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Easy Instant Pot Pumpkin Chicken Curry recipe with coconut milk and simple korma spice blend. The pumpkin curry is so flavorful and Paleo, Whole30 and Keto friendly. You can also use butternut squash. Everyone in the family will love this simple pumpkin recipe!
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chicken Curry – stovetop method included
I love making my own curry spice blends. Store bought curry paste or sauce jars are great additions to have but often they lack of depth and complexity. If you’ve ever wondered why a curry dish tastes flat and boring, definitely read on to check out my Instant Pot Pumpkin Chicken Curry. I guarantee you are going to love it!
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This Instant Pot Pumpkin Chicken Curry (or butternut squash curry) recipe actually comes from my Chicken Korma recipe with crispy shallots. Check out the stovetop method here!
Blend, Dump, and Go!
Simple right? Gather all the herbs. Finely chop them in a mini 4-cup work bowl. I love this one by the way. It’s been a great little helper in my kitchen and I use it more often than my larger food processor.
Add boneless skinless chicken thighs (highly recommend thigh meat), herbs, and dry spice seasonings. 10 minutes later stir-in the spinach and you’ll have a pot of super flavorful Chicken Korma Curry!
Vegetable pairings
I recommend adding frozen spinach (defrosted and squeezed dry) after the chicken is cooked through. You can also use fresh spinach but it might dilute the sauce further. If you want to add extra veggies, diced carrots will be a great choice. I don’t recommend adding zucchinis or yellow squash because they will release water after cooked and make the sauce more watery and weak.
Feel free to serve an extra side of salad or pour the lovely pumpkin chicken curry over low carb noodles. In colder months, pair the chicken with roasted crispy potatoes or mashed yam. They are absolutely delicious!
So my friends! I really hope you’ll give this Instant Pot Pumpkin Chicken Curry a try. It’s absolutely out of this world! Rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Tag @iheartumami.ny on Instagram so we can see it!
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chicken Curry (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)
Video
Ingredients
Homemade Korma Paste:
- 5 large garlic cloves , peeled
- 1 tbsp sliced fresh ginger
- 1 fresh serrano , fresno, or jalapeno green or red pepper
- 4 tbsp shredded coconut
- ½ cup cilantro or parsley + more for garnish
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp garam masala powder
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
Other:
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 large shallots , sliced lengthwise
- 2 lbs chicken thighs ,skinless/boneless
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 lb. pumpkin or butternut squash ,dice to roughly 1 ½ -2 inch large chunks
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk
- 10 oz. frozen spinach , defrosted & squeezed out liquid
- 2-3 tbsp coconut yogurt (optional)
Instructions
- Blend garlic, ginger, chili, coconut, and cilantro in a mini food chopper (a 4-cup work bowl). Pulse a few times until they are finely chopped. Set aside in one bowl. Combine cayenne, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and sea salt in a second bowl. Set aside.
- In a 6-quart Instant Pot, press Saute function – when the panel shows Hot, add 2 tbsp ghee and 2 shallots. Season with a pinch of salt and saute until fragrant (about 10 seconds). Add chicken thighs and lightly sear them for about 2 minutes each side. Press Cancel.
- Add 1 cup chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the inner pot to deglaze and make sure nothing is stick to the bottom. Add 2 tbsp tomato paste, blended herbs, and the rest of dry spice seasonings under ‘homemade korma paste’’. Give it a stir then add diced butternut squash or pumpkins on top of the chicken. Close the lid – Seal the valve – Manual – High pressure – 10 minutes. Wait 15 minutes then quick release.
- Add coconut milk and spinach to the pot. Gently stir and garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley. (Optional) Stir-in 2-3 tbsp coconut yogurt. Serve over lightly sautéed cauliflower rice, broccoli rice, zucchini noodles, roasted potatoes, or steamed rice for gluten-free meal.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love curry? Check out my Chicken Khao Soi (Chiang Mai Curry Noodles), Chicken korma, Thai green curry chicken, Sri Lankan pumpkin soup, Thai curry meatball soup, Lamb Korma, Thai Red Curry Chicken, Dutch oven whole roasted Thai chicken curry, and Instant Pot Butter Chicken!
I LOVED this dish! I can’t wait to make it again. Well done!
Thank you so much, Alyssa. So happy to hear that!
The pumpkin in there has me drooling, I need this!!
So delicious! My only change was to remove the chicken and use my immersion blender to blend the squash into the sauce.
That sounds fabulous, too!
This is even more than the sum of it’s parts, and the parts are pretty darn awesome. I went with just pumpkin (no chicken around), kobocha, actually, and four small carrots. And I didn’t have shallots, so just used half an onion. Everything thing else I followed to a tee. Well, I toasted the herbs and the paste before deglazing, like I’ve been taught from other Indian recipes. Although if you choose to omit the chicken like I did, I would recommend going only 6-8m pressure, as I’d have loved the squash a little less cooked (it wasn’t mush, but it def was slightly over cooked). Usually I futz with recipes after a first attempt, but this one is a keeper as is. That korma paste is my new favourite thing. I can’t stop raving about this whole dish! I served it with saffron rice, cilantro and yogurt.
We made this in the IPot with the butternut squash. It was absolutely delicious!! I was the only one eating it in our household and I ate it for lunches and dinners until it was gone. Never got tired of it, and want to make it again with pumpkin next time.
Thanks for sharing, Cyndi!
Loved this! How do I make it more curry like and spicy? I needed more of a kick/heat!
Hi Natasha, you can add more chili peppers (fresh) or dry pepper flakes. Use more curry powder too. Have fun cooking!
This dish and its flavors look absolutely amazing! This is the perfect dish to add to our menu now that the weather is cooling down.
Thank you, Kathryn. I appreciate it!
Excited to try this in my Ipot! I appreciate the step-by-step instructions (i am still a novice) This recipe is SO adaptable too… It lends itself to changing up the spice quotient and adding a little extra of this/that and leaving out.. I love cilantro but flat parsley works if guests for dinner are not in the ‘fan of cilantro’ camp!
YUM! Thanks!
It’s that time of year for everything pumpkin! This looks delicious!
I love that you incorporated pumpkin in this SAVORY recipe! And yay for the Instant Pot… where we would all be without that gadget??