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This chicken cauliflower curry for kids is a family favourite—mild, creamy, and secretly loaded with veggies thanks to a simple coconut cauliflower trick. It’s based on my homemade Curry Spice Mix for Kids and is perfect for weeknight dinners. My three kids love it, and it’s a regular in our rotation.

Chicken curry on benchtop with spoon inside.

Table of Contents

Why You Will Love This Kid Friendly Curry

Veggie-packed: Cauliflower, pumpkin, carrot, and spinach are blended or cooked right into the sauce.
Kid-approved flavours: Mild and creamy with a touch of sweetness from the coconut milk.
Family-style dinner: Easy to serve with kid-friendly sides like rice, yoghurt, and fun extras.

Ingredients You Will Need

Ingredients for chicken curry on benchtop with text overlay.

Ingredient Notes, Substitutes, & Allergy Swaps

Chicken: Chicken breast is quick-cooking and lean. You can swap for chicken thighs for extra tenderness.
Curry spice mix: I use my Curry Spice Mix for Kids but you can use a mild store-bought curry powder.
Cauliflower: This is blended into the coconut milk to create a smooth, veggie-rich curry base.
Pumpkin & carrot: Adds sweetness and body. You can sub with sweet potato if preferred.
Soy sauce: Adds depth—swap for tamari if gluten-free.
Vinegar: Brightens the flavour at the end—use apple cider or white vinegar.

Chicken and Cauliflower Curry Illustrated Step By Step Guide

Below are illustrated step-by-step instructions to make my Veggie loaded kid friendly curry urry recipe, if you prefer just the written instructions then head straight to the printable recipe card below.

Step one: Chop, grate, and prep

Start by setting yourself up. Grab a chopping board and get those veggies and chicken sorted. You’ll need:

Grated carrot
Diced onion
Cubed pumpkin
Chopped cauliflower
Diced chicken breast

I like to grate the carrot nice and fine so it melts into the curry sauce. The cauliflower is going to be blended, so just a rough chop is fine.

Tip: Get the kids involved in setting up bowls—mine love being the "ingredient sorter."

Wooden chopping board with grater, two carrots and onion. Small bowls with cauliflower chopped pumpkin, chopped chicken, diced onion and grated carrots inside.

Step two: Make your sneaky cauliflower coconut base

Now for my favourite veggie hack. Toss the chopped cauliflower into a blender along with the can of coconut milk. Blend until completely smooth. It’ll look a bit like a frothy smoothie—but don’t worry, it turns into the creamiest curry base once cooked.

Why this works: The cauliflower disappears into the sauce, but adds extra fibre, bulk, and a subtle sweetness.

Coconut and cauliflower blended together in blender.

Step three: Start the curry – onions first

Heat a drizzle of oil in a big pan. Toss in your chopped onion and sauté until it's soft and just golden. This sets the base for flavour.

Take your time here—a soft onion is worth the few extra minutes.

Step four: In goes the curry mix and tomato paste

Add a couple of tablespoons of your Curry Spice Mix for Kids (or mild curry powder) and the tomato paste. Stir it all together with the onion and let it cook for a minute or two. You want it smelling warm and fragrant before anything else goes in.

Tip: If it looks too thick, add a splash of water to stop it sticking.

Curry paste mix combined with onion in pan on stove top.

Step five: Add the grated carrot and pumpkin

Now’s the time to get more veggies in. Stir in the grated carrot and cubed pumpkin, coating them in the spicy tomatoey mix. Everything should look golden and well-covered.

This part helps the pumpkin start softening early, so it doesn’t need ages later.

Chopped pumpkin and grated carrot added into pan with curry paste and onion.

Step six: Pour in the cauliflower coconut blend

Grab your blender and pour that creamy cauliflower-coconut mixture into the pan. It might feel odd at this stage, but just wait—it works magic.

Give it all a good stir to combine.

Cauliflower and coconut milk blend being poured into pan with other curry ingredients.

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Step seven: Add the chicken and stir it all together

Now toss in the diced chicken breast. Stir well so that everything is coated in the sauce.

You’re nearly there! It should look like a proper curry now—thick and golden with plenty of veggie goodness tucked inside.

Hand holding a wooden spoon mixing curry ingredients together.

Step eight: Lid on, let it simmer

Pop a lid on the pan and let the curry gently simmer for about 10 minutes. You want the chicken to be cooked through and the pumpkin to be fork-tender.

Don’t forget to check occasionally—give it a stir halfway if you remember.

Step nine: Spinach, vinegar, soy sauce—finishing touches

Once the chicken is cooked, lift the lid and stir in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach. Add a splash of vinegar and soy sauce too—it lifts the flavour and gives the curry a little extra oomph.

Simmer for another minute or two until the spinach wilts.

Hand holding wooden spoon mixing fresh spinach into chicken curry on stove.

Step ten: Serve and enjoy!

That’s it! Your veggie-loaded chicken curry is done. Spoon it into bowls, serve it with fluffy Basmati rice and your kids’ favourite curry-night sides.

Serving spoon scooping curry out of pan on benchtop.

Top Tips

Here is how you can make this Chicken Curry perfectly every time!

Blending cauliflower into the coconut milk is a great way to sneak in extra veggies.
Make a double batch and freeze leftovers—they defrost and reheat beautifully.
Let the kids choose their own toppings and sides—this helps with acceptance.

Chicken curry in pan on benchtop with sides, sliced cucumber, cashews, banana slices, naan and dip.

Kid Friendly Sides To Serve With Curry

My kids look forward to curry nights, partly because of the fun sides. These take just minutes to prepare:

Coconut bananas: Slice bananas and let kids dip them into desiccated coconut.
Long cucumber sticks: The longer, the better—visually fun and easy for little hands.
Plain yoghurt: (or raita)Great for cooling down bites if the curry feels spicy.
Rice: A classic! Yes, it gets messy, but it’s always a hit.
Cashew nuts: Add a crunch—they’re often the highlight for my kids.
Breads: Naan, roti or any flatbreads are fun with curry!
Poppadoms: Have your kids tried them, we have them often as they are gluten free - the perfect crunchy snack for my GF kid.

Even if they only eat the sides and skip the curry, they’ve still had a decent meal!

Sliced cucumber, sliced banana, cashews, rice, naan, dip on benchtop to serve with curry.

How to Make This Recipe Suitable For Baby Led Weaning

Use low-sodium stock or water and skip the soy sauce for babies under 1 year.
Omit whole nuts—serve finely chopped or crushed if appropriate.
Serve the curry with soft veggies and shredded chicken pieces for easy picking.
Offer with mashed rice or bread fingers for dipping.

Hand holding toddler silicone plate with baby fork, rice and chicken curry inside. Sides blurred in background on benchtop.

Quick Start Guide To BLW

Baby led weaning doesn’t need to be complicated, grab my quick start guide to begin your little ones food journey.

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4 Comments

Sydney Lorenz says:

August 29, 2019 at 8:51 am

Pumpkin is seasonal- any suggestions for an alternative? Butternut squash?

1. My Kids Lick The Bowl says:
  
  November 19, 2019 at 5:56 am
  
  Yes butternut squash or sweet potato both work, as does potato
  
Naomi says:

November 29, 2024 at 7:41 am

Both kids enjoyed it even the fussy 2 year old! 🙂 Added a splash of maggi, oyster sauce and fish sauce instead of the vinegar and soy as I ran out ?

Gemma D says:

December 15, 2024 at 6:49 pm

Really yum. Subbed the pumpkin for sweet potato and was delish. Even hubby commented how nice it was without prompting and my eldest scoffed it. Will be making again.

Chicken Cauliflower Curry For Kids - Veggie Loaded