This Vegan Chickpea Mushroom and Spinach Curry is so flavorful and creamy, with a mild sauce that is sure to be a family favorite. It is a warm hug in a bowl for the cozy weather, or for any time.
You can spice things up with red chili flakes for the spice lovers in your crew, and even switch up the vegetables for what you may have on hand!
It’s one of those dishes that you know will always be super tasty and will leave you feeling satisfied and comforted. Plus, it’s quick enough to throw together on a weeknight, when you have neither the time nor the energy to make a complicated meal (or maybe that’s just me?!). Either way, this curry is a perfect way to get that warm and fuzzy feeling any day of the week.
Here I use mushrooms, tomatoes, chickpeas and spinach as the main components to the sauce. All of this cooks together in one pot, making it simple. You can cook the rice as the curry is cooking, and it’s ready before you know it!
The sauce is one that I really love because it has so much flavor with simple pantry spices that are easily accessible in stores. The spices are used again and again for my curries, so I’m always a bit frantic when they get low but who can blame me? You will know what I am talking about when you taste it!
The simple spices are:
- garlic powder
- chili powder
- cumin
- curry powder
- ground coriander
Then comes the coconut milk and tomatoes. For the tomatoes, I use a combination of fresh tomato, tomato paste, and tomato puree. If you don’t have fresh tomato, or the paste, you can use all tomato puree. Passata, crushed tomato (canned), even store bought marinara sauce will work.
The sauce is that simple! With this sauce as the base, the possibilities are really endless with regards to whatever beans, proteins, and vegetables your heart desires after that.
You can check out my other curry recipes here:
Vegan Chickpea and Mushroom Curry
Vegan Lentil and Potato Curry with Spinach
The Simple steps for this Dish
First, start by finely chopping the onion. Add the onions to a large pan along with the oil and set the heat to medium. Then chop the mushrooms. You can slice some and quarter some for extra texture, but I like to keep them bite sized. Then add them to the pan with the onions.
Stir and cook these for a while, until the onions are translucent. Stir the mixture every few minutes along the way. While they’re cooking, grab your spices and measure them out. Have your tomatoes and coconut milk handy.
Then add the spices and tomatoes to the pan, stir and cook the mixture for a minute before adding the rest of the sauce ingredients and the chickpeas. Near the end of cooking, stir in the spinach.
Tips for Making this Dish
I use full-fat coconut milk here to add a really luxurious creaminess while being completely dairy-free. If you’d like a lighter, lower fat option, you can use “lite” coconut milk. The sauce will be thinner and not as creamy, but still delicious.
If you’re making this to have leftovers, I would suggest adding the spinach on the day you’ll be eating it. So, you can pack up the leftovers prior to adding in the spinach.
Helpful Items for Dishes like This
Thai Kitchen Organic Unsweetened Coconut Milk, 13.66 Fl Oz (Pack of 6)
Vegan Chickpea, Mushroom and Spinach Curry
Ingredients
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 8 oz. mushrooms sliced or quartered
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1-2 tsp coriander
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp tomato paste
- 2 cups sliced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup marinara or tomato puree
- 1 15 oz. can coconut milk
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas
- 2 cups baby spinach
- Cilantro and red chili flakes for serving
Instructions
- Add onions and oil to pan, cook for 3 min. While those are cooking, you can cut the mushrooms and add to pan.
- Cook another 7 min, stir occasionally and add some water to prevent burning if needed.
- Add spices, tomato paste and sliced tomatoes. Cook 2 min, stirring. Then add remaining ingredients except the baby spinach.
- For the coriander, you can add the 1 tsp and cook 5 min, taste and add another tsp for deeper flavor. Cook at gentle simmer for 10 min, partially covered.
- Add spinach, stir and cook another couple min until wilted. Serve with chopped cilantro and red chili flakes.
Hi, love this recipe, I’m gonna try and make it tomorrow. But I have one question, what can I use instead of coconut milk?
Thank you Adea! I’ve only tried this with coconut milk but you can give it a try with another creamy plant based milk like oat milk. It may not be as creamy.
Looks great but confused on listed total cook time of 6 hours 35 min. Appears to be simply 35 min instead.
Thank you Mark! The 6 is a typo, I will correct that now, thanks for pointing it out!