Categories: DinnersFun Recipes

Chris’ Butternut Squash Chicken Curry

Ready for another family favorite? Chris’s Butternut Squash Chicken Curry is one of our go-to cozy meals. It’s flavorful, packed full of protein, and actually manages to get my daughter to eat some veggies.

We love to grab a bag of pulled rotisserie chicken and a container of butternut squash from Costco, and we end up eating curry for almost a week.

I love to serve this curry over rice made in our DASH mini rice cooker*, but it’s filling enough on it’s own. It also pairs well with naan and similar flatbreads.

A Traditional Recipe Made Fresh

Chris originally got this recipe from his mom’s cookbook. Over the years, he tweaked and changed the recipe to make it his own. However, those tweaks are tricky to track.

Chris often adds more fish sauce, more sugar, and more veggies on a whim. Depending on what’s in season, Chris swaps out squash for potatoes or beef for chicken. The recipe is never quite the same each time.

When I asked Chris how to make it, he shrugged his shoulders and said “go with your heart” on a lot of the instructions. So here’s the closest approximation to Chris’s curry. It will give you a good base to experiment with until you make the perfect curry for yourself.

Chris Butternut Squash Coconut Chicken Curry

A family favorite that has been passed down through the years – with a few tweaks. This curry is both flavorful and filling.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Butternut Squash Coconut Chicken Curry, Butternut Squash Curry, Chicken Curry, Coconut Curry

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Servings 4

Calories 345kcal

Ingredients

120 Grams Coconut Cream (1/2 Cup)
453 Grams Chicken, sliced into 2-inch by 1-inch Strips* (1 Pound)
906 Grams Butternut Squash, Peeled and cubed (2 Pounds)
30 Grams Fish Sauce (2 Tablespoons)
12.5 Grams Brown Sugar (1 Tablespoon)
3 Grams Salt (1/2 Teaspoon)
10 Grams Fresh Basil (1/2 Cup)

Instructions

In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, bring the coconut cream to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to maintain gentle boil and continue for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The cream with thicken and become fragrant.
When tiny pools of oil glisten on the surface of the cream, add curry paste and stir until fully dissolved. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the chicken and stir-fry to coat evenly. Cook for 2 minutes.
Increase heat and add coconut milk, squash, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt. Stir well. Maintain a gentle boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When the chicken is cooked through and the squash is tender, stir in half (1/4 cup) basil leaves. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil leaves on top and serve over rice.

Notes

This recipe is a family favorite due to its flexibility. Here are some of the common changes we make:

Use beef instead of chicken
Use pumpkin or any hard winter squash (that’s peeled and cubed) instead of butternut squash
Use potatoes instead of squash, or mix 1 pound potatoes with 1 pound of squash
Sweet potatoes also work well instead of butternut squash
Sneak in more vegetables by adding chunks of zucchini or yellow squash about 3 minutes before adding the basil.

Feel free to add more fish sauce, sugar, or curry paste to your own personal tastes and preferences, too.

Did You Try It?

I love it when my friends and family try my recipes. But I also love making improvements to already favorite foods. If you have feedback or suggestions for Chris’ Butternut Squash Chicken Curry, let me know in the comment section below. And don’t forget to leave a star rating if you enjoyed our curry!

If you have your own favorite curry recipes that you’d like us to try, please reach out to me through the contact me page. We love exploring new foods and flavors, and your recipe may become one of our favorites, too.

*I am an Amazon associate, and I do earn a small commission for affiliate links. I do not earn anything for my opinions, however, so I only share products that I use and enjoy.

Jennibee