Easy Zucchini Chickpea Curry with Coconut Sauce

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Easy Family Zucchini Chickpea Curry in a creamy coconut sauce is delicious with roasted chickpeas, red bell peppers, zucchini, and onion.  Recipe prep time is only 15 minutes and 25 minutes to cook, so it’s a great weeknight dinner!

Family Zucchini Chickpea Curry is a creamy, crunchy, and filled with warm, soothing, yummy flavors.  You get the creamy, almost nutty roasted chickpeas, with the sweet and creamy coconut milk.  Then lots of crunch and texture from the sweet red bell pepper, zucchini, and onion.  Finally, I took a little inspiration from Thai Curry and added in aeromatic fresh basil, which brings a wonderful fresh finish.  It’s all served on top of fluffy rice that soaks up the delicious sauce.

I call it ‘Family’ Chickpea Curry because it’s a great option to introducing kids to new flavors.  For my kids, I find when new flavors are more subtle, not too spicy, they are more likely to try them and more likely to like them.  While this dish is full flavored, it’s not too in-your-face.

This Chickpea Coconut Curry is packed with Vitamins & Nutrients, but few calories! 

With a certification in Nutrition and Healthy Living, I am always looking for more veggies in dinners.

If your looking to add more plant-based dishes or just more veggies to your family diet, but you’re concerned about getting enough protein, beans are a great way to go!  In this dish, that means Garbanzo beans or Chickpeas.  Not only does this Chickpea Coconut Curry recipe provide protein, you get fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients too!  

In this recipe, for only 325 calories per serving, you are getting 3g Fiber and 8g Protein!  Scroll down to see the Nutrition Facts.  Plus Chickpeas are great for so many health benefits that you can read more about!

Quick note!  This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them.  This commission is what helps me keep this blog afloat :).  But, I also share these links because I have used the products, genuinely love them, and want you to know exactly what I used. 

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

Curry Sauce Ingredients

• Small Yellow Onion
• Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best when it comes to garlic, but you can buy pre-minced garlic to save time or mince it in bulk and freeze it for use when you need it!
• Ginger – I love to buy the fresh root and then mince it in bulk in the food processor, so that I can freeze and always have it on. You can also grate the fresh ginger root using a grater or microplane. You can use dry ginger powder as a substitute if you cannot get fresh.
• Vegetable Broth or stock – You can also use, chicken broth or stock or beef broth or stock. You can also use water mixed with a vegetable or chicken bouillon cube, vegetable base or chicken base.
• Cornstarch – Cornstarch is the thickener in the sauce and is great because it can be mixed into cold liquid to dissolve and create a slurry. Then add it’s added to hot liquid to thicken it. It’s much easy than making a flour roux and saves lots of time and fuss!
• Unsweetened Coconut milk – I used Goya Coconut Milk in a can. However, you can use any brand of canned Lite or regular Coconut milk. If you buy your coconut milk from the dairy section, be sure to get the Plain Unsweetened variety. You can also substitute with regular cows milk, plain unsweetened almond milk, or heavy cream.
• Curry Powder
• Cayenne Pepper (optional) – If you want some heat, you can add cayenne pepper, red pepper flake, hot sauce, or chili paste.
• Honey – Honey brings a touch of natural sweetness. You can substitute the same quantity of white granulated sugar or even brown sugar.
• Basil Leaves – Fresh Basil adds bright and fresh flavor. You can substitute with cilantro or even parsley.

Other Ingredients

• White Long Grain Rice, uncooked – You can substitute brown rice, quinoa, or even cauliflower rice.
• Red Bell Pepper – You can use any bell pepper you prefer, such as green bell pepper, yellow, or orange. You can also substitute with another vegetable, such as carrots sliced thin, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, or sliced mushrooms.
• Zucchini, medium-large sized – Again, you can substitute with any other veggie that you prefer, such as the above or yellow squash.
• Canned Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) – Canned garbanzo beans are already cooked and therefore, much faster and easier to use than dry. You could substitute with canned white beans, cannellini beans, or even black beans. You could also use dried garbanzo beans, but you will first need to soak them overnight and then boil them to cook them through and soften before roasting.

Simple Equipment and Tools for this recipe

Nothing special here! You need a sheet pan to roast the chickpeas and a large skillet/frying pan for making the veggies and curry sauce. I use my absolute favorite 12″ Ceramic Pan, which is great because food really does slide right off with minimal oil and I don’t have to worry about food sticking and burning.  It comes with a glass lid, which is perfect for watching your dinner cook!

Prep-Ahead Steps for Zucchini Chickpea Curry

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are the steps you prepare in the day(s) in advance and store in the fridge as your meal Kit… (See the recipe below for more details)

For this Zucchini Curry with roasted chickpeas recipe, you can prep the ingredients ahead or make the entire dish ahead and reheat when you’re ready to eat! 

For the rice, you can make it ahead or the night of.  I used a long grain white rice.  You can also use Basmati rice.

To prepare the veggies and chickpeas ahead, start by draining and rinsing the chickpeas.  Chop red pepper into bite-size pieces or small slices. Cut the zucchini into 1.5 inch sticks.

Dice the onion. Mince the garlic clove and mince the ginger. All of these can be stored in the fridge combined. You can measure out the other ingredients now too and store everything on a sheet pan together in the fridge.

Cooking this Zucchini Chickpea Curry

Drain the Chickpeas (if you haven’t already), rinse, then pat dry. Place on sheet pan. Drizzle with a teaspoon of coconut oil or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the chickpeas to coat and then separate into a single layer. Roast them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Preheat a large skillet on high. Add a teaspoon of Coconut Oil or Olive Oil and then add the red pepper and Zucchini. Cook for 5-6 minutes until they start to sear soften slightly. Then transfer to a plate.

To the same pan, turn the heat down and over medium heat, add a teaspoon of oil and add the onions, garlic, and ginger, stirring occasionally, so that they do not burn. Cook to soften about 2 minutes.

Make the slurry by whisking in the cornstarch into the coconut milk to dissolve it. 

Add the Coconut Milk Slurry and the broth to the onions mixture.   Also add and whisk in the honey, curry powder, cayenne powder, and salt & ground pepper to taste.  Continue to whisk until thickened.  It’s thick enough when you’re able to see the pan for a few seconds when you scrape the bottom.

Add in the roasted chickpeas and the cooked red pepper and zucchini. Stir to combine and warm through, as needed. Just warm through and remove from the heat. Be sure not to over cook the zucchini as it will get mushy.

Put the rice in a bowl and top with the Zucchini Chickpea Curry.

ENJOY!  😍 Carrie

RECIPE FAQS

What are some other vegetables that would work in this recipe?

If you either want to replace the zucchini or supplement it with more veggies, here are some recommendations. Sliced onion, scallions, thinly sliced carrots, or halved mushrooms would also all be delicious in this recipe.

Are there any other spices or seasonings that are used in Curry?

In this recipe, I used fresh garlic, fresh ginger, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and honey to impart full flavor.  You will see a wide variety of recipes for Curry.  In addition to what’s in this recipe, sometimes they have coriander or cumin seeds, or sometimes garam masala.  Fresh herbs such as cilantro leaves are another common herb added. I used Basil in this recipe. There are also some ready made pastes, like red curry paste that are great starters to use.

Can this Curry recipe be made ahead and reheated?

Yes!  This reheats beautifully, so make this on the weekend and reheat on a busy weeknight.  To reheat it, you can add it back to a skillet and reheat it on low heat to medium heat.  Or simply put it in the microwave.