This slow cooker lamb and pumpkin curry is bursting with flavour and so easy to prepare. It’s just what you need to have on hand for an easy weeknight dinner option. Gluten free, sugar free, dairy free and paleo friendly!
A rich, slightly sweet, slightly spicy, slow cooker lamb pumpkin curry is the perfect comforting meal to come home to, especially on a cool night. I am such a huge fan of the slow cooker, and while it’s something I rely upon year round, it gets more of a workout in the colder months when soups, stews and curries become regular dinners. Being able to chuck all your meat, veggies and seasonings into the slow cooker is just SO EASY. It’s also such an economical way to cook; vegetable odds & ends, and cheaper cuts of meat, can be thrown in to simmer into something amazing.
With a simple base of an onion and dried spices, a few cups of pumpkin (one of my favourite veggies) and some diced lamb will slowly soften into a rich, hearty meal. The pumpkin melts down and thickens the curry sauce while also lending a touch of sweetness to balance out the chili. It’s just divine. As an added bonus, this lamb pumpkin curry recipe just uses dried spices, which last so long in the cupboard and mean you don’t have to pick up too much at the grocery store to get this meal together. Serve this over rice, cauliflower purée, on top of a baked potato or with some soft flatbread, to mop up the sauce. Yum!
Slow Cooker Lamb Pumpkin Curry
Ingredients
- 1.5 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried chili flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 600-700 grams lamb cut in chunks (leg or shoulder)
- 300-350 grams pumpkin, diced (2 cups cooked)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 brown onion
- 2 capsicum (any colour)
- 200 mL coconut milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl or a mug, combine all of the dried spices (curry powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garlic, and chili) and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Peel then onion, then slice the onion and capsicum thickly. Peel the pumpkin and dice into cubes about 2cm thick, approximately. Set the pumpkin aside for now.
- If your slow cooker pot can be placed on the stove, do this step in the pot, otherwise do this in another pan and transfer over. Heat the coconut oil in the slow cooker pot (or a pan) over the stove, throw in the spice mix, onion and capsicum, cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and the onion is translucent and lightly browning. Then remove from the heat.
- Combine the spice/onion mix, lamb and the pumpkin in the slow cooker pot. Pour in the coconut milk and stir everything so it's combined and evenly distributed in the pot.
- Set the slow cooker to cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
- Once the curry is cooked, give it all a good stir so some of the pumpkin breaks down into the sauce and makes the curry nice and thick. Taste test and adjust with salt, pepper and/or chili flakes as desired. Serve.
- Leftovers will last about five days in the fridge, or try freezing a couple portions for those nights when a slow-simmered, home cooked meal is exactly what you're craving...but you only have ten minutes to pull something together.
Notes
Hi, thank you, I love this recipe. My kids don’t like capsicum so I omit that but add some cauliflower 3/4 hr before finished. My question is do you think it would work with chicken instead of lamb? Many thanks
This looks yum! How many servings does this recipe make?
Thanks!
Hello
Can you tell me how long this would cook for in an oven and the temp. I don’t have a slow cooker but I’d like to make it.
Thank you
Hi Fiona, I’d say you’d need to cook it for around 3 hours, but check each hour to see if the lamb is tender. I’m having a bit of a guess at the oven temperature but I would say around 140C (280F), that is the temperature I tend to use for a “low” heat in the oven. Let me know how it goes, I haven’t tried oven baking this one!
it actually worked very well, 3 hours around 160. thanks for the recipe, it was lovely
So happy to hear this and glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi This recipe sounds amazing. Can the pumpkin be substituted by butternut squash?
Hi Charlotte, absolutely you can substitute that 🙂
I love the sound of this however I dislike coconut milk. Is there a better alternative I could potentially use?!
Thank you 🙂
Hi Bec, thank you for your message. I’m actually struggling a little bit to think of a substitute for coconut milk in a curry. What you could do is simply leave it out and just add 200mL of water instead – the curry won’t be as rich and will taste more spicy, however you could then serve it with Greek yoghurt (or another type of unsweetened yoghurt) to give you the same creamy, spice-moderating effect. 🙂 If you try it without coconut milk, let me know how you go!
Hi, It looks a great recipe but I’m wary of the quantities since using a recipe from US.
So to be clear tbsp = Table Spoon which in the UK we call Desert Spoon which is 2x teaspoon.
and tsp = teaspoon. Have I got it right?
Hi David! Thanks for your message and totally understand the quantities dilemma! I’m actually Australian so I always make my food with Australian measures.
The tablespoon = 20 mL. I think that’s actually 3 x Australian teaspoons. I am not sure what a UK teaspoon is sorry! But hope the mL measurement helps 🙂
This sounds delish and oh so easy! Going to try it tonight – any particular type of curry powder you would recommend using?
Hi Melissa! Thanks for your lovely comment. When I developed this recipe I lived in the UK and I used Daylesford Organic Curry Powder and the ingredients of that one are: Cumin, coriander, onion, turmeric, garlic, fenugreek, ginger, yellow mustard, black pepper, chilli, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves. Typically I look for a general “curry powder” blend which is usually a golden yellow colour. You can usually find a mild or a spicy version, use whichever you prefer 🙂
This recipe is gorgeous! So aromatic and warming! I love the sweetness of the pumpkin and coconut milk with the lamb. Followed you on Pinterest, Twitter and FB!
Monika, thank you for your kind words! Pumpkin in a curry is just the best isn’t it, I love the natural sweetness 🙂 I’m so flattered you thought I was worth a follow and have just found you on Pinterest and I’m checking out your blog! Monique x
It looks incredible! I especially love the fresh green beans on top. Often freshness is what’s missing in a slow cooker meal so adding some vegetables like this and some herbs is a great way of getting a gorgeous slow cooked meal but with some vibrancy too.
Thank you so much, Corina! I find that slow cooker meals need a little bit of green or some other fresh veggie too. They’re so rich and delicious but I love adding that little extra side, and greens are so quick to prepare 🙂
This looks delicious! I am featuring it tonight on Allergy-Free Thursdays. Can’t wait to see what you share this week!
Elle, thank you so very much for the feature! Love participating in AF Thursdays 🙂 Look forward to seeing what inspiration everyone dishes up!