This coconut curry chicken can be made in one pot and is packed with delicious flavors! This curry can be made in 30 minutes or less making it the perfect weeknight dinner.
Pair this coconut curry 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, this 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 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 typically 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: 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 flavor FAQs continued…
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 regular cream
- We add a little bit of brown sugar (optional) for sweetness
- Coriander is naturally a sweeter 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 vs 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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. Cream of coconut is far too sweet and coconut cream tends to be too thick (and overpoweringly coconut flavored) for this coconut curry chicken.
Coconut curry chicken additions
With just a few ingredients, this 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 additions: 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: thigh meat will work great instead of breast meat (grab 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 full potatoes for 5-8 minutes or until tender; cut them into quarters, and add them in alongside the red pepper (this is to slightly crisp them and flavor them with spices not to cook them because the microwave should do that!]).
- 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
How to make coconut curry chicken:
- 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 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
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 are beginning to get 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 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 (Note 1). If desired, stir in the fish sauce.
Serve over rice and/or with naan bread. Garnish individual plates with cilantro, basil, and/or crushed peanuts/cashews. Serve additional lime wedges by the side if desired.
Recipe Video
Note 1: If you want a thicker sauce, you can remove 1-2 tablespoons of the sauce to a small bowl and (with a fork) whisk in 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Whisk this mixture into the curry.
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
I love the flavors in here, Chelsea! Sounds delicious!
[email protected] Peas and Peonies says
Love all that coconut that you added to this curry, I made something similar a few weeks ago, I must add toasted coconut too!
[email protected] says
Thank you so much for sharing this, I can never seem to make it to my favorite Thai place, and I have a great recipe for pad thai, but not chicken curry. Pinned!
Kelly says
Hope Grey had an amazing birthday! Everything looked so adorable! I love coconut curry and yours looks perfect for dinner tonight!
Miche says
Made this tonight as a last minute thing… IMMEDIATELY saved it to my favourites recipe folder. SOOOOOOO very very good. Thank you for this recipe!
Chelsea Lords says
Yay!! SO happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks Miche!
Sam @ SugarSpunRun says
This chicken curry is right up my alley, Chelsea! It looks delicious!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
This looks fabulous! Stunning photos- this is such comfort food 🙂
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
Amazing Chelsea- I love anything curry!
Sarah says
If this doesn’t scream comfort food to me, I don’t even know what does! I’m always up for a weeknight curry! 🙂
[email protected] says
We’re super into coconut flavors this summer and have been embracing coconut water, coconut chips, and coconut milk! What better way to keep our affair with coconut going than this recipe. Especially love that the coconut sauce isn’t super creamy or taking over the chicken. We are so excited to try, and will definitely be topping with Dang Coconut Chips!
Cathleen @ A Taste Of Madness says
This curry looks amazing! I have been eating curry pretty much every week for the past few months, but it has always been the same kind. This looks like a great recipe to add to my regular rotation!
Lynn says
I will be the first to actually review this recipe! It was delicious and so easy. I started with 2 TBsp. of red curry paste and found I could go to 3 without it being too hot. I did use the full amount of brown sugar and again did not find it overpowering. This recipe is a keeper!
chelseamessyapron says
So happy to hear this was a hit! Thank so much for your comment and review Lynn! 🙂
LeeAnne says
I love these Thai dish additions!
I’m not Thai or even Asian but I love Thai food. Here are a few optional substitution ideas to try if you are feeling it:
1. Adding fresh THAI BASILl to a delicious curry dish like this one adds a nice Thai flavor! I use 1 full cup of fresh in mine.
2. PALM SUGAR is another ingredient that also provides a nice Thai flavor & is less sweet than sugar. If your grocer doesn’t carry it, you can find it on Amazon. 🙂
chelseamessyapron says
Thank you so much for the tips! 🙂
Maddie says
What can I sub if I don’t have the red curry?
Chelsea Lords says
Honestly I’d wait til you have it; it’s a big part of the flavor in this recipe! (Technically you can substitute more curry powder, but I do think the red curry makes this dish so much better!)
Kalliopi Malai says
I have made this last week for the first time, doubled all the ingredients for 12 guests for my birthday. Risky??? Maybe!!! But, there was nothing left at the end of the evening! I am making this again today for my daughter who arrived from France where she has been studying for the past 4 years.
I search a lot the Internet for good recipes. This is a GREAT recipe that I will make again and again.
Chelsea you have become my favourite cook outside of Europe where my family and I live (we live on the beautiful island of Cyprus). Keep up the excellent work!
Chelsea Lords says
I am seriously SOOO happy to hear this!! And seriously so flattered. Thank you so much for your sweet comment and I’m sooo happy you all enjoyed this dish! Cyprus looks like quite the destination!!
Nikie says
Excellent. I have made many different versions of coconut curry and this is the best one hands down. I’m on Keto so I used brown swerve instead of brown sugar but other than that I followed the recipe exact. Delicious
Chelsea Lords says
Yayyy!!! I”m sooo happy to hear this! Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
Kristen says
I really loved this recipe. It was easy to make, and I had every item in my pantry. I was slightly concerned about a curry recipe without any tomato, but I found that the addition of lime juice and brown sugar brought the right balance of acid and sweetness that tomatoes would have had. The addition of fish sauce brought a savory umami to the dish. Perfect!
Chelsea Lords says
YAYY!! I’m soo happy you enjoyed this dish! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Mel says
After my wife had a disappointing chicken curry dish at a local restaurant, I searched for a recipe online and came upon yours. I cooked it yesterday for lunch and it was bursting with flavors! Quite delicious! About the only thing I would tweak would be the heat level. I used 3 Tbsp of red curry paste, according to the recipe, so maybe I will just dial that down a bit next time as my wife doesn’t like her dish too spicy. Two thumbs way up!
Chelsea Lords says
I’m soooo happy to hear this!! Thank you so much for your comment!! 🙂
Jill says
Wow – made it tonight and everyone loved it! Even the 7 year olds. Thank you!
Chelsea Lords says
I am sooo happy to hear that everyone loved it!! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Patricia says
Really delicious! Made for dinner, omitted the brown sugar (forgot about it) recipe was incredible. Will make again. Thank you!
Olivia Mendenhall says
Yay!! I’m soo happy you enjoyed!! Thanks! 🙂
Jackie says
Absolutely love this recipe – thanks so much for posting it Chelsea.
Is it possible to freeze the left overs?
Olivia Mendenhall says
Hey Jackie! I’m soo glad you enjoyed this! I haven’t personally frozen this dish before but I would imagine the curry would freeze well. Let me know if you try it! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Nina says
Flavorful, hearty, delicious. Add some potatoes and it’s magic.
Olivia Mendenhall says
MMM sounds awesome with potatoes! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
AL says
Great recipe! I suggest follow the instructions completely. And you will get great results.
Chelsea Lords says
Thank you AL! 🙂
Robin says
Excellent recipe! Except for one thing – you should marinate the chicken pieces in 1 c. yoghurt, 2 cl. garlic, S&P and citrus (2 med lemons – juice and zest) first. The sauce was great, but the meat was not juicy. Trying to duplicate our fave Indian restaurant, Sugharth. Hard!
Chelsea Lords says
Thanks Robin! 🙂
Alyssa says
I tried chicken curry for the first time this summer and I was instantly hooked. I looked around for a recipe to make it myself and I’m so glad I chose this one. For a first attempt at dealing with these flavors, it came out so well. This will definitely be put in my rotation for weeknight meals. Thank you for posting, it was seriously so good!
Chelsea Lords says
Yay!! Love hearing this! Thanks so much for trying and the review Alyssa 🙂
Kristin says
My husband and I made this for dinner last night and OMG was it amazing. We love Indian food but I’ve never been able to find a recipe that compares to what you get at the restaurant but this was even better than what we get in the restaurants! It had a tiny bit of heat but wasn’t overpowering, there was a subtle sweetness to it but again not overpowering. Everything about this dish was perfect.
Chelsea Lords says
Yay! So happy this chicken curry was a hit! 🙂 Thanks for the comment and review Kristin!
Gayle says
Possibly the best coconut curry I’ve ever made. Will definitely
make this often. Followed the recipe exactly except did not use fish sauce. Thank you!
Chelsea Lords says
Yay!! So happy it was a hit 🙂 Thanks Gayle!
jenny says
This was SO GOOD!!! I will definitely make it again. One question regarding the nutritional information… Does the carb count reflect the full amount of brown sugar(2T)? Also, does it include the rice/naan serving suggestion or just the dish itself? Thanks!
Chelsea Lords says
So glad you enjoyed! 🙂 It does include the brown sugar, but not the rice or naan since that will greatly vary depending on brands and how much 🙂
S says
I have to admit this didn’t really work for me. I recommend people marinate the chicken before cooking it, at least in some spices because I found it didn’t really absorb the flavours of the (good tasting) sauce. Also I’m not sure if this was just my coconut milk brand but I found it to be pretty runny and a lot more pale-coloured than in the photos here.
Chelsea Lords says
Sorry to hear this wasn’t for you! Sounds like the coconut milk could definitely be part of the problem if your sauce was runny and pale; I’d try a different brand next time (Chaokoh is amazing!)
Moni Correa says
Amazing!!! My family eat it all!!!
Chelsea Lords says
So happy to hear it! 🙂
Kristen Belletto says
This was delicious ?
I was nervous about making this, it’s my boyfriends favorite, but it turned out so incredibly good, I added some cubed cooked sweet potatoes, zucchini mushrooms and sugar snap peas
Chelsea Lords says
So happy it was a hit! 🙂 Thanks for the comment and review!
Edie says
I loved this. My husband wanted a tiny bit more spice.
Chelsea Lords says
You can definitely add another tablespoon or so of the paste and some red pepper flakes for next time if you’d like 🙂 Glad you loved it!
Jude says
My husband’s comment was that he could happily eat this meal every night forever. A huge hit!
Chelsea Lords says
Oh that makes my day to hear! 🙂 Thanks so much Jude!
Shannon says
I’ve never posted a response, but felt I had to with this one. I’m always looking for different recipes and have tried a different chicken curry which I wasn’t fond of. Made this for my husband, my picky 95 year old grandmother and myself. It was delicious! Followed recipe exactly and loved it! Thank you so much, will definitely make again as we all enjoyed it and finished our plates!
Chelsea Lords says
Ahhh I am seriously sooo happy to hear this!! YAY!! Thanks for your kind comment! 🙂
Shakira says
Three thumbs up!?? I followed the recipe, added potatoes, and used fish sauce. Delicious! I did at the end add plenty more curry powder, curry paste, salt, pepper, and lime juice. ???
Chelsea Lords says
So happy to hear that!! Thanks Shakira 🙂
Chanel says
This is the best red curry I’ve ever had/made. The yellow curry powder was an absolute game changer
Chelsea Lords says
So happy to hear that! Thanks Chanel 🙂
Samia Rashid omar says
Hi.. your recipe seems tummy. I want to try it out. I am.just cant figure out what is yellow curry powder? Any substitute? Please get back to me. Thanks
Chelsea Lords says
You can find it with typical spices; here’s an image to help: https://thrivemarket.com/p/simply-organic-curry-powder?utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla_smart&utm_campaign=Shopping_Engagement_Smart_Members&utm_content=089836187635&utm_term=na&gclid=CjwKCAiA__HvBRACEiwAbViuUzpN9Yg0Ny2GlJ42B6uDivLorO0u4c6u-jDGwuZzuigrLlu4GO8qthoCvs4QAvD_BwE
Saadia says
Good recipe. Highly recommend it. I made it at dinner yesterday. Everyone like it a lot. Thanks a lot for posting such delicious recipe!
Chelsea Lords says
So happy to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks!
Lily says
I made this for the first time for my in-laws and they absolutely LOVED it. Honestly, I think this recipe is better than going to a Thai restaurant. I am planning on making this again for Christmas with my parents. =) Thank you for sharing!
I highly recommend this recipe if you are wanting to impress your guests!
Chelsea Lords says
Wow what a compliment!! SO thrilled this recipe was such a hit and better than a restaurant 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment and review 🙂
Brian Burke says
Any idea if Yellow Curry Paste would work instead of Red Curry Paste? We have yellow but not red 🙂
Thanks!
Chelsea Lords says
Hey Brian! If you don’t mind things spicy, I’d try this yellow chicken curry instead 🙂
Krystle says
This recipe is absolutely delicious! The flavors are perfect. My husband said it’s easily one of his favorite dishes I’ve ever made. Thanks so much!
Chelsea Lords says
Thrilled to hear that! Thanks so much for the comment and review Krystle 🙂
Maria Lingard says
Hey! trying this dish out and wondering what size can for the coconut milk?? Thanks 🙂
Chelsea Lords says
14.6 ounces 🙂
Allie says
Made this recipe and it was as easy and delicious as mentioned above! Definitely going to make it again in the near future.
Chelsea Lords says
So happy to hear that! Thanks Allie 🙂
Anita says
Amazing! Better than any restaurant or jarred curry! This was my first attempt ever making a chicken curry.
I shortened my cooking time by using rotisserie chicken, no fish oil or peppers, and doubled yellow curry since I missed the red curry purchase at the store.
This delicious combination over white basmati rice and fresh cilantro is a must to try! Thank you for sharing!
Chelsea Lords says
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the comment Anita 🙂
Katie says
This looks delicious. I’m planning on making it tomorrow. I was just wondering if you’ve ever made it in a crockpot or instant pot?
Katie says
I made it in the crock pot today and it was amazing. I put the onions and garlic in, put the chicken on top of them then put the ginger on top of the chicken. I mixed the coconut milk and all the seasonings together. Used honey instead of brown sugar. Then I Poured the mix on top of the chicken 👌 I added the bell pepper in towards the end so it still had a slight crunch. Shredded the chicken and put it over brown rice🙌 So good! Thank you for sharing such a yummy recipe, would highly recommend!
Chelsea Lords says
So happy to hear this was a hit! 🙂 And thanks for sharing how you made this in the crockpot; so helpful!