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:
(Very) short list of ingredients
Curry powder is the only spice you need
Creamy curry sauce with mild coconut flavour
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.
Curry powder – the only spice you need! Any brand is fine here.
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.
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.
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!!
Peas – optional! Try other diced veg!
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:
Satay Chicken Curry – basically it’s chicken satay skewers in curry form, with loads of peanut sauce!
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:
Other proteins or vegetarian – make this with beef, lamb, pork, turkey, shrimp/prawns, fish or vegetarian. See directions in the recipe notes;
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;
Make it richer – use coconut cream instead of milk. Or use more coconut milk and simmer to reduce for longer; and
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
Slow Cooked Chicken Stew and a faster Chicken Stew (Casserole) – on the table in under an hour!
The Curry collection
Thai Red Curry or Green Curry – quick 30 minutes, or from scratch
Massaman Curry and Beef Rendang – two of the most iconic curries in the world
Biryani – the BEST chicken and rice in the world
Dal – Indian lentil curry
Goan Fish Curry – an authentic, spicy fish curry with coconut from the south of India
Indian Coconut Curry sauce – A stronger, more heavily spiced coconut curry sauce than this recipe
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!!!
First time one of your recipes failed me…
I did not get the creaminess I see in your video. I even used about 80 millileters less stock. In the end I tried adding milk but that didnt do much either. I remeber this recipe being different… Did it change?
Hi Jeroen, not sure where it’s gone wrong for you sorry! Did ou make any other changes to the recipe? N x
Hi Nagi & Dozer,
Can the easy chicken curry be frozen, im trying to get meals frozen for my husband as we work different shifts,and i want to take meals out of the freezer that we can easily reheat ,have already got a freezer full of doner kebab meat… yum yum
Hello Nagi & Dozer,
Easy chicken curry is super delicious 😋Simple and heavenly!
Happy Easter from the tiny island of Malta 🇲🇹
Is there any substitute for coconut milk/cream? I have none in the house and would rather not go out to get any if possible.
Hi Gina, you can use cream, it just wont have that coconut flavour 🙂 N x
I can never print your recipes, why???????????????????????
Hi Adrian, click the “print” button in the recipe card and a new browser tab will open with a printable version of the recipe – N x
I could only find unsweetened coconut milk. Will that work?
Hi Carla, yes the recipe uses unsweetened 🙂 N x
What can I do if I don’t have coconut milk? Can I substitute regular milk or something else?
Hi Cathleen, it wont be quite the same but cream would be the best substitute 🙂 N x
Being in lockdown I traching my 11 year old twin boys to cook. This recipe was one twin’s firts dinner. Wow, what a success!! Thank you!!!
Hey Nagi, love your recipes and use them relentlessly! Just wondering if this could be slow cooked at all? I love the concept but I am short on time right at the pointy end of dinner time and prefer to have stuff bubbling away for my husband to dish up while I’m working 🙂
Woah that’s awesome Bertha!!
Hello you..
Definitely out the park 😀
I made my own curry powder from Hari Ghotra absolutely first class!..give it a whirl 👍I omitted the chicken and added cooked prawns at the end just to warm through.. Topped with coriander.
Nagi..? Stunning!!
I bought the India cookbook by Pushpesh Pant last week..I’ve STILL not cooked anything from it..
Definitely, nobody has a patch on you x
Oh shucks! That’s such great feedback – thanks so much Phil! N x
Just made this tonight!! It was so delicious, but I think I would like a stronger curry flavor (I’m wondering if it was due to my curry powder, I used McCormick). But still yummy!
Hi Jessica, yes taste differs between brands – I usually use Clives 🙂
Simple, quick – and delicious! Thank you, Nagi.
Brilliant. Great tips and hacks for an amateur (like me) Thanks
You’re so welcome James!
This was lovely!! Even my friends commented on how tasty it was. Loving all your recipes from the UK!
That’s great to hear Jenny!
Nagi, I love this recipe – thank you. The combination of flavours made for what I would call a very smooth curry
ie not too spicy, not too sweet – absolutely delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Leisa, thanks so much! N x
Yummy. So easy and everyone loved it. Will cook again
Great Lisa!! N x
Love this so easy but flavorsome.
WOOT! Thanks Ivy ❤️
I am wanting to try this tonight. I do have questions about the coconut milk – will this make the dish sweet? I am not a fan for sweet dishes, is there something else I could use in place of the coconut milk?
Nagi , could I cook this in my pressure cooker ? I love all your recipes . Please give Dozer a pat for me xxx
just made this tonight, my family doesn’t usually eat curry but this recipie had them going for seconds!! so delicious!!
It was easy recipe, delicious.. Am going to cook again
My husband Loved it! Perfect with mashed potatoes.
I’m so glad it was a hit Sandra!