Chickpea Cauliflower Curry, a hearty vegan curry recipe filled with chickpeas, fresh cauliflower, tomatoes, and warm spices. This fragrant curry makes an excellent side to an Indian-themed meal, or serve it over some basmati rice for a vegan entrée.

Chickpea Cauliflower Curry

I think I make more Mediterranean, Mexican, Italian and other cuisines than I do typical American fare. 

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my share of grilled cheese sandwiches and other American favorites, but what I love best about international foods are all the spices and sauces. 

Chickpea Cauliflower Curry uses one of my all-time favorite spices, cumin, plus curry powder, ginger, and a trio of ground peppers for a flavorful curry sauce that is as tasty as it is colorful!

Even though I like to prepare as many things from scratch as possible, I usually end up buying packages of Indian sides like spiced lentils or curried potatoes & chickpeas in those little ready-to-go pouches.

However, there isn’t a lot of food in a pouch and those pouches get expensive, so I decided to make it myself! 

Well, I should have been making it myself all along because Chickpea Cauliflower Curry is not only an easy-to-make one-pot meal, it is soooo good. 

Dare I say better than those pouches?  Not only is the curry flavor delicious, but you can’t get the great texture from fresh cauliflower in any shelf-stable package at the store.

Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

• Cauliflower
• Chickpeas
• Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Onion
• Ginger
• Olive oil
• Tomato paste
• Vegetable broth
• Cilantro
• Spices (curry powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, white pepper)

What I love most about the curry flavor in this dish is how warm and earthy the spices are. 

The spices in this curry just go perfectly with the cauliflower, chickpeas, and tomatoes.  Adding potatoes or substituting potatoes for the chickpeas would be a delicious alternative.

How to make Chickpea Cauliflower Curry

1. Simply sauté cauliflower for a little bit until it starts to soften and get some color.  Then add the onion, tomatoes, garlic, and ginger.

   2. After a couple minutes, add the spices and cook for a couple more minutes.  Then stir in the tomato paste, vegetable broth, and chickpeas.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.

     3. Sprinkle cilantro into the curry just before serving and garnish with more cilantro.

Is this curry spicy?

This recipe contains cayenne pepper, which makes this a little spicy. 

If you want, omit the cayenne to make it mild.

To make it even spicier, you can increase the cayenne pepper and/or add some dried Thai chiles or chile de arbol, then pull them out before it’s served.

This vegetarian curry recipe only takes about 30 minutes, and it’s made in one pot, which is great for clean up! 

Don’t forget about all the health benefits this curry provides. 

Turmeric, a common spice in curry powder, is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. 

Cauliflower, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic, are great for your general health, and you also get protein and fiber from the chickpeas.

How long is this curry good for?

Once cooled, keep leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Looking for more vegetarian recipes?  Here are some favorites:

• Mushroom Garlic Quinoa
• Spicy Kimchi Garlic Noodles
• Mediterranean Balela Salad
• Mushroom Kale Lasagna (shown below)
• Italian Chickpea Vegetable Soup
• Mushroom Goat Cheese Wraps

NOTES:

• This recipe makes approximately 4 servings as a main dish over rice.  It will make about 8 servings as a side dish.
• If you like spicy curry, I like to sauté a minced jalapeno with the onion and garlic.  I’ll also add a couple dried chile de arbol or Thai chile peppers when it’s simmering, then pull them out before serving.

Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry

Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry is so good and easy to make, you'll never buy packaged Indian side dishes from the store again!  This homemade version makes an excellent side to an Indian-themed meal, or serve it over some basmati rice for a vegan entrée.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Cauliflower, Chickpeas, Curry, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Flavorful Eats

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 head of a large cauliflower approx. 3 1/2 cups, chopped into florets
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 1/2-2 tbsp. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 1/2-2 tsp salt
• ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. tomato paste
• 1 15.5oz can chickpeas, drained
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 3 tbsp. chopped cilantro plus more for garnish

Instructions

• Add oil to a large pan, sauté cauliflower florets over med-med/high heat until they start to soften and get a little bit of color (about 10 minutes, stirring frequently). Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, curry powder, cayenne pepper, white pepper, black pepper and 1 tsp of the salt to the veggies in the pot. Sauté for 3-4 minutes then add the tomato paste, vegetable broth, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
• Taste for salt. If needed, add 1/2-1 tsp more salt. Stir in 1-2 tbsp. of the cilantro. Serve as a side dish or as a main dish on top of rice. Garnish with more cilantro when serving. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?  Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥ 

I also have a fun Facebook group for us foodies to share recipes and talk about food.  I’d love to have you!  Request to join HERE.  Cheers!