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!!!
AB says
5 stars on this one, all the kids loved it, spiciness and all:)
Nagi says
Lucky kids!! N x
JJ says
I can see myself making this. It is so simple and easy without that dreadful alphabet list of ingredients found in other “basic/simple” curry recipes.
I am definitely bookmarking this and trying it. I get easily put off by needlessly complicated recipes. This one is straight to the point and, as purported in the first sentence, simple. Well done, Girl!
John says
I tried this tonight and it was so simple,yet it was the best curry I have ever made! All your recipes are amazing.
Jade says
Is there a substitute for the coconut milk Nagi? I’m allergic, but want to try more of your curry recipes 😂
Barbara says
I am usually a 5 star person for Tineats but this was missing something. I did add spice and tomato paste but a little to thin. I did let cook more but did not help. next time less stock.
Nagi says
Thank you for the feedback Barbara! N x
Kyra says
Delicious! I made this with chicken thighs and they were so tender and tasty. I left out the coriander altogether, added some red capsicum, and only used 1tbsp of curry powder which was enough spice for the smallest of our kids. This curry was definitely easy, and was a hit with the family!
Lisa says
Would ground coriander be the same as coriander in the recipe or should I just use cilantro?
Nagi says
Hi Lisa – use cilantro…it’s the same thing – we call cilantro coriander here in Australia! N x
Emily says
It’s true – so simple and so good! Ginger and garlic are key to bringing out the great favor of curry. Don’t forget to saute them til you smell the aroma, before adding the liquid. The sauce tastes great even with minimal salt.
Julie says
I made this mid-week with chicken tenderloins. Followed Nagi’s notes and spiced the chicken with curry, salt & pepper before flash-browning in pan then made the sauce. Added the chicken back in with the sauce just before it was ready and WOW – SO moist! There were no leftovers and everyone raved!! Thanks for sharing Nagi xx
Lori V Lincoln says
My 95-pound 15-year-old son who needs to gain weight wanted to make a tasty protein-rich dish that he would be happy to eat over and over (he hates leftovers). The curry chicken was quick! Easy! DELICIOUS! Thank you!
Jam says
Used skin-on thigh and fried it to get the skin a bit crispier and then removed it before step 1. Then re-added with the coconut milk and stock to finish cooking. Then removed it after 10 mins to rest on a board and sliced it while the sauce simmered down. Loved it!
Ericka says
I made this vegan with Tofurky faux chicken, and it’s absolutely the yummiest and easiest! Thank you for posting it!
Aimy says
I was wondering, can I make this with left over turkey? Maybe adding it at the end just to heat it up and soak it with sauce?
Teresia Davis says
I’m going to try this recipe looks delicious
Paula Harrison says
Another terrific, easy recipe Nagi. I’ve made so many things from your site, and all have been superb. Your cooking tips are just great also, and now I don’t bother looking anywhere else for recipes. And a big thank you for your ‘life-changing’ Charlie Brown Sauce recipe. I always have some on hand in the fridge. You’re the absolute best. Cheers
Glenn Anderson says
Yum.
Marissa says
Used this recipe to make a chicken curry for the first time EVER and it came out AMAZING! Super easy, non-messy, 1-2 pan meal (depending on what you cook it with, I put it over rice). No complaints from those who ate it, and clean bowls at the end. 😊
Emmanuel.Iagata says
I love your recipe I need more of your recipe especially the Indian curry and the Thai curry .
Nagi says
There are more curries in the pipeline for the cookbook and the website! N x
Lucie Griffiths says
Very nice curry! I added 1 tbsp tomato paste for some richness, 1 can of chickpeas to bulk it out and add nutritional value and reduced the over all liquid to 400ml. I found that even 400ml coconut cream and NO added water it was plenty liquid enough.. I actually had to simmer for quite a while to thicken it. I added the stock powder but no added water. Thanks for this, it will be another simple curry I will add to my recipe folder 🙂
Julie says
I was stuck for a mid-week chicken dinner idea so headed straight to Recipe Tin Eats! This dish is DELICIOUS! My sons and husband all gave me kudos! Thanks Nagi – quick and easy and super tasty with Jasmin rice – it reminded me a little of green chicken curry!
Lorraine says
Plain, simple and easy to follow recipe. Taste is amazing. Used this sauce and added my own ‘ of what I fancy’ at the time. Loved by the family.