Easy Creamy Black Bean Curry

The black bean curry is by no means a traditional curry, but it is inspired by warm Indian spices with layers of flavors.  It’s dairy-free, vegan, oil-free, and easy to make.  It’s creamy from the coconut milk, hearty from the black beans, and has rich warming flavors from the spices.

For more flavor-packed curry dishes try butter bean curry, vegan potato curry, red lentil dahl, vegan yellow chickpea curry, or butternut squash and chickpea curry.

Recipe features

• Vegan and can be made oil-free!
• It comes together quickly!
• Leftovers are better the next day!

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and exact measurements.

Black beans - Two cans of black beans are needed for the recipe.  If you want to cook dry black beans from scratch, use 3 cups of cooked black beans.  Just make sure the beans are cooked before adding them to the recipe.  In place of the black beans try chickpeas or kidney beans.  For more black bean recipes try a vegan fajita bowl or a tofu burrito bowl. 

Diced tomatoes -  The liquid for the recipe comes from a can of diced tomatoes and coconut milk.  I didn’t test with crushed or fresh tomatoes, so I can’t say for sure how well they’d work.

Jalapeño pepper - To make the dish less spicy, remove the seeds and ribs of the pepper.  To make it more spicy try Serrano pepper.

Onion, garlic, and fresh ginger - Any onion should work fine, we typically use a yellow onion.  If you’re not as big of a fan of garlic use fewer garlic cloves.  Fresh ginger is better than ground ginger.  If you don’t cook with fresh ginger often, it can be frozen so it lasts longer.  Peel the root, stick it in a freezer-safe bag, and freeze.  Then when you’re ready to use it, just use a microplane and grate it into the dish being made, there’s no need to thaw.

Tamari- The tamari adds a nice depth of flavor, but it can be substituted with a low-sodium soy sauce.  Regular soy sauce may be too salty.

Coconut milk - Full-fat coconut milk will give the black bean curry a richer creamier texture but lite coconut milk can also be used for a lighter version.

Cumin seeds - This adds a more unique flavor to dishes compared to its ground form.  

Garam masala - If you can’t find garam masala it can be purchased online.  Some brands will vary their blend of spices, but it is usually made of cinnamon, mace, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and cardamom pods. 

Smoked paprika - This gives the dish a hint of smokiness, if you don’t have any on hand it can be skipped.

Ground coriander- Don’t skip this, a lot of the flavor will come from this ground spice.

Turmeric - I opt for turmeric in its ground form for convenience.  If you don’t have it on hand it can be left out.

Fresh cilantro - Chop a handful of fresh cilantro to make a few tablespoons.  Only use the tender parts of the stems and the leaves, discard the woody ends of the stems, or use them to make vegetable broth.

Tips

• The vegan curry recipe has oil-free instructions, but neutral-tasting oil can be used if you’re not oil-free.  
• For oil-free cooking, I add the cumin seeds after the onion to help prevent them from burning.
• Don’t drain the tomatoes, add the tomatoes along with the liquid from the can.
• To make the curry thicker, use an immersion blender to blend a small amount of the curry and stir to combine.  Start with ¼ to ½ cup.
• I enjoy the savoriness of the curry as is, but if you enjoy a little brightness add a splash of lemon or lime juice once the curry is done cooking.

How to make black bean curry

Start the creamy black bean curry by dicing the onion, jalapeños, and prepping the garlic and ginger.  Measure out the spices to make the cooking process go smoother.  Then drain and rinse the canned black beans and open the tomatoes and coconut milk.  For oil-free cooking, have a small glass of water nearby to deglaze the pan in case the ingredients are sticking too much during cooking.

In a large sauté pan with a lid, cook the diced onion with a pinch of salt over medium heat.  Once the onion is translucent add the cumin seeds and cook for about 1-2 minutes.  For oil-free cooking add a splash of water if the onion starts sticking, and turn down the heat if needed.  Or use a neutral-tasting oil.

Add garlic, chili, and fresh ginger, then cook for about 1 minute.

Add the ground coriander, smoked paprika, and ground turmeric, and stir into the onions.  Cook for about 1 minute.

Add the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain) and scrape up any cooked-on bits at the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.

Add the drained black beans, coconut milk, tamari, and salt.  Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer.  Cook covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If the curry is too watery, remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes.  Lite or reduced-fat coconut milk can create a thinner curry than full-fat.  In this case, to make the curry thicker, blend roughly ¼-1/2 cup of the curry using an immersion blender or regular blender (if using this add back to the curry once blended).

Add the garam masala, then taste and adjust. Top with chopped fresh cilantro and serve.

Storage

Store leftover curry in an airtight container for about 5 days in the refrigerator.  It can also be frozen for about 3 months in a freezer-safe container.  If you serve it with rice, don’t freeze it with rice. 

Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm through in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.  While heating the leftover curry on the stovetop, keep the lid on to help prevent too much liquid evaporation.  If it does become too thick, add a little water to thin out.

Serving suggestions

Once the vegan black bean curry is finished cooking, stir in fresh chopped cilantro.  Then serve it with white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, basmati rice, or naan.

Related recipes

• Curry butternut squash chickpea soup
• Creamy butter bean curry

I hope you enjoy the delicious black bean curry recipe!  If you like it, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.