This is one of my favorite anti-inflammatory diet meals! This butternut squash Thai curry is so incredibly flavorful and versatile. It packs an immune-building punch with all of the inflammation-fighting foods in this recipe. This meal is one that I love to make for company or if I’m bringing a meal to someone – it’s unique and delicious.
Butternut squash is an incredible food – packed with vitamin A and vitamin C, which help with immune function and are powerful antioxidants. It also happens to be relatively low in calories, which is a double win!
If you’re battling with chronic pain or any kind of inflammatory issue, exercising regularly and eating an anti-inflammatory diet could help reduce the inflammation in your body. What we eat can either speed up or slow down the inflammatory processes throughout our bodies. That’s why I try to keep an anti-inflammatory diet regimen throughout the week – which can be tricky when you’re cooking for others, including a picky husband, a toddler and a baby!
My husband (a picky eater) and my kids (not-so-picky eaters) LOVE this meal. Even my one-year-old shovels this curry into his mouth. I typically add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to cool the curry a bit for them.
This recipe is versatile. It can easily be made vegetarian/vegan if you omit the chicken. The vegetables in here (butternut squash, sweet potato) can readily be swapped out with one another. For example, you could use 4 cups of sweet potato OR 4 cups of butternut squash if you only want one over the other. You could also substitute carrots or other squash in place of one of the vegetables.
If I’m making this on a weeknight with little prep time, I’ll purchase the sweet potatoes and butternut squash already cubed instead of cutting them up myself. Frozen vegetables can also be used – it just may make the curry more mushy, so I recommend using less vegetable broth if you plan to use frozen butternut squash or sweet potato.
If you’re looking for more anti-inflammatory meals, check out this post about Anti-Inflammatory Meals for the Whole Family.
If you’re looking for simple anti-inflammatory meals that you can make on a weeknight for the whole family, check out my 7-Day Anti-Inflammatory Diet Meal Plan & Guide!
Anti-Inflammatory Thai Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small yellow onion
- 0.5 pound chicken cut into cubes (optional – can be made vegetarian)
- 1 inch ginger root grated
- 1/2 tbsp yellow curry powder
- 3 tbsp red curry paste add more to taste
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- salt & pepper
- 2 cups butternut squash cubed
- 2 cups sweet potatoes cubed
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or fish sauce/soy free soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
Toppings & Base
- Jasmine rice or rice noodles
- Lime wedge
- Chopped cashews
- Cilantro
- Plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Prep vegetables: chop onion, sweet potato, butternut squash. Mince garlic. Grate ginger. Cube chicken.
- Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a large pot. Saute onion, garlic and ginger until onion is translucent. Season chicken with the dry spices and add chicken to the pan, saute until cooked through.
- Add butternut squash, sweet potato and garbanzo beans. Mix in red curry paste and stir until everything is coated. Add coconut milk and vegetable broth and bring curry to a simmer, stirring. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through and softened.
- Optional: you can take one or two cups of the curry and blend it until smooth, then mix together with the rest of the curry. This gives it a creamier texture.
- Pour over jasmine rice and top with cilantro, lime juice and chopped cashews. Mix a dollop of plain Greek yogurt for a creamy, cooling topping.
Inspired by Little Spice Jar’s Creamy Thai Curry.
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