Cauliflower is a seriously underappreciated vegetable. When it comes to fresh produce, we talk about eating the rainbow. Red, green, yellow, orange, blue … but who ever thinks about white? And yet, 1 cup of chopped cauliflower contains 85% of your daily vitamin C needs with only 27 calories. Who knew? As a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, cauliflower has also been linked to many health benefits, including cancer prevention and improved cardiovascular health. So to give the humble cauliflower a little more love, I decided to put together this coconut cauliflower chickpea curry.
We love to eat curry in our house. It is such a wonderfully healthy form of comfort food. It also lends itself well to being vegetarian or vegan. While we do eat meat, we try to keep it to a minimum. I guess you could call us reducetarians (yes that is a real word for people who are trying to eat less meat). Vegetables have such an excellent way of soaking up all the delicious curry flavors. And there are plenty of plant-based ways to add protein – lentils, beans, or in this case, chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
The great thing about this coconut cauliflower chickpea curry (besides the fact that it is healthy AND tasty) is that it is extremely easy to make. You just fry the onions, garlic, and ginger, add the spices and toast them for a minute, throw in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes, then add some coconut milk and spinach just before serving. Boom. Done. Delicious dinner ready. And if you hold back on the red pepper flakes a little, it is also suitable for children.
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala (could substitute curry powder)
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes
- 1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup water
- ⅛ - ¼ tsp dried chili flakes (1/8 for mild, ¼ for a little spice)
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- 3 cups raw spinach leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Heat coconut oil in a large pan over a medium-low heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further minute.
- Add the cumin seeds, turmeric, ground cumin, coriander, and garam masala, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the cauliflower, tomatoes, chickpeas, water, chili flakes, and salt. Break up the tomatoes using the back of a wooden spoon.
- Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.
- Add the coconut milk and spinach.
- Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve over brown rice.
Did you know you can change the course of your health just by eating the right food? I am here to show you how you can eat simple healthy food without stress, guilt, or shame.
Love the coconut part!
This curry looks so hearty and delicious. I love coconut curries, they are always so creamy and flavoursome. Yum!
What a beautiful curry! Love both chickpeas and cauliflowers and will have to make this.
Thank you Jasmine. I hope you like it.
Ok so I am in the process of making this dish (my house smells so good right now!!!) I used Garam Masala but I am noticing it says may replace curry powder… I know this is a curry dish but there is no curry on the list… are my eyes playing tricks again? Anyone use curry powder?
Hi Kim,
It may be too late now, but I wanted to explain in case you make it again. What I meant was that you could use curry powder instead of garam masala if you don’t have any garam masala. Sorry for the confusion!
Esther
Curry is a combination of spices, one of those being chilli, so you’re making a curry blend from scratch.
5 star cauliflower *******fabulous and yummy! Mine was a bit watery – in my haste, I added the coconut milk before the 25-30 minute simmer. I’m on a 30 day no grain/dairy elimination diet and wondered what I could used to thicken this up. Any suggestions as I can’t use cornstarch or what flour.
Thank you for your very kind comment 🙂 You could try using a little tapioca flour, or some coconut flour.
You could use Chana flour
Just ate this! One of the best foods I’ve made in a while! Only thing I changed was I used about half a tub (from Costco) of cherry tomatoes, cut in half, rather than canned. Served on a bed of baked butternut squash and brown basmati rice. Oh my tummy is very happy!
What a lovely comment. Thank you. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. And I love the idea of using fresh tomatoes rather than canned. Yum!
Delicious. I made it with only one fresh tomato, no spinach and peppers, added some chicken breast, and used a full can of reduced fat coconut milk. Served it as a soup with a side dish of white rice.
Sounds delicious!
I didn’t care for this. Even after doubling the spices and salt, it didn’t seem to have much flavor. No one at the potluck ate it either and I made a double batch, so I’ll be eating it for a while. I think I’m going to try adding something to give it some tang (lemon?) and more coconut milk. Wish me luck!
I think I figured out what I did wrong: I used fresh tomatoes, and I may not have put enough in. I’m going to go buy another 28oz can and see what that does.
Hi Tony. Thank you for your comments. I hope it tastes better to you this time around. I’d be interested to hear what you think with the canned tomatoes. Esther x
Hi, I’m doing a nutrition plan for a client and I wanna use your delicious recipe. I was just wondering does the nutrition information include the rice and if yes, how much?Thank you!
Hi there. No, the nutrition info does not include the rice. Thanks! Esther
I found this a lot more bland than I expected and I had doubled all of the spices. Not sure what’s missing except maybe more spice. Smelled great and I like the flavors if they’re just very bland.
Hi Clare. I’m sorry you found this bland. It might just be a case of needing to add more salt. Sometimes, without enough salt, the other flavors just aren’t very strong. I try to limit salt in recipes for health reasons, but sometimes a recipe just needs a touch more to enhance the other flavors. Esther x
I made this for dinner tonight and it was so delicious! If you’re craving a warm vegan curry, definitely give this a shot! Super easy, tasty, and affordable. I cooked it without spinach because my boyfriend isn’t allowed to eat spinach with his kidney stone disease, but it was still top notch!
Hi Elexis. I’m so glad yo enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
Hi Elexis. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
This is so easy to make and absolutely delicious! My husbands new favourite dinner! I also made it for some friends one of whom was a chef and they all raved about it!
I used curry powder instead of garam masala and I didn’t have turmeric so I put in smoked paprika instead. I also added green beans and pumpkin, and omitted the spinach. And I used the whole can of coconut milk. Yum! Thanks 🙂
I just made this – it’s sooooo yummy! I don’t like my curries too tomato-y so I cut that in half and added a little more water and was still good. I didn’t have fresh ginger or spinach but a bit of ginger powder and frozen spinach we’re still delish. Thank you so much!
Made this curry a couple of weeks back but didn’t have some of the spices and ran around to get them. I was all over the place when I made it so I didn’t get the spices right but it was still lovely. I have made it again today and have doubled the spices used two onions and a whole cauliflower. Added beans, chopped coriander and extra coconut milk. Fingers crossed, it looks great so I’m so looking forward it!
We tried this recipe last night and it was simple and delicious! So good that even the kids loved it! Thanks for sharing.
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Made this last night, the sauce was delicious! I used curry powder instead and didn’t have any spinach so added a red pepper. Severed with brown rice. I was really happy with it considering I had no idea what we were having for dinner and it was even toddler approved! Thanks for sharing, this will definitely be something I make often.
I made this tonight, and oh boy was it delicious! I did tweak it a little though. I substituted vegetable stock for the water, probably tripled the spices after reading the other reviews, and also added some smoked paprika which brought out some amazing depth to the flavour. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I already can’t wait to make it again!
The paprika is a great flavour to add!! Felt like it really lacked something till I added this on your recommendation!
Awesome recipe! My friends and I loved it. Can’t wait to make it again.
What an awesome curry recipe! I love it and so does the hubby and kids. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your comment. I’m so glad you all like it 🙂
This is such a delicious recipe! Quick and easy as well, thanks so much for sharing! I exchanged ground coriander for fresh one and squeezed a piece of lime over the plate and it tasted like heaven.
This was one of the best curry dishes I have had in a while. It is actually the recipe that has kick started my plan to eating more plant based foods. This gives me hope that I dont have to have meat in a fish for it to be delicious. PS: it’s even better the second day!
I’m so glad you liked it. Thanks for the lovely comment. Good luck getting more plant based meals into your diet. So many good recipes out there!
Thank you thank you! Loved it so much. My boyfriend is now 2 weeks vegan and he loved this dish so much. I had so much leftover I’m ready to eat it for lunch tomorrow 🙂
Yeah! Glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for commenting ☺️
Made this tonight and it was delicious, the kids loved it too! Is it suitable for freezing? As I have some left over and wasnt sure if I should have for lunch tomorrow or pop in freezer. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
I LOVE THIS!!!! I have made it several times now, double the spices and also triple the spinach as I love spinach, added some sweet potato too. Sooo good, it makes a huge pan and freezes brilliantly. Once made I sat this every day for lunch, I can’t leave it alone! Making again tonight
I was wondering if this could be made a day or two ahead?
A day yes for sure. Two and the cauliflower might start to suffer a little.
I made this last night and it was wonderful! Will definitely make it again. My husband loves things spicy so i increased the measurements slightly on the seasonings and added 1 full cup of coconut milk. It’s a hearty, tasty, satisfying dinner!
Hi,
Could you clarify the measurements please, should I ignore the 1 at the beginning:?
1 28 ounce can plum tomatoes
1 14 ounce can chickpeas
thanks
Yes sorry for the confusion. I meant 1 can (28 ounces)…
Made this yesterday, it’s so good! I used broth in place of water for extra flavour, and also blended the onions/garlic/ginger with a bit of the canned tomato before adding everything else to the pot, just personal preference. Wish I had made a double batch, will definitely be making again soon 😀
this is a beautiful , healthy and very delicious curry. I will be making this on a regular basis. added kale from my garden and warm pita to scoop it up with. EXCELLENT!
This recipe is SO delicious!! My family absolutely loves it! Thank you for this!
I’m so glad your family loves it. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it 🙂
Favourite Curry recipe ever! Great for kids to. My family and I eat it nearly every week because if you have left overs it tastes even better the next day, as it basically marinates in ya fridge giving the most refreshing wholesome lunch. Thank you Esthers for sharing this recipe x