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Whether you are an adventurous foodie or a meat and potatoes type, this easy Coconut Curry Chicken is totally for you.
Easy Coconut Curry Chicken Recipe
If you would have offered this easy chicken curry to me as a kid, there’s no way in heck I would have eaten it. I was dumb. I still am not a crazy adventurous eater (I don’t have any desire to try calamari or tongue), but I do enjoy trying different ethnic foods. I mean, one of our most popular recipes is my sister’s honey baked chicken, which uses curry. Ha! Look at me go!
Homemade coconut curry is not at all scary. In fact, with the coconut milk in there it’s actually creamy and really easy on the palate. Our oldest daughter was a little weirded out by that orange color at first, but our eight-year-old dug right in and was singing its praises.
In the end, this chicken curry with coconut milk was a success for the whole family and now it’s one of our favorite meals.
Coconut Curry Chicken Ingredients
We kept the ingredients list for the coconut curry sauce and chicken as short as possible. Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy chicken curry recipe:
- Chicken breasts
- Peanut oil
- Curry powder
- Garam Masala
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Coconut milk
- Tomato paste
- Salt and pepper
- Sugar
- Water
- Cornstarch
How to Make Coconut Curry Chicken
This chicken coconut curry comes together quickly. Here are the basic steps for this recipe:
- Dice the chicken into cubes, then season with curry powder, garam masala, salt, and pepper.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers and grill.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add more curry powder and garam masala and cook until fragrant.
- Stir in the chopped onion and cook until translucent.
- Whisk in the remaining ingredients and cook for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the grilled chicken.
- Serve over rice.
Can I Make Curry in a Slow Cooker?
Yes, to make this coconut curry chicken in a slow cooker simply combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.
What’s the Best Coconut Milk for Coconut Curry?
We prefer using sweetened canned coconut milk by a brand called Thai Kitchen. If you can’t find sweetened coconut milk, unsweetened will also work.
Tips for Making Coconut Curry Chicken
Grill the chicken — I think it’s because our spices aren’t as good as the authentic stuff, but giving that chicken a little smokey awesomeness is totally going to change this dish. If you must, just cook it in a pan, but grilling is better.
Bloom the curry — I’ve tried a few curry recipes both ways and hands down the best coconut curry starts by letting the curry powder cook in the oil for a minute or two, then adding the onion and finally moving on with the recipe. This allows the true flavor to “bloom,” or come out.
Opt for coconut milk — It’s creamy like heavy cream, but it’s also lighter and melds well with the curry.
To see all of our family dinner recipes, head here! These are a few of our favorites…
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Easy Coconut Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, (about 1 pound of chicken)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- Pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder, divided
- 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala, divided
- 1-2 Tablespoons Peanut Oil, or Canola
- 1 Onion, Medium Yellow, diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic, smashed
- 1 Can Sweetened Coconut Milk, (14 ounces) full fat, never lite
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Water
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- White Rice , for serving
- Cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- Chop the chicken into large chunks.2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and half of the curry and half of the garam masala.2 Tablespoons Curry Powder, 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala, 1 teaspoon Salt, Pepper
- Toss to coat evenly.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers (if wooden make sure you soaked them first) and place on a medium high heated grill.
- Turn the chicken every 1-2 minutes until grilled on each side, about 6-8 minutes.
- Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat add the oil and heat until shimmering.1-2 Tablespoons Peanut Oil
- Add the remaining curry and garam marsala.2 Tablespoons Curry Powder, 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
- Cook, stirring occasionally for 1 minute, add the onion and a little more oil if the pan is dry.1 Onion
- Continue to cook for 2 minutes or until the onion is tender, stirring often.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds then add coconut milk, paste, salt, pepper and sugar.1 teaspoon Salt, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1 Can Sweetened Coconut Milk, 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste, 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar, Pepper
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch.2 Tablespoons Water, 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- Whisk into the sauce.
- Simmer for 15 minutes and add the chicken into the sauce.
- Stir to combine and heat for 3 minutes then serve over rice with fresh cilantro.White Rice , Cilantro
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks delicious, thanks for the recipe! I’m a California gal living abroad, and I can’t really make any of my usual rotation meals, so I have been experimenting with curries and can’t wait to make this. Could I omit the Garam Masala? Anything you might suggest using in it’s place? Thank you!
Unfortunately, that is a spice that it really needs.
Hi! Happy New Year!
I love cooking with curry, my favorite dishes. I’ve cooked with coconut and curry a few years back for a Hawaiian chicken and actually used grape jelly to sweeten ( just experimenting at that time), turned out to be delicious. Of course, I told no one there was grape jelly in their dinner😂.
I so look forward to trying your coconut curry chicken. Always fun to try others recipes. Thanking you in advance. Love from NY!
Hello Dee! Happy New Year to you too! We would love to hear what you think about this recipe! We sure love it!
Really it was very easy to make Chicken curry. You did a great job everything you mentioned very clearly. Thanks for the post.
Thank you!
Can you substitute red curry paste for the tomato paste?
Can you substitute red curry paste for the tomato paste?
Great question! I would say yes, but I have never tried it to be sure. If you try it, let us know how you like it! Sounds delicious!!
Hahaa, curry has one of the best smell I love enjoying even when I was a little girl so I missed out anythin xo
Anyways, I have to say that curry is one of the best-ever cuisine!!!
– Natalie
Yay!!! This is a favorite in our house!! So happy you enjoyed it!
very good. Thank you for sharing!
This was the best meal I have ever made. I can’t even describe how delicious this was so I won’t even try! I will just say that I made it with easy Thai coconut rice and it was mind blowing. I will also say that I did not have corn starch so I left out the corn starch and water. The texture suffered a bit but the flavor was on point and it will be that much better next time. I will be making this recipe a lot.
Yay! You have made our day! It is so so soooo good! So happy you loved it!
I bought unsweetened coconut milk. How much sugar should I add ?
I’ve used unsweetened before and it turns out fine. If you are worried about it, add a couple of tablespoons. Enjoy!
Could I use brown sugar in place of white sugar with this recipe? Thanks!
We have never tried that, but it is worth a shot! I bet it would give it a yummy caramel taste!
It’s great, thank you for sharing the cooking.