A hearty bowl of butternut squash and chickpea coconut curry over rice.

Butternut squash and chickpea coconut curry

Warm up with this slow-cooker curry.

A hearty bowl of butternut squash and chickpea coconut curry over rice.
Butternut squash and chickpea coconut curry

This comforting and warming recipe is a cinch to put together in a slow cooker. It’s great for a winter dinner party — or for a cold night in — because most of the preparation can be done in advance. It also makes great leftovers and can be reheated the next day.

Note: If your sauce seems too thin or watery when it’s done cooking, make a quick mix of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Stir a tablespoon or 2 of the mixture into the crockpot, allowing it to simmer a little bit longer. This will thicken it right up.

Servings: 8

Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups diced butternut squash
  • 1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can (13.5 ounces) light coconut milk
  • 1 to 2 large tomatoes, diced
  • 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
  • 3 tablespoons yellow curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups green peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 bunch of fresh spinach or kale, rinsed and roughly chopped
  • 1 handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions

  1. Cut the skin off the squash, remove seeds and cut into 1-inch cubes.
  2. Rinse and sort through the dry chickpeas.
  3. Add all of the ingredients except for the peas, spinach and cilantro to your slow cooker. 
  4. Cook on high for 6 hours. About 20 to 30 minutes before serving, add in the peas and spinach, and give it a stir.
  5. Serve over brown basmati or jasmine rice and top with fresh cilantro.

    Nutrition information (per serving)

  • Calories: 250
  • Total fat: 6 g
  • Saturated fat: 3.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg
  • Sodium: 440 g
  • Total carbohydrate: 40 mg
  • Dietary fiber: 12 g
  • Total sugars: 9 g
  • Protein: 13 g