Mango Chicken Curry

This Mango Chicken Curry has a robust flavor, erring on the side of more sweet than spicy. The “secret” to this delicious curry? Blending mango in the coconut curry sauce and then adding even more mango to the finished dish! 

Try some of our other popular curries — this Yellow Chicken Curry, Instant Pot Butter Chicken, or Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup.

Mango Chicken Curry

The more uses I can find for mango, the better. It’s easily my favorite fruit so I’ll add it into whatever I can — sweet or savory! And since chicken curry is one of the go-to meals at my home, I decided mango needed to make an appearance in it. 

I started with my favorite Coconut Curry Chicken recipe and took some inspiration from this recipe by Elise at Simply Recipes. A little bit of trial and error and I couldn’t be more excited with the outcome and to share this recipe!

Let’s chat mangoes

• We love honey mangos (also known as Ataulfo or yellow mangoes) best in this Mango Chicken Curry, but regular mangoes work great as well. (Honey mangos are sweeter and creamier than regular mangos.)
• To tell if mangos are ripe, squeeze them gently. If it’s ripe, it will give slightly. Mangos get softer as they ripen and will continue to ripen after you bring them home from the store. Keep not-quite-ripe (slightly firm) mangos at room temperature and they’ll continue to ripen. Once they’re to the perfect ripeness, you can move them to the fridge to slow down the ripening process.
• For a sweeter curry sauce, wait until the mangos are at peak ripeness. For a less sweet (more spicy) curry sauce, use a slightly more firm mango.
• We’ve tested this recipe with frozen mangos and had great results with them. Frozen mangos are pretty good — they are always picked when ripe, just not at their peak ripeness (they’d get too mushy when frozen and defrosted). But when you can’t always count on finding fresh, ripe mangos at the store, you can count on frozen ones being ripe enough to give this curry great flavor and sweetness.
• Here’s a quick and helpful visual guide on how to cut a mango.

Mango Chicken Curry Tips

• It can be overwhelming to navigate coconut milk in the grocery store. Look for shelf-stable, not refrigerated, cans of coconut milk. You’ll find canned coconut milk on the international aisle, with Latin or Asian products. Here’s an article outlining the best brands to use. I personally use Imperial Kitchen® since I can find it often at my local grocery store. Use full-fat coconut milk for the best flavor and thickness. Lite coconut milk won’t thicken and give you the rich, full flavor that regular coconut milk will. Cream of coconut is far too sweet and coconut cream tends to be too thick (and overpoweringly coconut flavored) for this curry.
• Take time to sauté the spices. Instead of immediately dumping all the ingredients into the pot, we want to take time to sauté the curry paste and seasonings. This creates a more heightened flavor dimension.
• When blending, make sure to secure the lid on tightly and then select the “soup” or “hot” cycle. Remember that heat expands, so increase speed slowly and watch it carefully to avoid the sauce exploding out or over. Remove the lid carefully as it will likely release a burst of steam. If your blender doesn’t have a hot/soup setting, you can compensate by replacing the blender lid with a folded towel and holding it in place with your hands. This will help reduce steam pressure.
• Red curry paste adds loads of flavor without requiring lots of additional (often hard-to-find) ingredients. Curry pastes can vary from brand to brand, particularly in spiciness. We use Thai Kitchen® which I would say is very mild and has a great flavor. I’ve also used Maesri® red curry paste, which is probably my favorite flavor-wise, but it’s a lot spicier than Thai Kitchen. When making Mango Chicken Curry for my kids, I use Thai Kitchen.

Serving suggestions

Don’t skip the toppings! They are what pull everything together in this curry!

• Fresh, finely chopped cilantro adds a burst of freshness. Basil (Thai basil if you can find it) is also a great herb to top this Mango Chicken Curry!
• Fresh-squeezed lime juice adds a hit of needed acid. 
• Kaffir lime leaves are one of our favorites. These leaves add a really nice citrusy flavor to this curry. They’re often tricky to find in a mainstream grocery store, so I purchase a bunch at a time and freeze them — they freeze beautifully! If you can’t find these leaves, add in some additional lime zest for an extra punch of citrus flavor.
•  A scoop of coconut yogurt on top adds some coolness, additional texture, and flavor to the curry.
• Roti bread is a traditional side for this Thai-inspired curry, but I often have a hard time finding it. So, while not traditional, we love toasted naan or pita to serve on the side. We love Stonefire® naan.
• Dry-roasted and lightly salted cashews make a nice crunchy topping.

More delicious curry recipes

• Grilled Curry Chicken with coconut rice
• Lentil Curry with fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
• Sweet Potato Curry with spinach
• Chicken Curry Soup with sweet peas
• Vegetable Curry with loads of veggies!

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5 from 8 votes

Mango Chicken Curry

By Chelsea Lords

Mango Chicken Curry is a sweet, flavor-packed dish with a secret: blended mango in the coconut curry sauce and extra mango stirred in at the end!

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• Large pot
• Blender

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ▢ 1 large yellow onion chopped, 1-1/2 cups
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger coarsely chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons garlic coarsely chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons red curry paste see note 1
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ▢ 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 2 cups ripe mango see note 2
• ▢ 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk full-fat, see note 3
• ▢ 1-1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces; I love thighs best
• ▢ Optional additions see note 4
• ▢ Cooked rice see note 5, for serving

Instructions 

• Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once melted/hot, add chopped onions and bell pepper. Sauté, cooking occasionally, until soft, about 7–9 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add red curry paste, coriander, curry powder, cumin, and salt to taste (I add 1 tsp salt). Cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, 1–3 minutes. Reduce heat slightly and add a touch more oil if anything is sticking too much.
• Add 1 cup of the mango and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Vigorously shake the can of coconut milk and pour it in. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil, then lower heat to a low simmer and cook for 10–15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Once the mixture has simmered, carefully transfer the sauce to a blender. Blend the sauce (see note 5) until completely smooth, then return the sauce to the pot.
• Heat sauce over medium-low, returning it to a low simmer. Once simmering, add chicken and stir through. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 8–15 minutes. (Breast pieces are usually done around 8 minutes and thighs closer to 15—sometimes a bit longer depending on size.) Check doneness by using a meat thermometer or cutting into the largest piece of chicken—it should be white throughout.
• Once chicken is cooked through, reduce heat to the lowest setting and stir in the remaining 1 cup mango. If using, add in chopped cilantro (I add about 1/3 cup, finely chopped), zest and juice of a lime, fish sauce, and/or kaffir lime leaves if using. Taste and adjust curry seasonings to preference. Add salt if needed. If too sweet, add a touch more fish sauce, and if it’s not sweet enough, add a touch of sugar—flavors should sing! Serve curry over cooked rice and garnish plates with additional cilantro if desired. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Curry pastes vary from brand to brand in spiciness. I use Thai Kitchen®, which is mild and has a great flavor. I’ve also used Maesri® red curry paste, which is my favorite flavor-wise, but it’s a lot spicier. When making Mango Chicken Curry for my kids, I use Thai Kitchen.

Note 2: Honey mangos (Ataulfo or yellow mangos) are my favorite for this recipe—they’re sweeter and creamier than regular mangos, but either works well. Ripe mangos give slightly when squeezed. For a sweeter curry, use fully ripe mangos. Frozen mangos are also a great option when fresh ones aren’t available. Just chop the second cup into smaller pieces for better bite-sized chunks, as frozen mango pieces can be quite large.

Note 3: Look for shelf-stable, not refrigerated, cans of coconut milk. Here’s an article outlining the best brands to use. I use Imperial Kitchen® since I can find it at my local grocery store. Use full-fat coconut milk for best flavor and thickness. Lite coconut milk won’t thicken as much. Cream of coconut is far too sweet, and coconut cream is too thick and overpowering for this curry.

Note 4: Optional additions: fresh lime juice and zest, fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2–3 kaffir lime leaves, and fine sea salt.

Note 5: Foolproof and delicious basmati rice: 

• Measure rice and rinse in a fine-mesh sieve until water runs clear.
• Place the rice in a bowl and cover it with water to soak for about 5–10 minutes.
• While rice is soaking, fill a large pot with water and set it to boil.
• Once water is at a rolling boil, drain the rice and add it to the pot.
• Cook without reducing the heat, 5–6 minutes (taste test a piece to ensure tenderness to preference), then drain and fluff with a fork.
• Note that these cooking directions do not work for other rice varieties (long grain, short grain, jasmine, etc.).

Note 6: When blending, secure the lid tightly and select the “soup” or “hot” cycle. Heat expands, so increase speed slowly and watch carefully to avoid curry sauce exploding. Remove the lid carefully, as it will likely release a burst of steam. If your blender doesn’t have a hot/soup setting, you can replace the blender lid with a folded towel and hold it in place with your hands. This will help reduce steam pressure.

Nutrition Note: Nutrition information does not include rice.

Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–5 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost fully in the fridge before reheating.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 316mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 3607IU | Vitamin C: 71mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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