Slow Cooker Chicken and Chickpea Curry

If you want the ultimate ‘chuck it in and go’ slow cooker recipe, it has to be this Slow Cooker Chicken and Chickpea Curry. It’s a great, budget one-pan meal, with zero prep time and perfect for batch cooking and freezing. The whole family will love it!

I absolutely love a slow cooker recipe and if you’re already a fan of my slow cooker chickpea and potato curry or my easy chicken and coconut curry, you’ll love this.

This simple slow cooker curry is a great ‘dump and go’ recipe which you can just chuck into the Crockpot and let it work its magic!

It’s great for a family dinner idea, as well as being naturally gluten and dairy free.

Serve it up with fluffy basmati rice, gluten free naan breads (I have a great recipe for them in my book!) or as part of a curry spread.

You could pair it with dishes like my chickpea and cauliflower curry or my tandoori chicken for a real curry feast!

Chicken and Chickpea Curry Ingredients

There’s a full recipe card below with the quantities and instructions, but here are the main ingredients and ideas for any substitutions:

• Tin of Chickpeas – You can use dried chickpeas if you prefer but always make sure you soak them first as per the pack instructions. For me I find the tinned ones quicker and easier and they’re cheap to pick up in the supermarket.
• Chicken thighs – I always find chicken thighs much better in the slow cooker as they don’t dry out with longer cooking. That being said, this recipe will also work with chicken breast if you prefer.
• Baby Potatoes – Feel free to use a large potato if you like and cut it into large chunks. Just make sure you don’t cut the potato up too small or it’ll turn to mash! I tend to use baby potatoes as I find they have the best texture in a slow cooked curry.
• Onion – A white or brown onion is all you need but you can use a red onion if you prefer.
• Garlic – You have a few options here. 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 – I am lazy so find the pastes easier but again you can use frozen, chopped ginger instead. Or peel a thumb-sized piece of ginger and then grate or finely chop it.
• Chopped Tinned Tomatoes – Chopped fresh tomatoes will also work (perfect if you have a glut from the garden!) but remove any stalks first. Whole tinned tomatoes will also work or you can chop them yourself before adding.
• Tomato Puree – I find this just adds a great colour and depth of flavour to the dish.
• Full Fat Coconut Milk – I always use 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.
• Mango Chutney – I absolutely adore mango chutney and it adds a lovely, subtle flavour to this curry. You can omit it if you like, or add a teaspoon of sugar for the sweetness without the mango.
• Frozen Chopped Spinach – I always use frozen spinach in this as I find it cheaper and easier. I hate buying those big bags of fresh spinach then some of it goes to waste! Fresh spinach will work just as well – leave the leaves whole or chop them.

FOR THE SPICE MIX:

The spice mix for this slow cooker chickpea and potato curry is super basic but gives a lovely, mild spice to the dish.

I use a mixture of salt, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala for this dish.

How to make this slow cooker curry

Making this slow cooker curry is so easy it almost doesn’t even warrant writing it out, but I will!

A lot of slow cooker recipes will call for browning the meat first but this is what I like to call a ‘chuck-it-in-and-run’ kinda recipe.

Because effectively, all you need to do is place everything in the slow cooker, mix it up, and then put the lid on and let it do its thing.

Half an hour before serving stir in the spinach et voila – the perfect family-friendly curry with absolutely minimal effort.

Plus using the slow cooker makes this curry really economical – it’s a great budget dinner idea with cheap and easy-to-find ingredients.

What to serve it with

For me nothing beats a curry feast, so if you want some serving suggestions for this gluten free chickpea, chicken and potato curry, I suggest:

• Pilau Rice: You can either make your own or buy a pack of pre-made rice for ease. I find this the easiest way to serve up a curry. Basmati rice works well too.
• Gluten free naan breads: I always make my own using the recipe in my book as nothing beats it. You can sometimes buy these but they’re hard to find.
• Other curries: Serve this as part of a curry spread with other recipes like my butternut squash and chickpea curry or my sweet potato and spinach dhal.
• On it’s own: The best thing about this curry is because of the potatoes, it makes an easy one-bowl meal. Ideal for taking into work and reheating for lunch too!

Frequently Asked Questions

Before you get stuck into making my gluten free chicken and chickpea curry recipe, here are the answers to some of the questions I get asked a lot…

This tasty chicken and chickpea curry slow cooker recipe is the perfect midweek meal idea.

You can easily scale the portion sizes to make more or less – it’s great for meal prep and freezes really well.

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!