This cozy Vegan Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potato is perfect for a warm and satisfying meal. Simple, customizable, and so delicious – quick enough even for a weeknight meal!

A nourishing, delicious curry is always welcome in my house. This Vegan Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potato checks all the boxes – it’s hearty, SO EASY, and satisfying. The family all loved it too! Such a win.
So, I have a secret. This is the same seasoning mix as my Butternut Squash Curry. What can I say, it’s so good! That’s the great thing about this type of meal. Once you get an amazing base sauce in the rotation, it’s super easy to go wild with customizing for whatever carb, vegetable, and protein you’d like to add.
Some of my other really simple (and so delicious!) curry recipes are here, here and here.
I used roasted sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and baby spinach as the “additions” to this yummy base sauce. The base sauce is a combination of sauteed onions, the seasoning mix, some tomato sauce, and a can of coconut milk. From there, simply add in your preferred veggies like I did here.

Seasoning Mix & the coconut milk
The seasoning mix for this Vegan Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potato is a simple one. I try to keep these dry spices in our cabinet at all times, for whenever the mood for curry hits!
All you need is this:
- ground coriander
- ground cumin
- chili powder (regular or “dark”)
- curry powder (regular or “hot”)
- ground cinnamon
- garlic powder (or sub fresh garlic)
All of these spices can be found in grocery stores easily, and make for the perfect, dreamy curry sauce when combined with around 1/2 cup marinara sauce and a can of coconut milk, and the sauteed onions.
When it comes to canned coconut milk (use unsweetened), you’ll notice that it comes either full fat or light. The full fat version may not indicate that it’s full fat…it may just say “coconut milk”. The lighter version will probably indicate “lite”. I usually opt for the full fat version to make a creamier sauce when using vegetables and beans as the stars of the curry.
However, in this recipe, we are using sweet potato as a large component of the curry. The sweet potato definitely adds a creaminess all on its own – so feel free to use the lite coconut milk. You will still end up with a really rich sauce.
How this dish comes together
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. IT’S SO SIMPLE!
- Roast the sweet potatoes.
- Meanwhile, cook the onions and add in the spices.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.
The steps time out really well, because while the sweet potatoes are in the oven, you go ahead and chop / saute the onions, add in the spices, and then the tomato sauce and coconut milk. When you’ve done that, the sweet potatoes will be nearly ready. Simply add them to the sauce, along with the chickpeas and spinach. And voila! So yummy and easy to put together.
helpful items for this dish
For dense items like sweet potatoes, make sure you have a stable surface to cut on, that is not going to be slipping or sliding. And be careful! Having a sharp knife will help as well, to move through the sweet potato without having to struggle. If your board is sliding, you can place a dampened washcloth or kitchen towel under your cutting board to help keep it in place.
OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Cutting Board Set
These are great baking trays for your roasting and baking needs, coupled with the liners. We use them ALL the time at our house.
Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Half Sheet (2 Pack), Silver
AmazonBasics Silicone, Non-Stick, Food Safe Baking Mat – Pack of 2
We love to serve curries, stews, pastas and such in these types of bowls. They’re a great size and shape for these types of dishes, as well as nourish bowls and salads. We have found that they’re light and durable too, which are always a major plus!
Corelle Winter Frost White 20-Ounce Bowl Set (6-Piece)
This spice box is so handy, and looks pretty darn nice too. We use this for the Indian-inspired dishes that I make quite frequently.
Vegan Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 medium sweet potatoes diced
- oil, salt and curry powder for roasting
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2.5 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 cup marinara or tomato sauce
- 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper optional
- 1 can coconut milk lite
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 cups (firmly packed) baby spinach
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Peel and dice sweet potato in small bite sized chunks.
- Arrange potatoes on a baking tray, sprinkle generously with oil, salt, and curry powder. Toss to coat and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 15 minutes, remove tray from oven and toss, bake another 10 to 15 minutes until cooked and lightly golden.
- Meanwhile, finely chop an onion. Add to a large pan along with 2 tsp oil.
- Saute for around 7 or 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add all the spices, cook another minute.
- Add marinara or tomato sauce, and the coconut milk. Stir well.
- Add the cooked sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and baby spinach.
- Stir gently and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.