Coconut Curry Chicken
213 Comments
Updated Jan 28, 2024
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Coconut curry chicken is a healthy dinner that’s packed with flavor. Just let the chicken simmer in curry spice and coconut milk. Then serve over a fluffy bed of rice to soak up the saucy goodness. It’s an easy, one-pan meal you and your guests will love.
With all of my travels, I’ve found that curry spice is a staple ingredient in so many countries. The recipes made with curry spice are unique and delicious in their own way, with some extra spicy and some sweet and tangy.
And you can’t beat the combination of a rich and flavorful sauce over freshly cooked rice. It’s another form of comfort food at its finest.
If you’ve been avoiding curry because it sounds hard to make, think again. All you need are a few fresh ingredients and the perfect blend of spices. Not to mention, it’s all done in one pan and is great for feeding a large crowd or storing away for an easy meal prep, just like this chickpea curry!
Coconut Curry Chicken Recipe Video
While this recipe is easy, it always helps to watch a quick step-by-step video tutorial. Give it a watch below!
WHAT IS CURRY?
You’ve probably come across the word “curry” – whether it be on restaurant menus or packaged jars in the market. But before you associate it with only Indian cuisine, it goes far beyond that.
Curry is a complex blend of spices and herbs that are made differently in various countries. It’s generally prepared in a rich sauce that’s cooked with veggies, meats, or fish. There’s Japanese katsu curry, Chinese chicken curry, Persian massaman curry, Afghan chicken korma – and the list goes on. But today, I’m going to show you how to make one of my all time favorites: Thai coconut curry chicken.
COCONUT CURRY CHICKEN INGREDIENTS
This one-pan meal is so easy to make with the help of curry powders and a few fresh ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Veggies: Freshly diced onions, bell peppers, and garlic
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Spices: Curry powder and ginger powder
- Coconut Milk: a can of full-fat coconut milk
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and lime juice
- Herbs: Freshly chopped cilantro
- Rice: White rice or cauliflower rice
HOW TO MAKE COCONUT CURRY CHICKEN
In just 30 minutes, you’ll have one tasty meal ready to serve.
- Dice up an onion, a sweet red pepper and finely chop some garlic. Saute everything with oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the cubed chicken pieces, along with the curry spice, ground ginger and salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Pour in the coconut milk, juice from one lime and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Serve it up with some white rice or cauliflower rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. That’s it!
STORING OPTIONS
If you have leftovers (which you probably won’t), this can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, either in separate containers or mixed together.
You can also freeze curry for up to 2 months if stored properly in freezer safe containers. But if you’re planning to freeze the rice, make sure to place it in the freezer right while it’s still warm. You want to keep the moisture locked in so that when you re-heat, it’s still nice and soft.
MORE HEALTHY AND EASY DINNER IDEAS
Need more easy dinner ideas for busy weeknights? Here’s a tried and trued list of recipes.
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Chicken Fajitas
- Baked Chicken Breasts
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Garlic Butter Shrimp + Garlic Bok Choy
- Dijon Baked Salmon + Sauteed Cabbage
- White Chicken Chili
Coconut Curry Chicken (Super Easy!)
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp curry powder, or more as desired
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 13.5 oz full-fat coconut milk, (1 can)
- 1 lime, juiced
- salt and pepper
- 4 cups cooked white rice or cauliflower rice
- fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the onion, red bell pepper and garlic cloves and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the cubed chicken and sprinkle the spices on top. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, stirring frequently.
- Add the coconut milk and lime juice and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Serve with rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.
Lisa's Tips
- To make this recipe paleo or low-carb, just use cauliflower rice. Super easy!
Nutrition
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Recipe originally published April 2017, but updated to include new information.
This was a perfect flavored curry. I had leftover noodles so we used them today. Our next curry dinner will be with rice. All ingredients melted together perfectly.
Amazing! Happy to hear you enjoyed this coconut curry chicken, Barbara!
Hi Lisa, I love your approach to healthy, delicious and exciting homemade food. Your recipes are so good to follow as they are written in a straightforward way which makes cooking a total pleasure. I’ve made 3 recipes so far and they’ve all brought big smiles to our family and friends – superb! I’m making Tuscan Chicken again tonight because I happen to have the ingredients so that’s saved me a hop to the shop. Thank you for sharing such a great selection of meals and desserts. Michèle in the UK
Hi Michele – Happy to hear you, your friends, and family have been loving Downshiftology recipes so far!
I made this for my family for the first time and it was delicious. Everyone loved, I think its going to become a family monthly meal.
Hi Lara – Happy to hear the whole family enjoyed this coconut curry chicken!
Since I’ve just made this for at least the 20th time, I figured I should finally leave a review to say how perfect and amazingly delicious this recipe is! It’s my go-to chicken curry. So easy to make and crushes it every time!
Hi Karina – Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and glad you’re loving this chickpea curry!
WOW
Making it now…. so hungry… smells sooo good in here
Thank you for so many great recipes that are gluten free… super hard new road to navigate but you have helped so much!
Hi Constance – I hope you loved this curry chicken!