Easy Turmeric Chicken is full of warm, rich spices and comes out perfectly tender and juicy! Plus, this recipe is just 4 main ingredients and ready in 15 minutes!
I soaked in every bit of this past weekend.
We had a soccer game, a few birthday parties, a play date and a school function. All fun stuff and mostly nice weather, too, which is always a bonus!
But also, I'm going to be gone for the next 4 weekends. It's because I've got lots of fun things coming up, but that means weekdays will be even more crazy to try to cram in all the normal house/family/day-to-day stuff I get done on weekends.
So being a bit lazy and lounging around was a really nice way to just chill this weekend. Now it's Monday though, and, well, here we go. Full speed ahead!
So let's talk easy recipes. You know that's my jam, right?
Today’s easy turmeric chicken recipe has been a favorite of mine for a few years now!
It’s a great go-to type of recipe to have when you get home, look in the fridge and think to yourself, now what am I going to do with that chicken?
Been there. Feel ya.
It’s similar in that way to my paprika chicken, which is also a quick and easy one that cooks up using this same method of cutting cubed chicken and then searing it in the skillet.
And the ground turmeric and ground cumin spices for today’s recipe add so much warmth and depth to the chicken.
Plus, the squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds such a bright pop at the end!
(If you are a lemon lover, definitely check out my easy baked lemon chicken. Oh the sauce on that - swoon!)
This turmeric spiced chicken also is:
✔️ Gluten-free
✔️ Dairy-free
✔️ Low-carb
✔️ Keto, paleo and whole 30
✔️ Great for meal prepping
And I just love that it’s only 4 ingredients and ready in 15 minutes!
So let's get cooking.
Now, I’ve got a few tips and FAQs and serving ideas to share on this dish coming up. Just trying to be helpful.
If you want to jump to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Recipe Notes:
- Cutting the chicken into smaller pieces helps ensure they cook evenly and more quickly. It’s a favorite trick of mine!
- I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts but you could also do this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs that you cut up into smaller pieces.
- The cayenne here is optional. It adds just a hint of heat but can definitely be left off as well.
Now, it's been in the spotlight for a couple of years, but in case you are wondering...
What is turmeric?
Turmeric is a spice that comes from the turmeric plant. It is commonly used in Indian and Asian cuisines. Turmeric is a key spice in curry and is often used to flavor or color curry powders, mustards, butters and cheeses. It has a warm, slightly bitter taste.
It's also known for its medicinal purposes.
And since I'm a health and nutrition editor, as well as a big nerd, I thought I'd highlight a few possible...
Health benefits of turmeric:
One of the key active compounds in turmeric is curcumin, which acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory component.
Turmeric may help with exercise-related inflammation and muscle soreness, as well as managing oxidative stress, research suggests.
It has also been used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, skin cancer and digestive disorders.
Some also believe it may help in depression, memory, heart disease, various cancers and boosting longevity.
More research is needed in all of these areas. However, turmeric obviously has a lot to offer!
Plus, it's pretty and tasty!
OK, let's get ready to eat.
Serving Ideas:
We love serving this turmeric chicken piled onto some steamed brown rice. (White or basmati rice would be fantastic, too.)
You could even serve this with some roasted potatoes (like my easy spicy roasted potatoes). Is it me or does almost everything go with roasted potatoes?
Then you just need a steamed or roasted veggie side and you are set!
But if you want to get more creative, you can use this easy turmeric chicken as the protein for any kind of grain and veggie bowl you can throw together.
That’s what I do in my turmeric chicken bowls with rice and hummus. And these cauliflower rice bowls with turmeric chicken. So much YUM!
Finally, this turmeric chicken makes a great wrap! I love doing that with leftovers — or if I’ve meal prepped this in advance.
I lay out a whole wheat wrap (a spinach wrap would be pretty too). Then I add some fresh spinach or lettuce, some warmed up turmeric chicken, some pickled red onions and a few dollops of hummus.
Lunch time winning right there!
I hope you give this recipe a try; I think you’re gonna love it!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Are fast and easy dinners right up your alley? Me too. Check out all of my 15-minute chicken recipes or browse my easy chicken recipes with 5 ingredients or less.
Easy Turmeric Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in about ½ inch cubes
- 1 ¼ teaspoons turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- Juice of ½ lemon
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.
- Season chicken pieces with turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne, if using.
- Add chicken to the pan and cook until cooked through, 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Squeeze lemon juice over cooked chicken, serve warm and enjoy!
joanne
Hi, is the calorie inclusive of the rice? Thanks!
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Joanne, the nutrition info is just for the turmeric chicken. Hope that helps!
Julie Harkey
I too have a question about the nutritional information. What ingredient would make this have 10g carbs per serving?
My own calculation based on these ingredients is much lower.
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Julie! I use an automated nutrition calculator that integrates with my recipe cards and while highly accurate most of the time, it is sometimes off. You are right that there's nothing here that should generate those carbs. I'll check a separate calculator and adjust the numbers here. Thanks for the heads up!
Julie A Harkey
Thanks for the response.
By the way, this recipe is delicious. I paired it with broccoli roasted in the oven with olive oil, lemon, and garlic. My husband must have said YUM a hundred times while eating it. I'm new to your site and looking forward to trying your other recipes.
Kathryn Doherty
Aww yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed it!! 😊
Angela
Hi
I’m not sure what I did wrong but I had a lot of water from chicken in the pan.
Kathryn Doherty
Hmm, I'm not sure why that would be. Regular chicken breasts shouldn't give off much, if any, water as they cook, particularly while being seared in a hot pan. It may be your chicken had a lot of filler added, or if the chicken had been frozen and then was defrosted in water, that may have leached in and been absorbed.
Ted
I’ve made this a couple times. It’s delish, easy and great for prepping. I finish by sautéing with pitted olives, a splash of the juice and serve with quinoa and a green veg (sautéed spinach w/ slivered almonds, steamed or roasted broccoli).
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you love this recipe Ted! Love how you finish and serve it, too - yum! Thanks for sharing! 😊
Rosemarie
Hi!
I just subscribed to your site! My son was diagnosed with Crohns and we love spicy food. Since he cannot eat spicy, I was told turmeric is a good substitute. The 15 min chicken turmeric caught my eye and I’m going to try u
it tonight. My question is serving size says 1.. I assume that’s 1cup?? Can you clarify? Also another person questioned 10gms carb but I see 2gm on nutritional chart.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm glad you found me and I hope you all enjoy this turmeric chicken! So, the recipe makes 4 servings and the nutritional information is for 1 serving. So it's 1/4 of the total recipe as prepared. Also, I checked another nutritional calculator and adjusted the carbs numbers here after the other reader pointed that out. So what's here now should be accurate. Hope that helps!
Brenda
Wonderful recipe!! I have a question when making one chicken breast or two. How much turmeric and pepper should I use? Thanks, love your blog!!
Kathryn Doherty
Thanks so much Brenda! It depends on the size of your chicken breasts... if they are on the large side, 2 chicken breasts would probably use about the same amount of seasoning as called for in the recipe while 1 would use half the amounts. If you are using a very small chicken breast, you'll want to reduce that even more. Hope that helps!
Brenda
Thank you! Is it like the same proportions for the other ingredients such as pepper, cumin etc? For one chicken breast. I don’t want to add too much turmeric cause it’s strong so what amount so you recommend?
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, you'll need to scale down the entire recipe. So if you use 1/2 the amount of chicken, you'll need to use 1/2 of the rest of the ingredients as well.
Ariana
I just found this recipe. It's great, my husband loves it so much he as asked for it twice this week.
Kathryn Doherty
Oh I'm so happy to hear you love it! Thank you so much for sharing! 😊
Carlos Sanchez
"Blah blah blah... It's just 4 ingredients! Blah blah blah...." Then it's actually 8 ingredients. lol
Kathryn Doherty
Haha, well, I don't count olive oil, salt or pepper as ingredients cause I figure if a person is cooking and making a recipe, they should surely have those basics on hand in the kitchen! And the cayenne is optional, which leaves the 4 ingredients. 🙂
barbara marco
How could I do this with skinless drum
sticks. Only part of the chicken I enjoy
but I don't want to debone.
Kathryn Doherty
I don't think this particular recipe will work with a bone-in chicken drumstick, skin on or not. I think they might be better off as a baked or Air Fryer preparation versus stovetop in a skillet.
barbara marco
I followed your recipe, but I did use skinless boneless chicken thighs. Everything is all prepared and ready to go in the pan minutes before dinner. Serving with salad and steamed broccoli. I'm excite.