Crockpot Chickpea Curry
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 10, 2025 
Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe – This curry is the perfect dish for a cozy, flavorful meal with minimal effort. Packed with hearty chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and warm spices, it’s a comforting vegetarian meal that can be made right in your slow cooker!
Why We Love This Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry
In my younger years, I had the opportunity to spend three separate summers in India. On my third trip, I spent a summer working in a small village in central India. Nowadays many Indian cities are thriving urban areas, mingling colorful history with a modern flair. However, most often, rural India lives on as their ancestors in small villages with dirt roads, thatched roofs, and, open-air communal buildings.
I had an impromptu cooking lesson, on several occasions, when a kindly granny would take me under her wing for the evening. Once I learned to make chapatis sitting on a dirt floor, over a small stone table. Another time, I learned to make a classic chickpea curry dish in a hanging ceramic vessel over a campfire.
This Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry is a nod to the bright yellow aromatic chickpea curry I learned to make so many years ago. The fragrant silky sauce is the perfect complement to the hearty chickpeas and sweet potatoes. Served over rice and scooped up with fresh naan, this satisfying and lightened up meal is absolute comfort food.
Ingredients You Need
- Honey – to offer a touch of sweetness to offset the spices (or use agave for vegan)
- Fresh ginger – for a punch of spicy-sweet flavor
- Spices – garam masala, turmeric, and cumin
- Chickpeas – the base of the curry
- Heavy Cream – or use full-fat coconut milk for a vegan version
- Sweet Potatoes – to balance the flavor and texture of the chickpeas
How to Make Crockpot Chickpea Curry
- Add the oil to a skillet and place over medium heat. Sautee the onions, garlic, and ginger until soft, 3-5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Place the onion mixture in the blender, along with the cream (or coconut milk,) all spices, honey, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and puree until smooth.
- Pour the curry blend into the slow cooker, then add the chickpeas and chopped sweet potato. Mix well. Place the lid on the slow cooker, and turn on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Once the sweet potatoes are soft, serve warm over basmati rice or with Indian style flatbread (naan bread or chapatis.)
Get the Complete (Printable) Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
- Greens – Stir in a few handfuls of fresh spinach, kale, or Swiss chard during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking for added nutrients and color.
- Protein – Add cooked chicken, shrimp, or tofu to make it a protein-packed meal. Simply stir in during the last hour of cooking to heat through.
- Veggies – Replace sweet potatoes with butternut squash, carrots, or even cauliflower florets for a twist.
- Spicy – Love heat? Add more crushed red pepper or a diced chili pepper to the spice blend for an extra kick.
- Lightened – Swap heavy cream for low-fat yogurt or light coconut milk for a lighter version without sacrificing flavor.
- Tomato – Add a can of diced tomatoes or tomato puree for a tangy, tomato-rich curry base.
- Nutty – Stir in a few tablespoons of almond butter or peanut butter for a creamy, nutty twist.
- Herby – Garnish with fresh cilantro or mint leaves for a burst of fresh flavor before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this creamy and flavorful Crockpot Chickpea Curry with a side of perfectly steamed basmati rice or fluffy jasmine rice for a hearty and satisfying meal. For an extra touch, pair it with warm Indian flatbreads like naan, chapatis, or parathas to scoop up every delicious bite.
Looking for something fresh to balance the spices? Add a crisp cucumber and tomato salad or a dollop of cooling yogurt or raita on the side.
Feeling adventurous? Use the curry as a filling for wraps or serve it over baked sweet potatoes for a fun twist! However you serve it, this curry is sure to be a hit!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this dish is delicious as leftovers for healthy lunches or quick prepped dinners! Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, vegetarian or vegan Crockpot Chickpea Curry will keep well for up to 4-5 days.
Because of the dairy or cream consistently of coconut milk, I do not recommend freezing.
You can certainly add chicken to this curry. For the most tender chicken, I recommend using boneless skinless thighs.
The cooking time will remain the same, but be sure that the chicken pieces are completely covered by the curry liquid to prevent them from drying out.
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Absolutely! Make a coconut chickpea curry that is just as creamy and delicious, but also vegan! Simply replace the heavy cream with unsweetened canned coconut milk. It is important to use the canned kind that is full fat. This will add lots of flavor and creaminess! You can also swap the honey for agave if you don’t eat honey!
Looking for More Flavorful Curry Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Thai Red Curry Grilled Chicken Salad
- Perfect Instant Pot Butter Chicken Curry
- Jamaican Goat Curry
- Instant Pot Green Curry
- Slow Cooker Potato Curry
- The Best Thai Panang Chicken Curry
- Tofu Curry Recipe (Panang-Style)
Get the Complete (Printable) Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Crockpot Chickpea Curry Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (or 13 ounce can thick unsweetened coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- 28 ounces chickpeas, drained (2 cans)
- 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
Instructions
- Add the oil to a skillet and place over medium heat. Sautee the onions, garlic, and ginger until soft, 3-5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Place the onion mixture in the blender, along with the cream (or coconut milk,) all spices, honey, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and puree until smooth.
- Pour the curry blend into the slow cooker, then add the chickpeas and chopped sweet potato. Mix well. Place the lid on the slow cooker, and turn on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Once the sweet potatoes are soft, serve warm over basmati rice or with Indian style flatbread (naan or chapatis.)
can i use unsweetened soy milk instead?
Hi AC,
Absolutely! :)
Looking forward to making this recipe. Have you tried it with dry chickpeas instead of canned? Is the cook time the same?
We added some precooked chicken about an hour before serving. Also, I don’t have the knife skills to dice sweet potatoes, so instead of 3 cups, I used 3 whole sweet potatoes roughly cubed. Because of the additional sweet potatoes soaking up the sauce, next time, we will use 2 cups of cream instead of 1.5 cups. Amazing recipe. We will make it often!
Just finished eating this with basmati rice lol!
I made the sauce exactly to the recipe. I used mushrooms instead of sweet potato. I LOVE it! Halfway through cooking I added more spice to the sauce, plus a tablespoon of curry powder (next time I will just add more spice and curry powder at the beginning).
This sauce is the perfect base for vegetable curry, and also for fish curry if you add fish stock/seasoning.
I love this! Thank you so much for posting it. I’ve made it several times. I’ve substituted other vegetables for the sweet potatoes, which I don’t typically have in the house. I found that chopped fresh tomatoes worked well (I used 2).
Absolutely delicious, easy and cheap, definitely a winter warmer
I made this for dinner tonight. I substituted butternut squash for a bunch of the sweet potato, but made everything else to the recipe using coconut milk. I also added cooked chicken breast during serving to further increase the protein. It was amazing. I’m full and I still want to go down to the fridge and get more. Thank you for a truly fantastic and easy recipe!
Hi Laura,
Heavy cream is just a little thicker than whipping cream. However, you really could use either one. :)
The best meal and recipe, keep making more!
I feel like I should leave a review, since I’ve been making your curry for a couple years now, probably averaging 2x per month. I consider it one of my “signature dishes” since it gets requested the most often. It’s such a great recipe to branch out with. I’ve made so many versions, while keeping the curry the same, as it’s the star of this dish. I always double the ingredients for the curry sauce because it’s so freaking good to eat with rice. Thank you so much for the recipe, it’s been one of my favorite things to cook.
This curry was perfect. I’m trying to eat less meat and recipes like this make it really easy. Thank you!
This was wonderful. I did 6hrs on low, that was great but 5 probably would have been fine too. I only had 1 can of chickpeas but didn’t want to wait so I substituted cauliflower for the second can and that worked great. I threw about a cup of frozen peas in at the end. The spices and flavor in this recipe are lovely. Without the crushed red pepper it was not too spicy for my mom and kids and my husband added some hot sauce. Thanks so much- I’m so happy to have a go to curry for the slow cooker!
I LOVE the idea of including cauliflower to increase the vegetable content. Did you add the cauliflower toward the end (when you put in the peas) or did you cook the cauliflower the entire time?
Sounds to me like the cauliflower was added at the beginning – depends on the size of the florets I guess? Please update here if you try it with cauliflower!
I added cauliflower to mine, and added it at the beginning. Interestingly, it took longer to cook than the sweet potato!