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!
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!
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.
PrintRecipe
Curried Butternut Squash, Lentil and Chicken Stew
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4-5 1x
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
- 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
- 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.
- 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
Coby
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!
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Coby - I love that you turned this into a delicious vegetarian dish. Thanks for sharing the details!
Cathy S
This is an excellent recipe. I modified it by adding a can of coconut milk and some chopped dried apricots. The result is outstanding.
Lisa
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 🙂
Bonnie
I make this quite often, and usually leave out the chicken, but all else the same. Fabulous served over bulgur! Thank you!
Lisa
Hi Bonnie - I really like your idea to make this vegetarian. I'm so glad you enjoyed. Thanks for your note.
Karin
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.
Dani
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!!
Lisa
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!
Eliza
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!
Catherine Jenkinson
This was absolutely delicious - I'll be adding it to my regular cycle of recipes! Thank you!
Lisa
I'm so glad 🙂 Thanks for your comment Catherine!
Suzie russin
I am having trouble printing the recipes. My page is blank. Any ideas?
Lisa
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
Beth (OMG! Yummy)
Love the flavors and technique here! Going to give this or a close variation of it a try.
Kristen Chidsey
This does look like such a hearty, healthy soup to stay warm with!
Julius Svoboda
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.
Lisa
Yummy ideas. Let me know how it turns out!
Nellie
Looks like the perfect fall recipe! Your photos are amazing too!
Lisa
Thank you Nellie!
Megan @ MegUnprocessed
So many great flavors here!
Heather
This would be the perfect meal for the rainy day we're having