Pumpkin Chicken Curry
on Feb 27, 2023, Updated Mar 08, 2024
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Are you ready for a nontraditional knock-your-socks-off dinner? I present to you –Pumpkin Chicken Curry. The sweet, creamy coconut pairs perfectly with pumpkin and all of those flavorful spices. If you are a curry lover this is sure to become a favorite fast.
I never tried curry until after I was married and our friends introduced us to it. I think part of why I love food so much is because there is always something new to discover. If you are new to or shy of curry, have no fear and give it a try. A huge portion of the earth’s population eats it daily, and there’s no way all those people are wrong! Try it… you’ll love it!
Pumpkin Chicken Curry
Chicken curry makes for a great meal because it is full of flavor and quick to make. You will love how creamy and yummy this dish is. Trust me, everyone will be raving about it!
You can also get really creative with chicken curry. You can make it low carb by serving it over vegetables instead of rice. It is very forgiving and you can add just about anything to it and it will still taste great.
Ingredients
- Yellow curry powder
- Garam masala
- Onion
- Garlic
- Chicken
- Coconut milk
- Diced tomatoes
- Chicken broth
- Sugar
- Winter squash (butternut, acorn, pumpkin squash or sweet potatoes)
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- Hot cooked rice for serving
Recipe Instructions
- In a large stock pot heat the oil, curry powder, and 1 tablespoon of garam masala over medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center.
- Add the coconut milk, undrained tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the squash and dried cherries. Cook the curry at a low simmer until the squash is very soft and the mixture thickens, 45 minutes to an hour.
- 5 minutes before serving, stir in the last 1 teaspoon of garam masala.
- Serve over hot, cooked rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t want to use rice, there are tons of other options: Cauliflower rice, steamed vegetables of all kinds, noodles, naan, couscous, etc.
Coconut milk can easily be substituted with heavy cream instead if you don’t have coconut milk or are allergic to coconut. You can also use half-and-half with a dollop of sour cream.
If you don’t gobble down all your curry, leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to a week, and you can also keep it in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Curry powder has a very unique flavor because of the combination of savory and sweet spices. Cumin, cinnamon and turmeric add to the sweet, yet earthy taste.
More Curry Recipes:
- Easy Pumpkin Cauliflower Curry
- Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Curry (meatless)
- Easy Lentil Curry with Butternut Squash
- Green Thai Chicken Coconut Curry
If you’ve tried this Pumpkin Chicken Curry or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories.
Pumpkin Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil, (like peanut, olive, coconut oil)
- 2 tablespoons yellow curry powder
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon garam masala, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 can coconut milk, (14-ounce)
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with the juice (14.5-ounce)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups peeled and cubed winter squash, (butternut, acorn, pumpkin squash or sweet potatoes)
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- salt and pepper to taste
- hot cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or Dutch oven heat the oil, curry powder, and 1 tablespoon of garam masala over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes. If it starts to stick add more oil, you don’t want it to burn.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Again, add more oil if it starts to stick too much.
- Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, undrained tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the squash and dried cherries. Cook the curry at a low simmer until the squash is very soft and the mixture thickens, 45 minutes to an hour.
- 5 minutes before serving, stir in the last 1 teaspoon of garam masala.
- Serve over hot, cooked rice.
Notes
- Curry is one of those dishes that only improve with time. If you have more time, let it cook! The leftovers are better the second day too.
- No cherries? Traditional or golden raisins are a great sub (but the cherries were SO good…).
- The garam masala is added twice because some of its flavor is heightened while cooking and some of it is lost. Adding it in the beginning and again at the end helps to not miss out on any of its goodness.
- You can substitute sweet potatoes for the squash if you’d like or can’t find winter squash. Cut the squash into 1 inch pieces and cut sweet potatoes slightly smaller.
- You can use boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe and it’s also really good with using boneless skinless chicken thigh meat.
Nutrition
I can’t wait for you to try this healthy, flavorful and filling Pumpkin Chicken Curry. Whether it is served over rice or veggies-it will be a home run at your dinner table.
This is delicious! I have it cooking on my stove RIGHT now. Edits for me: I can’t find Garam Masala in Beijing (I live in China at the moment) so I omitted this and I used Sweet Potatoes instead of squash because I just like them better. Had a taste during the simmer stage and I am fighting the urge to hover over the stove till its done – thats how badly I want to eat it right now! Thanks for this recipe!
made this tonight and it was delicious. Didn’t change a thing. I also tried your Chicken Tettrazini the other night and that was a big hit as well.
Awesome! I love a happy well-fed reader! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I recommend my steak carnitas next 😉
I’m assuming the squash is peeled although it does not say anything about it in the recipe or ingredients or directions. It helps to be specifi
Made this tonight for dinner. It was delicious. In the future,I will half the chicken stock and use additional coconut milk in its place. Also, I will add the cherries way later in the simmering process. I wanted them to be a big tart pop in the mouth, but the tartness was cooked out of them. Regardless, it was delicious as is! FYI.. found the garam masala at my local Publix. McCormick makes it.
Such great tips! So glad you liked it Angela… thank you for taking the time to comment!
I made this last night and it turned out much better than I was expecting (I’m still new to this whole cooking thing). THANKS for this recipe! I have so much left over!
Wohoo! The curry without the rice freezes great just FYI.
I just made this for dinner and it was delicious! I bought a butternut squash at the farmers market and wasn’t sure what to do with it until I saw your recipe. I think I might add some fresh ginger and a jalapeño next time for a little extra kick.
WOW, super easy and super delicious! I didn’t have garam masala but looked it up on line and used what I had to make my own: cumin, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, and it worked great. I substituted the rice for some steamed broccoli, and sprinkled some roasted almonds on top for some crunch. I recommend to anyone who is going to try to make this to not skip the dried cherries (or raisins) the sweetness from the fruit really hits this dish home. This dish will become one of my weekly staples. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Thank you SO much for the great comment!! Now I want to make it again 🙂
Just found this recipe thanks to Texanerin Baking. It looks absolutely wonderful, and I hope I can get a chance to try it soon. (I have to make sure my husband is willing to try it.) 🙂
I’ve been making my way through your 2 week plan, and this is my favorite dish yet. My only edit- I used red curry powder instead of garam masala- loved it! Thank you for the recipe and easy-to-follow plan!
Thanks so much for the comment! It’s SO rewarding to know that people are using something I spent time on and LOVING IT. This recipe is a keeper… I was thinking of making it just the other day. It’s been a long time and it’s sounding good. Great job on eating clean and keep up the good work. I’d love to hear how it you liked it as a whole in the end.
Loved this dish! I love curry, coconut milk and butternut squash so I had to make it….and am so glad I did! Definitely will be making this curry again. Thanks for the recipe Melissa!
This just looks so darn good! Maybe next time we see each other… ??