How to make pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk in just 25 minutes? In an Instant Pot, of course. But don’t worry if you don’t have one yet, as I’ve also included the stovetop and slow cooker methods in this article.
Hey Foodies,
Today I’m going to show you how to make pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk in an Instant Pot.
This easy chicken curry recipe made me realize how far behind I am with technology nowadays. At least when it comes to cooking.
Why?
Well, believe it or not, this is the first recipe that I make in an Instant Pot*.
Yup, you heard that right. Even though I cook for a living, this was the very first time I used this device.
I heard about it a while ago but have never given it much attention. Honestly, I kinda thought that cooking should be simple and this device looked a little too techie for me.
But last weekend, as I was enjoying a bit of relax time (shopping on Amazon, of course), it caught me in a good mood and I decided to give it a try.
Moreover, I started looking for the best instant pot recipes and found that many recommend creamy chicken curry.
So I was all prepared for the big day when I let technology step into my kitchen and do the work for me.
Was I skeptical? You bet! But at the same time, I was also excited because the reviews looked so encouraging. Actually, they were the reason why I bought it.
After a few days, I received it and decided to try it right away by making an easy pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk.
More Pumpkin Recipes:
Right from the start, I was amazed to see that it’s not complicated at all. Even for a non-techie blondie, this Instant Pot is incredibly easy to operate.
And after seeing how simple it is and how delicious my pumpkin chicken curry came out, I was like… Where has this been all my life?
Honestly, I was stunned by how easy it is to cook in a multi-cooker. You just put everything in, press a button and that’s it. And it has so many options that you can literally cook anything in it.
Some may be amused by this because you’re probably familiar with the Instant Pot already. If that’s the case, you’re probably more experienced than me so you can jump right to the Tips & Tricks.
But for those of you that still don’t know what an Instant Pot is or how to use it, I will briefly explain to you before going to the tips and tricks.
So let’s dive in.
What is an Instant Pot
An Instant Pot is a brand that manufactures and markets a kitchen appliance also known as a multicooker or multi-purpose cooker. This device combines the prepping and cooking of food into a single electric pressure cooker. Moreover, it is incredibly versatile because you can program it to cook in so many ways.
Here are the functions offered by the Instant Pot*:
- Pressure Cooker (choose between low and high pressure)
- Slow Cooker
- Rice Cooker
- Yogurt Maker
- Sauté/Browning
- Steamer
- Warmer
- Egg maker
- Cakemaker
- Sterilizer
Impressive, isn’t it? All that at the press of a button?
I swear this technology is going to put many of us out of business.
I mean, think about it. You can make vegetable stock in like half an hour, as opposed to half a day as it took traditionally. Or, you can use it to defrost meat in a matter of minutes.
How great does that sound?
It’s worth noting here that this is the first and only multi-cooker that I ever tried so far. There are many other brands that sell this kind of device and there may be others that can perform even more tasks.
I chose this particular one because of the hype and Amazon reviews but if you happen to know another one that can achieve more, please share it with us as I plan to become an expert in this new field 🙂
I don’t want to keep you too long on this subject, even though I could yap for hours about it, that’s how excited I am. But if you want to dive deeper into details, you should check out what Digital Trends say about it.
Now it’s time to show you how to make pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk, which is my second reason for excitement today.
How to make pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk – Best Tips & Tricks
There are 3 ways of making this easy chicken curry recipe:
- Â In an Instant Pot
- Â In a slow cooker*
- Â On the stovetop
If you own an Instant Pot or any kind of multicooker* you just have to follow the instructions in the recipe below and you’re all sorted.
But if you don’t have one, I’ll explain the last two methods below.
1. How to make pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk in a slow cooker (Crock Pot)
Making this pumpkin chicken curry recipe in a slow cooker Crock Pot* is just as easy as it would be in an Instant Pot, but slower. Goes without saying, right? 🙂 Actually, many multi-cookers, including the Instant Pot, have a slow cooker mode so you don’t have to purchase both devices.
This method is mostly for the busy foodies who don’t have any time for cooking and just want to throw the ingredients in and leave the appliance to do the work for them while they’re handling their business (or taking a nap 🙂 )
If that’s you, then here is how to make pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk in a slow cooker:
- In a slow cooker, add in all ingredients except the lime juice, coconut milk, flour/cornstarch and coriander.
- Set the device to cook on LOW for 6-7 hours (depending on how powerful your slow cooker is). I recommend setting it on 6 hours first, then check to see if it’s done. If not, let it cook for an additional hour.
- In a small bowl, whisk coconut milk and gluten-free flour until well combined. Add it to the pot together with lime juice and season to your taste with salt and pepper.
- Cook on LOW for an additional 30 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken.
Easy, right?
Now let’s move on to the method used by traditional foodies who take great pride in doing everything themselves.
2. How to make pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk on the stovetop
Some foodies may not know enough about electric multicookers or they are just not that techie when it comes to cooking. And I totally get that, there is a huge satisfaction when you cook a delicious dish the classic way.
I know, things can get messier but it feels quite rewarding, doesn’t it?
So if you want to make this pumpkin chicken curry recipe on the stovetop, here is how:
- Heat coconut oil in a pot over medium-high heat and add the onion, garlic, ginger and chili, and saute for 2-3 minutes, or until the onions become translucent.
- Add the chicken and curry powder, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, until the chicken changes its color.
- Add the pumpkin, stock and tomato paste. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered with a lid, for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the pumpkin is fork-tender.
- In a small bowl, whisk coconut milk and gluten-free flour until well combined. Add it to the pot together with lime juice and season to your taste with salt and pepper.
- Simmer the curry for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Garnish with chili and fresh cilantro.
The stovetop method doesn’t look too complicated either, does it?
Now let’s move on and see what to serve with pumpkin chicken curry.
3. What to serve with creamy pumpkin chicken curry
By far, the best side dish for pumpkin chicken curry with coconut milk is cooked brown rice or even better, wild rice. For some reason, I just love wild rice in curry sauce. I think I could even have it as a main without the chicken.
It may be because I’m a huge fan of saucy rice, especially risotto.
If you don’t like it as much as I do, a good alternative would be warm naan bread. And if you want something lighter, you could go for cauliflower rice.
4. This pumpkin chicken curry recipe is perfect for meal-planning
You can make a large batch of pumpkin chicken curry and rice, and then divide it into ovenproof glass containers (preferably one serving sized containers).
Then you have two options:
- Refrigerate it for up to 5 days, but in this case, you would have to keep the curry and rice in separate containers.
- Freeze them for up to 3 months and whenever you want a quick meal, just take them out of the freezer and quickly heat them in the oven.
5. Adapt this easy chicken curry recipe to your taste
This pumpkin chicken curry recipe is also versatile because you can change the ingredients with your favorites.
Here are the types of pumpkin that you can use:
- Kabocha
- Kent
- Jap pumpkin
- Butternut squash
They are all perfect for this recipe, just remember to cut them into large chunks (about 1″ / 2.5cm). That’s because we need them to cook at the same time as the chicken fillets.
Also, you can replace the chicken tenders with breast or thighs, but remember to chop them into bite-sized pieces.
And I’ve already told you about the rice. You can replace it with warm naan bread or cauliflower rice.
I hope I didn’t keep you too long but I really think all these tips are necessary for making this easy chicken curry recipe.
Now it’s time to put everything into practice.
Oh, and if you happen to know some other great instant pot recipes, please leave them in the comments below. As I said, I plan to become an expert in this field and I need all the help I can get.
After making this easy pumpkin chicken curry recipe, please snap a shot and post it on Insta with hashtag #blondelish and tag @theblondelish.
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Pumpkin Chicken Curry With Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1.5 Lb (700g) chicken tenders/fillets - chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 Lb (900g) pumpkin - peeled, seeded and diced into 1"/2.5cm chunks
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 medium onion - diced
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger - grated
- 1 red chili - chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves - pressed or minced
- 3 tsp mild curry powder
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cup (360ml) stock
- 1 Tbsp gluten-free flour or cornstarch
- 1 can (15oz / 400ml) coconut milk
- Juice of 1 lime
- sea salt and fresh ground black pepper - to taste
- red chili - thinly sliced, to garnish
- Handful fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
SERVE WITH:
- cooked brown/wild rice, warm naan bread
Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot* to SAUTE mode. Add the oil, onion, garlic, ginger and chili, and saute for 2-3 minutes, or until the onions turn translucent.
- Stir in the chicken, pumpkin, stock, tomato paste and curry.
- Press CANCEL then secure the lid and SEAL the vent. Press the MANUAL (older models) or PRESSURE COOK (newer models) button and set on HIGH for 10 minutes.
- Once the time has passed, manually release the pressure by switching from seal to VENT.
- Once the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid. Then turn the SAUTE mode on.
- In a small bowl*, whisk coconut milk and gluten-free flour until well combined. Add it into the pot together with lime juice and season with salt and pepper, to your taste.
- Simmer for 3-4 minutes to slightly thicken the sauce, stirring frequently. Turn OFF the saute mode.Garnish with chili and fresh cilantro.
Recipe Notes
- You can also make this pumpkin chicken curry recipe in a slow cooker* (see how at tip #1)
- You can make this easy chicken curry recipe on a stovetop (see how at tip #2)
- Serve this creamy chicken curry with cooked brown or wild rice, warm naan bread or cauliflower rice.
- This easy chicken curry recipe is perfect for meal planning. You can make a large batch and refrigerate it in ovenproof glass containers* for up to 5 days, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
- You can use the following types of pumpkin: Kabocha, Kent, Jap pumpkin, Butternut squash. And you can replace the chicken tenders with breast or thighs.
Nutrition
*This post may contain affiliate links
The best, tastiest curry recipe I’ve ever come across! It’s now my go-to 🙂
This was a VERY delicious recipe ! I’m obsessed with pumpkins so it was a perfect excuse to eat more of them. I used butternut squash. I baked it whole before cutting it in half and scooping out the pieces. I added half midway and half at the end of the recipe . It was SO delicious. I used the juice of 1 lemon which resulted in a very strong lemon flavor but I liked it because it cancelled out the coconut milk flavor which my husband doesn’t like . If you like the creaminess and flavor of coconut milk, I’d add the juice of only half a lemon.
I cooked it the traditional way on top of my stop. Perfect recipe for the entire family.
I made this on the stove last night. Having been eating our way through Halloween pumpkin (2 vats of soup up until last night) I wasn’t sure we were really up for more pumpkin! However this curry was lovely and I will definitely be making another one with the last of the pumpkin!
Thanks so much Susan! Sounds like you’re big pumpkin fan :)… just like me :))
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for! From one blonde to another, thanks a lot for showing a fun and versatile way of cooking pumpkin in coconut curry!
Thanks so much Blondie! 🙂
Omg. I just made this and it was delicious!!! I don’t often make curries because the ones I’ve made have never been that great. But this was so so good! And so easy.
Thanks so much Cristina! I’m so happy you like it!