30-Minute Chicken Coconut Curry Recipe
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This coconut chicken curry is a regular at my dinner table. I’m going to show you how to make this tasty meal in just 30 minutes using kitchen staples.
This coconut chicken curry is a quick and easy win for a weeknight. It’s perfect for those evenings when I want something simple, full of veggies, and that doesn’t compromise on flavor. It rivals take-out Indian food, but it’s much lighter —and possibly quicker too!
This recipe is based on my wildly popular creamy coconut lentil curry. Same flavors, different protein. It’s a pretty basic recipe, meaning you can swap the veggies for what you have in the fridge. I don’t use curry powder or curry paste; I use individual spices. This makes it easy to add more or less of a spice, especially when it comes to heat.
It all gets made in one pot, so clean-up is a breeze. Serve it with some fluffy basmati rice or naan to mop up all the delicious sauce.
Key ingredients you’ll need
You’ll find most of the ingredients for this Indian-inspired chicken curry recipe in your kitchen. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Onion, garlic, and ginger: I’m not kidding when I say a whole head of garlic (yes, that’s 10-12 garlic cloves!) This classic mix of aromatics gives this curry lots of intense flavor.
- Chicken breasts: You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Crushed tomatoes: I use regular crushed tomatoes, but fire-roasted tomatoes also taste great and add a smoky dimension to this dish.
- Coconut milk: I recommend using full-fat coconut milk (not light) to give this curry lots of creaminess.
Serving suggestions
This coconut curry chicken is a weeknight win. I love serving it over a bed of rice like my favorite coconut rice or basmati rice. Or serve it with naan or chapati to soak up all the saucy goodness.
If you’re serving a crowd, pair it with a creamy cucumber salad.
Storing, freezing, and reheating
Store: Store any leftovers in a sealed container in your fridge for 3-4 days.
Freeze: This curry freezes very well. Let it cool, transfer it to a freezer-safe container, and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Reheat: Curry reheats beautifully on the stovetop or in the microwave. If it seems a bit thick, add a splash of water.
30-Minute Chicken Coconut Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ medium onion (finely minced)
- 1 head garlic (chopped (10–12 cloves))
- 2 tablespoons ginger (minced)
- 1 tablespoon EACH: ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder (omit for no spice)
- 3 chicken breasts (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 15 ounce can coconut milk
- 3 ounces baby spinach
- A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and, if using, the cayenne and cook for 1 minute.2 tablespoons coconut oil, ½ medium onion, 1 head garlic, 2 tablespoons ginger, 1 tablespoon EACH: ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric, 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- Add the chicken, crushed tomatoes, and sea salt to the pan and stir well. Bring to a simmer then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, carefully removing the lid (the curry will splatter!) to stir a few times.3 chicken breasts, 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 2 teaspoons sea salt
- Once the chicken pieces are cooked, stir in the coconut milk, spinach, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro. Season to taste with more salt, as needed.15 ounce can coconut milk, A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes, 1 cup chopped cilantro, 3 ounces baby spinach
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I’ve made this curry several times swapping in vegetables in place of the chicken and it works so well. It’s an easy recipe you can ‘play’ around with but is oh so tasty. My husband declared it the best he’s had and believe me he’s had many, many curries in his life!
Simple and delicious!
I used the exact recipe and also made this with ONE tin (half the recipe amount) of chopped tomatoes and preferred the reduced tomato flavour and the more intense spice and creamy coconut flavour! My husband declared this one of the best curries he’s ever tasted and I can assure you he’s had a few!! It’s a brilliantly easy and fail safe recipe. I’ve even made this with vegetables that I had previously oven roasted! Thank you
Really loved this curry recipe. So quick to prepare and a bonus of a tasty meal.
Based on the exact quantities this is very runny and more soup like than the thicker curry sauce as pictured.
It says 1 x 28 ounce tin which works out to 790g (ish ) so thats, so i used 2 x 400g tins. I think the recipe should read just 1 x 400g tin of toms. I’ll try this next time and im sure that would sort the consistency out.
I see others commented about the runtiness of the sauce too.
Large tins of tomatoes are sold in 28-ounce cans here. But 2 small cans should work, too. If you used tomato sauce (rather than crushed tomatoes) that would definitely affect the recipe as tomato sauce is a lot runnier. Maybe that’s what happened?
Loved it! Left my boned skinless chicken breasts whole so I would know how many I had eaten! I also served with Major Grey”s Chutney and shredded coconut. Very easy and delicious!
Thanks Guys, Your Recipe Was Too Fantastic. Me and My Family Loved it. I Will Share your Rrecipe with my friends. Hope they will love it too.
this was my first time making my own curry, and wanted a lactose free approach, this is so amazing! i could eat it all day long and as a lifter looking to bulk this winter thats exactly what i was looking for. added some ground mustard and cloves gave it a fun twist. thank you!
Great recipe!! We are using this in our restaurant in Japan and our customers love this curry! We added Cardamon seeds, Cinnamon, Star Anise, and yogurt. We also increased the coconut. We removed the chicken so the recipe is vegetarian. We’re doing this recipe only 1 time per week for about 40-liter batches. We put into single-serving vacuum-sealed pouches and store in the freezer until someone orders the dish. One suggestion is to change EVERYTHING to grams. It is very difficult to follow this recipe without converting everything into grams.
Buddha Cafe, Kamiyama, (Tokushima) Japan.
I love hearing that you’re making and serving this recipe! So happy that people are loving it!
I made your chicken curry only diff was I shredded chicken added garbanzos! ?
This is such a great recipe. I am so glad you used the spices separately. Being an Indian, this is exactly how we do back home.
Namaste.
That is so great to hear!
Delicious and mouthwatering. I absolutely love it! Thank you, Kristen 😉 I’m looking forward to trying another recipes- mango chicken curry will be the next one.
Simple to construct. I have just made the sauce ahead as I’m using cooked chicken and I will add reheat an serve. The sauce tastes amazing.
Will this taste good with spaghetti?
I usually prefer curry with rice, but noodles could be good, too!
Tried this one the get my kids into curry. I left the cayenne pepper out until nearly the end, after I’d separated theirs out. They both loved it, I was pretty impressed too 🙂
Loved the flavor but my sauce came out really soupy and nothing like the picture. I’m pretty sure I followed the recipe exactly. Any ideas why the difference? I ended up simmering it longer and adding coconut flour to try to get it to the right consistency but still wasn’t there.
I’ve found that some chicken breasts can be very full of water and water down a sauce when cooked. The best option is to do what you did and simply cook it a little longer so some of the liquid evaporates.
Also you can opt for coconut cream which is even thicker than coconut milk. I used biona brand which is organic and it came out pretty yummy.
I love the fact that you used separate spices instead of just curry powder! It was perfect so tonight I’m making it with fresh Roma tomatoes, carrots, chicken thighs and shrimp! And maybe some chickpeas. Can’t wait; I’m already salivating!
Love all the additions! So yummy!
A West Indies recipe is to add the beans to the rice, if you’re having it, and you adding chickpeas to the chicken reminded me of my dad making rice back in the day. He would add chickpeas to rice as it cooked, or black eyed peas which are really good too. Thanks for the reminder to add the peas.
Hello! Can you use frozen chicken breasts for this recipe? Does that change the instructions?
Of course! Simply thaw them and use them as directed in the recipe. 🙂
Can I cook them straight in the pan without thawing them?
I’m assuming you mean using frozen chicken … you could add the chicken pieces frozen but you will have to cook them longer. You may also need to add some water to the sauce so that it doesn’t thicken or burn will the longer cooking time.