This super easy, ultra creamy, and heavily spiced Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala is my new favorite dinner! That spicy-creamy sauce is just so 👌that I have to sop up every last bit with a piece of naan. This dish comes together super fast, requires very little chopping, is insanely inexpensive, and holds up well in the fridge, so it’s great for meal prep! This one is going right into my weekly rotation. :)
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How to Serve the Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala
I’ve been eating my Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala with a piece of naan bread to scoop up that delicious sauce, but this dish would be equally as good over a bed of hot rice. Either way it’s creamy, spicy, and oh so delish!
Make it Spicy or Mild
You can adjust the heat of this sauce by increasing, decreasing, or even eliminating the amount of cayenne pepper in the spice mix. The amount listed below creates what I would call a “medium” spice level, but that’s extremely subjective, so take that with a grain of salt.
Make it Vegan
An easy sub for the heavy cream in this recipe would be full fat coconut milk (the stuff that comes in cans, NOT the dairy milk substitute). You can play around with the quantities, but I’d guess somewhere between 1/2 to 1 cup would work well.
Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala
Servings 4 About 1.25 cups eachIngredients
Masala Spice Mix
- 2 Tbsp garam masala ($0.60)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly Cracked Pepper ($0.03)
Skillet Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.21)
- 3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.15)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 12 oz. frozen cauliflower florets ($1.00)
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas, drained ($0.49)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce* ($0.59)
- 1/4 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream ($0.26)
- salt to taste ($0.02)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the spices for the masala spice mix (garam masala, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper).
- Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add all three to a large skillet along with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the spice mix and continue to sauté for one more minute.
- Add the frozen cauliflower florets to the skillet with the aromatics and spices, and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes more, or until the cauliflower have thawed through and are completely coated in spices.
- Add the drained chickpeas, tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup water to the skillet. Stir to combine, then allow them to simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. This will help mellow the acidity of the tomato sauce and allow the spices to blend. If the mixture becomes too dry as it simmers, add a couple more tablespoons of water.
- After the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Give the masala a taste and add salt as needed. Serve in a bowl either over rice or with a piece of bread for dipping.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Cauliflower Chickpea Masala – Step by Step Photos
Begin by combining 2 Tbsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a small bowl.
Finely dice one yellow onion, mince three cloves of garlic and grate about 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger (ginger is hard to measure, so this is flexible).
Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the spice mix and continue to sauté for one more minute.
Add 12oz. frozen cauliflower florets to the skillet and continue to sauté until the cauliflower is thawed through and coated in spices.
Next, add one 15oz. can chickpeas (drained), one 15oz. can tomato sauce, and about 1/4 cup water to the skillet. Stir to combine and then let the sauce simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce starts to dry out as it simmers, add a couple more tablespoons of water.
After the sauce has simmered and the tomato sauce has mellowed a bit, turn off the heat and stir in 1/3 cup heavy cream.
After stirring the cream into the sauce, give it a taste and add more salt to taste (I added about 1/4 tsp).
I garnished here with fresh cilantro, but didn’t find that it added a lot to the flavor, so that’s entirely optional!
Dig in!
Delicious! I veganized it by using coconut milk (canned one). It was so good.
Oh my… this was so good!! And twice as good the next day for leftovers. This is a great recipe for pantry staples, I was so glad this called for frozen cauliflower as I usually have that in the freezer. I didn’t have heavy cream so I just used a splash of milk, but your comment below about freezing heavy cream is a game changer! I love your site, and always find really great recipes on here. Thank you!
Oh my goodness….hard to say if I love the texture or the delightful and slightly spicy zip of this little gem. MMMMMM! Miss Beth — as is often the case with your recipes I had everything on hand except for the the heavy cream…and this only needs 1/3 cup. Do you suppose the remainder of that carton be frozen in cube trays, then tossed in to future recipes as needed? Or shall I look for other yummy things to use the rest of it in (like a 2nd batch of THIS?!) MMMM!
I haven’t tried freezing cream, but I just did a quick Google and it looks like you can! …but I can’t verify since I haven’t tried it. Haha. Maybe test with a little bit before freezing the whole thing. :)
I think this is my favorite recipe here. Instead of chickpeas i used lentils or only cauliflower and I served with basmati rice… it’s awesome!! ♡
Can you make this in an Instant Pot?
This would probably work in an IP, although I don’t have specific instructions for you since I’ve never tried it.
I would think you could do it in the Instant pot but don’t add the cream until the end.
Served this over rice with naan, it was delicious. Used a cup of coconut milk. Definitely will make again.
I agree about the Garam Masala overwhelming everything! It has a weird flavor to me
so dang good! i used a full can of full fat coconut milk and added half a bag of blended veggies with cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, served with garlic naan. better than takeout!
Sooo good!
Though if you’re Australian like me and found yourself confused on “tomato sauce”, our equivalent to that would be tomato paste, however I noticed it is a lot thicker than whatever was used in the pictures. The second time I made this I used a 400g can of diced tomatoes instead. Worked perfectly.
Yes, tomato sauce is very different than paste. If they have passata in Australia, that’s pretty close! I’m glad you found something that worked well, though. :)
Just added the full can of coconut milk and I think I’ve overdone it. It’s very soupy looking compared to the pictures seen here. The good news is that it tastes good! I wish I had put some peas in or had some cilantro because it’s begging for some green color.
Really good & fast recipe. Made a few changes in quantities to avoid leftovers. I used 1 lbs bag of frozen cauliflower & 680ml tomato sauce can. I also added a few handfuls of frozen peas along with the chickpeas. Ate it over rice. It’s a keeper!
Ok, this stuff is seriously amazing. Mine and my family’s tastebuds were VERY happy. I was hoping for leftovers, but everyone made sure there would be none of that. The spice was perfect and the consistency was so creamy. The ultimate comfort food.
This is one of my new favorites!! Is it ok frozen?
I haven’t tried freezing this one, but often times creamy sauces don’t hold up well to freezing and thawing, so I’m not sure how this one will do.
I would super recommend this recipe! A manageable amount of ingredients and my fiance (who loves meat) didn’t even miss it in this dish. Glad I didn’t skip on the spices, was just right and fairly mild.
Instead of cream, would coconut milk work?
Yep, I list that as a vegan option in the post. :)
another winner! i served it with Naan which was delish, but next time i think I’d like it better over rice. both my husband and I loved it– very very filling and EASY. Other things I might try next time: using ghee instead of olive oil, adding a little sambal, a bit of nutmeg, and maybe a squirt of lime?
Hi! Lol sorry but its sambhar not sambal.
Jenna is right. Sambal is a hot and slightly sweet chili sauce/paste that is delicious added to pretty much any Asian curry/soup/noodle preparation. I don’t think sambhar (a South Indian lentil curry) or its spice mix would work with here ;)
Very nice warm, hearty flavors. So nice on a chilly evening. I roasted fresh cauliflower for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven because there was no frozen cauliflower in my local grocery store. Everything else I did exactly as the recipe said. I love spicy food, but felt there was too much of the garam masala and it overwhelmed everything. Next time I will use 1 Tbl spoon instead of two. Even made the naan bread to go with it. Which was delicious.
I would like to use fresh cauliflower. Do I just need to cook it first?
Yes, you can either blanch it or steam it until it’s a little soft first, or add more water in the skillet and let it simmer longer in the sauce. :)