This vegan curry couldn't be easier and quicker to make! Thanks to frozen vegetables, canned chickpeas, and a jar of store-bought Thai red curry paste, this flavorful dish is ready in 30 minutes! Serve it over rice or quinoa for a filling and satisfying gluten-free and oil-free meal.
Have you noticed that many of my recipes include some kind of shortcut to save you time and make getting dinner ready a little bit quicker and easier? Like in this vegan spanakopita, mushroom fried rice, or these jackfruit enchiladas. Using frozen vegetables, canned beans, and store-bought vegan curry paste are some of my favorite time-saving hacks!
What's great about this vegan curry recipe, is that you can use all these shortcuts without impacting the quality of the dish. This meal is extremely flavorful, hearty, and it's packed with vegetables that you would never guess were once frozen. It's easily customizable too, so you can use whatever veggies, legumes, and flavor of curry that you prefer based on what you have available or if you need to cater to picky eaters.
How To Make It - Step by Step Instructions
Begin by sauteing the diced onions in a large pan until soft. Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, curry paste, curry powder, garam masala, salt, and black pepper (Photo 1). Let it cook for a few minutes to toast the spices. It will smell very fragrant (Photo 2).
Next, add the frozen mushrooms, frozen snap peas, canned chickpeas, vegetable broth (only add the extra liquid if you like it to be saucy), and coconut milk to the pan (Photo 3). Increase the heat to a simmer and then reduce it to medium-low and let it cook until the vegetables have defrosted and the curry is warmed through. Stir in the lime juice (Photo 4).
Serve the vegan chickpea curry over rice or quinoa and garnish with green onions and fresh cilantro.
Serving Suggestions
Depending on how quickly I need to get dinner on the table determines what I serve the vegan curry over. If I have a little bit of extra time, I like to make brown rice which takes about 45 minutes. If I need something quick, I usually will choose quinoa because it's ready in just 15 minutes. A quick salad made with mixed greens, sliced cucumbers, chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, and a drizzle of creamy vegan ranch makes a delicious side dish.
How Long Does It Last In The Refrigerator?
Store the leftover curry in an airtight container in the fridge and it should stay fresh for 4-5 days.
Can I Freeze It?
Yes, you can freeze this vegan chickpea curry. It freezes very well and tastes just as good after you defrost and reheat it. To freeze, put it in a freezer-safe airtight container in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. Store the curry separately from the rice, so you won't have to mix them together when you reheat the meal.
How To Reheat It
From the Freezer: Take the container out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost for 24 hours. Then you can follow the instructions to reheat from the fridge.
From the Fridge: You can warm the vegetable curry in a bowl in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or in a medium saucepan on the stovetop until it's warmed through. If the mixture is too dry, you can add 1-2 tbsp of water or broth to help rehydrate the sauce.
Substitutions & FAQ
- Coconut Milk Substitute: Any unsweetened and unflavored (no vanilla) plant milk can be used instead. It might not be as creamy but it will still taste very good.
- Chickpea Substitutions: Edamame, lentils, great northern beans, or chopped sweet potatoes can be used as a substitute for chickpeas.
- Vegetable Options: Instead of mushrooms and snap peas, you could use artichoke hearts, chopped sweet potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, green beans, green peas, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, or chunks of zucchini.
- Red Curry Paste Substitute: Red curry can be a little spicy, you could substitute green or yellow curry paste for a more mellow flavor if you prefer.
Success Tips
- You can make this recipe with fresh vegetables, but using frozen vegetables cuts down on prep time.
- Start with 1 tbsp of red curry paste for flavor. If you like it spicy, add 1 additional tbsp.
- I like my curry to have extra sauce to coat the rice or quinoa. If you do too, add the ½ cup of vegetable broth that's on the ingredient list. If not, you should omit the ½ cup of vegetable broth.
- Coconut milk makes this vegan curry taste rich and creamy, but if you're trying to reduce the saturated fat in this recipe and don't want to use coconut milk, you can use unsweetened almond milk instead. That's my go-to next choice to use, like in this almond milk curry.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or you can freeze it for a future meal.
Want More Vegan Chickpea Recipes?
30-Minute Vegan Curry
Equipment
- Large Saute Pan
Ingredients
- 3-4 tbsp low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 4 medium garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 1-2 tbsp red curry paste (add more to taste)
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp sea salt (add more to taste)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 10 oz package frozen mushrooms
- 10 oz package frozen sugar snap peas
- 14 oz can chickpeas rinsed and drained (about 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas)
- ½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth (or water) (only add if you like it saucy)
- 14 oz can coconut milk
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ¼ cup green onions sliced
- ½ cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium heat, saute the diced onions in 3-4 tbsp of vegetable broth until they're soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, 1 tbsp red curry paste (add 1 additional tbsp if you like it spicy), 2 tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp garam masala, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper to the pan. Stir to combine and let it cook for 2 minutes to toast the spices.
- Add frozen mushrooms, frozen snap peas, chickpeas, ½ cup vegetable broth (only add the broth if you like it saucy), and the can of coconut milk to the pan. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a low simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the fresh lime juice.
- Serve hot over rice or quinoa and garnish with fresh cilantro and green onions.
Notes
- You can make this recipe with fresh vegetables, but using frozen vegetables cuts down on prep time.
- Start with 1 tbsp of red curry paste for flavor. If you like it spicy, add 1 additional tbsp.
- I like my curry to have extra sauce to coat the rice or quinoa. If you do too, add the ½ cup of vegetable broth that's on the ingredient list. If not, you should omit the ½ cup of vegetable broth.
- Coconut milk makes this curry taste rich and creamy, but if you're trying to reduce the saturated fat in this recipe and don't want to use coconut milk, you can use unsweetened almond milk instead. That's my go-to next choice to use.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or you can freeze it for a future meal.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally shared on 2/22/19, but I updated it on 9/8/20.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this chickpea curry! The flavors are spot on and it's so easy to make! This will definitely be a monthly staple at our house!
Thank you! It's on our monthly meal plan too!
Oh my gosh. I made this and it is the best vegan curry recipe I have ever tried. And it is so simple! I had avocado thrown on the side and the coolness of it matched well with the spicy coconut milk sauce. Well done with this one! I am fighting the urge to get more but .portion control!
Thank you so much! Adding avocado is a great idea!!