How about an all-in-one Curried Chicken Skillet With Cauliflower & Rice today? There’s nothing like a one-pot meal for an easy (and flavor-packed!) weeknight dinner, and this chicken curry really hits the spot on a chilly evening. Change up your normal weeknight meal routine!
In grand Sunday Scratchups style (your weekly recipe from scratch around grocery sales and affordable ingredients), boneless skinless chicken breast and cauliflower are both going on sale at ALDI this week — and this easy curried chicken & cauliflower is a great dish to try out when cauliflower is seasonally on sale.
Curried Chicken Skillet With Cauliflower & Rice
Ingredients
– for the chicken & cauliflower
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
1/2 a medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne (omit or cut down if you’re sensitive to heat)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
– for the rice
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (preferably full-fat whole milk yogurt)
Juice of 1/4 a lemon
Green onion, parsley, or cilantro to taste (chop for garnish)
Directions
Season chicken on both sides with sea salt & pepper, then chop it into bite-sized pieces.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken, onion, garlic, and cauliflower, then saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spices and saute for another two minutes.
Stir in rice and broth and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the yogurt. (Note: Full fat yogurt is less likely to curdle and adds extra creaminess here; but if you can only find low fat it’s fine, and still tasty even with a little curdling — mine did a little; still good. 🙂 )
Cover the skillet with a tightly fitting lid and let everything simmer over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, or until rice is done and has absorbed most of the liquid.
Remove skillet from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Replace lid and let chicken curry sit covered for 5 more minutes to thicken up (it will still be goopy; you want some sauce in the mix here), then serve your chicken cauliflower curry skillet topped with chopped green onion, parsley, or cilantro.
Note: This was tasty as written, but next time I’d probably add in a little ginger as well — I just didn’t think of it at the time. As written, this recipe also has a slight crunch to the cauliflower — so, if you like yours soft, either cut it into smaller pieces so it cooks more quickly, or pre-cook slightly.
45 minutes ’til dinner!
You just need 45 minutes to make this shortcut curried chicken skillet recipe, which is both super filling and super flavorful. I served ours with naan because I found a pack on half off clearance at ALDI, but the rice makes this one pot curry filling enough by itself — And, if you don’t serve yours with naan, the curried chicken itself is naturally gluten free. So good, and the leftovers make a great lunch the next day, too.
Curried Chicken Skillet With Cauliflower & Rice, printable recipe
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
- Black pepper to taste
- Sea salt to taste
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 1/2 a medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (omit or cut down if you're sensitive to heat)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 2.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (preferably full-fat whole milk yogurt)
- Juice of 1/4 a lemon
- Green onion, parsley, or cilantro to taste (chop for garnish)
- Season chicken on both sides with sea salt & pepper, then chop it into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken, onion, garlic, and cauliflower, then saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spices and saute for another two minutes.
-
Stir in rice and broth and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the yogurt. (Note: Full fat yogurt is less likely to curdle and adds extra creaminess here; but if you can only find low fat it's fine, and still tasty even with a little curdling -- mine did a little, still good 😉 )
- Cover the skillet with a tightly fitting lid and let everything simmer over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, or until rice is done and has absorbed most of the liquid.
- Remove skillet from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Replace lid and let chicken curry sit covered for 5 more minutes to thicken up (it will still be goopy; you want some sauce in the mix here), then serve your chicken cauliflower curry skillet topped with chopped green onion, parsley, or cilantro.
This was tasty as written, but next time I'd probably add in a little ginger as well -- I just didn't think of it at the time. As written, this recipe also has a slight crunch to the cauliflower -- so, if you like yours soft, either cut it into smaller pieces so it cooks more quickly, or pre-cook slightly.
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jane says
I make something similar to this, and love it. In place of the yogurt, I use coconut milk (in the can) and add it close to the end (so it doesn’t curdle). I also add chick peas when I add the cauliflower. I top mine with fresh cilantro and chopped cashews. Yum! The curry really warms you up on a cold day. 🙂
rachel says
I love chickpea curry! Sometimes I do a chickpea & rice skillet and add spinach, mushrooms, & fire roasted diced tomatoes for a different twist: https://www.mashupmom.com/one-pot-curried-chickpeas-with-spinach/
And now I’m going to try your cashews idea, too, yum.
Davinia says
Normally I am lazy about leaving reviews, but this one was too good. Very simple to prepare, one pot meals are the best. The yogurt adds a creaminess that cannot be matched by coconut milk. I substituted mushrooms for Cauliflower because I cannot have it. Everything else was by recipe.
rachel says
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed 🙂 — I like the extra creaminess and tang from the yogurt better as well.
Amanda H. says
This was so tasty! I would never have tried this on its own but it was part of your weekly ALDI meal plan (which we are LOVING, btw!) and was a great chance to get outside my comfort zone. I had no issues with goopiness (used full fat greek yogurt). On the contrary, it was creamy, smooth, and tasted amazing! This recipe will go into my binder for sure.
rachel says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it and found a new favorite — I try to include a variety of recipes in the plans so we’re not in a rut always making the same old meals. 🙂
Laura says
I don’t remember ever having a dish similar to this. So good and VERY filling. Love the pairing with the Naan bread which is a hit in our home.
Heather Cook says
Even my 2yo wanted more! This was awesome. Excited to add some chickpeas per a previous review.
rachel says
Awesome! Yes, this can be a good way to introduce kids to curry b/c it’s not especially spicy. 🙂
Suz says
An Aldi was just opened near me. Love it! This recipe is cooking right now. It smells so good. I’m sure it will be very flavorful.
Jessica says
Is this spicy as written if I omit the cayenne pepper? I am sensitive to spice so was not sure if the curry powder amount makes the dish spicy or not? Thanks!
rachel says
Both the curry and the cayenne add heat, but the cayenne is much spicier. It will be fairly mild if you omit cayenne. 🙂
Jessica says
Thank you! Also you said you would add ginger next time, about how much would you add?
rachel says
Just a little — Like 1/4-1/2 tsp ground ginger.
Jessica says
Would this meal freeze well?
rachel says
I haven’t tried. I should think so but it might get grainier on defrosting because of the yogurt in there. Let us know if you try it!
Ashley says
Could I use a dutch oven instead of a skillet?
rachel says
I’ve never tried — I’m not sure if it would come out quite the same, and I’d definitely check to make sure that the chicken is cooked all the way through at the end if you decide to give that a try.
Heather Cook says
I cooked mine in a Dutch Oven on the stove top! I use it for basically everything.