Creamy, savory and sweet peanut curry sauce coats chicken and vegetables in this flavorful zucchini noodle bowl. All made in one pan, this dairy free and grain free dish makes for an easy weeknight dinner!
Curry dishes are a family favorite in our house and with zucchini season here I knew I wanted to incorporate them into a Thai curry dish. The combination of curry and peanut butter is so comforting! The peanut butter makes the curry oh so creamy! Peanut butter might sound off putting here, but trust me… it’s delicious!
Like my Thai Red Chicken Curry, the sauce requires a few key ingredients. Curry paste (duh!), fish sauce (trust me on this), coconut aminos (or soy sauce), ginger, and coconut cream. These ingredients help lift up the flavors of the curry paste. Without them, your sauce will be a bit bland and/or the peanut butter will be overpowering. With them, you have comfort food that is so flavorful you will be dreaming about it for days!
Tidbits
Curry Paste– Thai yellow curry is the paste is what I use in this recipe. It is the milder curry out of the three (yellow, red, and green), which makes this the most kid friendly. It also pair well with the peanut butter. If you can’t find yellow curry paste, I think red curry paste would work great! However, it will be spicier. If you are using red curry paste and are wanting a milder dish, use 1-2 tablespoons less of the paste.
Coconut Cream– Normally when I make curry I use a whole can of coconut milk. Using a can of coconut milk in this recipe just made the sauce too watery since the zucchini will add a good amount of liquid on its own. Using only the coconut cream works perfectly. I use a small can (5.4 oz) of coconut cream, but if you can’t find this you can use the cream that rises to the top of the can (13.5 oz) of coconut milk. Chill the coconut milk before you use it to make it easier to separate the cream from the liquid. You can save the remaining coconut milk for smoothies.
Thai Peanut Curry Zoodle Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ground pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil divided
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ small onion or 1 small bunch of scallions (white part only) diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated or finely minced
- 3 garlic cloves pressed or minced
- 4 tablespoons yellow curry paste
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter unsweetened
- 3 teaspoons coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 5.4 oz can coconut cream unsweetened *see notes
- ½ red bell pepper sliced
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 medium zucchini spiralized and cut to desired length
- 1 medium carrot sprialized or julienned
- ½ tablespoon lime juice about half a lime
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat ½ tablespoon of avocado oil over medium-low heat.
- Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Set aside.
- Add the remaining ½ tablespoon of avocado oil and ½ teaspoon of sesame oil to the skillet.
- Once heated, add onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in curry paste; cook for 1 minute.
- Add peanut butter, coconut aminos, fish sauce, and coconut cream; bring to a slight simmer (not a boil). The sauce will be very thick, but it will thin out once the zucchini noodles are added.
- Stir in the vegetables; bell pepper, broccoli, and carrot. Cooked until vegetables have slightly softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add zucchini noodles and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add chicken, stir to coat the chicken in the sauce. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the zucchini noodles and veggies are cooked to your preference.
- Stir in lime juice and cilantro.
- Serve warm.