This medium-spiced, vibrant chicken, chickpea & sweet potato curry proves budget-friendly cooking can be absolutely delicious. Tender chicken, protein-packed chickpeas, and caramelized sweet potato come together in a fragrant sauce built from aromatic dried spices. Creamy coconut milk mellows the bold flavours while juicy tomatoes and spinach add extra nutrition and colour. It’s a genuinely satisfying one-pot meal that stretches your budget without compromising on taste or health.
Budget-Friendly comfort in a bowl
Sometimes the most satisfying dinners are the ones that prove you don’t need to break the bank to eat incredibly well. This vibrant curry brings together tender chicken, creamy chickpeas, and caramelized sweet potato in a fragrant sauce that’s as nourishing as it is delicious. It’s the kind of one-pot wonder that fills your kitchen with the warm, exotic aromas of spices and coconut, while stretching your weekly budget further.
In this recipe, we’re adding in a heady mix of dried spices—cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala—that come alive in the pan, creating layers of flavour. Sweet potato adds natural sweetness and satisfying substance, while protein-packed chickpeas turn this from a simple chicken curry into a genuinely filling meal. The addition of creamy coconut milk mellows the spices into something luxuriously smooth, while juicy tomatoes provide bright acidity, and the fresh spinach wilted in at the end adds colour and extra nutrition.
This isn’t just about creating something economical—though the chickpeas and vegetables do make every portion go further. It’s about crafting a curry that’s genuinely healthy, deeply satisfying, and bursting with the kind of bold flavours that make curry night feel really special. Perfect served over rice or with warm naan, this curry proves that eating well on a budget never felt so good.
Other chickpea recipes
If you are looking for other recipes that encompass the protein-packed chickpeas, you can find different dishes below:
Growing spinach
Spinach is great for succession planting – you can plant every few weeks to ensure you have a continuous supply. Whether you’re growing the larger varieties or the tender baby spinach leaves, both will thrive in slightly cooler and moist soil.
Whilst not a true spinach, I have had great success growing perpetual spinach. It is hardy, provides a long crop, and barring the hardest of winters it’s therefore great for almost year-round use.
Yes, you could substitute the sweet potatoes for butternut squash. It might not need so much cooking time in step 5 as the squash will soften a little faster.
To skin fresh tomatoes, cut a cross in the base, place them in a heat-proof bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave them to stand in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Gently pour away the still hot water, and the skins should peel away. The fresher and riper the tomatoes, the easier this is.
This is a medium spiced curry, if you like yours a little on the hotter side you could consider adding in the whole chilli (with the seeds), doubling the cayenne pepper, or adding in 1 tsp chilli powder. It’s all about personal taste.
To make the recipe creamier, sometimes I blend up the spices along with the tomato puree, half the can of tomatoes, and 2 tbsp of nuts – such as macadamia. Adding this mixture in at stage 4 and continuing per the recipe.
Chicken, Chickpea & Sweet Potato Curry
Equipment
- large casserole with a lid
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 pepper halved and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 green chilli finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 500 g chicken thighs skinless and boneless
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp tumeric
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 400 g tin of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
- 400 g can of reduced fat coconut milk
- 2 sweet potatoes medium size cubed 2cm/1/2"
- 400 g can of chickpeas drained & rinsed
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach approx 100g (or chopped spinach leaves)
- ½ tsp salt
- Black pepper
- fresh coriander to serve optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and add in the finely diced onion and the sliced pepper. Cook on a medium-high heat for roughly 5 minutes until softened, but being careful not to brown.
- In the meantime, finely chop the green chilli and grate the fresh ginger. Add these to the pan along with 3 crushed garlic cloves. Cook for another 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Cut the chicken into 2cm/1/2" dice and add to the pan, stirring to cook for 5 minutes until the chicken has lost its pink rawness.
- Stir in all the dried spices and cook for another minute.
- Add the tomato puree and stir for 1 minute to combine well, then pour in the can of tinned tomatoes (or your fresh tomatoes that have been skinned and roughly chopped), as well as the coconut milk. We like a 'saucy' curry and I swirl out the tomato tin with 1/3 can of water and add to the pan – but it's up to your preference.
- Cut the sweet potatoes into approximately 2cm/1/2" cubes and add to the pan. Stir everything well, bring to a bubbling simmer, place the lid on and leave to simmer for 30 minutes – giving it a stir every 5 minutes.
- Finally, add in the can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, the spinach, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well simmer uncovered for a final 5 minutes.
- Serve alongside some freshly steamed rice, and/or naan bread, chutneys, fresh coriander, and a cucumber raita if you wish.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute the can of chickpeas with the equivalent of cooked dried ones. You can find a recipe here for no soak dried chickpeas.
- If you don’t have a fresh green chilli then you can substitute it for 1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder, or similar.
- This is a medium spiced curry, if you like yours a little on the hotter side you could consider adding in the whole chilli (with the seeds), doubling the cayenne pepper, or adding in 1 tsp chilli powder. It’s all about personal taste.
- You could substitute the sweet potatoes for butternut squash. It might not need so much cooking time in step 5 as the squash will soften a little faster.
- To skin fresh tomatoes, cut a cross in the base, place them in a heat-proof bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave them to stand for 2 minutes , gently pour away the still hot water, and the skins should peel away. The fresher and riper the tomatoes, the easier this is.
