Chicken and Swiss Chard Curry
Friends, I’m here to tell you today this Chicken and Swiss Chard Curry is a One-Pot-Wonder! It’s a super flavorful and healthy all-in-one dinner that just also happens to be gluten free, dairy free and paleo friendly.
I originally shared this recipe on October 3, 2011. I have updated the images and some of the text today.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Chicken and Swiss Chard Curry
I was debating calling this recipe Chicken and Chard with Coconut, Curry and Currants but I felt like that was a bit heavy on the alliteration. Don’t you think? To be honest, I didn’t even notice that all of the main ingredients started with the letter “C” until I sat down to type it up.
Honestly, the recipe came about because I have been repeatedly making simple sautéed chard with curry powder and currants.
I just go bananas over greens. [I must be vitamin deficient or something because I literally crave greens.] So anyway, the gist of what I’ve been doing is just sautéing the chard stems and onions in oil, adding in curry powder and currants and then finally wilting the greens. It is so simple but full-flavored. I have been loving it as a simple side-dish all season. So it made sense to share it here.
But then I realized it seemed like a great opportunity to make a healthy main course. So I added chicken for lean protein and light coconut milk to make a sauce. I served it with quinoa. I had to restrain myself from pairing it with Couscous or anything else starting with the letter C. Though that would be delish too!
One of my friends gave us a lovely bunch of greens. I decided to have a search for a recipe and came across this. So delicious and simple to make. Will be added to our “must eat again list”
Catherine
More Swiss Chard Recipes
Tips For Making This Chicken With Chard and Curry
- Coconut Milk- I reccomend buying “light” coconut milk. It still adds creamy coconut flavor, for far fewer calories than full fat coconut milk. Some common brands are Thai Kitchen and Native Forest. Shake the can before you open it, as the creamy fat rises to the top. Shaking it will help disperse it again. This recipe calls for 3/4 cup light coconut milk so you will have some left-over. But good news, you can store left-over in freezer.
- Curry Powder– There are many many types of curry power out there. And they are all wonderful! This recipe is intended to be made with Indian style curry powder. In the regular spice section of the supermarket, you’ll likely only find two or three different types of Indian style curry: Garam Masala, Madras and Curry Powder. But if you are interested there are a lot of really interesting specialty curries. I used British Curry by Teeny Tiny Spice Company in this most recent batch. If you like a bit of heat, go for Madras or Hot Curry. I like to buy my spices in small amounts in the bulk section of the health food stoer so they are fresher.
- To Prep and Cut the Swiss Chard– You can use rainbow, white or red Swiss chard in this recipe. Cut the stems off and chop them into small pieces (the same size as the onion is good in this recipe.) The stems are delciious but need to cook longer than the leaves. Set them aside. Then chop the leaves into pieces, 1 to 2 inches is good. Then wash the chopped leaves as you would lettuce. Spin dry. I wash the stems after they are cut in a strainer in a bowl of cold water. The grit will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Lift the stems out. Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions with photos for how to cut and clean Swiss chard.
More Curry Recipes To Try
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintChicken and Swiss Chard Curry
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Chicken and Swiss Chard Coconut Curry is a One-Pot-Wonder! It’s a super flavorful and healthy all-in-one dinner that just also happens to be gluten free, dairy free and paleo friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon avocado oil or organic canola oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 large bunch rainbow chard, leaves and stems separated and chopped
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup light coconut milk
- 1/4 cup dried currants
- 2 tablespoons lime juice or to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spread chicken out in one layer, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove to a plate. Note: the chicken will not be fully cooked at this point and will continue cooking in a later step.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add chopped chard stems, onion, jalapeno and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often until the vegetables are softened. Sprinkle the curry powder, coriander and cumin over the vegetable mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly until the spices are fragrant, 30 to 90 seconds. Add ¼ cup water and the chopped chard leaves, cover and let wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. (The skillet will seem very full at first.)
- Increase heat to high, stir in coconut milk, currants, the chicken and any accumulated juice from the plate and bring to a simmer uncovered. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook, stirring often until the sauce is thick and the chicken is cooked through and hot, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice before serving.
Notes
Vitamin A 103%, Vitamin C 55%, Iron 15 %
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups each
- Calories: 243
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 735 g
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 28 g
I am hoping to have a lot of chard from my garden so I was hunting for some recipes that would provide variety. I found “chicken and chard with curry” but had to make a few substitutions to avoid going to the store (used a red Chile pepper-not jalapeño, substituted chicken broth for water, and used 1/8 cup dried cranberries and 1/8 dried cherries-not currants). Also used leftover cubed chicken from a chicken I roasted last night and served it over Jasmine rice. Wonderful! My husband pronounced it excellent and requested that we add it to our standard rotation of dinners. Thank you so much for this innovative dish. I plan to try it with different varieties of chard.
I am so happy to hear it Peggy! I love growing chard in my garden too! It’s always good to have lots of great chard recipes when you do. Have a good one.
This looks yum, and perfect for my garden bed full of fresh chard at the moment!
Question – when you say dried currants, do you mean the sweet Zante currants, or the tart black currants? (https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-raisins-sultanas-and-currants-223285). I’m haven’t cooked with either, but imagine their effect would be quite different…
Hi JIm. Thanks for the article. Interesting history! I didn’t know that. While I have bought local fresh currants here in Vermont, I have never seen tart black currants. So to answer your question: for this recipe I used Zante. You could also use golden raisins or dried cranberries if you prefer.
I made this tonight. I couldn’t find my coriander, and I had no currents. Regardless, this recipe is incredible. My family loved it, and already asked me to make it again. Kudos on a great meal.
That’s so great to hear! I am so glad you and the family loved it. It’s always been a favorite of mine too.
I came to this recipe after we had some unused and almost dry chard and kale sitting in our fridge, and I was also craving the curry flavor. My girlfriend and I really love this dish, especially with the currants, which is something we didn’t expect we’d like, but really balances out the flavor and adds a bit of texture to the dish!
Hi Andrew. I am so glad to hear you liked it. And that the currants ended up working out! Thank you so much!
I love all the flavors in here. I can almost smell the wonderful fragrance!
Hi Kelly. That’s a good sign if you are imagining that!
I made this tonight as a friend gave me Swiss chard from her cya box and I didn’t know what to do with it other than the usual wilted greens thing, This is delicious! I love it. No grains or other side needed. Yum! Thanks for sharing.
csa box 😉
Absolutely gorgeous colors and I’m a sucker for anything featuring curry!
beautiful curry. This would be a hit with my family
Swooning over this SO much! Your photos are just stunning and this curry looks out of this world amazing!! So full of flavour and delicious! 😀
I have never made a curry before. This is a great photo that is getting me inspired to branch out.
Yum. That looks amazing. I’m making this one asap.
So glad to hear it! It is a favorite flavor combination for us!
Love finding one pot/pan dishes that are loaded with veggies and healthy proteins! What a delicious recipe!
I am so with you Sarah Jane. They are a life saver!
Well, I simply love this recipe, I pinned it to make it this week. I love chard very much but I don’t use it in so many recipes. Thanks for sharing it. I love it!!
Chard is so great isn’t it? I’m rooting for it to be the next kale. 😉
Yes! This recipe was from before I really fell in love with coconut oil, but it would be an obvious choice here for sure. Thanks Ceci.
I’ve been looking for a new chard recipe and this is it!
Will use coconut oil 🙂
Thank you for sharing.