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!!!
As a typical “cook from scratch” Indian cook, I couldn’t believe how easy and yummy this chicken curry turned out to be. I’ll be making this my ‘go to’ curry in future.
WOOT! That’s greta Karen – N x
Whoa!!!
6 year old: “mom, this is the best dinner!”
2 year old: “mom, I’m so happy!”
I keep trying to save some for leftovers, but I don’t know if I can resist. If you’re vegetarian, I made a separate version with tofu and vegetable stock…husband was SO happy. Thank you for making me excited to cook again, Nagi.
Woah that’s so great that it was a hit Crystal!
Oops! Auto correct strikes again. My second last sentence should have read: before the coconut milk is ADDED please – not SAVED. Sorry
Hi Nagi, I haven’t made this curry yet, but I’m really looking forward to doing so because I used to love the simple curries my Mum made. These days I can’t eat a hot or overly spicy curry, so this recipe sounds perfect thank you. Just one question though. I’m only cooking for one, so like to make one serve to eat now, one for later in the week, and two to freeze. I’m just wondering how I can fiddle with the recipe given that milk and cream tend to separate in the freezer. Is there any way of maybe putting two serves in the freezer before the coconut milk I saved please? I’d hate to miss out on making such a great dish! Many thanks Nagi.
Hi Nagi cooked this tonight best curry chicken I have had so far added 2 tbls tomato paste. Thanks John
Nagi, I seem to be working my way through your recipes! This one is a firm favourite and such a great way to use up my extra vegetables.
Perfect!!
THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!
That’s great Sonia!!
Hi, so this recipe is really good.
If I do not have chicken stock, would you recommend replacing it with water( if so, how much water)?
Hi Sahan, do you have stock cubes available? If so – you can just reconstitute it and use as the stock – N x
Hi Nagi,
Do I have to add water too?
I am trying to figure out what the serving size is 1 cup of 1 breast whatever the case may be! Thanks!
Oh my! Even though i thought i screwed, it’s do delicious!! And yes, this is everyday curry ‘cuz so simple and quick.
I’m so happy you loved it Subina!
I have loved curry for as long as I can remember and the fact I couldn’t cook it has always been of annoyance to me. I used your recipe and can state with personal satisfaction I can now cook curry and it was the best I’ve ever tasted. I did add potato, pepper and carrot but only by accident because I’d prepared already. It worked really well. Lol
I have been so excited I can now cook my favorite dish and this recipe was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much. Love from Abu Dhabi.
I’m so glad you loved it Malcolm, it’s pretty versatile, I add whatever I have in the fridge that I want to get rid of when I cook this – N x
Delicious Nagi. Another winner!!
Wahoo, thanks so much Suzie!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just made it for dinner and LOVED it. I’ve been in a dinner slump lately and I desperately needed something with new flavors. This did the trick! I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes that I bookmarked. They all look delicious and I am so excited! Thank you again all the way from Jupiter, Florida!
Wahoo Lauren, I’m so glad you loved it!
Have made this curry several times now. I use beans in place of peas and add potatoes. Is a family favourite.
I love your videos as well as step by step recipe. The curry chicken does not have a video. I see you pulled the meat from the chicken thighs. Any tricks to do this?
Hi Karen, there’s a video for this one just above the recipe card. I use boneless chicken thighs here ☺️
Love this curry, love your recipes and love your explanations or swaps at the end of each recipe, very helpful!!! Just finished this curry, yum!
Thanks so much Cathy ❤️
I’ve made this curry dish twice now. The sauce is YUM! The first time I followed the recipe exactly. The second time I added okra, capsicum, zucchini. Both times we demolished our meals!
Sounds delicious Ev!
Made this curry for dinner my partner and I loved it very tasty and easy to make, I just added small amount of sugar just to take away slight bitter taste, but I would make this curry again. Yum
I’m so glad you loved it Bob!
My wife can be indifferent to curries, but she couldn’t get enough of this one, and it’s easy to prepare. Another winner for you, Nagi.
Wahoo sounds like you nailed it Doug!
Your recipes are the absolute best! I cooked this tonight. This one was easy to make and absolutely delicious. Thank you again Nagi, you have a new fan!
Woot! Thanks so much for letting me know Anna!