This delicious one pot 10 Minute Chickpea and Spinach Curry is an easy vegan curry that you need in your life. It's low in calories and fat (just 123 calories for a big serving) and you just tip everything in to the pan and it’s ready less than 10 minutes later. Bursting with iron rich spinach and protein packed chickpeas, this curry freezes well and it's absolutely delicious and easy to adapt depending on how spicy you like it.

This is one of those recipes that we make almost every week without fail and the whole family loves it. We always have the ingredients in the cupboard to make this, so when we haven't got anything else planned and we need something quick, easy and healthy, we make this.
It's really easy to adapt too, with different beans or greens, and even different spices too. We are always making it a different way to keep it interesting.
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Why should you try it?
- It's ready in under 10 minutes. Which means it is ready in less time than it takes to choose something from the takeaway menu.
- Very little preparation is required. You just open tins and mix together with spices.
- It uses ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard right now. Make use of all those herbs and spices you have.
- It's delicious. That's what you are really looking for from a meal isn't it? The flavours all work perfectly together in this super easy curry.
- It is low in calories and fat. Just 123 calories for a big filling portion and just 1 gram of fat. It is nutrient dense too, with the protein from the chickpeas and iron from the spinach.
- It's a vegan recipe, making it a really easy meal to help you reduce the amount of meat and dairy you consume. It is also gluten free and dairy free.
What you will need
- Chickpeas - Also known as Garbanzo Beans or Egyptian Peas, these make up the majority of the curry. You can swap for other beans if you wish.
- Spinach - Adds a big green boost to the curry.
- Onion - We used a medium white onion, but you could use shallots for a slightly sweeter flavour.
- Garlic - No curry is complete without garlic - feel free to adjust the quantities to your taste.
- Tomatoes - Use the best quality tinned tomatoes you can afford. Cheaper ones tend to be quite watery.
- Coriander (cilantro) - Some people don't like the flavour of coriander (cilantro), so feel free to omit.
- Spice mix - We used ground coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, turmeric and cayenne as they were what we had in the kitchen! You can use Garam masala, curry powder or your own favourite spice blend.

Step by step

Two: Add the spices and stir well.

Three: Add the chopped tomatoes, drained chickpeas and salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Four: 2 minutes before it has finished cooking, add the spinach and coriander and stir well.

Five: Cook for 2 minutes or until the spinach has wilted.

Check out our story for a quick guide to how this chickpea curry is made.
What spices to use
The most used spices in our kitchen, which feature in this dish, are ground coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, turmeric and of course cayenne because they are flavour packed.
You can pick spices up for really cheap, especially if you buy them in bigger packets in ethnic stores and they really do make the dish.
Don't be afraid to start experimenting with herbs and spices. Add a little more or a little less of each depending on your tastes to make this tasty vegan chickpea curry recipe.
If you are short on time, or you don't have a range of spices, then you can just use 3 tsp of garam masala in this dish instead.
You could also use your favourite curry paste to make it a different way each time. We have made this with tikka and korma paste and it's delicious.

What vegetables to add
We only used spinach and onion in this curry to keep it quick and simple, but you can include pretty much any vegetables. Finely chop some red peppers and mushrooms and cook at the same time as the onion or swap the spinach for some kale or other leafy greens if you want to mix it up a bit.
To give this curry a more meaty feel, you could throw some chunks of aubergine into the mix or some larger chunks of portobello mushroom. Why not skip the rice and add some good sweet potato to the curry instead?
We had tinned chickpeas, we had tinned tomatoes and we had some spinach in the fridge that was starting to look a bit sorry for itself, so I thought I would throw it all together to make a curry.
Because this 10 Minute Chickpea and Spinach Curry uses cupboard staples it is a really budget curry and hardly costs anything to make - around £0.32/$0.42 per serving!

Healthy benefits of chickpeas
Chickpeas a rich source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. They offer a variety of health benefits, including improved digestion and reducing the risk of several diseases. They are also high in protein and are an excellent alternative to meat.
How to make in a slow cooker
Of course using a slow cooker is going to mean your meal takes longer than 10 minutes to cook, but there is still very little prep.
Simply follow steps one and two in the instructions and then put everything expect the spinach and herbs in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 and a half hours. 30 minutes before serving, stir in the spinach and coriander.

FAQs
Yes, it is an extremely healthy curry. It uses only natural ingredients, it is virtually fat free and low in calories at only 123 per portion.
For convenience and to make this a super quick meal, we used a can of drained chickpeas.
If you wanted to use dried, we recommend soaking them for at least four hours. While this considerably adds to the preparation time, it will result in a curry that has a bit more "bite" to it.
Fresher, smaller chickpeas work the best as they soak the best. The older and larger the chickpeas, the longer you will need to soak them.
This curry is pretty creamy already, but if you want some extra creaminess, stir in 50ml (0.25 cups) of coconut milk just as the spinach is wilting. This will, of course, affect the nutritional values.
Yes it can! Separate this curry in to freezer containers with some rice and put them in your freezer for a quick and easy meal. Just liven it up with some fresh herbs before serving.
This will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you have leftovers that you want to keep in the fridge, they will stay fresh for 2 days. Just put the curry back in a pan and gently reheat.
Extra tips
- If you don't have a can of chickpeas, then any other can of plain beans will work. We like chickpeas because they are really creamy and cheap, but others work too. We have used haricot and cannellini before in this spinach curry.
- Don't have any spinach? You can use another leafy green instead. Kale, Cabbage and Swiss chard will all work, but they will take a little bit longer to cook, so put them in the pan earlier.
- If you have a bit of extra time, cook the onions on a lower heat for longer. The onions will be much softer and have more flavour, but as we wanted a quick curry we sped up that step. You can use red onion too, if you want.
- Don't want any heat? You can leave out the cayenne for a super mild curry, but still all the flavour from the other spices. Equally, if you like really spicy curries then you can add more cayenne.
- Use garam masala or curry powder to save even more time. If you don't have the individual spices to hand, or you don't want to measure them, add 3 tsp of garam masala instead.
- Creamy curries are super comforting, so why not add a spoonful of cream, coconut milk or creme fraiche to the pan just before serving.
- This curry freezes really well, and it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you want to keep leftovers in the fridge they will stay fresh for up to 2 days.
- Instead of serving this spinach curry with plain rice, mix some lime juice and fresh coriander in to the rice before serving.
- A little tip about tinned tomatoes - we always use whole tomatoes and chop them up in the pan with a wooden spoon as they are less processed. Chopped tomatoes tend to be really watery, but they can be used. Try to buy the best quality too, as you can really taste the difference.
More vegetarian curry recipes
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Recipe card


10 Minute Chickpea and Spinach Curry




Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 400 g chopped tomatoes
- 400 g canned chickpeas drained
- 100 g spinach
- 10 g fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 0.5 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp paprika
- 0.5 tsp cumin
- 0.5 tsp turmeric
- 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a little oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the spices and stir well.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, drained chickpeas and salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8 minutes.
- 2 minutes before it has finished cooking, add the spinach and coriander and stir well.
- Cook for 2 minutes or until the spinach has wilted.
Notes
Some extra tips for this dish:
- If you don't have a can of chickpeas, then any other can of plain beans will work. We like chickpeas because they are really creamy, but others work too.
- Don't have any spinach? You can use another leafy green instead. Kale, Cabbage and Swiss chard will all work, but they will take a little bit longer to cook, so put them in the pan earlier.
- Creamy curries are super comforting, so why not add a spoonful of cream, coconut milk or creme fraiche to the pan just before serving.
- Instead of serving this spinach curry with plain rice, mix some lime juice and fresh coriander in to the rice before serving.
- A little tip about tinned tomatoes - we always use whole tomatoes and chop them up in the pan with a wooden pan as they are less processed. Chopped tomatoes tend to be really watery too. Try to buy the best quality too, as you can really taste the difference.
- The cost of this curry is around £0.32/$0.40 per serving!
Pam
Great recipe, I’ve made this a couple of times and used frozen spinach and thrown in some green beans that were needing to be used up, worked well. I double up the recipe as I have two teenage boys - difficult to get them to go veggie, but this isn’t snarled at (there’s usually a small portion left over, which goes in the fridge and eaten for lunch in the following day or two). I served with quinoa that I cooked with a veggie stock cube. A dollop of Greek yogurt on the top helps with the heat if I slip with the cayenne!
Grenville Fletcher
I made this curry this evening and it was really good I added a teaspoon of tikka Masala paste along with the spices,also I didn't have chickpeas only butter beans and they worked really well,will be making this easy curry again thats for sure.
Dannii
So glad you enjoyed it and that it was good with butterbeans too.
Nart at Cooking with Nart
This curry is so delicious. Will definitely be making this again!
Ange Low
Really yum, nice and easy too. Will def make again.
Thanks
Ange
Dannii
So glad you enjoyed it.
Emma
Made this tonight and I wasn’t disappointed! My children loved it too. I added courgette, carrot and red pepper along with the chickpeas and it was fab! Thanks for the recipe :)
Dannii
I'm happy to hear you all enjoyed it. Great additions too!
Emma Green
Nice but very spicy
Dannii
Sorry that you found the curry too spicy. As mentioned in the notes of the recipe, for a mild curry you can leave the cayenne out.
Sophie
OMG THIS IS SO GOOD EVERYONE NEEDS TO TRY IT. SO MANY FLAVORS AND ITS JUST SO GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RECIPE!!!!
Darren Thomas
Beautiful recipe and very quick and easy
Sisley White
This was an absolutely incredible meal. I loved making it and I loved eating it.
Dannii
So glad you enjoyed it.
Sandhya Hariharan
We love a speedy Chickpea Curry. This one is delicious with the masala's and spinach.