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Home » Recipes » Chicken

Curried Butternut Squash, lentil, and Chicken Stew

October 24, 2016 Updated August 24, 2021 by Lisa Goldfinger 22 Comments This post may contain affiliate links

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a black bowl filled with a stew of curry butternut squash, chicken and lentils

This Curried Butternut Squash, lentil and Chicken Stew is a warm and comforting one-pot dinner that comes together fast. It's low-fat, dairy-free, gluten-free and absolutely delicious!Bowl of curried butternut squash, lentil, and chicken stew with a sprig of cilantro.

With fall in full swing, it's a fine time for a soul-warming butternut squash stew. I developed this recipe in a flash of inspiration. It usually takes me days and sometimes weeks to develop a recipe. But it was five o'clock on Friday night and I suddenly knew what I wanted for dinner.

I was craving a satisfying (but healthy) stew with shredded chicken and butternut squash. I wanted creaminess without cream or fat. Red lentils were the answer.

I love how red lentils melt into soups and stews and make them thick and creamy. By 7:30pm I had been to the grocery store and back, and Eddie and I were digging into bowls of delicious curried butternut squash, lentil and chicken stew.

TIPS FOR QUICK AND DELICIOUS CHICKEN STEW

This is a great chicken stew for weeknights because it takes only 15 minutes to prep. Just sauté garlic, ginger and onions, add squash cubes and curry powder and simmer for a few minutes. Add red lentils and broth and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in shredded chicken, lime juice and cilantro and dinner is ready!

  • Look for butternut squash at the store that's already peeled. If you can find it already cubed, even better.
  • Use leftover chicken or buy a rotisserie chicken so all you have to do is shred the breast meat and toss it in the pot.
  • If you can't find cooked chicken, buy one pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts and follow this easy recipe for how to make perfect poached chicken.  You'll have plenty of time to poach and shred the chicken while the squash is simmering.

Serve the chicken stew in bowls topped with chopped cilantro. Yum!

This curried butternut squash, lentil, and chicken stew is a warm and comforting one-pot dinner. Plus it's dairy-free, gluten-free and totally delicious!

RECIPE VARIATIONS:

  • Make it a soup: If you're in the mood for soup rather than stew, add 2 additional cups of chicken broth.
  • Amp up the veggies: For a dose of healthy greens, add a few handfuls of chopped spinach or kale to the pot in the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Here's the recipe for Curried Butternut Squash, Lentil, and Chicken Stew. I love hearing from you and knowing how you're enjoying the recipes here on Panning The Globe. If you make this recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment to let me know what you think.

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Recipe

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Here's an easy recipe for Curried Butternut Squash, Lentil and Chicken Stew. It's a warm and comforting one-pot dinner that's dairy-free, gluten-free, low-fat and delicious!

Curried Butternut Squash, Lentil and Chicken Stew


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

  • Author: Lisa
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 4-5 1x
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Description

This curried chicken, squash and red lentil stew is low-fat, gluten free, dairy-free and absolutely delicious! Plus you can make it with just 15 minutes of prep.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped (1 ½ cups chopped onion)
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic (3 medium garlic cloves)
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced peeled ginger root
  • 1 ½ pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder (preferably mild Madras Curry Powder)
  • ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or ½ teaspoon Maras pepper or ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes)
  • 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (use the breast meat from a rotisserie chicken or poach 1 pound of chicken breasts)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves, divided

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger to the pot and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add squash and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes longer. Add curry powder and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, to toast the curry powder. Add lentils, broth and water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered for 25 minutes. Stir in shredded chicken, lime juice and ¼ cup cilantro. Cook for another minute or so, just until everything is heated through.
  2. Serve in bowls with a generous sprinkle of cilantro to garnish
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Category: Stew
  • Method: simmer
  • Cuisine: East Africa

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

 

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Filed Under: Africa, All Recipes, Chicken, Dinner, Fall Favorites, Quick and Easy, Stew Tagged With: dairy-free, easy weeknight dinner, gluten-free, paleo

Reader Interactions

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  1. Coby

    January 03, 2023 at 4:39 pm

    I really enjoyed this - it was so flavorful! I left out the chicken, and added kale and fresh green beans to bump up the veggies. Served it with a crusty bread. Delicious!

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      January 05, 2023 at 11:17 am

      Hi Coby - I love that you turned this into a delicious vegetarian dish. Thanks for sharing the details!

      Reply
  2. Cathy S

    November 05, 2022 at 4:37 pm

    This is an excellent recipe. I modified it by adding a can of coconut milk and some chopped dried apricots. The result is outstanding.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      November 07, 2022 at 9:53 am

      Hi Cathy - thanks for coming back to leave a comment. I'm really happy to hear this recipe is working out so well for you. I love the idea of adding dried apricots - thanks for the tip 🙂

      Reply
  3. Bonnie

    March 19, 2022 at 3:04 am

    I make this quite often, and usually leave out the chicken, but all else the same. Fabulous served over bulgur! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      March 19, 2022 at 2:48 pm

      Hi Bonnie - I really like your idea to make this vegetarian. I'm so glad you enjoyed. Thanks for your note.

      Reply
  4. Karin

    May 10, 2020 at 11:37 am

    A most awesome dish! My family loved it and it's on our favorite list. I definitely recommend it.
    P.S.: Since I haven't had any red lentils, I did it with green Lentils.

    Reply
  5. Dani

    November 20, 2017 at 4:39 pm

    I love this recipe, and the first time I made it, my foodie friends devoured it. I doubled the recipe and was embarrassed because they were scraping the bottom of the pan...I could have had more. I love to use my pressure cooker, and it’s no different with this recipe. Sauté onion and large chunks of chicken for 5 min, then scraped it to the side to create a small space to toast the curry. Then add the chicken broth, close the lid, and cook for 15 minutes after it’s pressurized. Then I pull the chicken out and shred it and add it back to the pot with lentils and butternut squash and cook till squash is tender. I usually make it the day before I serve it to let the flavors meld. New family favorite!!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      November 21, 2017 at 3:42 am

      I'm SO happy to hear that you're loving this recipe Dani. Thanks for explaining how to make it in a pressure cooker - I'll definitely give that a try!

      Reply
    • Eliza

      February 27, 2023 at 2:24 pm

      Hi Dani! Thanks for sharing the pressure cooker instructions. I couldn’t tell - do you add the lentils and butternut squash after you pressure cook the chicken, and then do you pressure cook again once you’ve added them? Thank you in advance!

      Reply
  6. Catherine Jenkinson

    May 05, 2017 at 5:15 am

    This was absolutely delicious - I'll be adding it to my regular cycle of recipes! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      May 05, 2017 at 5:24 pm

      I'm so glad 🙂 Thanks for your comment Catherine!

      Reply
  7. Suzie russin

    December 08, 2016 at 11:16 am

    I am having trouble printing the recipes. My page is blank. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Lisa

      December 08, 2016 at 11:56 am

      Hi Suzie, I'm sorry. Not sure why that's happening. There was just an update to Wordpress so perhaps that resolved the problem. Please try again and let me know if it works now. You can email me directly at lisa@panningtheglobe.com

      Reply
  8. Beth (OMG! Yummy)

    November 07, 2016 at 10:30 am

    Love the flavors and technique here! Going to give this or a close variation of it a try.

    Reply
  9. Kristen Chidsey

    November 07, 2016 at 8:28 am

    This does look like such a hearty, healthy soup to stay warm with!

    Reply
  10. Julius Svoboda

    October 30, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    Great recipe! Added a bit of brown sugar and had to leave out the Aleppo for So Liam could eat it. I think a can of coconut milk would add some wonderful richness. I'll let you know how it goes.

    Reply
    • Lisa

      October 31, 2016 at 8:55 am

      Yummy ideas. Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  11. Nellie

    October 28, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    Looks like the perfect fall recipe! Your photos are amazing too!

    Reply
    • Lisa

      October 28, 2016 at 4:20 pm

      Thank you Nellie!

      Reply
  12. Megan @ MegUnprocessed

    October 28, 2016 at 2:47 am

    So many great flavors here!

    Reply
  13. Heather

    October 27, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    This would be the perfect meal for the rainy day we're having

    Reply

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a black bowl filled with a stew of curry butternut squash, chicken and lentils

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