delicious coconut milk.
carton coco milk won’t work in this.
Hi Richa! Do you have a recommendation on how I can cook rice along with the curry, ie can they be cooked in the instant pot at the same time (or can the rice grains be added afterwards and cook with additional time)? I have seen Pot In Pot methods online to cook rice as other items cook simultaneously. Do you recommend using the PIP method? I’m not sure how to go about making rice, besides the traditional rice cooker method. Thank you very much!
Yes you can. The times have to match the main dish. White rice needs just five minutes of pressure cooking time so it won’t work with the dried chickpeas used in the recipe because they’re getting cooked for so much longer. You could put brown rice as it takes 22+mins pressure cooking time . Soak the brown rice and hot water for 15 minutes then drain and put the same amount of water(1 cup water for 1 cup brown rice) In a pot that fits. Place that on a trivet and lower it over the chickpeas.
For white rice use the same amounts and use the canned chickpea recipe from the notes with pressure cooking time of 10 mins.