Jamaican Curry Chicken

Living in the Greater Toronto Area means that there is amazing Jamaican food EVERYWHERE. Delicious curry chicken, patties, jerk chicken, coco bread ... unf. SO much good food, with such intense flavor.

Also? A ton of carbs, in a lot of it.

Anyway, recently I’ve been on a keto curry recipe kick lately. I’ve done a bunch of Thai curries and some Indian curries - those recipes will all be posted over the next few months.

Along with that, I’ve got some other low carb Jamaican recipes. I’ve already posted one - my Keto Jamaican Beef Patties. It’s been great to help me avoid all the temptation locally, without TOO much FOMO!

Today, though, it’s all about my low carb Jamaican chicken curry recipe.

I designed this recipe to be almost indistinguishable from any authentic Jamaican curry chicken recipe.

Much like the traditional Caribbean dish, this low carb Jamaican Chicken Curry recipe has the perfect combination of rich flavors - a rich gravy laden with curry spices and aromatics, with tender chicken pieces.

The potatoes have been swapped out for turnips - but those traditional Jamaican curry flavours completely camouflage any turnippy taste at all.

Sure, you’ll want to skip the coco bread and swap the side of white rice out for cauliflower rice... but the end result will DEFINITELY fool your taste buds and satisfy your cravings!

As easy meals go, it’s definitely become a favourite dish in our household.

So, let’s take a look at what you’ll need to make the best Jamaican curry chicken recipe that will fit your low carb lifestyle!

Ingredients

While this Keto Jamaican Curry Chicken recipe has a big laundry list of ingredients, they’re mostly pretty simple ingredients.

As always, I have some ingredient notes for you:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs and/or Breasts

Personally, we like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts when making this Jamaican curry chicken recipe, but that’s mostly because I hate trimming boneless chicken thighs.

I don’t think either is necessarily the single BEST cut of chicken for this recipe, though. If it wasn’t for trimming the thighs, I’d use a mix of both thigh meat and breast meat.

If you want to save a few bucks, you can cut a whole chicken into smaller pieces - just aim for about 3 lbs of raw, trimmed chicken meat.

Jamaican Curry Powder

There are different types of curry powders. If you have access to a Jamaican curry powder, that should be your first choice.

Indian curry powder will work, it’ll just taste a bit different than traditional Jamaican curries.

Luckily, we have easy access to various Jamaican curry powder brands in our area.

If you want to play with making your own curry powder, though, there are a bunch of recipes online.

Scotch Bonnet Pepper

A single Scotch bonnet pepper goes a long way, but feel free to add more if you want some extreme heat.

If you can’t find Scotch Bonnet Peppers, feel free to use Habanero peppers, as they’re pretty similar.

In an absolute pinch, you could probably use jalapeno peppers, it just won’t quite have the same authentic flavor.

Whichever pepper you use, you can customize the spice level a bit. Include the inner ribs and seeds for a spicier curry, scrape the seeds and white pithy rib material out for a lower heat level.

Bone Broth

I use basic chicken bone broth, because I like the flavour and nutritional values of it.

That said, feel free to use your favourite chicken stock or chicken broth - whether homemade or store bought.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Spices: Paprika, Garlic Powder, Dried Thyme, Ground Allspice, Ground Black Pepper
Full Fat Coconut Milk
Large Onion
Turnips
Carrot
Green Onions
Ginger Paste
Garlic Cloves
Fresh Thyme
Olive Oil
Salt

... I just don’t really have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. There may be a lot of them, but they’re pretty simple!

How to Make Keto Jamaican Curry Chicken

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. Here is the pictorial walk through:

Add the onion, green onions, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper, 1 tablespoon of the curry powder, thyme leaves, and seasonings to a food processor, blitz until roughly pureed. Set aside.

Trim chicken - if needed - and chop into small pieces. Transfer to a large Ziploc baggie, set aside.

Pour onion mixture over the chicken pieces. Push most of the air out of the bag, seal and shake or gently massage to coat all the chicken in the marinade.

Allow seasoned chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, up to about 8 hours.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the ginger paste and remaining 1 tablespoon curry powder, and cook - stirring constantly - until aromatic and just starting to brown. (About 1 minute).

Add the chicken - marinade and all - to the pan. Cook until marinated chicken is browned on all sides.

Add carrot, turnips, broth, and coconut milk, stirring well to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, stir the curry, and allow to simmer for another 15-20 minutes or so, until the gravy has thickened.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve hot, with cauliflower rice and Jamaican hot pepper sauce.

Leftovers

Once cooled to room temperature, leftovers can transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Best served reheated.

More Keto Main Dish Recipes

Looking for more low carb main dishes to feed your whole family with? I've got some delicious recipes for you!

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Cabbage Rolls
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken Parmesan
Coconut Shrimp
Creamy Mustard Chicken
Everything Bagel Chicken
Fajita Chicken Skewers
Fried Chicken
Italian Wedding Soup
Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken
Keto Lasagna
Loaded Pierogi Soup
Pierogi Pizza
Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
Shepherd's Pie
Stromboli Meatloaf
Swedish Meatballs
Tuna Poke Bowl
Tuna Noodle Casserole