30-Minute Chickpea and Tomato Coconut Curry Soup (Dairy Free & Gluten Free)

Name: 30-Minute Chickpea and Tomato Coconut Curry Soup (Dairy Free & Gluten Free)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Curry
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons avocado oil; 1 medium sized onion, diced small; 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced; 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste; 1 tablespoon curry powder; A pinch of crushed dried chilies (optional – leave out for less spicy option); 1 14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes – fire roasted are yummy if you can find them; 2 15.5 oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk; 3 cups of vegetable broth; juice of half a lime; Fresh lime wedges; Thinly sliced red onion; Chopped fresh cilantro; Chopped roasted cashews – curry spiced cashews are excellent if you can find them!

Oct 5, 2018 (updated May 13, 2023) by Nyssa Tanner 139 Comments

This chickpea and tomato coconut curry soup is made in 30 minutes with mostly with pantry staples like canned chickpeas, canned tomatoes, coconut milk, veggie broth, and dried spices. It’s so simple to throw together and has a TON of bold-and-scrumptious flavor. The perfect Meatless Monday cozy and comforting soup! Dairy free, vegetarian, and gluten free.

Large white bowl of bright orange chickpea and tomato coconut curry soup. Soup is topped with fresh red onion slices, chopped herbs, curry spiced cashews, and lime wedges. On a white background next to scattered herbs, lime wedges, and cashew bits. — Can you just taste the FLAVOR in this simple-but-fabulous chickpea curry soup by looking at this photo?! It’s truly a one-pot-wonder.

Our favorite 5-star chickpea curry soup!

Sharing the first soup recipe of the season here on NK makes soup season feel like a real real thing.

I have been testing and making a few different soup recipes for the last month or so, in prep for the colder days, but it wasn’t until this week that I really felt compelled to make soup.

You know the feeling – don’t you?

When you suddenly find yourself reaching for your fleece before getting in your car to drive home from work, because BRRR.

And, as you think about what would be good for dinner, and the only answer that chimes in your head with a resounding YES is… soup.

The simplicity of this soup with the amount of flavor that you can achieve with such a humble collection of pantry staples is why I think it’s always such a winner in our kitchen and for the NK community.

The majority of the ingredients are canned goods – chickpeas, diced tomatoes, broth, and coconut milk. And everything else is inexpensive to purchase and hardy / long-lasting (onions, garlic, limes).

The dried spices create the majority of the flavor in the broth, and IMO the garnishes are a non-negotiable to take the soup from good to great. The texture and depth that they add are really a no-brainer for such an elevated bowl of comfort!

We love a curry-based recipe at our house when we’re craving bold and warming flavors. These Red Curry and Peanut Rice Noodles are another easy back-pocket recipe we reach for on weeknights, and if you do eat meat a few other favorites are our recipes for Thai Coconut Curry Chicken and Vegetable Soup, and Skillet-Baked Curry Chicken Breast and Rice!

Super close up shot of a large white bowl of bright orange chickpea and tomato coconut curry soup. Soup is topped with fresh red onion slices, chopped herbs, curry spiced cashews, and lime wedges. — The chickpeas have a way of soaking up every bite of bold curry flavor.

And amidst the dropping temps I swear the sunset time took a serious jump to an earlier time. Like waaay faster than the minute or two it’s supposed to shift each day.

How does that happen?!

But instead of dwelling on all the things we’re saying good bye to (summer I love you please don’t goooo), let’s try and do our best to embrace all the lovely parts of this season.

I mean to start there’s some colorful + crisp leaves that are already underfoot <— the best.

Plus the cozy-lazy weekends (where you maybe don’t take off your lounge-wear all day) spent watching football and cooking all the things are pretty much hereeee, friends!

And so are fragrant flavorful soups like this could-not-be-easier-to-make curried tomato chickpea number. It only takes 30 minutes, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry right now already.

YES YES YES. Let’s go!

Side angle shot of a large white bowl of bright orange chickpea and tomato coconut curry soup. Soup is topped with fresh red onion slices, chopped herbs, curry spiced cashews, and lime wedges. On a white background next to scattered herbs, lime wedges, and cashew bits.

Close up and side angle shot of a large white bowl of bright orange chickpea and tomato coconut curry soup. Soup is topped with fresh red onion slices, chopped herbs, curry spiced cashews, and lime wedges. On a white background next to scattered herbs, lime wedges, and cashew bits.

A few ingredient notes

This time of year (okay maybe every time of year but especially right now), I’m big into curry and soup. The warming spices paired with creamy coconut milk are basically heaven on earth.

Curry paste and curry powder both have their place, but we’ll be using only curry powder for this soup recipe. It’s enough to impart all the flavor you need!

It doesn’t take a lot to bring the punchy flavor we’re after, and it’s keeps the recipe simple and to the point.

Onion and garlic make up the flavor base of the soup, and the curry powder is a non-negotiable. It’ll be sautéed with the aromatics to awaken it’s potential!

Fire roasted diced tomatoes are yummy if you can find them, and they also bring a little extra depth.

The chickpeas are the main source of heartiness, so you’ll need to grab 2 cans worth.

For the coconut milk! I love using a full-fat option for richness, but some readers have made the recipe with a light option and reported that it’s just as good.

Don’t forget the garnishes

And finally, the garnishes! As I mentioned I consider them essential in making this unpretentious soup something special. They really add so much to the final dish and shouldn’t be skipped if you can help it.

Without them the soup is still good, but fairly simple.

There’s something about the crunch of the cashews, the zip of the lime (<– an absolute must), the cilantro, and thinly sliced red onion for some must-have-freshness that takes this bowl of soup from good to OH-MY-GOODNESS amazing.

Trust.

If you feel like it, this soup would be lovely with a big old scoop of fragrant basmati rice, or even rice noodles. But they won’t be missed if you leave them out!

Squeezing a lime wedge over a large white bowl of bright orange chickpea and tomato coconut curry soup. Soup is topped with fresh red onion slices, chopped herbs, curry spiced cashews, and lime wedges. On a white background next to scattered herbs, lime wedges, and cashew bits. — More lime please! The power of fresh lime juice in this soup is extraordinary.

Ready in only 30 MINUTES so it’s basically made for those days when it feels like there’s just not enough time to make something substantial.

Buuuut it also has enough flavor and charm to spare that it’s perfect for a date night or get together.

AKA fancy fresh + and oh-so-yum. Ya feel me?

And with that I think it’s safe to say: HI SOUP SEASON WE’RE SO READY FOR YOU!

If you enjoyed this chickpea curry soup we’d love it if you would take a moment to rate and review it below! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It’s also a great place to get your questions answered, and helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe.

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!