Slow Cooker Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry

A lovely comforting slow cooker meal, this Pumpkin & Chickpea curry is perfect for a cosy winter night in. 

I have had so many requests to share this curry recipe so I am delighted to finally bring it to you. Not every meal needs to be meat based and this curry can absolutely be made completely vegetarian or vegan if you wish. 

Pumpkins are plentiful in autumn and fall, so it is the perfect time to create new recipes and enjoy old favorites. 

Making this dish, like all slow cooker meals is so lovely and easy. It can be cooked on LOW, HIGH or even made in 20 minutes in an instant pot or pressure cooker! Plus I have included stove top and oven methods in the notes below. 

I have adapted this recipe over the years to suit what we often have on hand, combining several recipes and tips into this one delicious dish. 

The recipe slow cooker contains pumpkin, orange Kumara (or sweet potato), carrots and chickpeas. It has a lovely blend of both red curry paste and curry powder to bring so much flavour. 

A good red curry paste should include chilles, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro root (coriander root), kaffir lime zest, white peppercorns and often shrimp paste (find one without if you wish to make this dish vegetarian.

The better quality the paste the more flavour you will have. It is not designed to be hot and spicy as such, rather full of flavour. 

Curry Powder is a premade spice consisting of ginger, garlic, fennel, mace, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric. It can be found worldwide if not in stores, then online.

Then it is a matter of combining all the ingredients and cooking slowly (or faster if you wish) to develop lovely flavours and tender pumpkin and chickpeas and finishing with coconut milk. 

Coconut milk added to a slow cooker can split, but this is actually desirable in a curry where those fats and liquids split to create the gorgeous final mouth feel. Here I have added it at the beginning and the end to get the best of both worlds.

How you serve it is entirely up to you! I like to serve it over rice with crushed peanuts or cashews, this adds a lovey texture to an otherwise soft meal. Lime juice and coriander lift it again. You could also serve it alone with a crusty bread on the side. 

I cook mine in my 6 litre slow cooker, it makes around 10-12 cups of curry, so a lovely generous meal, or plenty for leftovers or to freeze. 

For more delicious slow cooker dinners please check out my collection so far here 

Let’s get on with how I make my Slow Cooker Pumpkin & Chickpea Curry. 

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Slow Cooker Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry

Yield: 10-12 Cups

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Additional Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes

Delicious comforting & creamy slow cooker curry with pumpkin, sweet potatoes and chickpeas with warming spices.

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Ingredients

• 600 grams Pumpkin, peeled diced 2cm (see notes for varieties)
• 600 grams Orange Kumara (sweet potato), peeled, diced 2 cm
• 2 large Carrots, peeled, cut into small cubes
• 2x 400 gram Cans Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 to 3/4 Cup of Red Split Lentils, dry
• 1 med Onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Red Curry Paste
• 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
• 2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
• Pinch Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper, ground
• 2 1/2 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock, salt reduced( 625mls)
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 x 400ml Can Coconut Milk *halved
• 150 grams Spinach Leaves
• Lime Juice to taste

Optional to Garnish

• Crushed Roasted Peanuts or Cashews
• Lime Wedges
• Fresh Coriander Leaves

Instructions

1. You will need a 6 Litre Slow Cooker with a lid
2. Prepare the pumpkin and kumara by peeling and dicing into 1 inch or 2 cm pieces. Peel the carrots and cut into small cubes, drain the chickpeas and set aside
3. Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and add the onion and sauté for a few minutes until it becomes clear and translucent.
5. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute
6. Then reduce the heat and add to this the curry paste, curry powder and cumin powder and mix together, cook these spices off for a few minutes until fragrant, careful not to burn them.
7. Remove the pan from the heat pop the onion mix into the slow cooker and add the brown sugar, pepper (and a pinch of cayenne if using), the stock, soy sauce and half a can of the coconut milk and stir gently to combine.
8. Add all of the vegetables, the chickpeas and dry red lentils to the slow cooker (half a cup of lentils gives you a more liquid end result, 3/4 cup makes the curry slightly thicker). Press the vegetables into the liquids as best you can
9. Cover and cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW, until the vegetables and chickpeas are tender. (see notes for pressure cooking instructions)
10. Half an hour before the cooking time ends, add the spinach leaves and the remaining half can of coconut milk and stir through, cover and complete cooking.
11. Add a squeeze of lime juice to taste, then serve with crushed nuts and fresh coriander, over rice or with a crusty loaf of bread.
12. Will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or this will freeze well for 3 months, cool before freezing.
13. Enjoy!

Notes

What variety of pumpkin can I use in my Slow Cooker Pumpkin & Chickpea Curry?

Any! A lovely firm fleshed pumpkin is best, so anything from Butternut, Buttercup Squash, Crown, Japanese etc

How to cook a Pumpkin & Chickpea curry in the Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot?

Prepare the ingredients as above. Use the sauté function instead of the frying pan stage as above, add the brown sugar, pepper (and a pinch of cayenne if using), the stock, soy sauce and half a can of the coconut milk and stir gently to combine. Then add the vegetables, red lentils and chickpeas and stir to combine.

Pop on the lid and close the valve, then set to 12 minutes pressure cook, then allow a ten minute natural release.

How to cook a Pumpkin & Chickpea Curry on the stove top or oven?

Use a dutch oven (for oven and stove) or a large stock pot with a lid (5-6 litre capacity - stove top only)

Prepare the recipe as per the recipe card above, doing each step on the stove top in the dutch oven instead of a frying pan and slow cooker. Once all combined bring to a simmer then reduce to a medium/low heat for 35-40 minutes or until the pumpkin and chickpeas are tender and liquid has reduced. Stirring occasionally.

Or pop it in a 200C oven once simmering for approximately the same time.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 284Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 425mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 9gSugar: 12gProtein: 10g

This nutrition calculation for Just Slow Cooker Recipes has been automated, please use your discretion with the calculation and use your own if unsure.

I hope you love this one! It is such a flavorsome lovely easy meal. If you make it I would love you to rate it in the recipe card above and let me know in the comments. 

Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my latest recipe and others on my blog. If you are not already be sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram for more Slow Cooker deliciousness, and you can register your email in the subscription box below to receive all my recipes as I publish them.

Happy Cooking!

Anna

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