Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry

This is one of our favorite one-pot meals for fasting times. It is a hearty Chickpea Curry that can be easily prepared from dry chickpeas or even canned chickpeas. I’ll give you the steps for cooking your curry in a slow cooker in the recipe card below, and then you can keep reading for instructions for cooking this curry in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop.

My recipe calls for cooking the chickpeas from dry chickpeas, but you can also save a lot of time and just use canned chickpeas from the store. This cuts your cooking time down a lot because you don’t have to soak the peas.

In the video I have linked in the recipe card, I show you how to start with canned chickpeas. But see the notes on the recipe card also for directions.

Steps For Cooking Dry Chickpeas in The Instant Pot For This Recipe:

• Rinse the dry chickpeas and pick through them, making sure to remove any small stones that might have been in the bag or any bad-looking chickpeas.
• Cover the chickpeas in about 6-8 cups of water and let them soak for at least six to eight hours (overnight is best in my opinion), then drain and rinse.
• Place the chickpeas, chopped onions, and the spices into your Instant Pot and cover with water or veggie Broth. If you are using a broth instead of water, I suggest starting with 1 teaspoon of salt. You can always add more later, so start with less.
• Place the lid on your Instant Pot and follow the cooking recommendations for chickpeas in your user manual for the soaked chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans sometimes). My manual says 20-25 minutes for soaked chickpeas on high pressure.
• If you choose to skip the soaking process, then just rinse your chickpeas and sort them, and then add them and the broth to your Instant Pot and cook for 40-45 minutes on high pressure (or as your user manual suggests for your machine).
• Once your chickpeas are cooked, release the pressure carefully and open the lid. Add in the frozen sweet potatoes and turn the Instant Pot to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
• Lastly, in all the tomato products and the coconut milk. Stir well and taste for seasonings. You can add more seasonings like salt now if you think the curry needs it. It’s ready to serve.

Cooking the Chickpea Curry On The Stovetop

• If you don’t have an Instant Pot or just simply want to make this chickpea curry on the stovetop, you absolutely can do that.
• If you are starting with dry chickpeas, then for the stovetop method, you will need to soak the chickpeas just to cut your cooking times down.
• I suggest putting the peas on to soak the morning of the day you are going to prepare this curry, and they will be ready to cook by dinner time. Or you can soak them overnight the night before.
• Once the chickpeas have soaked, add the soaked chickpeas, all the seasonings, and the chopped onions to a large cooking pot and cover with veggie broth or water, then bring them to a boil. If you are using broth, you may want to start with just one teaspoon of salt and taste at the end to add more if needed.
• Once they come to a boil, you’ll need to turn down the heat and let them simmer until soft and tender. Keep an eye on them as they cook, in case you need to add more water or broth.
• After an hour of cooking, check the consistency and repeat every 15-20 minutes until you have the texture you want.
• When your peas are just about tender, add in the sweet potatoes and cook for an additional few minutes until they are soft too.
• Once you have them to the texture you like, add in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and coconut milk, and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes to let the flavors marry. Check for seasonings and add more if you think it is needed.
• The chickpea curry is ready to serve now.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry

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This is a very easy and frugal meal of Chickpea Curry. It is vegan and gluten-free.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of dry Chickpeas
• 24 ounces of frozen sweet potato chunks
• 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can of fire roasted tomatoes, with liquids
• 2 (15 ounce) can of lite coconut milk
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of Garma Masala, optional
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Instructions

1. If you are using dry chickpeas, it is best to soak them overnight before cooking. If you would like to cook this curry in your Instant Pot, check the blog post above for directions.
2. Add your soaked chickpeas to the crockpot and cover with water (or veggie broth if you prefer), and add in the onions and all the seasonings, then stir to combine.
3. Set the crockpot to high and cook for 4 hours. At the 4-hour mark, add in the sweet potatoes and let them cook for 1 to 2 more hours until the peas and sweet potatoes are tender.
4. Once the chickpeas and potatoes are tender, add in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and the coconut milk. Stir the curry well and now taste for seasoning. Add more if you feel it is needed.
5. At this point, you could also add tofu and cook for another 30 minutes to an hour for extra protein, but if you don't want to add tofu, the curry is ready to serve. Keep the curry in the crockpot on warm until you are ready to serve.
6. This curry is deliciously served over brown rice or even cauliflower rice.

Notes

You can save a lot of time by starting with canned chickpeas. To do this, add the undrained chickpeas to your slow cooker and add the onions, crushed tomatoes, undrained diced tomatoes, and all the seasonings. If you want more broth, you can add 32 ounces of veggie broth. Cook on low for 2 hours, then add the sweet potatoes, and cook 2 more hours until they are tender. Once cooked, add the coconut milk and stir. Don't forget to taste and add more seasoning if it is needed. Ready to serve!

About the author: Keri Bucci

I'm an Orthodox Christain that converted in 2020. I have attended SS George and Alexandra Orthodox Church in Fort Smith, AR the conversion. I'm married to my husband, Anthony, and we have one son, Nathanael. Anthony and I are the creators of the Let Us Attend Website as well as the Orthodox Christian Table over on YouTube. I have also had a food blog for 12 years called My Table of Three, where I share healthy recipes that include fasting recipes, low-carb & sugar-free recipes, and whole food recipes.