My adzuki bean curry is a vegan, gluten-free curry made with tender adzuki beans simmered in a creamy coconut milk broth with garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and a touch of chili flakes. It comes together in about 90 minutes (plus time to soak the beans) with simple pantry spices and no hard-to-find ingredients.
By now I’m certain you’ve caught on to my love for curries, but throw in some red adzuki beans (also known as azuki beans) and you’re in for one big nutritional punch of a curry! Adzuki beans are packed with antioxidants, protein, fiber and folate; and they’re mild, nutty flavor really complements the warming spices and creaminess of a curry. I think you’ll find you concur!
Why You’ll Love It
- Hearty and comforting.
- Easy to make.
- Perfectly flavorful.
- Makes excellent leftovers or meal prepping food.
- Packed with fiber and protein.
- Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, no sugar-added, nut-free, soy-free.
How to Make Adzuki Bean Curry
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to soak adzuki beans?
No, you do not. But, they will cook quicker and will be easier to digest if you do! If you end up skipping the soaking stage, simply simmer the beans until they are soft and tender. Dependent upon the quality and age of the dried adzuki beans you have on hand, this can take up to 2 hours.
I’m not a fan of spicy food, can I omit the red chili flakes?
Yep! The red chili flakes in this recipe actually do not add as much heat as you would think but instead round out the flavors a bit. But if you are not a spicy fan at all, you can most definitely add less or omit altogether.
More Curry Recipes You Might Like
Adzuki Bean Curry
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry adzuki beans soaked overnight or at least 4 hours
- 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil you can use ghee or butter if not vegan
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger root minced or grated
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes or fresh
- 1 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 lime juiced
- sea salt or pink salt to taste
Method
- Soak adzuki beans in water overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- Drain and rinse beans.
- Place the rinsed beans in a large pot over high heat, fill the pot with water until the beans have at least 1 inch of water above them. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour or until beans are tender. Drain and set aside.
- In a large pot or skillet over medium heat add oil, garlic and ginger. Saute ginger and garlic for 5 minutes or until turning golden.
- Add tomatoes, coconut milk, cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chili flakes, and adzuki beans. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Salt to taste.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated using a third-party calculator and is an estimate only.
It’s simply incredible! I haven’t seen anything like this this year.
Thank you!
Absolutely delicious. I substituted ground cumin and ground ginger and added sweet potatoes. Everyone in the family liked it!
I’m so happy to hear it! I really appreciate you taking the time to share feedback here and I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Delicious
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
This was a fun recipe. My greedy adzuki beans soaked up a lot of the curry and I opted for two fresh tomatoes rather than canned. The curry flavor was spot on. Might be nice to serve with a flat bread or something a little toothsome.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
there is no curry seasoning in this dish. am I missing something?
Hi, Corinne! Thanks for visiting. That’s because this curry uses a homemade curry blend. The spices you see in the recipe compose a curry spice blend. I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the recipe!
This was delish! Was getting ready to make it again and didn’t have enough Adzuki beans. But will solve that problem shortly. Great recipe…Thank you!!
Hi, Susan! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing! I’m so very happy you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
How many servings is this?
Hi! This is approximately 6 servings (bowls – served over rice).
So the cumin seeds are not ground? Assuming not, but always like to double check.
Hi, Lynn! Not ground. Correct! 🙂
I had my niece make this and it was just delicious. We added some Hing and fenugreek seeds. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi, Verabella! I’m really happy to hear that! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe and really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and share! 🙂
I made this recipe! It’s pretty good– the dish is aggressive aduzki-bean tasting (which is expected). I layered it over some basmati rice, and it tasted great. Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
I’ve made this curry a number of times and love it!
I’m so very happy to hear it! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and share. 🙂
This is such a beautiful, quick, and healthy recipe! Thank you so much! Like other commenters here, I had adzuki beans and didn’t know what to do with them. I tried your recipe and everyone was delighted. I’ve cooked it up again today and it’ll definitely be one recipe I will continue to make on a regular basis, what with being quick, tasty, and healthy! I don’t even soak the beans but put them in the pressure cooker – they are done in 16 minutes, so I already start with the rest while they are cooking, then I add them to the pan.
I’m so happy to hear it! And, I really appreciate you taking the time share some feedback here. Thank you! 🙂
I’ve had a bag of adzuki beans in the pantry for several months and I’m so happy I found your recipe.
I followed your recipe except for the cilantro. I’m not a fan. So good. My husband had two bowls!
Thank you very much.
I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share here! 🙂
this was so good!!! I’d never had adzuki beans before- nice texture and flavor. i had to sub powder ginger 😒for fresh and omit cilantro and cumin (not readily available in rural Italy). I added dandelion greens since I needed to use them up. I was impressed at how good this was and everyone else agreed!!!
That makes my day! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share here. 🙂
Just made this true to recipe, and it is delish! Was looking for a recipe with adzuki beans and this did not disappoint!
I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share. 🙂
This curry was absolutely delicious! My husband and I are big curry fans, and this really hit the spot. Very tasty and flavourful. I added some cooked spinach and some Naan bread on the side. A great weekday evening meal. I have just discovered your website and will definitely check out some of your other recipes! Thank you!!
I’m so very happy to hear it! This means a ton. Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
Pretty much followed the recipe. I cooked it a day ahead of serving and it really turned out delicious.
Thank you
So happy to hear it! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
5 stars! This was absolutely delicious! I will certainly make it again.
I added spinach and used canned adzuki beans and powdered spices so it was quick and easy. My family loved it too.
I’m so very happy to hear it! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
How many cans of beans did you use? Would really like to know so I can substitute canned for dry. Thanks in advance.
Hi, Michael! Thank you for visiting. This would be approximately three 15-ounce cans of beans. I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the recipe!
delicious combo! I did a curry loosely inspired by this. a fantastic combination of textures and tastes — had some zucchini, corn, onion, ginger garlic, tomato, seaweed, adzuki bean, coconut milk, Thai red curry paste plus most of my spice cabinet, a touch of apple butter for sweetness, soy sauce
That sounds amazing! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Delicious recipe, full of flavour. I added curry leaves and fenugreek seeds to mine also.
I’m so happy to hear it! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
This was wonderful–very flavorful without being too spicy. I’ll be making this again and will likely try more of your recipes! As a convenience, I soaked the adzuki beans overnight and then cooked them in a slow cooker the next day (6 hours on low)–a little less time at the stove. Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share here!
Yum! I did cook my beans in an instant pot as others have mentioned. And I used fresh tomatoes and about twice the called for spices, plus some fish sauce and paprika. Served with some brown rice for a nice meal. Thank you!
In a hurry, I just threw six cups of vegetable broth into my adzuki beans. I now notice that this recipe says simmer in water. Oh well. Gonna try it…
Simmering in broth will be just fine! 🙂
I’d love to try this recipe…Could I use canned adzuki beans though? If so how much would I need do you think? Thanks
Approximately 5 cups of pre-cooked adzuki beans should work!
An easy & yum curry base. I included a red onion & I halved the amount of beans, adding instead a diced eggplant & potato. The whole fam (including our 9 month old) enjoyed it.
Thank you for taking the time to share here! I’m so happy to hear this. 🙂
I absolutely loved this dish! Exactly as you wrote it, I’m writing it down so I don’t loose it. I never leave a comment but just had to because it was so quick and easy and soo delicious, thank you so much. Oh the only thing I did was use a can or adzuki beans.
I’m so very happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to share here. 🙂