This delicious black bean curry is a perfect weeknight dinner. It’s mildly spicy, loaded with flavor and ready in 30 minutes or less!
When you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner that tastes amazing then this black bean curry is your new best friend.
It’s so easy to throw together making it perfect for those nights that you barely have time to cook.
And it tastes like something you’d get in a fancy restaurant.
And if you love restaurant-worthy recipes that come together in 30 minutes or less, then check out our hummus pasta and our spicy vodka rigatoni.
And for more recipes featuring black beans check out our black bean salsa and our vegetable stew.
What Goes Into This Curry:
Ingredient Notes
- Black beans – we used three 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained. If you want to use black beans that you’ve cooked from scratch yourself then the amount to use would be 4 ½ cups. The beans must be cooked first before using them in this recipe.
- Coconut sugar – is just for flavor balance and balances out the tart flavors in this recipe. It doesn’t make the recipe sweet at all. You can also use brown sugar.
- Heavy cream – can be replaced with canned coconut cream (unsweetened) or canned coconut milk (full fat, unsweetened) for a dairy-free option.
- Vegetable stock – or vegetable broth are both fine to use.
How To Make Black Bean Curry
Full instructions and measurements can always be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add olive oil to the pot with chopped onions and sauté on medium heat until the onions are softened.
- Add crushed garlic and minced ginger and sauté for a minute.
- Add black beans, garam masala, cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper and gently toss the beans and spices with the onions. Let it cook for a minute to lightly toast the spices.
- Add crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, heavy cream, coconut sugar and chopped cilantro and stir in.
- Your curry is ready to serve.
Salt and Pepper To Taste
If it’s bland, add more salt and pepper! The vegetable stock we use is pretty salty, so we don’t usually need to add much more salt and pepper. If you’re using a low sodium vegetable stock or broth, then you may need to add more salt and pepper. Just remember if a recipe is ever tasting bland, there’s about 100% chance that adding more salt and pepper will fix it!
Serving Suggestions
Serve this black bean curry over basmati rice, topped with ground black pepper, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
Basmati rice is my favorite because of how fast it is to cook. This makes it perfect to serve with this quick and easy curry.
Storing Tips
Keep leftover curry stored in the fridge in a covered container for 4-5 days. It reheats very well in the microwave or on the stove.
It also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
More Easy Vegetarian Curry Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below.
Black Bean Curry
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger Minced
- 4 ½ cups Canned Black Beans (3 Cans, Drained)
- 2 teaspoons Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 2 teaspoons Turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 14 ounces Crushed Tomato (400g)
- 2 cups Vegetable Stock (480ml) or Vegetable Broth
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar
- 1 cup Cilantro Chopped
For Serving (Optional):
- Basmati Rice
- Cilantro
- Ground Black Pepper
- Lime Wedges
Instructions
- Add olive oil to the pot with chopped onions and sauté on medium heat until the onions are softened.
- Add crushed garlic and minced ginger and sauté for a minute.
- Add black beans, garam masala, cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper and gently toss the beans and spices with the onions. Let it cook for a minute to lightly toast the spices.
- Add crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, heavy cream, coconut sugar and chopped cilantro and stir in.
- Serve over basmati rice, topped with ground black pepper, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
- Black beans – we used three 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained, which works out to 4 ½ cups. If you want to use black beans that you’ve cooked from scratch yourself then you definitely can. The beans must be cooked first though before using them in this recipe.
- Coconut sugar – is just for flavor balance and balances out the tart flavors in this recipe. It doesn’t make the recipe sweet at all. You can also use brown sugar.
- Heavy cream – can be replaced with canned coconut cream (unsweetened) or canned coconut milk (full fat, unsweetened) for a dairy-free option.
- Servings – this recipe makes 4 generous servings. You could stretch it to 6 smaller servings if needed.
- Storing – Keep leftover curry stored in the fridge in a covered container for 4-5 days. It reheats very well in the microwave or on the stove.
- Freezing – It also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
Outstanding recipe,
I was born in the UK and love spicy Indian food so I added 2tsp of hot Madras curry powder. In addition I made my black beans from scratch instead of using canned beans.
I don’t typically eat vegan food but my wife and I really enjoyed this and the recipe is now in our favorite recipes book.
Sounds lovely John! Thanks for sharing and for your great review!
Loved this recipe! Thanks so much.
I made this tonight and both my husband and I loved it. I added a couple of teaspoons of curry powder because I love the flavor, and I used a can of full fat coconut milk to keep it dairy free. I will definitely make it again!
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Sarah! Thanks so much for your great review!