Thai Pumpkin Curry with Chicken
There’s nothing more comforting on a chilly fall day than this Thai Pumpkin Curry! It’s loaded with chicken, veggies and pumpkin in a creamy, flavorful coconut red curry sauce. It always gets rave reviews and it’s so easy to make!
Happy first day of fall! I’m so excited that it’s officially my favorite season…now if only the weather would cooperate. We’re sweating bullets over here!
It’s not exactly curry weather because it’s so hot, but the heat never stops me. I’ve been making this Thai pumpkin curry behind the scenes for months.
I’m a huge fan of Thai flavors, and make my Thai pasta and Thai zoodles often. This curry, however, has become my all time favorite.
The inspiration for this easy pumpkin curry recipe came from a Thai restaurant that I visited in Layton, Utah with my blogging friends for a conference. My friend and I ordered the pumpkin curry with chicken the first night that we were there, and loved it so much that we went back and had it again 2 nights later.
I can’t get enough of this, and I’m so glad that I’m finally sharing this recipe with you!
I’d never experienced pumpkin curry before I ordered it in on my trip, so it was a real treat. Typically I make coconut curry chicken with whatever veggies that I have on hand, but now I can’t imagine not adding pumpkin. It adds so much flavor!
This chicken pumpkin curry is packed with tender chunks of chicken, along with loads of veggies in a flavorful Thai coconut curry broth. It’s so creamy and hearty, and is perfect served as is, or over coconut rice or quinoa.
What kind of pumpkin should I use for pumpkin curry?
My favorite variety of pumpkin for this dish is kabocha squash, which is a Japanese pumpkin. It’s dark green in color, and it’s a bit sweeter and starchier than ordinary pumpkin.
The best part about kabocha squash is that the peel is edible, so no peeling is required! The peel also adds a nice texture that I love. For more information, see my post on kabocha squash.
You can certainly use your favorite variety of pumpkin or even butternut squash, but they will require peeling.
How to cut and prep kabocha squash
- I suggest using a paring knife to cut the pumpkin in half as it’s so much easier (and safer!) working with a shorter blade
- Scoop out the seeds
- Place the pumpkin cut-side down on a cutting board and cut into slices, then cut into 1″ cubes
How to make this recipe
Prep all of your ingredients before you begin cooking as this recipe goes very quickly.
- Cook the chicken in a large pot or Dutch oven until cooked through. Remove from heat and cover loosely with foil.
- In the same pot, cook the onion and carrots for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic, ginger and turmeric and cook 30 seconds.
- Add the pumpkin, bell pepper and green beans, and sauté 1 minute.
- Add the chicken back to the pot, along with the red curry paste, coconut milk and water, and stir well to combine.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook 10-15 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Remove from heat and add the lime juice, cilantro, and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
Recipe notes
- * Store your fresh ginger root in the freezer in a zip top bag, and grate with a Microplane grater right into your curry peel and all!
- Customize this pumpkin curry with your favorite pumpkin or winter squash and vegetables.
- Prep your veggies in advance, or prep the entire dish ahead. Curry is even better as leftovers, so it’s great for meal prep and freezes very well.
- Omit the curry for vegan pumpkin curry.
- Make this recipe low FODMAP by omitting the onion and garlic.
More savory pumpkin recipes you’ll love:
- Autumn minestrone soup
- Chorizo chili
- Kabocha squash mashed potatoes
- Pumpkin chili mac
- Pumpkin mac and cheese by Skinnytaste
- Pumpkin soup
- Roasted winter squash
If you make this recipe I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and rating below, or snap a photo and tag me @flavorthemoments on Instagram!
Thai Pumpkin Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large (1/2 lb.)boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1" pieces
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger*
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1 cup cubed kabocha squash
- 1 red bell pepper
- 8 ounces green beans trimmed and cut into 2″ pieces
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 13.5 ounces full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Cooked rice or quinoa optional
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a plate, then cover loosely with foil.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot. Add the onion and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and turmeric, and sauté 30 seconds.
- Add the bell pepper, pumpkin and green beans, and sauté 1 minute longer.
- Add the the chicken back to the pan along with the red curry paste, coconut milk and water, and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the pumpkin is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Nutrition information does not include the rice or quinoa.
- *Store your fresh ginger root in the freezer in a zip top bag, and grate with a Microplane grater right into your curry peel and all!
- Customize this pumpkin curry with your favorite pumpkin or winter squash and vegetables.
- Prep your veggies in advance, or prep the entire dish ahead. Curry is even better as leftovers, so it’s great for meal prep and freezes very well.
- Omit the chicken for vegan pumpkin curry.
- Make this recipe low FODMAP by omitting the onion and garlic.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
22 Comments on “Thai Pumpkin Curry with Chicken”
Marcie! I love that this dish is inspired by that dinner out at the Thai restaurant. And I have to say your version looks AMAZING! I ran over here to your blog after seeing this on Insta. You know I”m all about Thai food 😉 Can’t wait to try!
I loved that pumpkin curry there…obviously! haha Thank you Katherine and I hope you get to try it! 🙂
Yes yes yes yes yes. haha I have been waiting for you to recreate this! I added it to my meal plan for the week – so pumped!
I tried to do it justice! haha Thanks Ashley and I hope you love it!
It’s a cold fall day here so I could totally go for a bowl of this chunky pumpkin curry! And it’s so fun that it was inspired by your trip to Utah!
I’m so glad I ordered that curry in Utah…it was life changing! 🙂
I was just wondering if I could use canned pumpkin?
Absolutely!
Typo?
Omit the curry for vegan dish doesn’t make sense.
Think you meant to put chicken rather than curry
Yes, that was a typo. Thank you for the heads up…I made the correction.
cant wait to try this! love Pumpkin curry at a restaurant and want to try it at home with my oodles of garden squash!
I hope you enjoy it and your garden squash will make it even more delicious!
This is the best curry we have had outside of a Thai restaurant. I’ve tried to cook many curries, but none has been as delicious as this one. When the pandemic is over, I will serve it to company!
I’m so glad you like it as much as we do Mary! The inspiration came from one of the best curries I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant and I tried really hard to do it justice. 🧡
I think you meant “leave out the chicken” for a vegan curry.
You’re right…I did. 🙂
This recipe was DELICIOUS!!! Will be a fall staple in our house from now on!!
If anyone is interested I added mushrooms and upped the squash to 2 cups I found it worked out well!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for leaving your feedback and I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the curry!
Hi,
this recipe looks great. any tips for doing this in a slow cooker? thanks!
I’m sure it would work, although it wouldn’t have as much flavor without browning the chicken, onions, carrots and garlic first. You could brown those first on the stove top then dump them into the slow cooker with everything else and cook on low for 1.5 -2 hours or until the veggies are tender? I haven’t tried it so I’d keep an eye on it to keep the vegetables from overcooking.
This was delicious and tasty! I had to modify the ingredients based off what I had, but it all came together deliciously! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for leaving your feedback and I’m so glad that it worked out for you!