If you want to get a cozy, nutritious dinner on the table that everybody will enjoy eating, this hearty curry lentil chicken stew is the dish you're looking for! It's ready in under an hour and will nourish your whole family with plenty of fiber, protein, and flavor.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my pumpkin sausage soup with kale and white beans, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
One-Pot Wonderful - Everything comes together in the same pot for easy cleanup, making this creamy lentil and chicken stew simple enough for weeknight meals with just a few dishes.
Nutrient Dense - You'll get ample amounts of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates in this healthy chicken lentil soup for a truly balanced meal. It's great for babies and kids too, because it's so palatable. My toddler niece LOVES this curry!
👉🏾 Love satisfying one-pan meals as much as I do? Check out my sesame ground chicken stir fry, ground beef chili with red beans, turkey pot pie with puff pastry, and southern-style baked chicken and potatoes!
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What You'll Need for this Recipe
Lentils make this stew more filling and substantial. You can use either green or brown lentils depending on what's available. Brown lentils will cook slightly faster.
Aromatics like bell pepper, onion, carrot, and bay leaf complement the curry powder and other spices to create a flavor profile similar to a Caribbean-style curry, like this Jamaican curry shrimp!
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Double the Recipe - You can easily double this one pot chicken and lentil stew if you use a bigger stock pot.
Chicken - I've made this with boneless chicken cuts, including ground chicken, thighs, breasts, and tenders, so feel free to grab what's already in your kitchen. Just cut it into bite-sized pieces if you aren't using ground chicken. You can also substitute the meat for other poultry--lentil turkey stew tastes almost identical!
Crushed Tomatoes - You can use crushed or diced tomatoes, or even tomato sauce interchangeably, depending on how much texture you want in the finished stew.
Vegan - Omit the chicken and use vegetable broth to make this stew completely plant based.
How to Make Ground Chicken Lentil Stew
- Step One: Soak your lentils for an hour or two ahead of time. This step is optional, but helps them cook a little bit quicker and makes them easier to digest! (Photo 1)
- Step Two: Cook the ground chicken in oil, salt, and pepper, then remove from the pan. Meanwhile, dice the vegetables. (Photos 2 and 3)
- Step Three: Saute the chopped veggies and spices with more oil. (Photo 4)
Pro Tip #1
Soaking lentils is not required, as they have a pretty quick cooking time compared to other pulses like black eyed peas or black beans, however, soaking can make them easier to digest. (Times of India)
- Step Four: Stir in the broth, coconut milk, tomatoes, and bay leaf, then bring to a boil. (Photos 5 and 6)
- Step Five: Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender and stew is thick, adding the chicken back after about 15 minutes. (Photo 7)
Pro Tip #2
How long to cook lentils in a stew? In this recipe where I soak the lentils for 1-2 hours, they take about 30 minutes to cook through. If you don't soak them, they'll typically take another 15 minutes or so.
Pro Tip #3
Alternatively, you can add the chicken back at the end, but it won't have a chance to soak up more flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store your cooked stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It actually gets better with time, and keeps for up to five days, so it's meal prep friendly.
Yes, just cool it to room temperature first. I recommend dividing the stew into portions and freezing in individual airtight, freezer-safe containers or Souper Cubes (my preference) for easy reheating. Either way, they will keep for up to six months!
How to Serve
Temperature: Serve your lentil chicken curry soup hot for the best taste!
Pairings: While you don't need any sides to complete the meal, it goes well with easy yellow rice, brown rice, or even plain white rice. Or do a soup and salad vibe with massaged kale salad or chopped Mediterranean cucumber salad. Garnish it with chopped parsley or cilantro for extra razzle dazzle.
Occasions: This curried lentil soup with chicken is really comforting for supper on cool fall and winter nights, and great for when you need to feed a crowd because it doubles nicely.
Is this recipe good for people with PCOS?
Yes, easy meals like this curry lentil chicken soup are heavy in my rotation for helping manage my PCOS symptoms!
Eating adequate amounts of protein, fiber, and healthy fats, and in combinations that support stable blood sugar help us fight insulin resistance and nourish our hormones. (NIH, NIH, FNAH) Here are a few of the ingredients in this stew that do just that:
- Lentils are high in soluble and resistant starch-type fiber, which helps to slow digestion, stabilize blood sugar and insulin, and supports a healthy gut. (NIH)
- Carrots have both soluble and insoluble fiber, and are high in water but low in calories, so they help you feel fuller for longer. (Medical News Today)
- Ground Chicken provides complete protein to support immune function, muscle repair, and metabolic health. (Foodstruct)
Bonus: This dairy-free dish can also be a great seed-cycling recipe to support balance in every phase of the cycle! Sprinkle pumpkin seeds and flax seeds over top during the menstrual and follicular phases, and sunflower and sesame seeds during the ovulatory and luteal phases.
More Favorite Cozy Chicken Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this simple lentil stew recipe soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Curry Chicken Lentil Stew
Equipment
- 1 knife
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup dried lentils green or brown
- water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound ground chicken or boneless chicken breast or thighs
- sea salt to taste
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes, or tomato sauce
- 13 ounces coconut milk
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Prep the Ingredients: Add lentils to a bowl and cover by one inch with cool water. Soak for up to two hours, then drain. (optional)1 ¼ cup dried lentils, water
- Warm one tablespoon of oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Season chicken with a few pinches of salt and pepper, then add to pot and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from pot.3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 pound ground chicken, sea salt, ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- Meanwhile, dice carrot, onion, and bell pepper, and crush or mince the garlic.4 cups carrot, 1 onion, 1 bell pepper, 6 cloves garlic
- Build the Flavor: Reduce heat to medium, then add remaining olive oil, followed by prepped carrot, bell pepper, and onion, curry powder, ginger, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper. Cook until onion is tarting to soften and the mixture is very fragrant (about five minutes), then add garlic and cook for one minute more.1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Simmer and Serve: Pour in the lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk, and chicken broth, then stir to combine and add the bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil, then stir the chicken back in, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.28 ounces crushed tomatoes, 13 ounces coconut milk, 2 cups chicken broth, 1 bay leaf
- Simmer until the lentils are tender (about 30 minutes), then remove from heat and serve.
Elena says
My son LOVES this curry. I was skeptical when you said little ones like it but he ate it up and asked for more, which I obliged because it’s so nutritious. Thanks Jazz!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Yay! So happy to hear that, Elena. Thank you for your feedback.