Simple shouldn’t mean bland – and this Chicken Curry recipe knocks it out of the park! A mild, creamy coconut curry sauce made with just 5 ingredients (from scratch!), it tastes so good for something so quick, you will be amazed.
If you want to go all out, serve this with Soft No-Yeast Flatbreads to slop up the sauce (it’s basically naan, but much easier to make!)
Chicken Curry
Curries are notorious for lengthy ingredient lists to achieve the richly spiced sauces and punchy flavours. And while we’d all love to be able to whip up a from-scratch Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken whenever the craving hits us, it’s simply not viable.
So today, I’m sharing the best SIMPLE chicken curry that I know. This recipe is a Western style curry – it’s not a traditional Indian curry, Thai curry, nor any other cuisine. And here’s why you’re going to love it as much as I do:
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(Very) short list of ingredients
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Curry powder is the only spice you need
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Creamy curry sauce with mild coconut flavour
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30 minute recipe – from scratch!
This chicken curry is the perfect way to get your curry fix without being in the kitchen all day!
What you need for Everyday Chicken Curry
Here’s what goes in this Everyday Chicken Curry.
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Curry powder – the only spice you need! Any brand is fine here.
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Garlic, ginger and onion – fresh aromatics add a flavour boost that makes all the difference with quick curries! It’s the same when making quick Thai Green Curry or Red Curry using store bought paste.
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Chicken broth/stock AND coconut milk – for creaminess and flavour. We’re just using 1 cup of coconut milk here – this isn’t intended to be an overly rich, heavy coconut sauce.
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Chicken – thighs are best because this curry needs to be simmered for 12 minutes for the flavours to develop. But yes, it can be made with breast – but the steps need tweaking otherwise you’ll complain that the chicken is dry!!
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Peas – optional! Try other diced veg!
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Coriander/cilantro – lovely freshness and flavour boost. Coriander haters – use chives or green onions instead.
Don’t let the short list of ingredients fool you. The curry sauce tastes SO GOOD!
Curry Powders
These are the curry powders I currently have in my pantry – but I’ve used plenty of other brands in the past. Curry powder is used in all sorts of recipes, not just Indian curries, including:
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Satay Chicken Curry – basically it’s chicken satay skewers in curry form, with loads of peanut sauce!
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Chickpea Potato Curry – very popular with readers!
How to make it
There’s nothing groundbreaking about how this chicken curry is made. The one key step is to fry off the curry powder. This brightens up the flavour of the spices + creates more golden bits on the base of the pan, and both of these things add more flavour into the curry sauce!
So don’t skip this step. 🙂
Make it your own!
This recipe is all about the curry sauce, so it’s really versatile in terms of what you can put in it, as well as extra add ins. Here are some options:
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Other proteins or vegetarian – make this with beef, lamb, pork, turkey, shrimp/prawns, fish or vegetarian. See directions in the recipe notes;
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Make it SPICY! This is not a spicy curry. So to add heat, either use HOT curry powder, or add cayenne pepper or ground chilli powder;
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Make it richer – use coconut cream instead of milk. Or use more coconut milk and simmer to reduce for longer; and
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Add tomato paste to thicken the sauce a touch and make the sauce a darker colour. Use about 1.5 tbsp.
Try this curry with a side of Green Bean Salad, my friend JP’s famous Iceberg Lettuce salad, or this no-mayo Cabbage Salad.
Serve it over rice, or even mashed potato or noodles. Basically anything that can be doused with that coconut curry sauce! ~ Nagi x
More cosy Chicken recipes
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Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and a faster Chicken Stew (Casserole) – on the table in under an hour!
The Curry collection
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Thai Red Curry or Green Curry – quick 30 minutes, or from scratch
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Massaman Curry and Beef Rendang – two of the most iconic curries in the world
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Biryani – the BEST chicken and rice in the world
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Dal – Indian lentil curry
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Goan Fish Curry – an authentic, spicy fish curry with coconut from the south of India
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Indian Coconut Curry sauce – A stronger, more heavily spiced coconut curry sauce than this recipe
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View all Curry recipes
Watch how to make it
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Easy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1.5 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp ginger , grated
- 1/2 onion , finely chopped
- 500g / 1lb chicken thighs, sliced (Note 1)
- 2.5 tbsp curry powder (Note 2)
- 270 ml / 1.25 cups coconut milk , full fat (9 oz) (Note 3)
- 1.5 cups (375 ml) chicken stock low sodium
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup coriander / cilantro leaves , chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook garlic, ginger and onion for 3 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add chicken and cook until it it changes from pink to white.
- Add curry powder and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and chicken stock. Stir, lower heat to medium and cook, simmering rapidly, for 10 minutes until sauce reduces and thickens.
- Add peas and salt. Cook for a further 2 minutes, then taste to see if it needs more salt. Garnish with coriander.
- Serve over rice, noodles or mashed potato!
Recipe Notes:
- Chicken breast - sprinkle with 2 tsp extra curry powder plus pinch of salt and pepper. Sear first in a bit of oil then remove (no need to cook through). Follow recipe - fry off curry with just the onion. Add breast back in towards end of sauce simmering, just to finish cooking.
- Shrimp/prawns or fish pieces - as above with breast.
- Other proteins (beef, turkey, lamb, pork) - use a quick cooking cut that's tender and juicy, slice or dice. Follow chicken breast steps.
- Vegetables - add into sauce based on cooking time.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I forgot to share this when I published Gozleme! (Turkish stuffed flatbreads) I took them down to Jeff, a local who lives down at the dog park and he gave them a big thumbs up.
And there’s Dozer. Being shameless!!!
Look no further!! The easiest and best! A favorite on our dinner rotation! We add diced potatoes (around the same time as the chicken, no additional liquid necessary). This week I will be trying as a veg curry with eggplant, mushroom, peas, potato – am sure it will be amazing! Thanks Nagi
This is on my go to list during the school week for quick, easy and delicious that my kids love.
Doing this for dinner ,I’m crazy hot curry man.
Garnish with finely sliced habernero super hot fresh chilli and spring onion.
Adding carrot and celery into your recipe..
😆👍
So easy and tasty. Was very quick to make and did not need too much prep or ingredients. I used diced chicken breast and added some fresh carrot. Thanks Nagi
Delicious! A winner
First time making curry. Didn’t have chicken thighs, so I wrestled with the chicken legs I had on hand. Added sliced red pepper and red pepper flakes to substitute for red chilis. Had to add a little cornstarch, too, but it came out just as delicious as my local Thai restaurant. Will def make again!
Success! My very picky husband loved this! Must have told me how nice it was 5 times during eating it!!! 😍
Hi Nagi, Just wanted to tell you that I love all your recipes and make a lot of them. Tonight it will be the Easy Chicken Curry.
My Newfoundland dog, Kenya, wants to say Hello to Dozer.
My husband and I love this recipe! This is the fifth time making it in three months.
Cooked this with pork (following the revised notes), noodles and frozen winter veggies.
Absolutely perfect! Thanks!
What a simple recipe. I wanted to make a coconut curry without all the extra ingredients I didn’t have, and this was a great recipe to refer to! I used chicken bullion instead of broth, and added a whole can of coconut milk (13.5oz). I used chicken breasts that I sliced up real thin, and carrots and green peppers. Thank you!
I made this after a long day of work, and it was so quick and easy! I added a fresh red cayenne chilli and the root of the corriander I had to the onions, garlic and ginger part… added a really yummy kick! Also just used up green veg I had in my fridge, this time was zucchini and broccoli. A new one for the meal prep repertoire.
My friends and I have already enjoyed this curry multiple times–I’m so thankful to have found the recipe! As a college student I appreciate the simple ingredients and quick cook time. I usually add cooked fresh or frozen broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc, so good!
Hi Jane, my 1st time cooking a curry. Do you cook the veggies with the sauce or cook them separately and add to curry when it’s finished.
Hey Jo,
Thought I’d answer your question as no one has yet.
I cooked the chicken halfway, removed it, added the veggies and curry powder. Sauteed them for a couple of minutes, added the liquid and chicken then proceeded with the recipe instructions. Hope this helps for next time 🙂
Thank you so much Tam, I’ll give it a go. Hubby is so impressed, he loves this recipe
Very nice! I added some spinach that needed to be used up, and a diced up apple. Very quick, simple and delicious!
Wow!!! This is sooo delicious. My partner and i have very happy tummys 🙂
Nagi, thanks to you I am once again the hero of the household! My fiance and her Mom absolutely loved this curry I made of yours (exactly as your recipe is written). Well, I did add an extra 1/2 tbsp of curry powder but they will never know! Thank you once again!
This is pretty much how I make mine! I do like the coconut cream for richness, & like it hot, so the peppers or hot curry powder is the way to go.
One thing I like to add to give the meal a stretch: I cube (2-3) white potatoes to 1/4″ pieces and micro them to almost done, then add them in with the veg. If you’re feeding a large group or family, it helps make the meal go a bit further and adds an interesting texture.
I love your recipes and the layout of your website, Nagi– very well done. This, is coming from an IT consultant living with a son who’s a senior software engineer maintaing a global environmental website and a daughter who is a digital designer. We’re always comparing good (& horrid) sites. Yours is definitely one of the outstanding websites we’ve seen. Good onya. 🙂
Loved this recipe!
So easy and flavorful. I added a bit of tomate paste and cinnamon. Thank you. I’ll try your other recipes for sure
Very easy, and very tasty. I added a dozen baby potatoes, halved, making it an easy Singapore Curry.