This chickpea and pumpkin curry with spinach, in a spiced coconut milk and peanut sauce is rich, creamy and comforting, and makes an easy vegetarian weeknight dinner!
I am a huge fan of chickpea curries! From traditional Indian chana masala to cauliflower and chickpea curry and this spinach chickpea curry; they are cheap, quick to make, and delicious!
This chickpea and pumpkin curry recipe takes inspiration from satay sauce, with peanuts, coconut milk, curry powder and a touch of fresh lime. The peanut butter adds richness, but the curry powder and lime stop it from being too rich. Pumpkin goes really well with peanuts and peanut butter, and I pair them in this kid friendly pumpkin and peanut butter soup.
Jump to:
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient quantities.
- Oil – use a light olive oil or neutral oil.
- Pumpkin – or butternut squash.
- Carrots – or substitute with more pumpkin or sweet potato.
- Mild curry powder – this recipe uses a mild curry powder, not a hot curry powder!
- Peanut butter – use smooth or crunchy peanut butter. Check that it is unsweetened otherwise your curry will taste too sweet.
- Coconut milk – I recommend using a full fat coconut milk for a rich creamy flavour and texture.
- Chickpeas – I use drained tinned / canned chickpeas for convenience. You can substitute with cooked lentils or cooked kidney beans.
- Soy sauce – or substitute with tamari to make this recipe gluten free.
- Spinach – fresh baby spinach or frozen spinach.
- Lime – both the juice and zest. I recommend adding this as it adds a freshness to the curry with makes the flavours pop!
FAQ
Yes you can freeze this curry, it will freeze for a couple of months.
Yes. The curry will keep for up to three days covered in the fridge.
No, this curry isn’t gluten free but you can easily swap the soy sauce for tamari.
Yes! Use almond butter or seed butter instead of the peanut butter.
Serving Ideas For This Chickpea Curry
This is developed to be a kid friendly curry, so for older members that want a bit of heat I either sprinkle over a pinch of chilli flakes or let people help themselves to these quick pickled chillies.
On the side – fluffy boiled rice, chapati, naan or flatbread.
Leftover pumpkin ideas
Still have some pumpkin in the fridge?
- Roast any leftover pumpkin and turn into this silky smooth roast pumpkin soup.
- Puree cooked pumpkin and make these savoury pumpkin pancakes.
- Grate raw pumpkin and use to make these moist pumpkin muffins.
More easy vegetarian curries:
Satay Pumpkin Curry
Author: Robyn
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or a neutral oil such as vegetable oil
- 1 brown onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 3-4 cm fresh ginger finely grated
- 400g (14 oz) pumpkin peeled
- 150g (5¼ oz) carrots approx 2 medium/3 small
- ½ tablespoon mild curry powder
- 1-2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 400ml (14oz) tin/can coconut milk
- 250ml (1c) water
- 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 400g (14 oz) canned chickpeas drained
- 100g (3½ oz) spinach fresh or frozen
- ½ lime juice and zest
- Sprinkling of chilli flakes, to serve, optional
- Peanuts, to serve, optional
Instructions
- Cut the pumpkin into rough chunks around 2.5 cm / 1 inch in size and the carrots into 1 cm / ½ inch pieces (the carrots will take longer to cook.)
- Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan over a low heat, add the onion and cook until soft – around 5-10 mins – stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and ginger cook for 1 minute, then add the curry powder and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the carrots, pumpkin, chickpeas and peanut butter, then add the coconut milk, water and soy sauce and simmer for 20-25 mins until the carrots and pumpkin are tender.
- Add the spinach and stir until wilted.
- Just before serving stir in the lime juice.
- Serve with boiled rice and/or naan bread, topped with peanuts and chilli flakes, optional.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Oil – use a light olive oil or neutral oil.
- Pumpkin – or butternut squash.
- Carrots – or substitute with more pumpkin or sweet potato.
- Mild curry powder – this recipe uses a mild curry powder, not a hot curry powder!
- Peanut butter – use smooth or crunchy peanut butter. Check that it is unsweetened otherwise your curry will taste too sweet.
- Coconut milk – I recommend using a full fat coconut milk for a rich creamy flavour and texture.
- Chickpeas – I use drained tinned / canned chickpeas for convenience. You can substitute with cooked lentils or cooked kidney beans.
- Soy sauce – or substitute with tamari to make this recipe gluten free.
- Spinach – fresh baby spinach or frozen spinach.
- Lime – both the juice and zest. I recommend adding this as it adds a freshness to the curry with makes the flavours pop!
Nutrition
HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?
I’d love to see your creation!
Or just leave a comment below!
Sylvie says
I love anything satay and pumpkin, so this curry sounds absolutely delicious! Love that it is vegan too so everyone can enjoy it. Cant wait to try it!
Robyn says
Hope you enjoy it Sylvie!
Katerina says
This curry sounds amazing, Robyn. I actually think curries are just as good in summer, though our bodies do crave the coziness of warm meals and warm spices more in winter. I think even my littlies who don’t like spices would enjoy this. Thanks for sharing!
Robyn says
That is very true Katerina, yes it is a mildly spiced dish – little one friendly 🙂