Creamy tomato and coconut-based Indian-inspired butternut squash curry with chickpeas. It's a healthy, comforting, and nutrient-packed dish that is also full of flavors!
Butternut Squash Curry with Chickpeas
As the days are getting colder, I crave a filling and comforting meal. This Butternut Squash Curry is the versatile and delicious curry dish that I find myself coming back to. It's healthy, nourishing, and full of nutrients and feels like a warm hug in a bowl!
Butternut Squash is my favorite winter squash, it has a nice flavor and texture and works in so many recipes.
Why you'll love this Butternut Squash Curry recipe
This recipe is:
- Vegan and gluten-free
- All the ingredients are accessible and most of which you probably will find in your pantry
- Can be made in one pot: less mess and cleaning needed
- Comforting and nourishing
- You can make this ahead of time, and like other curry dishes, it will become more flavorful over time!
- Can be made in 40 minutes, so perfect for weeknight dinners!
- Versatile: you can adapt this recipe to your liking and use the ingredients that are more accessible to you! The substitute ingredients can be found below.
Ingredients and substitutions
What you'll need for this recipe and some substitute ingredients:
- Coconut oil or cooking oil
- Aromatics: ginger, red onion, and garlic. You can swap the red onion for shallot or yellow onion, and use ginger and garlic powder instead.
- Spices: curry powder, garam masala, chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin, and black pepper
- Broth: the curry base is made with:
- Tomato sauce: adds a tangy, umami flavor that balances out the spices. You can swap this for fresh tomatoes or tomato puree.
- Coconut milk: I recommend using full-fat coconut milk
- Water to thin it out
- Vegetables:
- Butternut squash: you can substitute it with other kinds of pumpkin, squash, potato or sweet potato.
- Spinach: you can substitute this with other dark leafy greens like kale or bokchoy.
- Protein source: I used drained chickpeas from a can. Alternatively, you can use tofu, or cooked green or red lentils.
Step-by-step instructions with pictures:
First, thinly dice and mince your aromatics, which are garlic, ginger, and red onion.
Then chop the butternut squash in half, and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Make sure to peel its skin.
In a pan, add the coconut oil (or other cooking oil) then stir-fry the aromatics for one minute. Add the spices and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk and water and mix until well combined.
Afterwards, add the butternut squash and simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash has softened.
Add the drained chickpeas and spinach, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Lastly, season with salt and pepper and squeeze the lime juice.
How to serve this recipe?
You can serve this recipe with a side of naan or rice and fresh coriander and lime wedges as toppings.
📖 Recipe
Butternut Squash Curry with Chickpeas
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 people 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Creamy tomato and coconut-based Indian-inspired butternut squash curry with chickpeas. It's a healthy, comforting, and nutrient-packed dish that is also full of flavors!
Ingredients
Aromatics:
- 1 red onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 thumb-sized ginger
- 1 tbsp oil
Spices:
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp black pepper
Veggies & protein
- ½ a butternut squash
- ½ can (200 ml) chopped tomatoes
- 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
- 200ml water
- 1 can (400g) chickpeas
- A handful of spinach (about 100g)
- Salt and pepper
- Juice from ½ a lime
Serve with:
- Fresh cilantro
- Naan or rice
Instructions
- Thinly slice the red onion, garlic, and ginger. Peel and cut the butternut squash into bite-sized pieces.
- In a pan, add the oil, followed by the minced aromatics. Stir fry for 1 minute, then add in all the spices and stir fry for half a minute, adding water to deglaze the pan.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, water, and mix until well combined. Bring to a boil
- Add the butternut squash pieces and simmer for 15 minutes or until the butternut squash is softened.
- Add the drained chickpeas from a can and spinach. Mix together until the spinach has wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, and finally squeeze the lime juice on top.
- Serve the butternut squash curry with rice and/or naan.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Albert Yonathan says
This is simply one of the easiest recipes I've tried. You definitely can't go wrong with this one. I used kabocha pumpkin and added some mustard seeds to it. It's a perfect autumn/winter comfort meal. It's in one of my staples now and one of my favorites.
Veggie Anh says
Thank you so much Albert. I'm so glad you liked it and hope you continue to try more of my recipes!