Coconut Spinach Butter-less Chicken Recipe
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“Honesty is the best policy
Popeye the sailor man
and spinach
is the best vegetable.”
Spinach is loaded with vital nutrients and minerals that our body needs to thrive (Vit K, C, Magnesium, Iron, Folate… to name a few). It’s high in fibre, an anti-inflammatory, immune booster and helps our skin glow. The benefits are numerous!
Personally I’m not a big fan of raw spinach salads… blah. Therefore, I’m always looking for creative ways to add it into our meals. Today’s dinner recipe was created because a friend gifted us with a 140g box of fresh baby spinach. I was determined to use it ALL up, make it taste phenomenal, and have my kids love it. The secret to not tasting or feeling the texture of spinach was to pre-blend it into fine tiny pieces first. Then once I added the coconut milk to the blender it mixed really nice and smooth for the sauce… the kids had no idea how much incredible spinach they were consuming in every bite! You won’t either! =)
This is a dairy free butter chicken recipe (hence the name butter-less!). Our family loves creamy sauces, but unfortunately butter, cream and milk does not digest well for us. Therefore, I swapped out the traditional ingredients for coconut milk. There are different types of coconut milk you can buy. The ones in a can and not the carton will work best. If you like a thick, creamy sauce then go for the premium brands that say coconut cream, not light. Or you can just scoop the cream off the top of the can and save the coconut water for your morning smoothie (great for added electrolytes after a workout!). What I love about Indian food recipes is the incredibly fragrant spices and flavours. Making a dairy free butter chicken doesn’t sacrifice on flavour at all… in fact I find the coconut milk compliments the spices beautifully.
If you are part of our nutrition kickstarter program and working on adding in extra protein and plants each day, this meal will be a great source! Each serving contains 24g of protein! The coconut milk provides some healthy fat and you’re getting a solid portion of vegetables from the cauliflower, spinach (obviously!), mushrooms and onions. If you want to add in extra vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, etc), this meal would accommodate them nicely!
Coconut Spinach Butter-less Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 140 g spinach
- 1 onion large
- 2x 400 ml cans of coconut milk thick, not light
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms
- 796 ml can of crushed tomatoes
- 2.5 lbs boneless chicken breast cut into small cubes
- 1 ginger size of a thumb
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp spice (garam masala)
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp Himalayan or Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 cup plain unsweetened coconut yogourt Optional
- 3 cups cauliflower rice pre-"riced" or grate a head of cauliflower
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, pre-blend the spinach into fine pieces
- Add coconut milk and continue blending with spinach
- In two separate pans, caramelize the mushrooms and onions on low heat in coconut oil
- Combine the mushrooms and onions into one pan. Add in the ginger and garlic for 2-3min
- Then add in all your spices and sugar, mixing well until fragrant
- Add the chicken and pour the spinach, coconut milk mixture into the pan
- Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15min until the chicken is cooked.
- Saute your cauliflower rice in a bit of coconut oil
- (Optional) add 1 cup of plain coconut yogourt to the chicken and sauce at the end once the stove is turned off (will thicken slightly and take some of the kick out of the spice if you prefer mild)
- Serve the coconut spinach butter-less chicken over the cauliflower rice. Enjoy!
Notes
