Super satisfying creamy cauliflower chickpea curry with a coconut-milk base! Simple meal to get on the table in time and it makes the perfect leftovers. It’s a cross between a Thai curry and Indian curry!
I ate this curry three times in a row and loved every bite each time. It’s a sign. In fact, it got BETTER each time because curry usually has that tendency. As it sits over time, the curry better absorbs the flavor! And there’s a whole lot of flavor here, so my observations definitely make sense.
Like most Indian families, my family eats some kind of rice and curry or dal most nights of the week and it’s my favorite type of meal. With all the spices and veggies you can add in there, it can never gets boring. Whether it’s summer or winter, a good curry never fails to make my heart warm.
So why should you try this cauliflower chickpea curry? For starters, it has a wonderful balance of sweet and spicy. Sweet and creamy from the coconut milk and tomatoes, and spicy from, well, the spices. You could enhance the flavors and make the dish more authentic by using whole spices, but I used ground spices just to make this recipe even easier. And the flavors are still great! It’s pretty easy even if you’ve never made a curry before–the whole thing comes together in one pot and just a little time. And it feels gooood to eat! Loaded with the veggies, anti-inflammatory ingredients like turmeric and ginger, and my favorite plant-based protein source, chickpeas.
The Rundown
Pretty classic curry steps, but I like broiling my cauliflower before I add it to the curry. I find that this makes it more flavorful and textured, rather than soft! I also used dry chickpeas that I soaked and cooked in a pressure cooker, but there are no issues with using canned. If you are using canned chickpeas, I would recommend adding the chickpeas in earlier (~ 5 minutes earlier) than listed on the recipe card.
For the curry’s base, get the onion, garlic, and ginger in there. Follow that up with some spices. When they’re fragrant you add your liquids and cauliflower. Simmer for a bit, then add chickpeas. If you want to, you can add some spinach right after taking it off the heat. The spinach will wilt in the heat of the curry.
Serve with cool plant-based yogurt (this complimented the curry so well!), cilantro, lime, and naan or rice.
Cauliflower Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower
Cauliflower Marinade
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp full-fat coconut milk
Cauliflower Chickpea Curry
- 1.5 tbsp avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp black pepper
- salt
- ½ cup tomato paste + 1 diced tomato or ¾ cup tomato paste
- 1.25 cups full-fat coconut milk *this is the same as what remains in a 14 oz. can after marinating the cauliflower
- 1.5 cups water
- 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15 oz. can
- cilantro for garnish
- plant-based yogurt for serving
Instructions
- Chop cauliflower into florets and mix with the listed marinade ingredients. Broil on high for 7-8 minutes, until it is cooked, but still crunchy.
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions. When it is translucent, add ginger and garlic. Stir for a few minutes while you add all the spices to a small bowl.
- Add the spices all at once, making sure that they combine with the onion, ginger, and garlic rather than sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- After a minute, add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, and salt. Stir it every now and then. Cook for 7-8 minutes total, or until the tomato juices have mostly evaporated and everything in the pan stays together.
- Add coconut milk and water, and increase heat to medium-high to bring the curry to a simmer. After the curry simmers for 5 minutes, add the cauliflower (and chickpeas if you are using canned chickpeas), reduce heat to low, and cover. After another 5 minutes (when the cauliflower is tender but has a crunch), add the chickpeas. Continue to simmer on low for 5 more minutes.
- Take it off the heat and serve! Though it does taste better the next day 😉
If you like this curry you may also like…
Easy Whole Wheat Naan – Vegan Indian Flatbread
One-Pot Coconut Cauliflower Curry
Make sure to let me know if you try this recipe in the comments or on Instagram @upbeetanisha!
It’s simmering on the stove currently! I cannot wait to eat it later tonight! So far with my taste testing while I cooked it, it tastes amazing!! The only tweaks I made changed it to not be vegetarian. I added chicken broth instead of water and I added chicken 🙂
Yay! Love to hear that.
Delicious! Easy and so tasty. A big hit with my family.
Thanks so much for your feedback! The marinade amount would definitely depend on the size of your cauliflower, so I’ll make sure to specify that in the future 🙂 Glad you enjoyed and yes, I think freezing should be fine!
I made the curry as I had half a head of cauliflower left that needed to be used prior to a mini break,.
I thought the marinade was a bit sparse, there seemed very little of it for half a head yet the recipe calls of a whole head of cauliflower, also broiling it without a little oil on the sheet pan was concerning so I went ahead and added some. I also added some prior boiled potatoes that were in the fridge too, which made a nice addition. I found it took me about 45 mins. prep to finish.
Taste wise it was delicious and Ill definitely add it to my cauliflower recipes.
Would you recommend freezing leftovers?
This recipe was for chickpeas cooked from dry, which in my experience, turn out a lot more tender than canned chickpeas! Canned chickpeas still have a bite to them, so you’d add them earlier in the process to allow them to simmer for longer. I guess if your cooked chickpeas are firm, you’d add them earlier as well.
I’m really confused about why you said to add canned chickpeas first if you have canned chickpeas and specified to add non-canned chickpeas later in the process if you have non canned chickpeas. That simply doesn’t make sense.
So glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I made this last night and it was great!
So happy to hear you’ve tried this! Toasting whole spices is definitely an extra step, but so essential for that deep flavor. Thanks for the feedback Amy.
This is such a delicious recipe! Toasting the spices before adding the tomato not only gave this dish amazing flavor, but also made my kitchen smell incredible! This recipe I will be making again and again.
Wow I’ll have to try adding butternut squash to it, that sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed it Briana 🙂
I made this for lunch today and loved it! I just used what veggies and beans I had on hand, which happened to be butternut squash, broccoli, carrots, asparagus and kidney beans. The sauce was fantastic and I loved how the butternut squash thickened up the sauce a little.