This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.

The creamiest, easiest, Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi. Make this curry with whatever produce you have on hand. I use a mix of sweet corn, zucchini, coconut milk, creamy tahini, lemon, plenty of curry powder, and cayenne for some heat. Serve over steamed rice and top with fried halloumi cheese and crispy chickpeas. This dish is layered with flavor and texture, and completely delicious. All you need for this recipe are pantry ingredients, garden veggies, and less than 45 minutes.

overhead photo of Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi

Starting the week off with a super healthy, meatless Monday recipe that’s filling, summery, and delicious. I know that’s a lot to live up to, but this recipe does!

After a 4 day weekend, I could not think of a better recipe to share. If you spent the weekend like my family, you were outside, grilling, sipping on cocktails, and eating plenty of delicious…authentic Costa Rican dishes. Ok, so maybe you didn’t spend your long holiday quite the way we did. You may have swapped the Costa Rican dishes for BBQ, corn, potatoes, and hopefully plenty of ice cream too.

That’s all great, but today’s recipe is a little summer “reset”. Don’t worry though, it’s so good, and actually super comforting as well. Enter in this delicious summer curry that’s (almost) vegan, super luscious, creamy, full of garden produce, easy, and all around healthy.

overhead photo of Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry in skillet

Here’s the details.

This curry is made almost entirely in ONE pot and comes together really fast.

Start by crisping up some chickpeas. Next, you’ll add in all the major flavors…shallots, garlic, and plenty of ginger. Now, toss in whatever produce you have on hand. For me, that meant zucchini, corn, bell peppers, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes. But just about any type of produce would be great.

Next to go in are the creamy ingredients, coconut milk and tahini…the key to this curry. Coconut milk is pretty common in most curry dishes, but tahini is a little different. Honestly, I added this in on a whim. The thought of super creamy and nutty tahini just sounded really delicious. I wasn’t quite sure how it would actually be though. It ended up creating the creamiest, heartiest, vegetarian curry, beyond good and different too.

If you don’t have tahini on hand, you could also use creamy peanut butter, cashew butter, or almond butter. Though the peanut butter will add a little different flavor, it still will be delicious.

overhead close up photo of Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi

Simmer the curry for a few minutes to allow all the flavors to mend together. While that’s happening, work on the finishing touches.

Pan-fry some Halloumi cheese. I know, know. Halloumi cheese is Greek, curry is Indian. Yes, I am mixing cuisines. And yes, I know some of you may not be into this. But I’m all about it…if it’s good, it’s good, you know?

Halloumi is a salty grilling cheese commonly used in Mediterranean cooking. It’s so good when pan-fried and I love incorporating it into dishes like vegetarian tacos, peanut noodles, extra summery salads, and now summer curries! It adds great flavor and texture. It’s what makes this curry really stand out and be just a touch better than others.

And honestly, what’s better than pan-fried cheese? Not much.

overhead photo of Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi with hands on bowl and spoon in bowl

I like to serve the curry over steamed rice and top with fresh cilantro and really thinly sliced cucumbers.

So much color. So much flavor. Incredibly healthy. And so, so, SO GOOD!

Oh, and fast and easy too.

I mean, come on, you gotta agree…Best Monday Recipe!

overhead photo of Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi with spoon in bowl

If you make this summer coconut chickpea curry with rice and fried halloumi, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Watch the How To Video:

Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 1225 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the chickpeas begin to crisp, about 5 minutes. Carefully remove 1/2 cup of chickpeas and reserve for topping, only if desired. 
    2. To the remaining chickpeas, add the zucchini, corn, shallot, garlic, and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the veggies another 5-10 minutes or until they just begin to soften.
    3. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, 1/3-1/2 cup water, and the tahini. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, cook 5-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. If the sauce thickens too much, add additional water to thin. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest, and cilantro.
    4. Meanwhile, cook the halloumi. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the halloumi and cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from skillet.
    5. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and spoon the curry overtop. Top with halloumi, the reserved chickpeas, and cucumbers. Enjoy!
View Recipe Comments

horizontal photo of Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi

Add a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Thanks very much for sharing with us Tieghan.

    For anyone wondering about tahini substitues, I used a mixture of seasome seed oil and greek yogurt as a substitue and it came out very yummy. A different flavour for sure, but a nice one.

    1. Hi there,
      Sure, you could use another nut butter that you enjoy:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this dish! xT

    1. Hey Jay,
      It’s just some olive oil:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT

  2. Hi Tieghan this is so delicious! Would love to make double and freeze some next time, do you think it freezes well?

    1. Hey Abby,
      Happy Sunday! 😃 Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Sure, you could definitely freeze this, except for the fried halloumi:) xx

      1. 5 stars
        DELICIOUS!

        Loved it….ran out of curry powder, so only used half and a tiny bit of Thai Green Curry paste to make up for what I didn’t have. And swapped the shallot for an onion. Writing this incase I need to replicate this next time, but was amazing. Thank you! I’ve never been disappointed by your recipes, always so full of flavour

        1. Hi Sally,
          Happy Monday!!⛅️ Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it turned out well for you:)