Make Coconut Curry Chicken in one pot in 30 minutes or less. It’s packed with delicious flavors and is the perfect weeknight dinner.
Pair Coconut Curry Chicken with rice and/or naan bread. A side of roasted carrots or roasted sweet potatoes would also pair nicely.
When you’re not sure what to make for dinner, creamy Coconut Curry Chicken always comes through.
It’s fast, flavorful, and healthy! This is one of my husband’s all-time favorite meals, and while I tend to prefer veggies over meat (hiiii there, butternut squash curry), this is one of my favorites as well.
Coconut Curry flavor
Today we’re using red curry in this dish, alongside yellow curry powder and a good amount of coriander. If you’re wondering what coconut curry tastes like, it’s a bit sweet but mostly savory with hints of spice from the red curry. Red curry is made from crushed red chilies, garlic, lemongrass, shallots, ginger and fish paste. We amp up those flavors with additional garlic, ginger, and onions.
So as far as spiciness goes, I would rate this dish as mild, but it does depend on the brand of red curry you use. I’ve found Thai Kitchen® is generally quite mild.
Coconut Curry Chicken FAQs
What makes curry sweet?
- Cooking the onions slowly and for a longer period causes the onions to brown and develop a sweeter flavor.
- Coconut milk makes this curry sweeter than using regular cream.
- We add a little bit of brown sugar (optional) for sweetness.
- Coriander is a naturally sweet spice. Curry powder tends to be on the sweeter side as well (more on this below).
What does curry powder taste like?
Curry powder has a unique flavor with both savory and sweet spices. Cumin, turmeric, and bay leaf give curry powder a deep, earthy and savory flavor while the sweet spices such as cinnamon and cloves add brightness and sweetness.
With all of the various coconut products, it’s hard to know what will work best in your coconut curry chicken. To help, I’m breaking it down below.
Coconut milk or coconut cream?
- Coconut milk has the liquid consistency of cow’s milk. It’s the basis of most Thai curries and is made by simmering 1 part shredded coconut to 1 part water.
- Coconut cream has a much thicker and richer consistency than coconut milk. Coconut cream is made from simmering 4 parts shredded coconut to 1 part water.
- Cream of coconut is a sweetened version of coconut cream. It’s generally used in drinks or desserts. With all the added sugar, it’s not a great substitute for coconut cream.
Can I use coconut cream in curry?
In this coconut curry chicken, we use full-fat coconut milk. Lite coconut milk won’t thicken and give you a rich full flavor like regular coconut milk. Coconut cream tends to be too thick (and overpoweringly coconut flavored) for this coconut curry chicken and cream of coconut is far too sweet.
Coconut Curry Chicken additions
With just a few ingredients, creamy Coconut Curry Chicken goes from good to WOW.
Our must-have additions: fresh lime juice, finely chopped cilantro (or basil!) a little bit of brown sugar.
Other great add-ins: chopped peanuts or cashews, fish sauce.
Variations
- Coconut Curry Chicken and vegetables: This curry has some red pepper in it, but feel free to increase the veggies! You can add some carrot sticks (add along with red pepper) and spinach (stir in at the very end — residual heat will cook it down).
- Coconut Curry Chicken thighs: Chicken thighs will work great instead of breast meat (use boneless skinless and adjust for cooking time).
- Chicken Curry with coconut milk and potatoes: Try adding baby Yukon gold potatoes (to do this, I microwave whole potatoes for 5-8 minutes or until tender; cut them into quarters and add them in alongside the red pepper. This helps the potatoes catch up to the rest of the ingredients and yet still absorb the delicious flavors).
- Coconut Chicken Curry slow cooker recipe: try this recipe!
More delicious chicken dinners
- Easy, One-Pot Pesto Chicken Tortellini
- Mango Chicken
- Chicken Ramen
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken over coconut rice
Coconut Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil separated
- 1/2 medium yellow onion diced (~1/2 cup)
- 3 cloves minced garlic (~1 and 1/2 teaspoons)
- 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger (from a 1 and 1/2 inch piece)
- 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen; reduce or increase as desired for spice levels)
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
- Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 1 can (13.5 oz.) full-fat coconut milk (NOT lite)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce, optional
- 1/4 cup cilantro and/or basil diced
- Serve over/with: cooked basmati rice and naan bread with additional lime wedges
- Optional: chopped peanuts or cashews
Instructions
- Start by prepping ingredients: Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and mince the ginger. I peel the ginger with a spoon or vegetable peeler and then finely mince it. Thinly slice the red bell pepper into long vertical strips and then cut those strips in half horizontally.
- Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 3-5 minutes or until onions begin to turn golden. Add the garlic and ginger; stir to coat everything with the oil. Lower the heat to low and add in the curry powder, red curry paste, and coriander. Stir often for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant.
- Return the heat to medium high. Add in the remaining 1 tablespoon coconut oil and the red bell pepper. Stir for 1-2 minutes and then add in the bite-sized pieces of chicken. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste (I add 1 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper). Cook, stirring often for about 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is browned on both sides, but not cooked through.
- Pour in the coconut milk, lime juice, and brown sugar (to taste; I start with just 1 tablespoon). Stir until chicken is cooked through (juices run clear and it is cooked to 165 degrees F) and curry is slightly thickened (See Note 1). If desired, stir in the fish sauce.
- Serve over rice and/or with naan. Garnish individual plates with cilantro, basil, and/or crushed peanuts/cashews. Serve additional lime wedges by the side if desired.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was an awesome recipe! So flavorful! Do you think this would freeze well? My son (at college with a broken wrist) loved it after his surgery.
Hey Kristin! I am so happy you have enjoyed this dish! I haven’t tried freezing it yet but I would imagine it should freeze well, as long as the rice isn’t frozen with it! Let me know if you try it out! 🙂
Making this again with shrimp and potatoes!
Oh yum! So glad you’re enjoying this Coconut Curry Chicken recipe!
Incredibly delicious! No reason to need to do takeout anymore for a good red curry. You can also add some chicken broth if you want to thin it out a little
So happy you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
This was absolutely delicious! It is my go to recipe from now on. I will add potatoes and carrots next time! What would you suggest for an vegetarian version? I would love to make for my vegan son.
So happy to hear that! Thank you 🙂 I bet he’d love this: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/vegetable-curry/
Absolutely fabulous recipe. I’ve made it a handful of times for far and initially used red curry paste made by Thai Kitchen. It was really good, but had a touch of some flavor I didn’t love. Then I switched to Curry Love red curry paste and wow that made this recipe killer. That one change made a huge difference. I didn’t enjoy the fish sauce in it either, but love the rest of the recipe. Simply delicious!
Thank you so much for the comment and review 🙂 I’ll have to try Curry Love’s paste!
After coming back to make this curry for the 10th time at least, I figured it was time to let you know how much we love it! We are a curry loving household over here, and I’ve tried many different recipes. This is my go-to now. Thank you!!
That is so fun to hear, yay! Thank you so much Ellen! 🙂
Made this when my wife was out of town. She came home and had leftovers and loved it. So, we made it again a few nights later. This time added an additional yellow pepper and frozen peas. So good! Pairs well with Sauvignon Blanc. When I started making it the second time I accidentally went to your yellow chicken curry recipe. I got to the potatoes step and realized I was on the wrong recipe 😃. We’ll try that next.
So happy this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for the comment! I hope you both love the yellow curry next 🙂
from new zealand–mum said i cant cook this any more–turns out my cooking of this recipie is better than hers–
HAHA!! Made my day!
Absolutely delicious. I’m gonna add this to the dinner rotation!
So happy to hear that! 🙂
This was my first Thai chicken curry and it is delicious as written without any substitutes. I have made a Chinese chicken curry several times however this is the bomb! Used fish sauce and cilantro options as mentioned in recipe.