Spicy Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry with Coconut Milk and Turmeric
Recipe Key
A creamy curry that’s hearty and healthy. It’s an easy one pan comfort food meal with spiced chickpeas, butternut squash, greens and coconut milk. The chickpeas have an incredible flavor and crispy texture. They are sauteed with lots of garlic, ginger, turmeric and curry powder.
As we go through the holiday eating rich food and desserts I need to have days of clean eating to rebalance. My stomach wants something comforting, satisfying and warm. My body is also screaming for green vegetables to nourish and cleanse.
What could be better than a dish that’s vegan, full of protein and lots of vegetables?
This recipe is simple, requiring just 1 pan and 20 minutes to prepare!
We start the recipe by sautéing the chickpeas with lots of garlic, ginger, turmeric and curry powder. It gives them an incredible flavor and lightly crisp texture.
Peel the butternut squash with a sharp vegetable peeler. I buy a new one every fall just to make peeling the butternut squash easy. Trust me you don’t want to use a dull peeler.
The butternut squash, mushrooms, carrots and tomatoes are simmered in a bath of coconut milk (full fat is essential) until the sauce becomes rich and creamy.
I love when recipes are versatile. The ingredients here are simple and can be changed easily (vegan or paleo).
If you’re purely paleo make it with cooked turkey or chicken instead of the chickpeas. As I perfected the recipe I made it both ways.
I add mushrooms for additional flavor and their immune boosting properties. If that’s too many ingredients to get together, the dish will be fine without them.
Add as many greens as will fit into the pan, cooking just long enough to turn bright green and wilt. I used spinach but baby kale or Swiss chard would also work nicely.
The greens and turmeric lower inflammation throughout the whole body. Their alkaline properties reduce acids from the rich food we indulge in over the holiday season.
If you don’t like butternut squash, zucchini is a good alternative.
You could even add green peas for more protein.
Serve it alone in a bowl or with rice or cauliflower rice.
This curry is honestly so good and so perfectly satisfying you’ll be making it many times. It’s so comforting, spicy-savory, soul-soothing that it puts me in a good mood.
Since it’s so healthy you’ll feel like you’re doing a bit of a cleanse in between the holiday festivities.
It’s makes a great left over meal too! After a busy day, how great to come home to this magical healing curry you can heat up and enjoy. Life is good!
If you like this dish try these other fabulous vegetable curries:
- Thai Squash Curry
- Wild Mushroom and Butternut Squash Curry
- Paleo Thai Red Curry Noodles with Vegetables
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PrintSpicy Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry with Coconut Milk and Turmeric
A creamy curry that’s hearty and healthy. It’s an easy one pan comfort food meal with spiced chickpeas, butternut squash, greens and coconut milk. There is a paleo option.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo Option
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
- Celtic sea salt
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained*
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups butternut squash, cut into cubes
- 3–4 baby bella or button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large carrot, diced (about ¾ cup)
- 1 cup organic canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 cups spinach, kale or Swiss chard torn into bite size pieces
- 1 cup cilantro garnish (optional)
- Lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Prep all the veggies.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Season with salt and cook 3-5 minutes until the onion is translucent and starts to brown a little.
- Add chick peas and stir frequently until the chick peas begin to sizzle.
- Add curry powder, turmeric and black pepper. Stir to coat the chickpeas.
- Remove about 1 cup of chickpeas and set aside for garnish.
- Add butternut squash, mushrooms and carrot. Stir to coat with spices.
- Add the tomatoes and stir to combine.
- Add coconut milk. Simmer covered on low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the butternut squash is tender. Stirring regularly.
- Add spinach or other greens.
- Cook, while stirring, until the spinach is wilted.
- Divide among bowls and top with reserved chickpeas, cilantro and lime wedges to squeeze on top.
- Serve alone or with rice or cauliflower rice.
Notes
If you want the curry to be a little thinner, add more coconut milk or vegetable stock. You may need it when reheating leftovers.
*For paleo version omit, chickpeas and add 2 cups cooked diced turkey or chicken breast along with the spinach.
Soooo delicious, hearty and healthy! I couldn’t get the chickpeas to be “crispy” but not a big deal. I added a bay leaf during simmering. Great easy recipe!
Thanks Diane, I’m glad you liked the recipe and found it easy to make. Bay leaf is a nice additional flavor too! Next time try cooking the chickpeas on a hotter flame to get them a little crispier. Happy Cooking!
This was great curry! Made the Paleo version with chicken and zucchini and fresh tomatoes. It was so good for dinner and I can’t wait to have the leftovers.
This was absolutely wonderful! Will make again. Question… can you freeze this?
Thanks Jennifer, it’s one of my favorites. Yes you can freeze it for about 1 month.