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This Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry is such a tasty, budget-friendly dish. Cooked in the slow cooker, this butternut squash curry is gluten free and vegan. Chunks of butternut squash and tinned chickpeas are cooked in a coconut sauce, mildly spiced with garlic, ginger, turmeric and cumin.
If you’re looking for a curry which is gluten free, vegan and budget-friendly, this slow cooker butternut squash curry is the meal of your dreams!
Making curry in the slow cooker is one of my favourite things to do and this butternut squash and chickpea curry always goes down a treat.
The chickpeas add protein and make it hearty enough for a main meal, but it also works equally as well as part of a curry spread or as a side dish.
Why not make a vegan, gluten free curry spread with my slow cooker chickpea and potato curry or sweet potato and spinach dhal as well?
Serve it all up with my gluten free naan bread for mopping up that delicious sauce.
And check out my book, Delicious Gluten Free Meals, for more sides like gluten free onion bhajis and gluten free sweet potato samosas!
Ingredients
There’s a printable recipe card below with the full ingredients and method. But here are the main ingredients for my vegan butternut squash and chickpea curry.
- Tinned Chickpeas – You can use dried chickpeas if you prefer but always make sure you soak them first as per the pack instructions.
- Frozen Butternut Squash – I always use frozen butternut squash just for ease. You can prepare fresh squash if you like but you might need to cut down the cooking time a little. Sweet potato is a great substitution if you don’t like squash.
- Coconut Milk – I always use tinned, full fat coconut milk in tins as I find this gives the best flavour in curries. A reduced fat coconut milk will work but you may find the curry has a runnier consistency.
- Red Onion – I use red onion in this recipe but you can use brown onions.
- Garlic – Use garlic cloves and peel then finely chop or crush them. You can also use a garlic paste or frozen chopped garlic too.
- Ginger Paste – You can use frozen, chopped ginger or ginger paste. Or peel a thumb-sized piece of ginger and then grate or finely chop it.
- Curry Powder: It’s up to you if you want mild, medium or hot – pick your heat!
- Cumin
- Garam Masala
- Turmeric
- Salt
Spices themselves are gluten free but be aware of any ‘may contain’ warnings, especially on spice mixes like curry powders.
How to make butternut squash and chickpea curry
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this butternut squash curry with chickpeas is.
This is a really simple ‘dump and go’ recipe, so you just add all of ingredients to a slow cooker and mix well until combined.
Pop the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.
I like to mix in a good helping of fresh coriander before serving, and then dish up my curry with gluten free naan bread and rice.
How to make this curry without a slow cooker
If you don’t have a slow cooker (you’re missing out!) you can either make this butternut squash curry recipe on the hob or in the oven.
You’ll need to gently fry the onions, garlic and ginger until soft (around 5-8 minutes) before adding the rest of the ingredients.
For the hob, cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low/med simmer for around 30-40 minutes until the squash is cooked through.
To cook in the oven, I’d recommend cooking with a lid on at around 180C (Gas Mark 4) for around an hour.
Ultimately this butternut squash and chickpea curry recipe is made for the slow cooker so I’d definitely recommend it as the best and most efficient way to make it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy vegan slow cooker curry. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
I absolutely love my Morphy Richard’s Sear and Stew Slow Cooker. It’s perfect because the pan can be used on the hob too! Ideal for recipes where you want to sear meat or cook off aromatics like onions before slow cooking. The pan is also dishwasher safe and really light and easy to lift, unlike some ceramic ones.
Yes, of course! I always use frozen butternut squash because it’s already prepared and it means I can enjoy this curry when squash is out of season. To use fresh squash, simply peel and cut into large chunks. It shouldn’t need much adjustment in cooking time, but may take slightly less time than frozen.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 400 g tin chickpeas, drained
- 500 g frozen chopped butternut squash
- 400 ml full-fat coconut milk
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 3 tsp ginger paste
- 3 tsp chopped garlic
For the spice mix:
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Add all of ingredients to the slow cooker pan and mix well until combined. Pop the lid on and cook on high for 3-4 hours (or low for 6-8 hours).
- Serve with rice and gluten free naan breads, sprinkled with a generous helping of fresh coriander.
Notes
- No Slow Cooker? If you want to cook this on the hob or slow cooker, see my tips in the blog post above for cooking times.
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry should look at each stage of cooking.
- Storing: Check out the blog post above for more information on storing and freezing this Slow Cooker Curry recipe.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry!
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
More Slow Cooker Recipes
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This was so delicious for such a quick supper. Next time I’m going to try adding fresh spinach towards the end.
This was delicious
I served it with added spinach, naan and mango chutney
We will definitely be having it again. Very easy to cook. Texture and taste were excellent
Novice here! Am I putting the butternut squash in frozen, or do I need to defrost it first? And can I freeze portions once cooked? Thank you.
Yep put it in frozen, and yes you can freeze it once cooked 🙂
Whst is cooking time if I put double quantity in slow cooker? Tks
Thank you😀
Not sure what I did wrong but the coconut milk split and there was an odd aftertaste.
What a delicious vegetarian curry and so easy to pop in the slow cooker and leave all day. Very nice with a good blob of mango chutney and I threw in some frozen peas at the end for a little flash of green!
Delicious!
I added some sweet potato too as it breaks down a little to help thicken. About an hour before ready (low setting) I threw in some cherry tomatoes which held shape and juice – creating little bursts of acidity.
Served with buttered spinach and basmati rice 😊.
When frying off the onions, garlic & ginger I added all the spices (except Garam Madala) for a minute before adding everything into the pot, including the GM.
I followed this recipe exactly and found it very watery and bland.