Coconut Curry Chicken with Spinach, Mushrooms and Pine Nuts – Gluten Free
I have been making Coconut Curry Chicken with Spinach, Mushrooms and Pine Nuts for years and it’s one of my all-time favorite recipes. Every time I make it, I feel the same satisfaction bite after bite. The spinach, mushrooms, and noodles (or rice) soak up the coconut cream and the nuts add a subtle nutty crunch and texture so that every forkful has the perfect balance of flavor and texture.
Jump to RecipeCurry Lemongrass Rub
Mix minced lemongrass and spices in a small bowl. The recipe calls for lemongrass but I’ve discovered that substituting lemon zest, when need be, is a great alternative. So if your market doesn’t sell lemongrass, don’t sweat it! (Read “NOTE” section below for description on how to cut lemongrass.)
Chicken Pieces Combined with the Rub
Once chicken is cut up, thoroughly coat pieces with spices and zest. The recipe calls for boneless breasts but if you like dark meat, using boneless, skinless thighs in this recipe would be just as good, if not better!
Cooking the Chicken Pieces
Place chicken in a large skillet heated to medium-high. While chicken is cooking, use this time to organize the other ingredients in the recipe.
Toast Pine Nuts
Toast pine nuts in toaster oven for approx. 3 minutes on the Bake setting. Set timer when toasting the nuts. There have been many times when I have burned the nuts because I’ve forgotten about them.
Coconut Cream and Mushrooms
Next is the coconut cream and mushrooms. If using whole mushrooms this is the time to clean, dry and slice them. As you can see, I purchased pre-sliced mushrooms but I don’t always. I used half of each package.
Once the chicken loses most of its pink color, add coconut cream and sliced mushrooms.
Wilting the Spinach
Next up is the spinach. Place it on top of the other ingredients.
The spinach will wilt into the sauce as you gently stir it in. Once this happens, add the fish sauce. If serving with rice noodles follow instructions below. If serving over rice, your work is done, just don’t forget to add the pine nuts and cilantro.
Fresh Rice Noodles
If you are using fresh (or dry) gluten free rice noodles, add them into the pan. Fresh gluten free rice noodles do not need to be boiled before using. They will soften (and cook) in the sauce. Use approximately half of the package. The noodles are very long so, if possible, cut them in half with a knife or kitchen shears.
Add the noodles directly on top of the other ingredients.
Gently fold the noodles into the dish and once the noodles become soft (approx. 1-2 minutes), they are cooked.
Coconut Curry Chicken with Spinach, Mushrooms and Pine Nuts – Gluten Free
Place the Coconut Chicken Curry on a platter and top with pine nuts and cilantro (if using).
Coconut Curry Chicken with Spinach and Mushrooms – Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 to 1-inch dice. The recipe calls for boneless breasts but if you like dark meat, using boneless, skinless thighs in this recipe would be just as delicious
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh chili or red pepper flakes more or less depending on your taste buds
- 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass or lemon zest see NOTE section below for instructions on how-to mince lemongrass
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil such as canola
- 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 1 can unsweetened coconut cream or coconut milk
- 1 package mushrooms, shiitake, baby bello, etc sliced or hand-torn
- 1 bag baby spinach pre-washed
- 1/2 bag fresh rice noodles store the remaining half in an air tight plastic bag (Dry rice noodles can also be used but must be cooked before adding to this dish. Follow package cooking instructions.)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (salted peanuts or cashews can also used)
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro and/or basil optional
Instructions
- Toss chicken with curry powder, kosher salt, chili, and lemongrass or lemon zest.
- Place oil in a large skillet and heat on medium-high.
- Once oil is hot, add chicken stirring occasionally, until it loses most of its raw color, approx. 5 minutes.
- While waiting for chicken to cook, bake pine nuts in a parchment or foil-lined tray in toaster oven for approx. 3 minutes or until nuts are golden brown and toasted. SET A TIMER!!
- At this time if using dry rice noodles, cook them accordingly to package instructions.
- If adding mushrooms clean, trim and slice (or tear) mushrooms now.
- Once chicken is almost cooked through, add coconut cream and stir.
- Then immediately add mushrooms. Once mushrooms have cooked through for roughly 2 minutes, add fish sauce and spinach.
- Gently fold spinach into the dish. Once spinach wilts, approx. 60 seconds, the dish is finished.
- If serving with rice, place the Coconut Curry Chicken on a platter and add pine nuts and cilantro.
- If serving with rice noodles (either fresh or dry), add the noodles directly to the pan and gently fold in until warmed and soft, approx. 1-2 minutes.
- Place the Coconut Curry Chicken on a platter and add pine nuts and cilantro.
Notes
Original recipe by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman, posted by Epicurious.com and modified for gluten free eating by me.
Gluten Free Disclaimer
The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.
So good and easy to make
absolutely delish!!
As I’ve mentioned before, it’s one of my favs!
I’ve made this dish several times… it’s my favorite!! And more importantly, my whole family loves it. It’s rare that a dish satisfies everyone. I’ve also made this recipe with tofu (for my pescatarian daughter) and it was just as delicious. We are not gluten free, so I use regular spaghetti instead of rice noodles. YUM!!
Before I started following a gf diet, I used regular spaghetti too. I just loved how the noodles (with the extra starch) soaked up the sauce.
I made this recipe – easy and delicious. I used brown rice noodles.
So glad you liked it!
I made this last night for company, so I doubled the recipe, except for the coconut cream. It was DELICIOUS! Everyone loved it.
It’s one of my favorite recipes.:-)