Vegan Cauliflower, Potato, and Chickpea Curry
This vegan cauliflower curry is hearty, filling, and comes together in just 45 minutes.
We’re ending the week off with a simple and vegan cauliflower curry! I still love this braised Indian chicken with chickpeas, but if you want a vegan vegetable curry, this dish is for you. Similarly to the chicken recipe, this dish is very weeknight friendly and makes great leftovers.
Many of you request more vegetarian recipes on the blog and I’m more than happy to oblige, because I happen to make vegetarian recipes throughout the week! They sort of outnumber the non-vegetarian ones now that I think about it.
If the title of the recipe is any indicator, this vegetarian curry just happens to be vegan as well! Oh, and gluten-free! Convenient, huh?
I’m already professed my love for gluten on this site many times (um, pasta), but I love having a recipe on hand for times when I need to serve something that is a little more dietary-restriction friendly.
Plus, labels mean nothing to me. Good food is good food. Period.
This cauliflower, potato, and chickpea curry is an adaptation from one of my favorite, relatively new-ish cookbooks, River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
If you’re looking for vegetarian recipe inspiration, I highly encourage you to check out this cookbook! It is filled with tons (200) creative, and innovative vegetarian recipes. Main courses, desserts, appetizers, soups, etc.! Plus, it just happens to be a really beautiful book filled with gorgeously styling photographs, if that is your thing.
It is one of my most highly used cookbooks for sure.
I ended up taking several creative liberties with this recipe. Inspired by a traditional Indian cauliflower dish, aloo gobi, I decided to add potatoes to the mix. It makes it a bit heartier and filling, plus the technique I used to incorporate them requires no additional steps. Yay!
I also chose to finish the curry off with light coconut milk. It just makes the dish a bit creamier and indulgent without being overly rich or heavy. My biggest cooking tip for this recipe is to not be afraid of salt. This dish contains two of the most naturally bland (yet tasty) vegetables/starches to have ever walked this earth–plain cauliflower and potatoes. They beg to be heavily seasoned!
If the dish tastes flat, it is most likely due to the fact that you haven’t added enough salt. Don’t be afraid of the stuff!
Vegan Cauliflower, Potato, and Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower (roughly 2 lbs) trimmed
- ¾ lb Yukon gold potatoes
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 medium onions chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger root peeled and finely grated
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- pinch dried red pepper flakes
- 2 star anise pods optional
- 1 (28 oz) can chopped tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 cups (480 mL) vegetable broth or substitute with water
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- ¾ cup (180 mL) light or full-fat coconut milk
- large bunch of fresh cilantro chopped
- kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower into medium-sized florets. Chop the potatoes into ¾-inch chunks. Place cauliflower and potatoes in a large soup pot and fill with cold water. Season the water heavily with salt. Bring to a rolling boil over the stove. Remove from the heat and drain into a large colander. Set the colander over the pot to keep warm while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger, and saute, stirring every few minutes, for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onions are very soft and translucent. Adjust heat if necessary.
- Add the ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, red pepper flakes, star anise, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until very fragrant. Add the tomatoes with their juices and drained chickpeas, and stir mixture together. Add the drained cauliflower and potatoes, and vegetable broth (or water, if using) to the pot. The liquid should almost reach the top of the vegetable mixture. Bring to a low simmer. Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, stirring gently. until the cauliflower and potatoes are fork tender.
- Stir in the garam masala and coconut milk, simmer for an additional 10 minutes, and season to taste with salt and pepper. This dish requires a heavy hand of seasoning. Finish the soup by sprinkling and stirring in ½ to ¾ cup roughly chopped cilantro. Serve with rice and naan.
88 Comments on “Vegan Cauliflower, Potato, and Chickpea Curry”
My DH has dysphagia and requires soft pureed food. I love when a recipe is just as delicious pureed into a creamy thick soup as it is served intact. We both found it delicious and I will be making again and again regardless of the season.
After I was done with all instructions, i tasted it and it tasted like coconut milk with barely any spice. When you said “ This dish requires heavy hand of seasoning” you weren’t lying. Not sure why that note was left at the end of the recipe and not in the beginning in step 3. I did exactly that, and added sooo much more seasoning to it and even added turmeric. Adding cilantro always makes a dish 10x better but this dish like neeeeded it haha. There’s so much leftovers too. Just my honest review. It’s not gross! Just not something I’d make again. Now I just gotta figure out how to make it better because I now have leftovers 🙃
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy it. When I said a heavy hand of seasoning, I was referring to salt because potatoes and cauliflower NEED it. I wasn’t referring to additional spices, as those are included in the recipe (in quite generous quantities) – but every palate is different.
A favourite in our house! We add sweet potatoes as well when possible.
Perfect for cold weather but enjoyed all year ’round.
Delicious and easy!
This recipe looks amazing. I love curry; I can’t wait to try it!
I like your way of cooking,,,BUT why is it that you never use the outer leaves of the couliflower,, they have such a good taste which is ideal for curry…Dont you think we should wasting good food..The I dians where I came from always use the outer leaves of the couliflower,,,please take note,,sincerely Querino
You’re absolutely welcome to use the outer leaves! Unfortunately I find that most store-bought cauliflower has outer leaves that aren’t in very good shape at all and tough (maybe a result of not being as fresh as say the farmer’s market), so that is why I don’t include that, but you’re always welcome to adapt based on the quality of the ingredients you’re using. I’m very cognizant and encouraging of reducing kitchen waste, so yes, definitely do this!
We made this tonight. It does smell delicious cooking, but I thought it was missing the turmeric that adds richness to the curry, and yogurt or a thickener for the sauce. I would try it again with the addition of those two items. For Trish, who was looking for a substitute for the coconut milk, I typically use a yogurt-water mix, the ratio of which can be adjusted to add just the right amount of thickness to the sauce. It is lovely over basmati rice seasoned with saffron.
Yum! I’ve been looking for recipes packed with flavor for vegetarian guests. This sounds perfect and so many positive comments! I can’t wait to try it!
This is a Really a great recipe!!!! I added some green beans & carrots for some crunch but other than that I followed your recipe . I’ll definitely make this again!! Thanks!!!!
Very good! I didn’t have a large can of tomatoes so I blended up a bunch of my garden tomatoes instead. I also used regular coconut milk and everything was really good.
This recipe is delicious and smells like heaven while it’s cooking. I made it on a cold, rainy fall night when I was craving some healthy comfort food, and it was the perfect thing. This is definitely going to be a regular go-to recipe this winter!
Amazing, whole newly-vegetarian family loved it!
So thrilled to hear that!
This curry is so tasty. Used heaping spoons of the spices and it’s perfect.
Definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Im out of coconut milk….the stores are all close and I have a huge craving!!! This look soooooo delish!!!! With what could I replace the coconut milk???
Hmm. Nothing will quite add the same flavor, but you could add a touch of cream (or fuller fat dairy milk, if you have it!). Another alternative would be to stir in a touch of Whole fat yogurt. I would just add a bit at s time and adjust and taste to your preference. Hope you like it!
Thanks Laura, I cant have dairy so I think Im gonna go vegan with it wnd make the sauce with some raw cashew to make it creamy! Will see how it turn out cause like you mentioned nothing will have quote the same flavor! Have a good day ????
Delish recipe 😊 added turmeric and used coconut cream melted in water instead of coconut, and was lovely.
Wondering is the calorie count at the bottom just the curry alone or with a side (like rice of naan)?
Calorie count is just for the dish – and is always an estimate! Hope this helps!
I’ve made this before and it’s absolutely delicious! I’m making it again tonight but I’m curious why the potatoes and cauliflower have to do the quick boil before hand. Is it ok to skip that and just add them to the broth?
Made this last nite and it was quite good!! Will be making it again for sure.
Why does salt have to be kosher?
You don’t have to use kosher salt for this recipe, but it is the salt that I cook with for all of the recipes on my site. It is less relevant for this recipe (since I don’t list an amount), but since many of my recipes do – the type of salt that you buy/use can have a dramatic effect on a recipe outcome, because salts vary tremendously by density. Here’s a post that I wrote a few years ago that explains it in depth:
https://www.abeautifulplate.com/cooking-salts/
Can this be done in a slow cooker? If so are there any adjustments?
Could you substitute sweet potatoes, instead of Yukon gold potatoes?
Season the wall????? in step 1 of directions. Whatever happened to proof reading?
Thank you for pointing out the typo! I do proofread every post on this site several times before posting, but I am human and mistakes do happen. You’d be surprised what your eyes can miss after reading the same content over and over again!