A lightly spiced, fragrant curry with chickpeas, tender chunks of sweet potato and fresh spinach cooked in a creamy coconut curry sauce.
Ready in 35 minutes, this curry is easy to prepare and packed full of flavour.
Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike love this rich, moreish curry. It’s mild enough for the kids to enjoy, but still packs a flavour punch!
I’m always adding more meat-free meals to our menu.
We try to have one or two meat-free meals a week, and it’s always a challenge coming up with something Chris will enjoy. He’s really fussy when it comes to veggie food.
This veggie curry is a winner! – vibrant, comforting, creamy and it’s also about 2-3 portions of your 5-a-day!
I only realized when I was writing this, that this curry is accidentally vegan too.
What do we need?
- Veggies and pulses – onion, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, spinach and tinned tomatoes
- Spices – garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika
- Plus a little tomato puree/paste to enhance that ‘tomatoey’ flavour
- Coconut milk – ideally full fat for more flavour – full-fat coconut milk is also much less likely to split.
How to make this vegetarian curry
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Soften the onion in a pan with a little oil. Then add the spices – garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper and cook for a further minute.
- Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and coconut milk. Simmer for 20-30 minutes (until the sweet potato is tender).
- Stir in the spinach and serve.
I like to serve with boiled rice, topped with fresh coriander and sliced red onion.
What to serve it with
You can serve this tasty chickpea curry with:
- Boiled rice
- Saag Aloo
- Easy Chapati
- Pilau rice
- Naan bread
- A simple tomato and onion salad
Ingredient swaps
- Instead of the sweet potato, try adding courgette, peppers, butternut squash, mushrooms, cauliflower or green beans to this curry (at the same you you would add the sweet potato.
- Swap out the chickpeas for butter beans (lima beans) or cannelini beans. You could pretty much swap for any type of tinned beans.
- Swap out the tinned tomatoes for 600ml/2.5 cup passata.
More fantastic Vegetarian Dinners
- Vegetarian Kway Teow (Asian Noodles)
- Rich Mushroom Ragu with Pasta
- Cheesy Veggie Burgers < Even Chris loves these!
- Vegetarian Pizza with Basil Garlic Butter
- Veggie Mexican Tortilla Lasagne
- Tomato Risotto with Crispy Garlic Crumbs
- Vegetable Pasta Bake Recipe
- Tuscan Stuffed Mushrooms
Watch how to make it
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Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion (or 2 small) peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp mild curry powder (go hotter if you prefer curry powder)
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (around 450g altogether) peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks
- 1 x 400 g (1 x 14 oz) chickpeas drained
- 2 x 400 g (2 x 14 oz) chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree (paste for US)
- 1 x 400 g (1 x 14 oz) full-fat coconut milk
- 60 g (2 packed cups) baby spinach
To Serve:
- boiled rice
- fresh coriander
- red onion slices
- chilli flakes
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium-high heat.2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, to soften.1 large onion (or 2 small)
- Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for a further minute.2 cloves garlic, 2 tsp minced ginger, 2 tbsp mild curry powder, 1 tbsp ground coriander, ½ tbsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Add the sweet potato, chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, and coconut milk.2 medium sweet potatoes, 1 x 400 g (1 x 14 oz) chickpeas, 2 x 400 g (2 x 14 oz) chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 1 x 400 g (1 x 14 oz) full-fat coconut milk
- Bring to a gentle bubble, then simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes – until the sweet potato has softened. If the sweet potato is still firm (this depends on the size of the chunks) you can cook for 5-10 minutes more. Add a splash of water or veggie stock if the sauce starts to look too thick.
- Stir in the spinach (it should wilt quickly) then turn off the heat.60 g (2 packed cups) baby spinach
- Serve with boiled rice or pilau rice, topped with fresh coriander and sliced red onion.boiled rice, fresh coriander, red onion slices, chilli flakes
Video
Notes
Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat in a pan or the microwave, stirring often until piping hot throughout. Ingredient swaps
- Try adding courgette, peppers, butternut squash, mushrooms, cauliflower or green beans to this curry (at the same you you would add the sweet potato.
- Swap out the chickpeas for butter beans (lima beans) or cannelini beans. You could pretty much swap for any type of tinned beans.
- Swap out the tinned tomatoes for 600ml/2.5 cup passata.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Curry Recipes
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Since I found your recipe for this chickpea and sweet potato curry, my husband has been requesting for this dish at least once a week. We both love it and I have also cooked it as the vegetarian option for the youth group at our Church which has been enjoyed by even those who aren’t vegetarian! This is definitely a keeper!
Delicious!!!
I’m having this for dinner tonight. So cheap and easy to make and a nice mixtures of spices to give a hit but not too much. Will be making this again
Thank you for sharing.
Made this a few weeks ago for the first time and it is delicious as well as an economical meal to make. The only change I have made is to cut up my sweet potatoes and put them into a large pyrex glass bowl and blast them for about 7 minutes first otherwise this takes an age til the sweet potatoes softened. The first time I made it it took 1 and a half hours because of the sweet potatoes. Just a heads up but other than that this is a winner and one of my familys faves. 👍👍
We had this for dinner last night really yummy will definitely have it again. Had a morrocan vibe with spices
an easy recipe to followand as tsty as it gets
This is beautiful. Everyone in my family loved it and they are not keen on vegetarian dishes!
Lovely not to hot comforting I only use 1tin of tomato and extra purée
This is so quick and easy to make, But most importantly it tastes gorgeous. 😋
Hi. How would I make this using the base gravy that is currently bubbling away! What would I leave out? Thanks for your awesome recipes!