This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.
The perfect way to get your veggie quota in a super delicious way! This wonderful Chicken, Carrot and Chickpea Coconut Curry is loaded with healthy veggies, lean protein and fabulous flavor!
Make-ahead, one-pot, super-healthy and fabulous-flavor loaded. Am I done? That's most of what you need to know about this delicious Chicken, Carrot and Chickpea Coconut Curry
Well, maybe a few more things...
I said this curry was loaded with fabulous flavor. It starts out with onions, garlic, curry powder, fresh ginger and lemongrass all sautéed together in a few spoonfuls of coconut oil. Sautéing all these ingredients together, helps them "bloom" which just means their flavor is intensified. There's also a splash of fish sauce. A word about fish sauce: DO NOT smell it. Take it from me, it stinks. But just a dash adds delicious, authentic Thai flavor that can't be obtained with anything else.
You'll definitely get your quota of veggies in this one-pot wonder. There's onions, carrots and potatoes in the sauce. After simmering in chicken broth until nice and tender, these veggies are pureed until silky smooth with an immersion or regular blender. Then there are more veggies; another generous helping of carrots and lots of healthy chickpeas are simmered again until tender.
At this point you're almost done. My favorite technique for keeping chicken super tender in a dish like this is so simple. You just slip thin-sliced, bite-size pieces of chicken into the simmering sauce, bring it back to a simmer, cover the pot and turn off the heat. Walk away for 10 minutes and when you return, the chicken will be perfectly done and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Chicken tends to get tough and dry when it's over-cooked - that doesn't happen with this easy method!
Guess what? More veggies! Yup, the last step is to add mushrooms (sautéed) and a bag of tiny, sweet, frozen peas. They're already cooked so they'll just finish thawing in the hot liquid and add lots more great nutrition and a pretty polka dot of green.
I like to garnish the already beautiful curry with tiny-diced red bell peppers, as well as fresh basil and cilantro leaves. You could also use just one of these, or, if you're in a very "herby" mood, add fresh mint leaves along with the basil and cilantro. I found lots of tiny basil leaves in my herb garden. If yours are large, just slice them into thin ribbons. Do use at least one type of fresh herb when serving this dish, you'll love the fabulous layer of flavor it adds.
So there you have it, I guess there was more to say than I thought about this Chicken, Carrot and Chickpea Coconut Curry. Oh yeah, one last thing - I like to make it a day in advance, as the flavors keep getting better as they have a chance to meld. That's a good thing - it not only makes this a perfect company dish, but also a wonderful treasure to have stashed away for quick, easy meals on busy weekdays. It reheats beautifully in the microwave, so it's also great for work lunches.
Serve this curry with rice, couscous, new potatoes, naan, flatbread - or on it's own. Enjoy!
P.S. Have trouble getting rice just right? I recently purchased a rice cooker. This Aroma 8 cup Rice Cooker comes highly recommended by Cooks Illustrated. And for good reason - the rice comes out perfect, like the kind you find at a good Asian restaurant. You can also make the rice ahead of time and it keeps it warm and perfectly cooked. I really like that it has a very small footprint too, so it doesn't take up much space when storing.
LOTS OF PEOPLE ASK WHAT KIND OF COOKWARE, SMALL APPLIANCES, CUTLERY, ETC. I USE IN THE KITCHEN. HERE'S WHAT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE.
Scroll Down for the Recipe - or Save It to Your Inbox
We’ll email you the recipe so it’s easy to save, print, or share.
Chicken, Carrot and Chickpea Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 large onion
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh lemongrass
- 2 teaspoons curry powder*
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 10 medium carrots, divided
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce**
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 large potato
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 2 14- ounce cans chick peas, rinsed and drained
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 10 ounce bag tiny frozen green peas
- ½ medium red bell pepper, finely diced, for garnish
- basil, mint and cilantro leaves, if desired for garnish
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Add mushrooms, ½ teaspoon salt and a grind of black pepper. Sauté until mushrooms are tender, golden brown and liquid has evaporated (mushrooms will be dry at first, then give off a watery liquid which will evaporate as they cook). Remove from pan to a small bowl, cover and set aside.
- While mushrooms are cooking, scrub and roughly chop 5 of the carrots and thinly slice the remaining 5 (no need to peel unless skin is very dirty and rough). Peel potato and roughly chop it. Roughly chop the onion. Thinly slice the chicken into bite size pieces and refrigerate until ready to use. Set everything else aside in separate bowls. Remove peas from freezer and set aside to thaw.
- Heat coconut oil in same Dutch oven (or soup pot) over medium-low heat until melted. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, lemongrass and curry powder. Continue to cook for a minute or two until nice and fragrant.
- Add chicken broth, carrots, potato, brown sugar and fish sauce** and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until carrots and potato are very tender, about 20-25 minutes.
- When carrots are soft, carefully blend the soup in batches in a regular blender*** or use an immersion hand blender and puree until smooth. Add coconut milk and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Return to pot (if you used a regular blender) and add sliced carrots and drained chickpeas. Bring sauce to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until carrots are very tender, about 20-25 minutes.
- With sauce simmering, add sliced chicken. Stir and return to a simmer, then cover and remove from heat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, covered, then add peas and reserved mushrooms. Stir to combine.
- Serve garnished with finely diced bell pepper* and fresh basil, cilantro and mint leaves. You can also use just one of the herbs. If leaves are large, slice into thin ribbons.
Notes
Nutrition
Shop Our Café Loves
We’ve gathered our favorite kitchen tools, tableware, and entertaining treasures in one place, the Café Loves store. It’s a wonderful spot to find something special for yourself or the cooks and hosts you love!
I really enjoyed this recipe! The base of carrots and potatoes and spices made a wonderful sauce for this dish. I made this vegetarian using veggie broth and Quorn chick'n pieces. It was delicious and enjoyed by everyone!
Wonderful! Thanks for the review, Rita!
Made this curry and it is truly amazing. Thank you so much.
Awesome! Thank you, Tom!
Cannot wait to make this! I have some skin on chicken thighs that I would like to use. Might I sear the thighs and add them with their crispy skins at the end of the recipe?
Hi Dave, that would be delicious!
Awesome and it will be made again.
I started making it and was part way through when I got to instruction #5 and realized it was a “soup”. I added a heaping spoonful of Thai red curry paste because we are fans of spicy foods.
Loved it and have shared your recipe with a few others.
Thanks for sharing your results, Maureen!
This curry has more of a Thai Curry flavor to me. I realized this half way through making it the first time. It's sweet and tangy with the brown sugar and lemongrass. It does have a well rounded flavor profile. Making it again, I wanted a savory curry and omitted the brown sugar and still tasted great, the pureed carrots gave it plenty of sweetness. I did not have lemongrass and search for a substitute online. One tablespoon of lemon zest seemed to give it that tanginess of the lemongrass. I ran out of coconut milk and substituted for whipping cream. Both version with coconut milk and whipping cream tasted great in the sauce. I don't have much experience cooking with Fish Sauce so I started out with one teaspoon. I'm glad I did. More than that, I think it would have been too fishy for my taste. Next time I may try adding shrimp. All in all this is a great versatile recipe.
Thanks for sharing your results, Acloria!
This was amazing! The flavors blended so well together. I did omit the chicken and used better than bullion veggie flavor instead of chicken broth. I did use red boat fish sauce. I served the curry over basmati rice. I thought afterwards that I should have doubled the mushrooms since I skipped the chicken. The mushrooms were so delicious, the entire dish was delicious!!
Thank you so much for this beautiful recipe. My husband I loved it!!! Two thumbs ☝
Thanks, Natalie for sharing your review. I'm so happy you enjoyed it and I love your adaptations!
When do the mushrooms come back in?
Hi Mary-Kay, thanks for noticing that. It's at the very end. I've added that to the recipe. I appreciate having extra eyes out there!
I have already prepared this recipe more than once, it´s delicious !. Thank you!
(In the recipe it does not indicate it, but I add the mushrooms with peas)
Thanks so much Sonia, I will correct the recipe. So happy you've enjoyed it!
Hi Chris: just wanted to point out that the recipe calls for 4 cups low sodium chicken. (I believe you forgot the word "broth"). It may confuse some new cooks, lol.
Thanks so much Debbie! Corrected! I love having extra "eyes" out there!
How much chicken do you use?
Thanks for noticing that Kimberlin, somehow the amount got deleted. It's one pound and I added that back into the recipe.
Hello from Canada, Chris. In the ingredients you say that 4 cups of low-sodium chicken is required. I assume you mean low-sodium chicken broth? Can you please confirm, thank you!
Yes Angie that is correct, thanks for noticing that!
Amazing flavor! My family loved it
That's wonderful Suze, so happy you enjoyed it!
Love the bright colors in your curry and I bet the flavor is as delicious as it is pretty.
Such a gorgeous curry!! Picture perfect, and, oh, so yummy! I love that the peas are still green---excellent tip!!! Have a marvelous weekend!!!
Love curry. Any and all. This looks terrific -- and it's rainy here today, so this would be perfect! Thanks so much.
Stunning looking curry, it makes me hungry! Good idea about cooking the chicken pieces, I will keep that in mind! I do the same when cooking a fish stew or curry, but never tried with chicken.
I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful curry, Chris. The colours and flavours are lip-smacking! For the hundredth time, I'm wishing I was your neighbour!
Such a beautiful dish Chris, looks like there must be tons of flavor. Looks delicious!
The nights are cooling off and the mornings are starting to feel chilly here. I'm already craving warming meals and your curry looks beyond delicious. Can't wait to give this a try!
Wow Chris - this is absolutely beautiful! All in one pot is terrific too but the combination of flavors and colors has really drawn me in. I bet it really is delicious. Have a great week!
The colour, flavour and presentation...everything is just perfect!
I can almost smell the wonderful aroma that must fill the house while this curry is cooking! What a perfect pot of deliciousness for the cool fall nights ahead. I am really interested in trying your tender chicken tip. I always use white meat chicken and drying out can be a problem you've solved! ( techie note: The link to the fish sauce seems to be linking to the curry powder. 🙂 )
What a delicious sounding dish. It is getting that time of year for heartier fare. The photos make me want to go get a spoon and dip into the curry!
Have a wonderful week, Chris.
It must be getting chilly there already. I know our days this past weekend were amazing, almost Indian Summer-like. I have to agree with you on that fish sauce, it does stink but adds great flavor. Great recipe and so pretty!
Oh the colors Chris! Looks terrifc!
I know, I love the color! Thanks Monique!
Beautiful curry! I'm especially going to send this on to my daughter, who is always looking for delicious, hearty vegetarian dishes like this. She'll love it too 🙂
Thanks Jennifer! I think she will enjoy it, with all those yummy veggies!
This is right up my alley, I could live on this stuff! I like that you add the mushrooms and peas at the last minute, it all looks so colorful and full of contrasting textures.
Thanks Sue, I'm such a sucker for curries too, especially coconut curries 🙂
You have managed to make a dish that IS fall!! Wish I could smell it. And again, so healthy. I have never fish sauce! Guess I am chicken.
Thanks Ginny. It does take a bit of courage to use fish sauce but the flavor it adds is fabulous, not fishy!