The Belgium international was immediately restored to Villa's starting XI for Tuesday's clash at Selhurst Park after serving a suspension for a red card in a 2-1 loss against Tottenham last month.
And he broke the deadlock with a composed finish in the first half to help Paul Lambert's men end a nine-match winless run in the top flight.
But the hosts' profligacy was punished by Benteke's first goal since March just after the half-hour mark - with the striker's dry patch largely due to an Achilles injury sustained in April.
Palace made a bright start and Ciaran Clark had to be alert to clear off the line in the fifth minute when Brad Guzan spilled Bolasie's long-range shot. Scott Dann hammered the loose ball in the goal but the whistle had already gone for an offside against Dwight Gayle.
Zaha, one of two Palace changes from Saturday's 1-1 draw at Swansea City, was proving a threat down the right and he saw tentative claims for a penalty waved away when he went to ground in the area from a challenge from Tom Cleverley.
The hosts continued to press after the restart, Fraizer Campbell - on at half-time for Gayle, who sustained a back problem against Swansea - drew several defenders on the left and the space allowed Bolasie to cross for Chamakh, whose diving header went wide.
After withstanding a spell of Palace pressure, Andreas Weimann could have wrapped up the points for Villa when the ball fell kindly for him in the box and his half-volley was well saved by the legs of Speroni.
As the clock wound down, Palace caused plenty of problems for the Villa defence by bombarding the area with crosses and Zaha's last-minute centre narrowly evaded Campbell and Bolasie, but the visitors survived for their first Premier League win in nearly three months.
