* This is a sponsored post for Birds Eye *
This Three Bean Curry is super easy, comforting and made using store cupboard and freezer ingredients. The ultimate kitchen raid meal, so it's perfect for a healthy meal on a budget. It's vegan, gluten-free and oh so delicious. What makes this bean curry so easy is the frozen Birds Eye Mexican Bean Mix we used in it - great for busy families.
When it starts to get colder, a wholesome, comforting curry will always go down well. It's total autumn comfort food! This is a protein packed vegan curry that is so easy to adapt, so you can make this exact recipe as a base and then add in a few different ingredients to make everyone happy. That's better than making separate meals for everyone.
You can add more or less chilli depending on how spicy you like it, or you could even throw some spinach or kale in a few minutes before it is finished for a green veggie boost.
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Why should you try it?
- Vegan
- Protein Packed
- Easy to make
- Under 300 calories
- Easy to adapt
- Freezes well
What you will need
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Bean mix - We used a frozen Mexican bean mix as it gives a good variety, Kidney beans, chickpeas and black beans, but you could use an mix of beans that you have. Butterbeansare one of our favourites to use.
- Shallots, garlic and ginger - These are the base of the curry sauce.
- Curry powder, chilli and cumin - These are what give the curry its spice and flavour. You can alter the amount of chilli to suit your taste. You can also use your favourite spice blend or just some simple Garam Masala.
- Tomatoes - A tin of good quality chopped tomatoes is used here.
- Coconut milk - Light coconut milk is perfect, but you can use full fat. It will change the nutritional values though.
- Stock - We used a vegetable stock to keep this a vegan curry.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
Step by step
One: Heat a little oil in a large pan and add the shallots. Cook on low for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Two: Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, stir and cook for 1 minute.
Three: Add the curry powder, salt and pepper and cumin seeds and stir.
Four: Put the Birds Eye Bean Mix in the pan and mix well.
Five: Add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock.
Six: Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Seven: Serve with rice (optional).
Birds Eye Mexican Bean Mix
The star of the show in this curry is the 3 bean mix and instead of opening 3 different tins of beans we used the Birds Eye Mexican Bean Mix which is now a freezer staple for us and saves us so much time.
A mix of red kidney beans, black beans and chickpeas, one portion of the bean mix provides one of your recommended 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables. It is a rich source of protein and it contains plenty of fibre.
Not only is the bean mix full of goodness, but it's really convenient too. You can just keep a bag in your freezer and add it to stews, chilli, casseroles and hearty salads.
This Mexican Bean Mix is ready to cook from frozen in 4 minutes, so you can free yourself from soaking dry beans overnight or draining tins - perfect for a busy family that still wants healthy and protein packed meals.
It's not just the Mexican Bean Mix that is available - Birds Eye have a whole range of convenient pulses including a Chickpea and Spinach Mix and Italian 3 Bean Mix (which is great in a spaghetti sauce) with a RRP of just £2 - you can find them in the frozen aisle at larger Tesco & Asda stores and Ocado.
As they are poured straight from the bag in your freezer, you can use as little or as much as required and waste less compared to the tinned alternatives usually found on supermarket shelves.
Using beans in curries
We are big on beans in general. As we try to limit the amount of meat we eat, we turn to beans for a protein boost, to bulk out our meals and add lots of flavour. If you think beans are boring, then you haven't been eating them the right way.
There is so much to love about beans beyond their versatility. They are high in fibre, potassium and can help to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, so they are a must in a healthy diet in our opinion and they are the perfect addition to a vegan curry.
We kept it pretty simple when it came to the herbs and spices, as I didn't want this to be a recipe that you had to buy new ingredients for. This is all about using up what is in your cupboard, so we tried to keep it to ones that you would probably already have. Feel free to switch and swap them though.
In my opinion a bean curry with coconut milk is a must. Creamy curries are the best kind of curries and by using coconut you add a load of flavour, but you can keep it vegan.
Sure, coconut milk is a little high in calories, but it's totally worth it in my opinion. We just used a little, as it goes a long way.
Extra tips
- If you wanted to lower the calories and skip the coconut milk, add in some vegan cream fraiche (we love the Oatly brand) to keep it vegan and creamy.
- You don't have to have this as a vegan curry. Make this recipe as a base and then add some leftover or freshly grilled chicken or even some halloumi or paneer.
- Get your greens! Throw some spinach and kale in to this to give it a green veggie boost.
What to serve with it.
We served ours with some simple turmeric rice, which is just basmati rice boiled with a little turmeric in it. If you want some extra carbs, and something to mop up the extra curry sauce, then make some of our Easy 3 Ingredient Homemade Flatbreads.
FAQs
Curry is the ultimate batch cook and freeze meal. We made a lot of them to freeze when I was pregnant and they were a life saver. Sure, we ordered a few takeaways during those first few sleepless nights, but they saved us from ordering every night. Curry freezes really well and you can even freeze some cooked rice with it so you have a meal ready to go.
More vegan recipes
If you’ve tried this bean curry, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Three Bean Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 3 Shallots - diced
- 2 Garlic clove - crushed
- 15 g (0.5 oz) Fresh ginger - finely chopped
- 0.5 (0.5) Red chilli - small; finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Curry powder
- 0.5 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Cumin seeds
- 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 200 g (7 oz) Birds Eye Mexican Bean Mix
- 400 g (14 oz) Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) Light coconut milk
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) Vegetable stock
- Coriander and rice - for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon Olive oil in a large pan and add 3 Shallots. Cook on low for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add 2 Garlic clove, 15 g Fresh ginger and 0.5 Red chilli, stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add 2 tablespoon Curry powder, 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper and 0.5 teaspoon Cumin seeds and stir.
- Put 200 g Birds Eye Mexican Bean Mix in the pan and mix well.
- Add 400 g Chopped tomatoes, 100 ml Light coconut milk and 100 ml Vegetable stock.
- Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve with Coriander and rice.
Recipe Tips
- If you wanted to lower the calories and skip the coconut milk, add in some vegan cream fraiche (we love the Oatly brand) to keep it vegan and creamy.
- You don't have to have this as a vegan curry. Make this recipe as a base and then add some leftover or freshly grilled chicken or even some halloumi or paneer.
- Get your greens! Throw some spinach and kale in to this to give it a green veggie boost.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Liz says
You really can't go wrong with curry! I love that all these beans actually keep me full!
Cristie says
I love a good curry. So convenient to have in the freezer for those days when you don't feel like cooking. Cant wait to try this now.