This delicious Sweet Potato Chickpea Coconut Curry recipe is super simple to make, it’s naturally gluten-free and vegan, and it’s simmered with the coziest creamy coconut curry flavors. Perfect with rice and/or naan bread!
On chilly winter nights that call for cozy comfort food…this sweet potato chickpea coconut curry is sure to hit the spot. ♡
We’ve been making versions of this recipe all season with whatever leftover veggies we have in the house, but this simple combination of sweet potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes and spinach has definitely been our favorite. These basic ingredients are all simmered together in a silky, creamy, coconut curry broth that is brightened up with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Then I highly recommend serving the curry piled high with lots of fresh toppings (hello, fresh cilantro and thinly-sliced red onions) over either rice, rice noodles, and/or homemade naan bread.
It’s a quick, easy, vegetarian (also vegan), gluten-free, flavor-packed meal that’s easy to customize with whatever veggies and greens you have on hand. And, bonus, it also makes for fantastic leftovers the next day. So go rummage through that crisper drawer and let’s make some cozy coconut curry together!
Sweet Potato Chickpea Coconut Curry | 1-Minute Video
Coconut Curry Ingredients:
Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients you’ll need to make this coconut curry:
- Onion: Our curry begins with onion (white, yellow or red), sautéed in olive oil until softened.
- Ginger and garlic: I highly recommend using fresh ginger and garlic for maximum flavor in this curry, which we will mince (or you can grate the ginger) and add to the sauté. That said, if you don’t have fresh ginger in the house, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of ground ginger in place of the fresh ginger.
- Spices: I kept things simple for this curry with a combination of garam masala and curry powder (plus salt and pepper).
- Milks: To make this curry nice and creamy, we will use a blend of full-fat coconut milk (I like this brand) and some type of plain plant-based milk (I used oat milk). Alternately, you could also just add in some veggie stock in place of the plain plant-based milk.
- Tomatoes: One can of diced tomatoes. (I recommend fire-roasted diced tomatoes, if they are available in your grocery store, for extra flavor.)
- Sweet potato: One large sweet potato, diced into 1/2-inch cubes.
- Chickpeas: One can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained.
- Greens: I added a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach to this curry, but feel free to use kale, collards, or any other greens that you prefer.
- Lemon juice: A generous squeeze of lemon juice (or you could also use lime juice) really helps to brighten up the flavors of the broth.
- Toppings: Finally, I recommend loading each bowl of curry up with lots of chopped fresh cilantro, a sprinkling of thinly-sliced green onions, and/or a pinch of crushed red chili flakes if you would like to add some heat. Feel free to serve your curry with naan bread, rice, and/or rice noodles.
Possible Curry Recipe Variations:
Here are a few additional ways that you can customize this curry recipe if you’d like:
- Make it spicy: If you would like to add more heat to the entire batch of curry, add a few pinches of crushed red chili flakes to the broth. Or you can also mince and add in a fresh chili, such as jalapeño, serrano or a Thai bird chili.
- Make it lighter: You are welcome to sub in low-fat coconut milk if you prefer, but note that the broth will be significantly less creamy and a bit thinner.
- Use butternut squash (or other potatoes): Feel free to sub in diced butternut squash or another type of potatoes (such as Yukon Gold or red potatoes) in place of the sweet potatoes.
- Add a protein: Feel free to also add meat (chicken, beef, pork, ground turkey, etc) or seafood (shrimp, salmon, etc) to add some protein to this dish if you would like, either in addition to or in place of the chickpeas.
More Favorite Curry Recipes:
Love curry as much as I do? Here are a few more of my favorite curry recipes on Gimme Some Oven:
- Green Curry Salmon
- Thai Red Curry Soup
- Cozy Cauliflower Curry
- Tomato Lentil Curry
- Cozy Chicken Curry Soup
Sweet Potato Chickpea Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large white or yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 cup plain oat milk (or almond milk or veggie stock)
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (with their juices)
- 1 (13-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
- juice of 1 fresh lemon
- fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, thinly-sliced red onions and/or crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Sauté the veggies. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the curry powder and garam masala and sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add the next round of ingredients. Add the oat milk, chickpeas, tomatoes, coconut milk, sweet potato and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a very low simmer.
- Simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking the curry (uncovered) over a very low simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are softened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients. Add the baby spinach and lemon juice and gently toss with the curry until the spinach has begun to wilt. Season the curry with however much salt and pepper you think is needed, to taste.
- Serve. Serve warm, garnished with lots of toppings, with either naan, rice, and/or rice noodles.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
There is a LOT of snow here in NYC and I decided to make this recipe for lunch today. It was phenomenal!
I followed the recipe exactly as written, but I also added 1 jalapeño pepper for a bit of heat (I sautéd it in together with the ginger and garlic). Also I used dry chickpeas instead of caned chickpeas (While it is convenient to use canned chickpeas, dried chickpeas really are a better option since they tend to have a more natural flavor because they aren’t soaked in preservatives. Also, when using canned chickpeas instead of dried ones, you loose half the nutrients). I used 3/4 cup dry chickpeas, soaked over night and cooked the next day.
I used both the full-fat coconut milk and full-fat oat milk and it was perfect, not too “runny”.
I skipped adding the lemon juice at the end, I just seasoned with salt and pepper and served over rice.
It was SOOO GOOD! Now THAT’S what you want on a super cold winter day (Or night)!
I will make this again and again. THANK YOU, Ali for this A-MAZING healthy, nutritious, sooo good easy recipe.
Made this delicious dish last night and it is a new family favorite! I changed a couple of things due to what I did and didn’t have on hand. I added broccoli and used cashew milk instead of oat or veggie broth. I didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes so I used regular and added a bit of smoked paprika to get the roasted taste. I used only half of the tomatoes called for, just for preference. I also didn’t have the garam masala and used a red curry paste instead of powder bc that’s what I had. Half of a seeded jalapeño was perfect. Delish! Thankee!
I started on a Low Fodmap diet on 13 January 2020 so it’s been just over a year to so I changed this recipe to use Asafoetida (Hing), used my homemade curry powder and used normal chopped tinned tomatoes but added some chilli flakes. I have to say the result was awesome, this is one of the best curries I’ve made and I’ll be making it again and again.
Thank you so much for this recipe.
Definitely a keeper and quick and easy. I added both chickpeas and shrimp which I let sit in curry and a few other spices for added flavor. I had about 3 sweet potatoes even though the recipe called for one, that I needed to use so the more the merrier. Followed the recipe but I used heavy cream cause I wanted a richer texture and I didn’t have any oat milk or stock anyway. But turned out VERY tasty. I had a half bag of kale and arugula and other greens so I dumped in. If you like heat like me, add more red pepper and don’t skip fresh lime juice and cilantro, lends to a great finish. I paired mine with creamy coconut rice. The house smelled amazing from the curry and this was perfect for a chilly evening.
I don’t normally comment on recipes, but this ….wow! I made this and I have to say – like all good curries, make it early, leave to thicken and cool (or leave in the fridge overnight) then reheat gently. I had it as leftover the next night and couldn’t believe how amazing the flavours were. Definitely recommend you try this.- it’s quick and simple. I used regular canned tomatoes as other types are not readily available in the U.K. and I only had medium curry powder, but there was nothing missing in the flavour.
This is a great recipe however, I found it a little bland. I added cumin seeds which brought it to another level. I used coconut milk only, thank you for so many wonderful recipes.
I made this recipe twice already! It taste very good and I think it is very healthy. Thank you ?
Our toddler loved it, which is pretty much our defining standard at the moment!! We used a mix of veggie broth, whole milk and water instead of oat milk. We also started with about 25% of the spices and then added to taste to make sure it wouldn’t be too spicy for our daughter. Ended up adding a little more than 25% of the curry powder, 25% of the garam masala and then I made my own garam blend without any spice ingredients and added that. We did half of the lemon, to taste. I also salted throughout each step of the cooking process, instead of just at the end. Served over jasmine rice, would probably do basmati next time. Another great recipe, will definitely be going in the regular rotation!
Oh my goodness! This is so delicious. I made as written except instead of the plant-based milk, I used unsalted chicken broth, as I am not vegetarian and had an open carton. I also made the naan which is also delicious. I made the curry and let it sit over very low heat while I cooked the naan.
I can hardly wait until tomorrow so I can have leftovers!
I made this tonight for my family. Outstanding! Will make this again.
Just finished making it for lunch, for my hubby who works so diligently from home. He loves curry, so it was a welcomed treat on this cozy, unusually rainy, Santa Barbara day. Thanks, Ali!