Pumpkin Chicken Curry

❤️ Why you'll love it

You only have to make this pumpkin chicken curry once to fall in love with it. It is so tasty, with just the right blend of spices to leave you licking your fingers! This recipe is so easy to make, and I love to use an instant pot because there is so much less cleanup.

This easy pumpkin chicken curry is also naturally lower carb! Although pumpkin has some carbs, this is the perfect hearty meal to warm you up this time of year!

🥘 Equipment Used

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To make this pumpkin chicken curry recipe, you'll need a cutting board and knife and either an Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stew pot.

🧾 Ingredients Used

• Chicken breast:  Chicken breast is perfect for this recipe as it thirstily soaks up all the amazing flavors. 
• Pumpkin puree: This pumpkin puree is a quick and easy way to get the much-needed pumpkin flavor in the curry. I use Farmer's Market Organic Pumpkin Puree which I get online from Amazon, but your local grocery store might carry it.
• Chicken broth: This forms the liquid base of this dish.
• Coconut milk: Use full-fat coconut milk or even coconut cream to add a rich, creamy texture to this dish.
• Tomato paste: This helps to thicken the chicken curry and eliminates the need for a thickener. The subtle tomato flavor also complements the sweeter taste of the pumpkin.
• Spices: Cumin, curry powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt.
• Aromatics: Onions and garlic.
• Olive oil: to saute the veggies.

🔪 How To Make This Recipe

Instant Pot Instructions

1. First, chop your onions and mince the garlic. Cut the chicken breast into medium-sized cubes. Turn on your instant pot to sauté mode and warm up the olive oil. 
2. Add in the onions and garlic and stir them until they are golden brown. Next, add in the chicken breast, tomato paste, and spices and mix them well. Add the chicken stock and pumpkin puree and stir it again.
3. Set your instant pot to manual mode and adjust it to high pressure for 5 minutes. Once it's done, let the pressure naturally release all the way. Remove the lid and add coconut milk at the end and allow the pumpkin chicken curry to thicken as it simmers.
4. Taste for salt and adjust according to your preference. Top it off with some parsley or any herb of your choice and serve!

How to Make it on the Stove

If you don't have an instant pot, you can make this pumpkin chicken curry with a deep pan or skillet on a stovetop.

1. Follow the same steps listed above, but instead of pressure cooking it, bring everything to a boil, then cover it and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. 
2. Then take off the lid, add the coconut milk, and allow the pumpkin chicken curry to thicken for about 2-3 minutes. 

How to Make it in a Slow Cooker

You can make this pumpkin chicken curry using a crockpot/slow cooker. The steps are very similar to making in on the stove.

1. Sauté onion and garlic in a small pan over medium heat, then stir everything else in your slow cooker, except the coconut milk.
2. Cook it on low for 4-6 hours, and add in the coconut milk near the end. Serve it once it thickens to your preferred consistency.

🥫 Storing and Reheating

If you have leftover curry, this recipe keeps very well in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. I think it tastes even better the next day, so definitely make enough for leftovers.

You can freeze this pumpkin chicken curry; however, the texture of the vegetables tends to deteriorate over time. It is best to mix the sauce on its own and save it for later in a freezer-safe container. 

 If you want to make a big batch of the sauce, stir the tomato paste, spices, chicken stock, and pumpkin puree together in a pan and allow it to cool before freezing it. In this case, I recommend leaving out the coconut milk because unthawed milk has a different consistency than regular refrigerated milk.

Just add the creamy coconut milk after the sauce has been thawed and when it's almost ready.

💭 Tips and Variations

• Make sure you let the instant pot naturally release all the way. If you quick release it early, the juices will escape through the vent, making your chicken tough. If you're in a hurry, let it naturally release for 10 minutes before you quick-release.
• You can increase the heat in this dish by adding more cayenne pepper or some red pepper flakes. You can also omit it altogether.
• For a nice zesty flavor, squeeze some fresh lime juice and sprinkle some fresh cilantro on top right as you serve the curry. These optional toppings add great flavor and require almost no effort.
• If you don't have pumpkin, you can still make this Instant Pot Chicken Curry.
• Broth already contains salt, so add salt sparingly; you don't make the chicken curry too salty.
• You can use yellow curry powder instead of mixing the spices separately, but I prefer to make my own. This helps me keep the sugar content low.
• For a heartier meal, use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts.

🍽️ What can I eat this recipe with?

This instant pot pumpkin coconut curry is amazing over white rice, or for a low carb option, cauliflower rice. It also goes great with low carb pasta dishes like spaghetti squash, palmini noodles, or shirataki noodles.

Add some optional toppings like fresh cilantro, lime juice, or a splash of plain yogurt.

👩‍🍳 Frequently asked questions

📖 Recipe

Pumpkin Chicken Curry

This pumpkin chicken curry made in an instant pot, is an easy, mouthwatering dinner that will leave your whole family begging for more! You can also make it in the stove or slow cooker.

4.88 from 25 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 267kcal

Author: Tayo Oredola

Equipment

• ▢
  Instant Pot

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves
• ▢ ½ onion
• ▢ 2 lbs chicken breast
• ▢ ¼ can pumpkin puree usually 1 can is 15oz
• ▢ 1 cup chicken stock/broth
• ▢ ½ cup coconut milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 tablespoon curry powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt or to taste

Instructions

Make it in the instant pot

• First, chop your onions and mince the garlic.
• Cut the chicken breast into medium-sized cubes.
• Turn on your instant pot to sauté mode and warm up the olive oil.
• Add in the onions and garlic and stir them until they are golden brown.
• Next, add in the chicken breast, tomato paste, and spices and mix them well.
• Add the chicken stock and pumpkin puree and stir it again.
• Set your instant pot to manual mode and adjust it to high pressure for 5 minutes.
• Once it's done, let the pressure naturally release all the way.
• Remove the lid and add coconut milk at the end and allow the pumpkin chicken curry to thicken as it simmers.
• Taste for salt and adjust according to your preference.
• Top it off with some parsley or any herb of your choice and serve!

Make it on the stove

• Follow the same steps listed above, but instead of pressure cooking it, bring everything to a boil, then cover it and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Then take off the lid, add the coconut milk, and allow the pumpkin chicken curry to thicken for about 2 minutes.

Make it in the slow cooker

• Sauté the garlic and onions in a small pan, then stir everything else in your slow cooker, except the coconut milk.
• Cook it on low for 4 to 6 hours and add in the coconut milk near the end. Serve it once it thickens to your preferred consistency.

Notes

This recipe serves 6 and contains 4 net carbs per serving

• Make sure you let the instant pot naturally release all the way. If you quick-release it early, the juices will escape through the vent, making your chicken tough. If you're in a hurry, let it naturally release for 10 minutes before you quick-release.
• You can increase the heat in this dish by adding more cayenne pepper. You can also omit it altogether.
• For a nice zesty flavor, squeeze some fresh lime juice on top right as you're serving the curry.
• Broth already contains salt so add salt sparingly so you don't make the chicken curry too salty.

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 448mg | Potassium: 634mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 87IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

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Tayo Oredola

Tayo Oredola is the founder of Low Carb Africa, where she shares healthy, low carb dishes with global flavors. She is passionate about teaching people how to cook drool-worthy dishes while losing weight and living their best lives. Tayo’s recipes have been featured on MSN, Women’s Health, Parade, Yahoo News, Pure Wow, Essence, and other online publications.