Thai Chicken Cauliflower Curry — 🧡💚 An EASY, one-skillet curry that’s ready in 20 minutes and tastes BETTER than a restaurant! Loaded with protein from tender chicken and chickpeas along with cauliflower, carrots, and spinach for incredible texture in every bite! The Thai-inspired coconut milk broth makes this healthy comfort food taste AMAZING!
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Easy Cauliflower Thai Curry Recipe
This chicken and cauliflower chickpea curry is ready faster than you can call for takeout and tastes just as good — or better — than you’d find in a Thai restaurant. Yes, I said it.
It’s hearty yet healthy comfort food that’s layered with Thai-inspired flavors and is naturally gluten-free.
I could drink the coconut milk broth or prepare it as a soup — it’s that good and it keeps the chicken so juicy and moist.
While there’s natural sweetness from the sweet Vidalia onions, carrots, and the coconut milk, the lime juice add the perfect acidic notes to balance the flavors.
I love all the textures in every bite from the tender (but not mushy in the least) cauliflower and carrots, the hearty chickpeas, and the juicy chicken, along with wilted spinach and cilantro.
What’s in the Chicken Cauliflower Curry?
For this healthier cauliflower curry recipe, you’ll need:
- Coconut oil
- Sweet Vidalia onion
- Chicken breasts
- Ground ginger and coriander
- Coconut milk
- Chickpeas
- Cauliflower florets
- Carrots
- Thai red curry paste
- Fresh spinach
- Lime juice
- Fresh cilantro
- Sugar (optional)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken Cauliflower Curry
I am a huge Thai curry fan and was craving something with Thai red curry paste, coconut milk, and plenty of veggies. This easy, one-skillet curry that’s ready in 20 minutes was absolutely perfect.
There’s cauliflower, chickpeas and chicken along with sweet Vidalia onions, carrots, and spinach. Everything simmers in creamy coconut milk that’s spiced with garlic, ginger, coriander, and Thai red curry paste before adding lime lime juice, spinach, and cilantro.
The fresh cilantro and the lime juice really add a pop of tangy freshness and balance the warming flavors of the ginger, coriander, and red curry paste.
- Add the oil, onion, chicken, and sauté over medium-high heat until the onion begins to soften and the chicken is cooked through about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the coconut milk, chickpeas, cauliflower, carrots, Thai curry paste, salt, pepper, stir to combine, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low, cover the skillet, and allow the mixture to steam.
- Add the spinach, lime juice, cilantro, and stir to combine. Cook until the spinach has wilted and is tender, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning balance and serve!
Tips for Making Cauliflower Coconut Curry
There is heat from the ginger and the Thai red curry paste and for this curry I used about half of the (small) jar, about 1/3 cup. I realize this may be too much for some people so start with 1 to 2 tablespoons, and work up from there.
I love this Thai red curry paste for its smooth and rich flavor profile and don’t find the paste to be overly spicy, but as a caveat, I adore spicy food. If you don’t, scale back the amount of curry paste you use.
Recipe FAQs
I used full fat coconut milk but have used lite in previous curry recipes and it may not be quite as rich, but it’s still great.
Of course! If you’d like to keep this a vegetarian cauliflower chickpea curry recipe, simply omit it. If desired, add an extra can of chickpeas to compensate and bulk up the curry.
If you have extra vegetables you want to incorporate such as bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, or edamame, go for it. I would add them when you add the coconut milk.
Feel free to serve it over or alongside rice. Basmati or jasmine rice are great with it. You can use cauliflower rice, too, to keep the cauliflower vibes going strong if you’d like.
Extra curry will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months, noting the texture of the veggies will be softer if you freeze/thaw them. Reheat leftovers in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
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Cauliflower, Chickpea, and Chicken Coconut Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut oil, olive oil may be substituted
- 1 medium/large sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, diced small
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 2 to 3 teaspoons ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- one 14-ounce can coconut milk, I used full-fat for a richer/thicker result but lite may be substituted
- one 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I used no-salt added)
- 4 to 5 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 small/medium head of cauliflower
- 1 to 1 ½ cups shredded carrots
- 1 to 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, or to taste (I used about half of the jar for this recipe, approximately 1/3 cup but adore spicy bold flavors)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- about 3 to 4 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ to ⅓ cup fresh cilantro or to taste, finely chopped for garnishing (basil may be substituted)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated or brown sugar, optional and to taste
- rice, quinoa, or naan, optional for serving
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the oil, onion, chicken, and sauté over medium-high heat until the onion begins to soften and the chicken is cooked through about 5 minutes; stir and flip intermittently to ensure even cooking.
- Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir frequently.
- Add the coconut milk, chickpeas, cauliflower, carrots, Thai curry paste, salt, pepper, stir to combine, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low, cover the skillet, and allow the mixture to steam, or until cauliflower is as tender as desired. For me, 5 minutes is sufficient.
- Add the spinach, lime juice, cilantro, and stir to combine. Cook until the spinach has wilted and is tender, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Taste and optionally add the sugar as well as possibly additional curry paste, salt, pepper, etc. to taste. Serve immediately. Curry will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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So yummy, great for all the family. Perfect with rice, but was great on a savoury pancake for pancake day. Highly recommend.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Emily, and I am glad this was great for all your family!
This recipe is so delicious! I had a packet of Thai curry paste and wanted to use it and this was perfect. The only issue I ran into was the cauliflower didnโt cook full through so I just left it simmering a bit longer at the very end. I added quite a bit of lime, cilantro and salt. And I also used full fat coconut milk for full flavor! Thank you!
This recipe is so delicious! I had a packet of Thai curry paste and wanted to use it and this was perfect. The only issue I ran into was the cauliflower didnโt cook full through so I just left it simmering a bit longer at the very end. I added quite a bit of lime, cilantro and salt. And I also used full fat coconut milk for full flavor! Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you were able to use your curry paste! Cauliflower of all veggies (other than potatoes) can be the most stubborn to cook through, so yes always simmer until it’s tender. Chop your pieces smaller next time so they cook quicker as a tip.
great
This is probably the best Pinterest recipe Iโve ever made. It was so delicious. I added red bell pepper and tomato and served on rice. Iโm looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.
This is probably the best Pinterest recipe Iโve ever made. It was so delicious. I added red bell pepper and tomato and served on rice. Iโm looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was the best recipe you’ve ever made that you found on Pinterest!
If you like curries similar to this one, I have a whole slew of similar choices https://www.averiecooks.com/tag/curry/ I hope you try other recipes, whatever looks good to you!
This was delicious! I didn’t change a thing. So good, felt like Thai take-out made at home. Thank you!
This was delicious! I didn’t change a thing. So good, felt like Thai take-out made at home. Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it felt like Thai takeout at home and you didn’t need to change a thing!
We did love this!! I really needed a quick meal yesterday and this was perfect. Lots of flavor but not too spicy. I’ll definitely make it again!
We did love this!! I really needed a quick meal yesterday and this was perfect. Lots of flavor but not too spicy. I’ll definitely make it again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad so glad you loved it and that you will definitely make it again! That’s awesome :)
I have really enjoyed your curry recipes and would love to try this too! I just spotted a can of coconut milk in the back of my pantry last week and was thinking I should make something with it so thanks for the inspiration!
This was so good and if you have coconut milk to use, and are enjoying the curry recipes, I think you will love this!