Easy Chickpea Coconut Milk Curry with Broccoli

chickpea coconut milk curry in white bowl with spoon and lime

This chickpea and broccoli coconut milk curry is a delicious vegan curry recipe. It’s nutritious, flavourful and so simple to make at home!

bowl of chickpea coconut milk curry with wheat berries and black spoon

Who doesn’t love a good vegan chickpea curry recipe? Curry is one of my never fail, staple dinners. I love it because it’s easy, you can put it together in 30 minutes on a weeknight and the whole family will eat it without complaint.

Most of the ingredients come from the pantry, and you can switch the vegetable to use up whatever you have on hand. For this recipe, you could swap out the broccoli with cauliflower, carrots, peas, spinach, and even bell peppers.

But, to me, the most important ingredient is the legume! Legumes are packed with plant-based protein and fibre. As a registered dietitian with an entire cookbook on gut health called Good For Your Gut, I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate legumes into my meals. So I love the added benefit of chickpeas in this easy vegan curry.

Chickpea nutrition

What’s so great about chickpeas you ask? For starters, they’re one of the good vegan protein sources out there, which, when paired with a grain, offer a complete amino acid profile. Chickpea protein content obviously varies by amount, but as a general rule: in 100 grams of chickpeas, you’ll find about 19 grams of protein—a necessary macronutrient that helps your body grow and repair!

Chickpeas are also high in soluble fibre, which plays a crucial role in regulating your body’s blood cholesterol levels—and it keeps us fuller for longer! Legumes aid our overall health by providing us with a density of vitamins and minerals like folate, magnesium, potassium, iron, B6, and zinc. So you’ll feel incredible about gobbling up this quick chickpea broccoli curry!

Broccoli is the original ‘superfood’ AKA a plant that just has a lot of good stuff in it.

Broccoli nutrition

Broccoli has long been touted as part of an ‘anti-cancer’ lifestyle, but as I’ve written before, that does NOT mean broccoli cures cancer. However, it DOES contain naturally-occurring plant compounds associated in research with supporting a healthy cell cycle and combating chronic inflammation.

1 cup of broccoli contains more than a day’s worth of vitamin C to support your immune system, boost iron absorption and healthy collagen production in the skin, and also contains anti-inflammatory, bone-strengthening vitamin K.
It also contains small amounts of plant-based protein and fibre: about 2.5 grams each.
Broccoli boasts plenty of folate for building healthy babies and red blood cells plus small amounts of energizing minerals like manganese, copper, and iron.
Broccoli is packed with supportive phytochemicals such as kaempferol, lutein, and zeaxanthin.
One of the most exciting benefits of broccoli is the level of glucosinolate compounds found in broccoli. In the research, these sulfur-based compounds are thought to support the liver in its detoxification work as well as support a healthy cell cycle and help protect the body from oxidative damage and inflammation.

Coconut milk nutrition

While the bulk of calories in canned coconut milk come from fat (especially MCTs, or medium-chain triglycerides), the creamy liquid also contains high amounts of manganese—110% of your RDI!—a trace mineral necessary for brain and nerve function.

One cup of canned coconut milk contains high levels of iron and magnesium (22% of our RDI for both), and a good dose (32% RDI) of copper. Copper is an essential nutrient for building red blood cells, maintaining nerve health, and aiding in that iron absorption. All the above makes this chickpea coconut curry as useful for the body as it is tasty on the taste buds!

Now enough with the nutrition chit chat, let’s get to making this easy 30 minute, stovetop-friendly chickpea and broccoli coconut curry! As noted in the below recipe, it’s best paired with a whole grain (like millet, rice, or even barley). And remember to sprinkle on some fresh cilantro leaves once dished!

More easy vegan curry recipes