Creamy Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

This creamy cauliflower and chickpea curry is one of our favourite weeknight curries. With the perfect blend of fragrant spices and deliciously tender cauliflower, this dish is sure to satisfy your taste buds whether you're a veggie or vegan, or just looking for a great plant-based option. Just serve with basmati rice and naan for the perfect curry night in.

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why You'll Love this Curry
• 🛒 What You'll Need
• 🔪 How To Make Cauliflower Chickpea Curry
• 👩‍🍳 Top Tips
• 🍽 Serving Suggestions
• 🔄 Variations
• 📖 FAQs
• 🍛 More Tasty Vegan Curry Recipes
• Cauliflower Chickpea Curry Recipe

This cauliflower chickpea curry is a warming, comforting curry that's ready in about an hour and can be made the day before if you need a super quick dinner. This actually tastes even better the next day, so making it a day ahead can actually be a good idea.

I've been making this cauliflower and chickpea curry for years now, in fact, it's on weekly rotation in my house! It's a firm family favourite and a reader favourite too, just check out the comments section below to see how good it really is!

❤️ Why You'll Love this Curry

• It's creamy, tasty and full of warming flavours
• It's vegan and naturally gluten-free
• Ready in an hour, great for a tasty weeknight dinner
• Family-friendly - the whole family will love this!

🛒 What You'll Need

Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions.

• Cauliflower - You'll need one whole medium head of cauliflower. When buying your cauliflower look for a clean, compact head with tightly closed bud clusters. Avoid heads with loose or crumbly florets, brown spots or a dull colour. The leaves should look fresh and green. Fresh cauliflower is best for this recipe but if you need to you can use frozen cauliflower.
• Chickpeas - I use canned chickpeas for this curry. You can use dried chickpeas if you want but you will have to allow extra time for cooking. I always give the chickpeas a good rinse under a cold tap after draining.
• Pepper - You'll also need one medium-sized green bell pepper (capsicum) for this recipe. if you can't get green pepper then a yellow or red pepper will work fine two.
• Spices - I use a mixture of dried spices for this recipe including, garam masala, dried red chilli flakes, ground cumin, ground coriander, cardamom seeds and ground turmeric.
• Coconut Milk - Full fat coconut milk is best for this recipe as it will give you the creamiest curry sauce. You can use low-fat if you want just be aware that the sauce may not be as creamy.
• Other ingredients needed - You will also need, fresh ginger, garlic, a brown onion, tinned tomatoes, fresh coriander (fresh cilantro), olive oil, salt and black pepper.

🔪 How To Make Cauliflower Chickpea Curry

1. Start by heating the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Use a pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the chopped onion and cardamom pods and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the grated ginger and minced garlic, cook for a minute then add teh dry spices. Cook for a minute or two before adding the chopped pepper.

2. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. I add a little water to the can, give it a swirl to catch any bits of tomato and add that to the pan too.

3. Now add the cauliflower florets and stir them into the sauce making sure they are covered in the sauce. Place a lid on the pan now and cook for 10-15 minutes over a medium to low heat. Stir often so that the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

4. Next, add the chickpeas and stir well.

5. Now stir in the coconut milk, add the milk slowly and stir well each time.

6. Finally, simmer the curry uncovered for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. The sauce should have reduced quite a bit now and be thick and creamy. If it isn't keep simmering for another 10 minutes. The cauliflower should also be tender, you can check it with a sharp knife. Towards the end of cooking stir in the chopped coriander (cilantro). Leave to cool slightly before serving as the curry will be piping hot.

👩‍🍳 Top Tips

• Be careful not to overcook the spices, they only need a minute. If they are on the burnt side your curry will taste bitter.
• This curry will taste even better the next day however it will thicken up once it's been in teh fridge. When you are ready to reheat this curry, add a splash of water to loosen it up.
• Adding the coconut milk slowly and simmering the curry over low to medium heat will prevent the coconut milk from splitting. If you boil the curry the coconut milk will definitely split.
• This particular curry is on the mild side, but if you're a fan of spicy food and wish to make it hotter then you can more of the dried red pepper flakes or add a green chilli pepper chopped very finely. Add these when you add the garlic and ginger.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

I usually serve this with basmati rice or brown rice, naan or chapati. It goes really well with quinoa too. And if I'm serving this for a special occasion I'll add some extra toppings like toasted almonds, mango chutney, popadoms and raita.

🔄 Variations

• Add more veggies - I often add some extra veggies into this curry, baby spinach is great in this as are some cubes of roasted sweet potatoes. Fresh green beans are a great addition.
• Swap the veggies - This is a very adaptable recipe and you can use it as a base for other options. Try swapping the cauliflower for butternut squash and add spinach or kale for a delicious curry. Courgettes or aubergines work really well too.
• Make it extra creamy - if you want this curry to be even creamier then try swapping the coconut milk for coconut cream! This is s a bit of a treat but it really is so good! Add the coconut cream when you're supposed to add the coconut milk then add about 100 ml of vegetable broth (vegetable stock) and simmer as per the recipe.
• Make it in less time - if you're in a hurry you can make the sauce and either steam the cauliflower florets or roast them, this will spread up the process for you.

📖 FAQs

🍛 More Tasty Vegan Curry Recipes

We love a good curry, they are perfect for weeknight dinners or quick meals or special occasions. So it will not be a surprise to you that I have quite a number of curry recipes on this blog. Like my Mushroom Curry with Spinach and Chickpeas, this is such a delicious recipe and one of the most popular recipes I have published. My Creamy Courgette Curry is a rich and satisfying Vegan curry.

Or my Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry, this is another lovely recipe packed with flavour and a great healthier option. My Chickpea and Lentil Curry is a great budget-friendly recipe. Finally, my Aubergine and Chickpea Curry is a lovely rich curry that always goes down a treat.

*This recipe was first published Oct 2018 and updated Mar 2023 with new photos and more information.