If you love curry, you will deeply love this delicious recipe for Chickpea Curry in the crockpot. After a few easy steps, you can set it and forget it and then enjoy a vegetarian curry with an incredible depth of Indian flavor.

While this is not authentic Indian food made in the traditional way or using spices directly from India, this slow cooker recipe is a great way for beginners to experiment with the flavors of Indian cuisine at home. This slow cooker Chickpea Curry has flavor depths that parallel the traditional Indian food that I often enjoy with my friends Sudha and Ananya.

My dear friends teach me about Indian culture, Indian cooking, and the importance of food and family in the Indian tradition. I love to hear their stories of how Indian families come together around food. Families help care for each other, almost like a small village full of love, connection and tradition. It is heart warming and soul nourishing to learn about their culture. My friend shared this excellent Food52 article on the differences between Northern and Southern Indian food if you are interested in learning more about Indian food culture.

This simple chickpea curry recipe uses only vegetables, spices, vegetable stock and coconut milk, so this slow cooker vegetable curry is both a vegetarian and a vegan recipe.

This vegan curry recipe begins on the stove top to sauté the onion mixture and toast the spices to create that warm depth of flavor and the incredible curry taste. It’s then transferred to a crock pot or slow cooker to finish cooking. The total cooking time is approximately 3 hours in the slow cooker on the high setting.

Tools You’ll Need for Chickpea Curry

• Slow cooker / Crock pot
• High-sided sauté pan
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board

You can also make this in a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven on the stove top, but a slow cooker curry is perfect for busy days.

Ingredients for Crockpot Chickpea Curry

Prep –

• 2 -15 oz cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 whole cauliflower, cut and washed
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, cubed

Sauté –

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp coriander
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

Then add, combine, stir and place in slow cooker –

• 32 oz low sodium vegetable broth

For finishing at the end –

• 1 13-oz can of full fat unsweetened coconut milk
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil or chopped fresh cilantro

Serve with –

White basmati rice, jasmine rice, or couscous cooked according to package directions.

Directions for Making Chickpea Curry in the Crockpot

Prep the veggies –

Drain and rinse each can of chickpeas.

Cut and wash the cauliflower

Peel and cut the carrots and sweet potatoes.

Sauté and toast the spices –

In a sauté pan, heat olive oil and sauté the chopped onion until tender. Add the garlic clove and crushed red pepper and sauté for approximately 1 minute.

Add all remaining spices from the curry paste through the cayenne pepper to the sauté pan and stir continuously for 1 minute.

Pour in the veggie broth and scrape up all bits in the pan. Stir to combine. Let it come to a simmer on the stovetop while preparing the ingredients for the crockpot.

Although this step on the stovetop may seem like an extra step for a crockpot meal, it’s extremely important for toasting the spices, making the curry sauce, and creating a depth of flavor for your chickpea curry.

Combine in the crockpot –

While the spice/stock mixture is simmering on low, place the drained and rinsed chickpeas, the chopped carrots, and the chopped and washed cauliflower in the crockpot.

Pour the spice/stock mixture into the crockpot topping the chickpeas and cauliflower.

Turn the slow cooker on high. Let the curry cook for approximately 2 hours on high.

After 2 hours, add the cubed sweet potato and give it a good stir. Replace the top of the crockpot and cook for another hour or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Once the vegetables are tender, remove ½ cup of chickpeas and mash them with a potato masher or a fork. Return the mashed chickpeas to the crockpot.

Then add the coconut milk and chopped fresh basil and stir to combine. Reserve a little fresh basil for plating and serving. Warm through in the crockpot while you prepare the basmati rice or couscous.

While the curry is slow cooking, make the basmati or jasmine rice about a half hour before the curry is finished. Serve the chickpea curry over white rice or couscous.

How to Store Leftovers

Store the leftover slow cooker curry in an airtight glass container. You can reheat it for lunches throughout the week. It will last for about 5-6 days in the refrigerator and it’s one of those dishes that just gets better and increases in flavor after the first day.

If this is your first time experimenting with Indian recipes, let me know what you think. You can experiment with your own blend of spices. It is all based on personal preference. This simple recipe for an Indian curry is an easy way to experiment with different combinations of Indian spices and flavors. This chickpea curry in the crockpot is both a healthy meal and a great recipe to enjoy the flavors in Indian cooking.

Tips

I recommend putting the coconut milk in at the end of cooking time with about a half hour remaining. Sometimes, depending on the quality of the coconut milk, it can begin to separate and even curdle if cooked too long at high temperatures. I’ve found the best results with warming it through the curry for about 30 minutes at the end of the cooking time.

Don’t include the sweet potatoes in the crockpot with the other vegetables at the beginning. You don’t want to end up with mushy sweet potatoes. They take less time to cook than the carrots and cauliflower. This is the rationale for adding them for the last hour of cooking time on high.

Can I Freeze Chickpea Curry in the Crockpot?

Yes, you can and I definitely recommend saving and freezing your leftovers. You can freeze them in individual glass airtight containers for thawing and reheating for your lunch or individual servings on busy days.

What to Serve with Crockpot Chickpea Curry

• Basmati Rice or Jasmine Rice
• Naan bread

Other soul nourishing cuisines you might like –

• One Pot Moroccan Chicken & Couscous
• Greek Chicken Bowl with Tzatziki Sauce
• Southwest Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa
• Chipotle Carne Asada Bowl Recipe

If you make this Chickpea Curry in the Crockpot Recipe, please leave a rating and comment below.

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