This slow cooker chickpea curry is a cozy, hands-off dinner that’s completely vegan and loaded with vegetables. Perfectly spiced, creamy with coconut milk, and packed with plant-based protein, it’s the perfect set-it-and-forget-it meal for busy days. The recipe includes an easy Instant Pot variation, and it freezes beautifully—ideal for meal prep or make-ahead dinners.
Keep calm and curry on
Friend, if you’re in the mood for a cozy, flavor-packed vegan curry that basically cooks itself, then you're in the right place. This slow-cooker chickpea curry is loaded with perfectly cooked vegetables, creamy, dreamy coconut milk, and just the right amount of spice. We’re talking big flavors, dreamy texture, and zero fuss.
This crockpot chickpea curry is also incredibly nourishing: chickpeas bring the plant-based protein and fiber, the veggies bring the color and nutrients, and the spices bring all the warm, comforting vibes I’m looking for in a vegan curry recipe. It's definitely a favorite among our extensive collection of chickpea recipes, and that says a lot!
And because I wanted this recipe to work for everyone, I tested it multiple times in both the slow cooker and the Instant Pot. The result? A reliable, foolproof curry that turns out perfectly every time.
So yes—this is your sign to keep calm and curry on. Let’s get into it.
Looking for more nutritionist-created curry recipes? These Curried Cauliflower Chickpea Wraps are a crowd favorite, and you don't want to miss our internet-famous Mung Bean and Coconut Curry!
Let's make slow cooker Chickpea Curry together!
Alrighty, my friend, let's get going. You'll find detailed instructions for both the slow cooker and Instant Pot techniques in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. For now, let's take a visual walk-through together.
Step 1: sauté the onions
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan (or in your Instant Pot using the sauté function). Add the onions and sauté for about five minutes, stirring regularly, until they are translucent.
Add the garlic, ginger, spices, and salt, and sauté for 1-2 additional minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat, and, if you're using a traditional slow cooker, scrape the contents of the pan into the ceramic base.
Step 2: load up the veggies + chickpeas
Add the cauliflower, potatoes, red and green peppers, and the chickpeas.
Now add the canned tomatoes and the vegetable broth. Give everything a good stir.
Step 3: set it and forget it
If you're making Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry, set your slow cooker to HIGH for four hours.
If you're making your chickpea curry in an Instant Pot, set it to HIGH PRESSURE on manual for five minutes. Once the pressure-cooking cycle is complete, you'll want to use a quick release.
Step 4: the big finish
Remove the lid and stir the curry. You want to make sure the potatoes are tender at this point. Add the baby spinach, a little at a time, and stir it through to wilt.
Add the coconut milk, and stir to combine.
That's it! Your curry is done!
Step 5: serve!
Sooooo good. We did it!
I love serving this nourishing chickpea curry with rice and warm naan bread. It doesn't get much better than that.
Chickpea Curry With Coconut Milk (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 medium yellow potatoes diced
- 1 Tablespoon curry powder
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger finely diced or grated
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced or crushed
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 14 oz cans chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper diced
- 1 medium head cauliflower cut into bite-sized florets
- 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 1 14 oz can coconut milk
- 1 8 oz bag baby spinach
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed flying pan over medium-high heat. If you're using an Instant Pot, this can be done directly in the pot using the sauté function.1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Add the onion, and sauté until translucent - about 5 minutes.1 medium yellow onion
- Stir in the curry powder, ginger, garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper, and cook for about 1 minute.1 Tablespoon curry powder, 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, 3 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Remove the onions from the heat, and scrape them, along with all of the spices, into the slow cooker. If any of the spices are stuck to the pan, you can rinse it out with a bit of vegetable broth.
- Add the chickpeas, peppers, potato, cauliflower, tomatoes, and broth.2 medium yellow potatoes, 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 14 oz cans chickpeas, 1 medium red bell pepper, 1 medium green bell pepper, 1 medium head cauliflower, 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Cover, and cook on HIGH for 4 hours.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Seal the Instant Pot and set to manual HIGH PRESSURE for 5 minutes. When the pressure cooking cycle is complete, use the quick release.
To finish
- Stir in the spinach bit by bit to allow it to wilt.1 8 oz bag baby spinach
- Stir in the coconut milk.1 14 oz can coconut milk
- Taste, and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve over rice, or with naan bread.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
- Chickpea curry will last 3-5 days in the fridge, or you can portion it and freeze for up to three months.
Renee says
Excellent recipe! I've been vegan 10+ years and this is the nicest slow cooker veg curry I've ever had 🙂 it's so light and creamy, it's almost like a butter chicken consistency and flavour, but very healthy. I didn't have cauliflower so I used about half of one huge sweet potato, then added 1 full extra teaspoon of salt to counter the extra sweetness. I liked how much sauce it had, goes well with brown rice. Have added to my database of recipes to make regularly, thank you! 🙂
Katie Trant says
So glad you enjoyed this one, Renee!
Amanda H. says
Hi! I would like to make this and freeze it. If I freeze it in a big batch, would I cook it all the way before freezing? How would you recommend reheating it?
Katie Trant says
I cook it all the way, let it cool, then portion into individual servings to freeze. I usually use the microwave for re-heating, but you can also do it stovetop over gentle heat.
Shat says
Has anyone swapped kale for spinach? Your thoughts?
Katie Trant says
You definitely could, I'd just add it a bit earlier in the cooking since kale takes longer to wilt. Maybe half way through or even at the beginning? Go for it!
Marie says
Could you use light coconut milk?
Katie Trant says
Yes you could, although the end result would be less rich.
Jennifer says
Hi! This is a recipe I make regularly, and my husband and I both really enjoy it! I noticed for the first time today that there is a 'typo' in the first line under, "Instructions" - the word, "flying" instead of, "frying"! Obviously easily missed, but it gave me quite a laugh!
Brian Sorg says
No wonder mine wasn’t turning out right. Thanks!
Jessie says
I’m going to make this today but don’t have cauliflower. Do you think broccoli would work in its place?
Katie Trant says
Yes!
sal says
Hey,
Love the look of this recipe. I only have dried chickpeas which i soaked overnight. can i use this instead of canned chickpeas? thanks!
Katie Trant says
You definitely can, but you will have to cook them before adding them to this recipe.
AlI says
I accidentally added the coconut milk in with everything before turning the heat on. Will it still turn out okay?
Katie Trant says
Should be fine!
David says
Just made this but found I needed a hell of a lot more curry powder, once cooked it just tasted like tomatoes. Big dollop of powder later and its all good
Liz Butler says
Thanks Katie, I'll give it a go!
Liz Butler says
Hello
Is it ok to use garam masala instead of curry powder?
Thank you.
Liz
Katie Trant says
Hey Liz, I've never tried this, but I'm sure it would turn out fine if you prefer the flavour of garam masala. Let us know how it turns out!
Kiran Gill says
Hi, I haven't made this curry yet but was a little worried about using 2 cans? I don't like too much tomato's buy this recipe uses 2 cans. Anyone think the tomato taste is overpowering? Thanks
Katie Trant says
Hi Kiran, two cans of tomatoes works out to about 3 cups of crushed tomatoes. Since there are lots of spices and also coconut milk in this recipe I wouldn't say it's overwhelmingly tomato-ey, but who knows, if you don't like tomatoes you may not like it ????????♀️
Kiran says
I have made this recipie so many times since I discovered it in 2019. I am not a massive fan of tomatoes but I want to stick to the recipe as much as possible. I add 2 heaped tablespoon of tomato puree and its absolutely amazing. I also add 1 tsp of coriander and garam masala. Honestly 1 of the best chickpea curries. Thank you
sharla says
If opting to use dried chickpeas instead of canned, how much would one use?
Katie Trant says
Each 14oz can contains about 1.5 cups of chickpeas, so you'd use 3 cups of COOKED chickpeas. Don't put the dried beans into this recipe without soaking and cooking them first.
Bruno says
Hi, I made it with dried chickpeas, low setting, 8 hours, works fine. I think you do not need to soak pulses to cook in a slow cooker, generally.
I made it without cauliflower (I had no time in the morning to cut it). I was an OK result, my family liked it. I was not too impressed though: I would have liked more coconut milk in it, for one (a matter of personal taste). But it was also a little bland. Definitely worth trying again with somewhat different spicing.
Larissa says
Very yummy, just used water instead of stock great flavour Thankyou for the recipe.
Christine Bandy says
Oh my gosh so delicious!!! Used half potato, half sweet potato and daaamn was it good! Also sprinkled a little hot chili flakes on at the end. A+ lady!!
Katie Trant says
I'll have to try using some sweet potato next time!
JANICE says
I made this for the first time today and it was a nice easy recipe to follow. The flavours were really good so I'll make it again. It'd be nice if the cauliflower didn't get so soft but with 4 hours in the slow cooker, it was inevitable. Next time I may try adding it partway through to try to keep some texture instead of being so mushy. Or I may try doing it on the stove top instead of the slowcooker. I also found mine to have quite a bit of liquid but served over rice it soaked in nicely.
Katie Trant says
Hey Janice, I keep the cauliflower chunks quite big and I find that helps with the texture!
Sustainable Cooks - Sarah says
Love how cozy and comforting this dish is! Anything slow cooker or instant Pot is totally my jam.
Lauren says
Perfect hearty meal for the cool winter season.
alice k mynett says
We are not a meat-free household, as you know, but I always have portions of this chick pea curry in my freezer for use when a vegetarian visits (like tomorrow). Thank you for helping me to be prepared for different dietary needs.
Tessa says
I’m not normally a fan of curry but this dish was my kind of food and I had to try it. Very tasty. I definitely will be making it again.
Jo says
Hi there ...... I can't wait to make this. Only thing is, I don't own a slow cooker!
Any chance you could steer me in the right direction to either cooking it in a crock pot in the oven or on the stove top?
Many thanks in advance!
Katie Trant says
Hi Jo, I've never tried making this recipe not in a slowcooker, so I can't say exactly how it would turn out. But I'd guess at cooking the onions garlic and ginger until soft, adding the potatoes, peppers, cauliflower, and spices and sautéing for a few min, then adding the tomatoes and veg broth, bringing to a boil, then reducing, covering, and simmering until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender. Then add the spinach and coconut milk. This is a total guess though, so please excuse any errors in execution!
Jo says
That's very sweet of you to work that out for me! Meanwhile I've found a 5 liter slow cooker in KMart for only $20 so now I can cook it slow ..... or fast!
Many thanks Katie!
Bill says
Noticed the recipe calls for diced tomato but doesn't list it in the actual preparation?
Katie Trant says
Whoops! Thanks for catching that. The tomatoes go into the slow cooker together with the broth. I've updated the recipe now!
Bill says
While I've got you here so to speak, what should the consistency be like when it's ready to serve? I made a batch last night (so late that it finished at 1am, haha) and while the ingredients added a lot of volume the sauce is fairly watery. Was going to simmer it today to reduce it.
Katie Trant says
Hey Bill, while the sauce shouldn't be super liquidy, with the coconut milk added at the end what you have is a fragrant broth that's excellent to sop up with some rice or bread. So not runny like a soup, but there is definitely some liquid there (as pictured in this post). All slow cookers are a bit different, so it's possible yours needed a bit more time. Let me know how it turns out!
Carley says
This looks like a fantastic recipe! My daughter is allergic to cauliflower...is there anything else that I could use instead or would it be a good idea to add more potatoes and veggies? Also, wondering if this freezes well?
Thanks!
Katie Trant says
Hi Carley, I haven't tried this with anything other than cauliflower so I can't say for sure how it would turn out... I'm thinking zucchini might be a good substitute, but I also worry it might get too mushy with the slow cooking. You can definitely increase all of the other veggies and potatoes. Or you could try using some butternut squash or even parsnip? Let me know what you end up doing and how it turns out! And yes, this recipe freezes like a dream 🙂
Sue says
Hi, I’ve just made this today and the ingredients are just lovely , but I found It really liquidy....I have found that by omitting the cups of vegetable stock and just using a stock cube together with the coconut milk you end up with a thicker consistency ....I know that cooking with coconut milk from the outset is not always recommended I think it works a treat.....otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed it, delicious 😊
Sunniva says
Hi! I´m trying it with brussel sprouts, halved. Just an idea! First time I´m making this recipe. As I´ve seen in the comments that it's a little watery, I added only one can of tomates and one of tomato paste. It's looking good!
Carole Hildebrandt says
My husband has been converted to a chickpea lover... Yeah!
We served our dish with naan, simply delicious
Katie Trant says
Nice one, Carole! Good to have another chickpea lover in this world 😉
Cath says
YUM! Made this today & it was delicious! Few changes as didn't have all the ingredients - 1x tin lentils as only had 1 tin chickpea, and pak choi for spinach. Yum. Much enjoyed by 2x 7 year olds too. Thank you!
Katie Trant says
Those sound like great swaps, Cath! I never would have considered using pak choi in this dish, but I can totally see how it would work. And if it's 7yr old approved, even better!