Description
Creamy Pumpkin Chicken Curry combines tender chicken with pumpkin puree, coconut milk, tomatoes, and warming curry spices. This cozy skillet dinner is rich, flavorful, easy to customize, and perfect served over fluffy rice for a satisfying weeknight meal.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½– to 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
- Juice of 1 small lemon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard seed
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander seed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional for serving:
- White or brown rice
- Cauliflower rice
- Lentils
- Couscous
- Farro
- Quinoa
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Cut the chicken breasts into ½- to 1-inch pieces. Place in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and season with a little salt and black pepper. Toss until evenly coated.
- Brown the chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken in 2–3 batches to avoid overcrowding the skillet. Sauté until browned and cooked through. Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.
- Cook the onion: Add the diced onion to the same skillet. If needed, deglaze the pan with a small splash of water or additional olive oil, scraping up the flavorful browned bits. Sauté for 2–3 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Make the curry sauce: Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste, pumpkin puree, coconut milk, and lemon juice. Stir until smooth and well combined.
- Add the seasonings: Stir in the brown sugar, curry powder, chili powder, salt, black pepper, cumin, ground mustard, coriander, and cinnamon.
- Simmer: Return the cooked chicken to the skillet and stir to coat it in the sauce. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10–15 minutes.
- Serve: Spoon the Pumpkin Chicken Curry over rice or your preferred grain or legume. Garnish with chopped cilantro, red pepper flakes, or an extra drizzle of coconut milk, if desired.
Notes
- Pumpkin puree: Use plain 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can replace chicken breasts.
- Don’t overcrowd the skillet: Cooking the chicken in batches helps it brown instead of steam.
- Tomato paste: Freeze leftover tomato paste in small portions for future recipes.
- Coconut milk: Full-fat canned coconut milk gives the curry its rich, creamy consistency. Avoid boxed coconut milk beverages. Canned coconut cream can also be used.
- Dairy option: If the recipe doesn’t need to be dairy-free, half-and-half or heavy cream can replace the coconut milk.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice provides the brightest flavor, although bottled juice works in a pinch.
- Spice level: Use medium or hot chili powder, or add red pepper flakes, if you prefer a spicier curry.
- Serving: Rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, couscous, farro, or lentils all pair well with the curry.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Curry-Inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe, without rice or toppings
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 850 mg
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated Fat: 20 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg