A low carb, quick, and easy canned mackerel curry recipe made in minutes in a gorgeous curry sauce. With mild heat, this fish curry in a hurry is the perfect mid-week easy keto meal!
Please note this is not sponsored and there are many canned mackerel brands on the market, but you might not be able to find canned mackerel in olive oil in your local supermarket.
I love canned mackerel recipes for on a keto diet. They tend to be really quick to make, while still nutritious. Also, canned fish curry is really easy to make as it stores in a cupboard for years and doesn’t need cooking.
So far I’ve made:
And now, it’s time for this easy mid-week meal, a canned mackerel curry recipe. YES, it goes without saying, it can be made as a canned tuna curry, too!
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✔️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Here’s why we think this is one of the best fish curry recipes you’ll make:
- Little prep time
- Low carb and healthy
- Made in minutes and full of flavour
- One of the easiest fish curries ever
- Uses with store cupboard ingredients
- Packed with vitamin B and essential fatty acids
- Easier to work with than big chunks of bone-in fish
- No need to make an onion paste in a food processor
- Budget friendly dish: a 4oz/125 g tin mackerel goes a long way
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities and preparation instructions at the bottom of this post.
- Canned mackerel fillets – in olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, unlike sunflower oil or brine
- Olive oil – for sauteing the onions and vegetables, or coconut oil, vegetable oil etc
- Red onion Halved and sliced
- Courgette (zucchini) – diced, or similar soft vegetables that cook quickly, like bell peppers
- mushrooms – for taste and bulk
- Ground ginger – or a small piece such as a 2 cm knob of fresh ginger if preferred for a warming and delicious fish curry
- Medium curry powder – or a hotter curry powder if preferred
- Mild chilli powder – this is mild red chilli powder for subtle heat
- Tikka paste – this is a smooth paste, or you could use red chillies or fresh green finger chillies to your taste
- full fat yogurt – for a creamy taste, or you could use swap for thick coconut milk
- Tinned tomatoes – for a tomato base, or use fresh vine tomatoes for a juicy sauce
- Peanut butter – for a creamy satay style base, which would team beautifully if swapping yogurt for thick or thin coconut milk
- Seasoning – salt and black pepper to taste
- Lime juice – to enhance the flavours, or lemon juice if more accessible
- Fresh coriander/cilantro to garnish
- Sesame seed oil – to drizzle for a nutty taste
📋 Instructions
1. Heat up the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Then gently soften the onion, courgette (zucchini), and mushrooms for 3 minutes.
2. Now add everything else except the tinned mackerel, fresh coriander, sesame seed oil, and lime.
Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce is no longer grainy from the yogurt.
3. Stir in the tinned mackerel in extra virgin olive oil (or drained mackerel if it is in brine).
Reduce to a low heat, and heat through for 2-3 minutes while breaking up the mackerel pieces with a spatula.
4. Next, serve with your favourite side (I serve with salad).
Then drizzle with a squeeze of fresh lime, sesame oil and garnish with a big handful coriander leaves
Tip: When heating up the mackerel, avoid boiling it as you don’t want to destroy the properties and health benefits of the extra virgin olive oil.
👩🍳 Substitutions
Depending on your dietary needs, here are a few simple swaps you can make:
- Canned mackerel: you can use fresh mackerel instead of canned, but you will need to cook it first before adding it to the curry. Alternatively, you can use any tin of your favourite fish like canned tuna, sardines or make a salmon curry
- Vegetables – It’s very versatile where you can swap for any tender vegetables that cook quickly. But avoid root veg, unless they are grated
- Curry powder: If you don’t have any, you could add some of your favourite spices like ground coriander, cumin seeds, ground turmeric, a pinch of fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, etc
- Tikka paste: If you don’t have tikka paste, you can use any other curry pastes such as korma, madras, or vindaloo, etc
- Peanut butter: swap for almond butter for higher protein and fibre
⚖️ Variations
Here are a different ways you can enhance and truly personalise this recipe:
- Spicy: If you like more heat in your curry, you can fresh chillies if preferred, and add red pepper flakes or chilli flakes
- Creamy: For a creamier curry, swap yogurt for coconut milk or add some cream cheese
- Tangy: for a more sweet and sour taste, try adding a tablespoon tamarind paste similar to a pathia curry and stir in some sour cream at the end
- Fruity: you could add chopped pineapple, apricots, or dried fruit like sultanas in Coronation Chicken
- Deluxe: you could add some garlic cloves for a more complex taste, a teaspoon of lemongrass, fresh curry leaves, ½ teaspoon caster sugar, and a dash of fish sauce
- Mixed seafood: use mixed fish such as cod fillets, prawns, or squid rings, etc
- Vegetarian: for a quick vegetarian curry, you can replace the canned mackerel with chickpeas, lentils, legumes, tofu or soy mince such as Quorn
See my slow cooker tuna curry version here.
🔪 Equipment
Please note that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links.
❄️ Storage
Storing – we prefer eating this mackerel curry freshly cooked, but it can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing – cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Reheating – If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or on the hob or stove.
💡Pro Tips
- When heating up the mackerel, avoid boiling it as you don’t want to destroy the properties and health benefits of the extra virgin olive oil
- If using mackerel in sunflower oil, I recommend draining it as it can trigger inflammation in the joints if eaten excessively
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Here are a few side ideas for tinned mackerel curry:
- Cauliflower rice – this is a great low carb alternative to regular rices such as jasmine rice, basmati, brown rice, etc
- Courgetti – AKA zoodles, spiralized and gently pan fried
- Celeriac chips – another low carb side that are great for dipping
- Salad: my favourite way to eat fish curry is with a colourful leafy green salad
- Extra veggies – I often eat with stir-fried or steamed kale, asparagus, broccoli florets, mushrooms, etc
❓ FAQ
Firstly, the term “healthy” can mean many different things, depending on what diet you are following. But if you’re following a low fat diet, try finding canned mackerel in water or brine.
For good fats, then I recommend choosing mackerel in olive oil or extra virgin olive oil.
Note: the most common canned mackerel I tend to find is in sunflower oil, which the NHS suggests only eating in small accounts as it is inflammatory. In other words, sunflower oil offers some omega benefits, but too much can contribute to arthritis, etc. *And not as much Omega as olive oil!
So, personally, the best canned mackerel you can buy is one in olive oil or extra virgin olive oil. And choose one that is responsibly sourced, making it more sustainable. You’ll also notice on the canned mackerel nutrition label that it’s low in carbs, sugar, fibre and salt.
➕ More Curry Recipes
Looking for more easy curry recipes like this? Try these:
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📖 Recipe
Easy Canned Mackerel Fish Curry Recipe
A low carb, quick, and easy canned mackerel curry recipe made in minutes in a gorgeous curry sauce. With mild heat, this fish curry in a hurry is the perfect mid-week easy keto meal!
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Ingredients
Instructions
Heat up the oil in a saucepan then gently soften the onion, courgette (zuchini), and mushrooms for 3 minutes.
Add everything else except the tinned mackerel, fresh herbs and sesame seed oil then simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce is no longer grainy from the yogurt.
Stir in the tinned mackerel in olive oil and simmer and stir for 2-3 minutes. Do not boil as you don’t want to destroy the extra virgin olive oil benefits if using.
Serve with a twist of lime juice, sesame seed oil and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves.
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World’s website can be found at Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Notes
- When heating up the mackerel, avoid boiling it as you don’t want to destroy the properties and health benefits of the extra virgin olive oil
- If using mackerel in sunflower oil, I recommend draining it as it can trigger inflammation in the joints if eaten excessively
Nutrition
Calories: 323kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 19gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 290mgPotassium: 633mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 4191IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 257mgIron: 3mg
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