Chopped fresh cilantro and lime wedges, for garnish (optional)
Naan bread and rice, to serve (optional)
Steps
In a large, heavy bottomed pot or high-walled pan, heat the oil over medium-low. Add the sliced onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and deep golden, about 15 minutes. Add a tablespoon of water at a time if the onions get dry.
Increase the heat to medium. Add the curry powder and cumin and stir until toasted, about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes and gently scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden or rubber spoon to release the any browned spices or onions stuck to the bottom.
Pour in the coconut milk and add the chickpeas the pot. Stir and reduce to low heat. Let simmer until the sauce is thickened and the chickpeas are slightly softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and adjust other seasonings as necessary.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges over basmati rice and/or with naan.
Reviews
vivian on 2020-08-04 (4 stars): A good, easy recipe, and good tasting too! I found the cooking time for the onions and garlic was far too long, but you just have to play it by ear and use your own judgement.
Sarah on 2020-12-14 (5 stars): Awesome recipe! Has become a staple dinner in my household!
D. Robinson on 2020-12-24 (5 stars): I am vegan and made this dish as a meal prep for the week and absolutely loved it. The ingredients are simple, readily availability and it's an easy, no-fuss meal. This is now a staple in my meal prep routine.
Jalissa Phillips on 2022-10-05 (5 stars): This recipe deserves at least 10 stars. I made it last night for my son and I and it was aaammmazzing. Ingredients are so simple, but the taste is Exquisite. I will be making this weekly in my home!!!
Holli on 2021-01-12 (5 stars): Awesome recipe! So easy. My kids (ages 4, 2, and 1) cleared their plates without coercion. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing!
Unknown on 2021-07-14 (5 stars): Love it! Tastes amazing with whole-wheat paratha. But I recommend guiding us in how much salt and pepper to use, as people like me are not good with adjusting them.
Alistair on 2022-10-09 (5 stars): @esb hey, I’m just some internet stranger but I hope you see this:
Your comment is so comprehensively unhelpful & sad.
It’s really unnecessary for you to go to the effort of attacking this person who contributed their experience, simply because their approach rubs you the wrong way.
It’s not just unkind, unfair & destructive; it doesn’t make sense.
People play with switching up recipes all the time; half the value of these comments is in sharing your variations with other readers! Certainly that’s why I read them.
I’m sorry for however you’re feeling already, that their comment made you react so strongly; I hope you can find a place of safety to work through that.
(I mean this sincerely, not sarcastically. I’m annoyed by your comment just as your were Crystal’s, but I don’t want to just add to the angry atmosphere.
It seems to me you’ve felt a painful overreaction, which I know in my life usually means I’m seriously hurting just beneath the surface.
I hope you can hear me as genuine, not condescending - I think you can be better than that comment, but sometimes first you need to feel better in yourself.)
Anyway, I hope others don’t feel unsafe to contribute.
@crystal thanks for sharing! The eggs addition feels very shakshouka-adjacent, I’ll have to try it!
P.s. we’ve made the recipe as written a couple of times and *loved it* - so simple & delicious. I paired it with a naan dough you can freeze ahead, to make the actual cook super simple on a busy day :D
Patty Powledge on 2024-06-12 (5 stars): Love your response, I like seeing all variations of recipes, besides the original. I use 1 can of chick peas and 1 can of black beans. Instead of 1/4 of pepper flakes I use 1/2 and 1/4 of cumin since I really dislike cumin. 1 can of tomato sauce instead of crushed tomatoes and 2 chicken breast cut up in small cubes. Is all I had at the moment I made the recipe, I did the original recipe the second time and dint like it much that way but I love the taste of it after my adjustments. I really dislike the cumin, that is the only reason I didnt like it. Now I just use 1/4 of the cumin and everything is perfect. Thank you for taking the time to show some emphaty.
Dawn Robinson on 2024-03-22 (5 stars): I agree.
Sherry on 2021-06-18 (5 stars): Used this recipe as a base w/ a different mix of veggies and some spice & cream add ons. Yummy! Thanks for the recipe!!! :)
Sarah on 2021-06-23 (5 stars): Super simple, easy to throw together using pantry staples. I did not do the red pepper because my kids dislike too much spice. Threw in an extra tsp curry (yellow mild) and about 1/2 tsp salt. Served over left over coconut quinoa--it was a good combination. I will add this to my rotation of 'recipes in a pinch'.
Jamie on 2021-08-21 (5 stars): I had another recipe in mind for my chickpeas but felt tired by the time I needed to start cooking it, so I googled and came across this recipe. It was so, so easy and quick. I definitely see this as one of my healthy “ fast food” meals. It was a little too spicy (I used the 1/4t. of chili pepper flakes and 2T. curry powder), so I will adjust this 2 a wee bit. I make yogurt at home, so I had plenty to help mitigate the burning sensation, but there was still a bit too much burning for us. But the flavor is delicious! I served it with basmati, lime, and cilantro also. So tasty!
R. Stanard on 2022-02-09 (5 stars): Made this for the first time. It is delicious. Followed the recipe exactly with the exception of adding some fresh spinach at the end for some color contrast. Next time I will add a bit more red pepper because I like spicy. But loved this recipe. So tasty and easy to make.
Bean on 2021-09-01 (5 stars): Very, very good. I added about 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon and I pureed the onion, tomato, coconut milk mixture before adding the chickpeas. This gave the sauce extra body that really clung to the rice (and my kids couldn't pick them out!). The lime on top is a must! Served with quick sautéed snow peas and homemade naan. Spot on.
Lori on 2022-05-10 (5 stars): The addition of cinnamon and lime gave this the extra kick it needed. Thanks for the suggestion.
Louis Ventelucci on 2021-09-12 (5 stars): Dear Morgan,
many thanks for the recipe.
I tried it yesterday and it was very delicious.
The combination of the herbs is perfect.
Yours sincerely,
The Vegetarian Hannibal
Stephanie on 2021-09-29 (5 stars): Easy and delicious! Definitely becoming a staple in my kitchen.
Sharon on 2021-10-20 (5 stars): I made this on a whim. I didn’t have crushed tomatoes so I used left over sauce I had in the freezer I made with fresh tomatoes. I didn’t follow the amounts for the spices I just guesstimated. This was so good! I must put the left overs away right now or I’ll over eat.
Jordan on 2022-01-01 (5 stars): This dinner is delicious and super easy/fast to make! We make it often!! I wanted to make this tonight but don’t have an onion. Can you make this without an onion?
Kara Bibb on 2022-01-07 (5 stars): One of my resolutions is to mindfully prepare more vegetarian meals. I have been using chick peas regularly and this is far and away the best chick pea dish I have made so far! I only had one can left so I threw in bell peppers, carrots, and snow peas and it was so beautiful and yummy!
Marcel on 2022-08-01 (5 stars): I enjoyed this curry very much. However toasting the curry powder 30 seconds before adding the crushed tomatoes increased the flavor even more.
Rex on 2022-09-01 (5 stars): I made this 2x now, great and amazing every time!!! Minor modification, fresh chickpeas, 1 pound. Household favorite go to recipe.
Bill on 2022-11-01 (5 stars): It was really good but mine came out too runny. Any idea on how to thicken it?
Gloria on 2022-11-11 (5 stars): Me and my family really enjoyed this recipe!
Sherry on 2023-01-13 (5 stars): I followed your recipe almost exactly - the only thing I did different was add about 1 tsp of sugar and I took some (about 1/2c ) of the curry and blended it (chickpeas and tomato, onion, sauce included) to thicken it a bit. Talk about an easy recipe that I am sure would be even better with chicken
Katie on 2023-03-09 (5 stars): Great recipe. Family loves this dish.
BaeJaMadeIt on 2023-03-17 (5 stars): Home Chef here, and loved this recipe though I had a number of swap outs based on the ingredients I had on hand.
- I used evaporated milk
- 1/2 Chili Powder 1/2 Cumin = Curry Powder
- Rotel Tomatoes
Garnished with Cilantro & Lime really bringing this dish to the next level
Even with the ingredients I had on hand, it was excellent and I cannot wait to try the recipe with the ingredients listed (which I’ve purchased since making)
10/10 recommend
I’m in a household of 1 adult, 1 infant (9 mo) and we were able to get approx 4 adult servings (by measure standard of 1-1/2 cup per person)
PepperAnn on 2023-04-08 (5 stars): Wowza!! Thank you for this recipe!! I added a steam bag of fresh cauliflower and it was bedonkadonk!!! I am cutting way back on my meat consumption and this came into my life at the perfect time. I intend on keeping all of these ingredients on hand to enjoy this once per week (leftovers for lunch!)
ChiChi on 2023-05-13 (5 stars): I mistakenly put in TWO cans of crushed tomatoes but it was still delicious! I cooked the onions for quite a while and THEN added the garlic for a couple of minutes so as not to burn it.
Julie on 2023-07-03 (5 stars): This was delicious! Full of flavor and simple to make!
Jeannette on 2023-08-05 (5 stars): Should you drain the crushed tomatoes prior to adding them to the recipe?
Kathy on 2023-08-19 (5 stars): My husband is a definite carnivore, so I get nervous trying for healthy recipes. He LOVED this!!! It was amazing. I did add a touch of ginger because I love it. Had no lime, but everything else I followed to the letter! This is being added to our list of “Mediterranean” dishes that I will insert in our menu!
Niomi Smith on 2023-09-11 (5 stars): I can not believe this was so bloody tasty. Thankyou!! I followed your recipe to the letter with cashew cream, as I'm dairy free, pistachio nuts for garnish and pappadams instead of rice... Insanely good. Thanks again!
Jason on 2023-09-17 (4 stars): Came out pretty good, despite making a couple of errors (one was intentional). When shopping for the ingredients, i couldn't find garlic. I'm not aware of a shortage, but it was no where to be found. I was bit sad about that as I'm the type of guy that would likely be posting "I made this recipe except I used 30 cloves of garlic, it was good but I can't figure out why I can't taste the curry." I also straight up forgot the chile flakes. I've been watching my sodium intake of late, so I tend to not use salt. No salt makes for bland food, but herbs and spices can make up for the lack of salt (trained chefs will probably disagree, but I like not having high blood pressure). Next time I will definitely not leave out the garlic and chile though.
Stephanie on 2023-09-26 (5 stars): Thank you so much. This was an easy recipe to follow and make. My toddler loved it (as did her parents) this one will become a staple in our house.
Nik on 2023-11-15 (4 stars): Hi! i do love this recipe & make it often but im hoping for advice. every time i make it, the coconut milk doesn’t seem to actually blend with the crushed tomatoes… comes out tasting fine but a bit watery in texture & you can see the little white flecks of coconut milk in the sauce. am i doing something wrong? i’ve tried multiple different coconut milks
Kim on 2024-01-04 (5 stars): EXCELLENT recipe! Made this last night for dinner and it was DELICIOUS!
Made some changes by adding some frozen chopped spinach, fresh hydrated chickpeas, and garlic paste (instead of fresh chopped).
Definitely going into my weekly rotating meal planning list.
Blaire on 2024-01-17 (5 stars): This was very easy and so, so good. I did use light coconut milk, so it wasn't as thick as it probably would have been if I had followed the recipe to the letter. But served over rice, it didn't seem overly soupy at all. My spouse and I will absolutely be making this again!
Robbin on 2024-01-25 (5 stars): Made this for my non vegan husband (with Spicey ribs) he loved it. Side of rice and hot sauce. Win!win!
Claudia Estrada on 2024-03-03 (5 stars): This is my favorite easy curry recipe. I'm making it again this week. It's so tasty, I think the cumin works really well to make it stand out from the other simple curry recipes I've tried.
Megan on 2024-05-03 (5 stars): Great recipe that's easy to make. It was the first time I ever made curry and it turned out really tasty. Thanks!
Kelli on 2024-05-09 (5 stars): This is fantastic thanks! I had to make conversions to grams, as I'm in Australia. I also do not know what our equivalent is to red pepper flakes, couldn't find them at shop,so I used cayenne pepper instead. Turned out amazing.
Lilo on 2024-06-19 (5 stars): It’s a nice recipe that you can adapt to what you want. I added potatoes and carrots to give it more body, and I didn’t have coconut milk so I used veggie broth, milk, and heavy cream to replace and used coconut butter to give it a coconuty taste. I also blended some chickpeas and broth together to make the curry broth thicker.
Patricia on 2024-08-26 (5 stars): I just made this last night for my meal prep I got about 4 servings out of it paired with rice I did add about .5 tablespoons extra of curry and cumin just my personal preference on the spices and a dash of turmeric. This was so good I had to eat one of my servings immediatly and heated a few of the prebought naan bread with butter
, absolutely amazing I will be remaking this And it was so easy to make other than waiting for cooking time everything else was done in minutes!
Michelle Kalaw on 2024-11-16 (5 stars): Delicious and super easy to make! I was intimidated by curries before but this recipe is a breeze! I love the taste and make it nearly once a month now!
Actual Food Eater on 2024-12-11 (2 stars): Technically edible, but flavorless. All you people who say this is really good, and didn't add stuff to it... man dinner at your house must be a sad affair.
Lee on 2025-01-30 (5 stars): Absolutely delicious! Even approved by my extremely picky kids..
Kristina Moreland on 2025-02-20 (5 stars): This was amazing! I’ve never left a recipe comment before. I was looking for a dupe of the Bibibop curry chickpeas. I wanted a little more robust of a meal, so I added carrot and celery with the onion when I sautéed, deglazed with a little white wine rather than water, and added some rough pulled rotisserie chicken at the end. I ended up with a lovely curry stew, of sorts. I will be making this for meal prep, for sure!
Stacey on 2025-04-06 (5 stars): I just made this exactly as written, though l added a few spinach leaves at the end. It’s so tasty, and quick to make. Thanks.
Ruby on 2025-07-05 (5 stars): I used Rotel instead of crushed tomatoes. DELISH! Thanks for recipe!
Tammy on 2025-10-31 (5 stars): Easy, delicious and nutritious.
Mary on 2025-12-18 (5 stars): This was absolutely delicious.
Patty Ramos on 2026-05-20 (4 stars): This recipe tastes so good, and it is not difficult. It calls for ingredients I usually have. I served it with rice and baked chicken, and the sauce was great on everything..
