Crock Pot Thai Chicken Curry is one of the easiest meals to make and is so tasty. Curry paste, coconut milk, and ginger add a ton of flavor to this healthy, low-cal, and naturally paleo + gluten-free dinner. Your family will LOVE it!
| paleo + gluten-free + Whole30 adaptable|
Friends! It's crockpot time again! This magical pot of cook-my-food-for-me has become a staple around here. Most days I wonder how the heck I lived without one for so long.
Remember back when I thought that crock pots were the domain of frazzled, minivan driving house moms? Boy, was I wrong! They belong to us all. Frazzled moms, cool moms, single dudes, suburban folks, city folks, country folks … crockpots are bringing us all together.
Seriously, what's not to love about quickly throwing a few ingredients in a pot and then coming back for dinner. It's. The. Best.
That's what this crock pot Thai chicken curry is all about. You literally put a couple ingredients into the pot then come back 4 hours later for dinner. Read: easiest dinner ever!
Video: How to make Thai Chicken Curry {1 min}
I have to tell you … making this crock pot Thai chicken curry was a little funny for me. I never put meat in Thai curry. Never ever. There're always lots of veggies, sometimes tofu, but never meat. This was a first.
The odd time when I've ordered curry with meat at a restaurant, the meat always ends up being kind of tough and disappointing. Not here. No way. The crockpot pulls a David Copperfield and turns the chicken into something super tender and delicious. Pure magic.
In this recipe, I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I find they have more flavor than breasts, and they're usually a lot more reasonably priced, too. If you have chicken breasts on hand, you can definitely use those instead.
I've made this recipe so many times now that it has become one of those recipes I don't need a recipe for. That might sound a little strange since I made the recipe. The thing is, after I make a recipe, I often reference it when I make it again.
I swear that's one of the biggest bonuses of having a blog. It's like my own personal recipe folder.
What I've found from making this so many times, is that it's a really flexible recipe. I no longer measure ingredients. I switch up the veggies. I leave the crock pot on a little longer or dig into dinner a little sooner. It always seems to work out.
Those are the best recipes, aren't they? The ones that are flexible enough that you can make on a whim and alter them as you go. They are always my favorite!
What I'm really saying is, “You have the freedom to play around with this recipe.” Or not, it's totally your choice.
Enjoy, my friends!
Video: How to make this Easy Crock Pot Thai Chicken Curry Recipe:
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Easy Family Dinner Recipes:
- Asian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
- Saucy Peanut Chicken with Broccoli and Peppers
- Warm Caprese Pesto Pasta
- Italian Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives
- Easy Butter Chicken
- Cheesy Fajita Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Crock Pot Thai Chicken Curry
Prep Time: 10 mins- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: Thai
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Crock Pot Thai Chicken Curry is one of the easiest meals to make and is so tasty. Curry paste, coconut milk, and ginger add a ton of flavor to this healthy, low-cal, and naturally paleo + gluten-free dinner. Your family will LOVE it!
| paleo + gluten-free + Whole30 adaptable|
Ingredients
- 1 – 14 ounce can coconut milk, plus 1 can of water (see notes)
- 2-4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten free, if needed. Sub coco aminos for paleo and Whole30)
- 1 tablespoon palm or coconut sugar (or sub maple syrup or brown sugar. Omit for Whole30)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (use Whole30 compliant, if needed)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-3 pieces
- 1 large kabocha, cut into 1 – inch cubes (or 1 small butternut squash)
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1-2 chili peppers, if you like extra heat
- 1 large bunch of kale, torn into small pieces (roughly 2 packed cups)
- Optional: cilantro, chili peppers, and lime to serve
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients, except for the kale, into your crock pot and stir together well. Set your crock pot to cook on high for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, stir in the kale and let it sit while you prepare the rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa to serve.
- Top with a little cilantro, lime, and, if you like it extra spicy, some chopped chili peppers.
Notes
Not all curry pastes are created equal. My favorite is Mae Ploy. If you are unfamiliar with the brand you're using make sure to taste it before adding it to the pot. Some pastes will be all heat and very little flavor. Make sure to read the labels if you're doing The Whole30 Program.
*I had a reader comment that she's experienced the coconut milk separating when she makes Thai curries in her crock pot. I've never had this happen to me before, but if you want to make sure this doesn't happen you can add water to the pot in the beginning and the coconut milk near the end. (Thank you for the tip, Lynda!)
Kristen Stevens
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Hi, I’m Kristen! 
This turned out really well, thanks! I used 4 oz (125 mLs) of homemade chicken stock instead of the water and cooked for 2.5 hrs on high and then added the kale and coconut milk and cooked for 20 minutes more. I garnished with chopped peanuts as well as the suggested items and served over brown rice. I will be making this again.
★★★★
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!
Just made this for lunch today and thought I would say what I did in case anyone finds it helpful. I cut 5 thighs up into 2 inch pieces and put them in with only 7oz chicken broth (instead of water) and the rest of the “seasonings”, minus the coconut milk, on high for 3 hours. The thighs were cooked through at this point, so I added my veggies – I choose a small head of broccoli, one zucchini cut into a small dice, and 3 leaves of kale, cut into thin ribbons. I also added the can of coconut milk and 1 tsp hot curry powder (from my local spice shop, so I don’t have a brand), because I had to buy the Thai Kitchen red curry paste that Kristen doesn’t recommend because it is all my HT had. Next time I will venture to the Asian markets to find a good red curry paste, but the powder helped add a lot of flavor. Anyway, I cooked the veggies and coconut milk for another hour and they were perfectly crisp tender, the coconut milk did not separate, and we had the perfect amount of liquid to go over our rice. Hope this helps anyone else who is contemplating making this but was nervous about some of the other comments!
★★★★★
Such a great idea to add the curry powder. Thank you for sharing that tip!
Amazing! Made this last night and I’m so happy I made extra. I didn’t have kale so I used bok Choy and bean sprouts. I also added a few baby potatoes. This is a recipe I will definitely make again! Yum! Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you like the recipe! Hooray!!
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. I have learned that you can add just about any veggie you want and it comes out delicious! I have made it with turnips, parsnips, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, corn, eggplant… basically you name it and it goes great in this curry! I use chicken stock instead of water and the flavor is always perfect. I wanted to comment that if you don’t have 4 hours, this can be replicated on the stove top in about 1 hour just by putting together the broth and simmering all the ingredients until cooked through. I also have a question regarding the nutrition info: Is the carb count including the serving suggestion of rice?
★★★★★
That’s so great to know this can be made on the stove top. Thank you for letting us know! The nutritional info is for the curry only. The carbs mainly come from the butternut squash. 🙂
Hi, I am making this tonight but was entering all the ingredients into My fitness Pal. It is telling me this recipe is 422 calories per serving, but your post says it’s 250… am I doing something wrong? I noticed the coconut milk is what made it jump up so high, but saw you used a similar one with similar calories. Just want to make sure I’m counting the right amount of calories!
I just did some digging into this to figure out what was going on and it looks like the program we use to calculate nutritional information only picked up the “plus one can of water” and not the coconut milk. I’ve updated it now so it is accurate now. Thank you for pointing that out!
Hey there! I’m planning on making this today, however I wasn’t able to find the curry paste you mentioned or any paste for that matter. Do you have an idea of how I would make it using a curry sauce mix?
Thanks! 🙂
★★★★★
I’m so sorry for the late reply! I’ve been on holiday and haven’t had access to the comments here. I think a sauce mix would work, but you might have to taste test a little. Add some then see how the flavor is and add more as needed. 🙂
Loved the flavor. I think maybe less water would make it less watery or pre cooking the chicken? I actually added both thighs and breasts-about 1 1/2 lbs. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★
This was easy and absolutely delicious!! I doubled it, and put half the water. It was amazing! I will definitely be making this often!!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you liked the recipe!!
Nice crock recipe, had never thought about curry in a crock but it’s ideal! Thank you for putting this recipe together!
I’m so happy you liked the recipe!!
Aw I wished I had listened to my own instinct, I wasn’t going to add that much much water as usually 1/2 a cup is sufficient. Plus the fact that I usually add the coconut milk/cream at the end.
I followed the recipe and it turned out so watery and curdled, was so bad but I have managed to save the dish by adding more red curry paste, coconut cream, more fish sauce and some lime juice to make it tasty.
I didn’t dice the chicken at all but they are still too shredded so next time I will try it at Slow for 6 hours.
Mine turned out so watery!!! I followed the directions exactly. No coconut flavor whatsoever. Really disappointed, as I was craving coconut curry…I’ll just add no water and 2 cans coconut milk instead next time I suppose.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love it.
This is my family’s go to chicken curry. We love it!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe. It’s my family’s fav as well!
I always wanted to try some crock pot so I’ll probably try this within the week.
★★★★★
great recipe but extremely watery. Not nearly thick enough.
Thank you for your feedback. If you prefer your Thai curry a little thicker you can try using a little less water next time. Hope that helps!
I had such high hopes for this recipe. It looks so creamy and yummy in the video. The ingredients were all so great and it was so easy. Sadly, my coconut milk separated (I didn’t read the comment about adding it at the end until after I had put it in) and my squash (butternut) did not hold up very well. Also, as mentioned in some of the other comments, I found it to be very watery. I used the Thai kitchen red curry paste, but it was way too hot.
★★★★
I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out for you. I would really recommend trying to find one of the two curry pastes I recommend in the recipe. I’ve had the same experience as you had with Thai Kitchen so I steer clear of that one now. The other two are really flavorful but mild. I’m going to make the note about the coconut milk a little more prominent so no one misses it.
Awesome recipe. You earned me huge brownie points tonight!
I’m so happy to hear that! Yay for brownie points!!
How many kale do you use? I am Trying This for the first time with a slow-cooker. Pictures look great
About 2 packed cups, or about 4 large stems of kale. 🙂
I am excited to try this recipe. My family can eat quite a bit and I’m thinking of doubling the recipe. This will also be my first ever crock-pot-meal! Should I be concerned with doubling the recipe and having everything fit in the crock-pot? I’m 90% positive I have the same brand crock=pot as you just have to check on the size of it. But, is it reasonable to double the recipe, or would it create issues in the cooking time/overflow etc.
★★★★★
I actually had to pour water into my crock pot to measure how big it is. Ha! You’d think they would write that on it somewhere! It’s 12 cups, so about 3 quarts.
It honestly makes quite a bit. Remember that you serve it with rice so the portion sizes can be very generous. It does fill the crock pot so I wouldn’t double it. If you’re feeling concerned you could try adding an extra piece of chicken as I’m sure that would fit. 🙂
Great recipe!!! Thai is always a hard cuisine to make and my husband normally hates it when I attempt it…. this one is an exception, he had multiple servings!!
One thing that I Did differently was blend all of the butternut squash right before putting the kale in. It made it much creamier! Next time, I’m going to try shrimp instead of chicken to shake it up!!!
Again, thanks for a great recipe!!!
I love your idea about blending the squash! I’m stealing that one next time I make this. 🙂
How do you blend the squash without blending the chicken if its all mixed together in the crock pot?
Yes I was wondering that too…
★★★★
I’m not sure how Kelsey did it but I would probably just a fork or potato masher to break up the squash. It is very soft so (I think) it would be pretty easy to mash that way.
I’m worried about the coconut milk separating like the one reader said. Can you tell me which coconut milk you use that way I can avoid this problem?
I always use Aroy-D. It’s full fat and does not have any additives. You can always mix the coconut milk in at the end and just let it warm before you serve it. 🙂
Was quite disapointed with this recipe. I am an experienced cook. I used organic coconut milk, Mae Poy curry paste, and 1/3 less water and followed everything else, and it was a big pot of wateryness (the “sauce” consistency and look was like water), the taste was watered down too. Too bad.
★
I;m so sorry to hear you are disappointed with the recipe.
What brand of coconut milk do you use?
I always use Aroy-D full fat (60%) coconut milk in the cans. 🙂
How many does this serve?
This makes 4 generous servings. ?
I really liked the flavor in this dish, but mine was a little too watery. I will make it again with less added water and adding the chili peppers you suggested for more flavor and spice. I didn’t cut the chicken and after 4 1/2 hours on high it shredded quite well! I’ll make this again. Thank you!
★★★★
I’m sorry it turned out a little too watery for you, but happy to hear you like the flavor!
This recipe looks delish but fyi your site or these ads have some sort of bug. This page keeps crashing my computer 🙁
Hi Nancie! I’m sorry you were struggling with the site. I’ve had a ton of people visiting over the past few days, so it’s been slower than usual. Working on that!
Hi Kristen,
I will definitely try this recipe. I agree the site is taking a long time to load still, very slow. Do you compress your images before you upload and put them on? Large images are so often a cause of websites taking so long to load, and when this happens some people will not bother to persevere and will go elsewhere.
Can I cook for 8 hrs on low setting? I’d be away longer than 4 hrs. Also, thinking of adding mushrooms and substitute white wine instead of water.
I haven’t tried cooking it for 8 hours on low. There’s certainly enough liquid that you don’t have to worry about it burning. What may happen is that you’ll have very soft butternut squash and chicken that is more like shredded chicken … which aren’t bad things at all! If you try it I’d love to hear how it goes. Good call on the mushrooms and white wine!
Hi! I really enjoyed this recipe : ) I was just wondering do I need to preheat the slow cooker before putting everything in? I wasn’t sure whether putting cold coconut milk in a warm slow cooker would be an issue so i heated up the curry sauce in a pot first, but just wanted to know whether that was necessary…
Thanks in advance 🙂
★★★★
I don’t heat it up first and have never had any problems with it, but someone had commented that they’ve had curries curdle before when adding cold coconut milk. If you’re concerned about it it might be an idea to heat it first. 🙂
This was lovely. I added a stalk of lemongrass that I cut into thirds and pounded down to release the flavour. I only added 1/2 can of water and found it was a bit too soupy for me. Next time maybe only 1/4 or 1/8 can. I used butternut squash but sweet potato might be another great substitute.
★★★★
Thank you so much for your feedback! Love that you added lemongrass … yum!
Can I use frozen chicken or should I wait?
I haven’t tried using frozen chicken before. I’d recommend defrosting the chicken in some cold water first. 🙂
Are nutrition facts using light or regular coconut milk? Thanks!
Regular coconut milk. 🙂
Recipe looks great! I was wondering if the nutrition facts posted include the rice as a side dish or if it is the chicken and sauce alone?
The nutritional facts are for the chicken and sauce only. If you want to switch it up, quinoa is also great with this dish!
Hi Kristen!
I just got myself a brand spanking new large sized (I previously had a teeny weeny one :P) slow cooker and have been searching for great slow cooker recipes – this looks awesome! I’m so going to try it out later this week.
Thanks for sharing!
<3
★★★★★
Slow cookers are the best, aren’t they?! Hope you like this one as much as I do!
Is there a point to the water? I guess I should have used half cause it tastes watered down.
Hi Andrea,
Yes, without the water the curry would be quite dry. What brand of curry paste did you use? They vary in flavor dramatically. I’ve always had great results with the two brands I recommend in the notes below the recipes.
I used Thai Kitchen. Maybe if I use less water. I have made curry on the stove with this brand and it came out well. I will try the recommended brands next time and maybe use just a bit less water.
That’s the one brand I always avoid as I find it has very little flavour compared to the others. If you’re able to find Amoy or Mae Jin I would highly recommend trying them. They’re not very spicy, but they have tons of flavour.
I used Thai kitchen as well, but I had to add 1 and 1/2 small bottles of it which is at least double what she recommends. It was delicious though!
Ya Thai Kitchen is definitely not the most flavorful brand. If you can find the ones I’ve recommended you’ll notice a big difference!
Mine tastes watered down too.
Oh no! What brand of curry paste did you use? Using one of the two I recommend has always given good results for me.
Oh, I love this 🙂 . Thai curry is the best !!! I love using my slow cooker and this is just the perfect recipe.
Thank you!!!
I have the exact same pot! I shoul make this curry; the ingredients sound delicious.
Great minds buy the same crock pots!!
This is a delicious and complete recipe ! Thanks for sharing
★★★★★
You’re welcome!
It’s thai and it’s made in the crockpot? You GET me.
★★★★★
You and I have the same taste, girl!
Beautiful curry, in the slow cooker? Double smiles here! Slow cookers are for everyone 😉 I have 2 <3
You have 2? I’m jealous!
Just so you know I do a Thai curry in the crock pot similar to yours but I use half the amount of water and add the coconut milk in the last hour. Otherwise the milk can curdle from time to time. . I look forward to trying your recipe?
Good to know … I’ve never had that happen before!
Just thinking … does the coconut milk you use have anything added to it? Like guar gum? The few times I’ve used coconut milk that has thickeners added to it I’ve had funny results, whether it’s in curries, sweets or any recipe. I wonder if that’s what happened to you??
I use organic 100% coconut milk. It doesn’t happen all the time, but enough that I now add it at the end! Love you blog !
Lynda
That’s so strange! I’m going to put a note in the post about that. I would hate that to happen to someone trying the recipe. I’d be so disappointed if it were me.
Good idea as I posted on a blog to do a Thai chicken coconut soup that I did in the slow cooker and someone wrote in that theirs separated and I had never had an issue .. Then next time I did it it looked dreadful! BTW pork tenderloin can be used instead of chicken thighs!