Thai Coconut Chicken Curry (made in your slow cooker)
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We all love an easy, flavorful dinner – enter this crockpot Thai chicken curry. This is my go-to when I have a busy week, but don’t want to skimp on tasty, satisfying meals. I’ll show you how to prep everything so the crockpot does all the work, and you can come back to a winning dinner!
This Thai coconut chicken curry is one of my favorite curry recipes for busy days. Everything goes into the slow cooker, where the chicken becomes fall-apart tender, and the vegetables soak up the rich coconut curry sauce’s flavors. It’s the kind of meal that fills the house with the most incredible aroma and rewards you with a comforting dinner at the end of the day.
The sauce is built from classic Thai ingredients like red curry paste, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and soy sauce. A little brown sugar balances the savory and spicy flavors, while the coconut milk creates a rich, velvety broth that’s perfect for spooning over rice.
Sweet squash, onion, kale, and chili peppers make this curry hearty and colorful, while fresh cilantro, lime, and extra chili add brightness just before serving. It’s deeply flavorful, wonderfully cozy, and one of those recipes that tastes like it took far more effort than it actually did.
A few FAQs
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs? I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs as they’re more flavorful than breasts and usually more reasonably priced. But if you have chicken breasts on hand, you can definitely use those instead.
Can I cook this on low heat for 8-10 hours? Yes, but there’s a caveat. Cooking this curry for longer will make the squash very soft. At least half of it will disappear into the sauce, which isn’t a bad thing! The curry sauce will become thicker and sweeter, with a hint of squash, but it will still be delicious.
Can I make this Thai chicken curry on the stovetop? Yes! You’ll want to simmer the curry for no longer than 1 hour.
Can I use a different color curry paste? Yes! I’ve used red, green, and yellow in this recipe, and they all work well.
Store, reheat, and freeze
Store: First, let your Thai chicken curry cool to room temperature. Once it’s cooled, transfer it to a covered container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. I think it tastes even better the next day, once the flavors have had a chance to deepen!
Freeze: If you want to store it longer, freeze it for up to three months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheat: Warm it on the stovetop or in the microwave. If it’s thickened in the fridge, you can add a splash of water to loosen things up.
Thai Coconut Chicken Curry (made in your slow cooker)
Ingredients
- 1-2 cups chicken stock (see notes)
- 2-4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (see notes)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite sized pieces)
- 1 large kabocha squash (cut into 1-inch cubes – or 1 small butternut squash)
- 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
- 1-2 chili peppers (if you like extra heat)
- 14 ounce can coconut milk
- 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 coconut milk and kale, into your crockpot and stir together well. Set your crockpot to cook on high for 4 hours.1-2 cups chicken stock, 2-4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 3 cloves garlic, 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1 large kabocha squash, 1 medium yellow onion, 1-2 chili peppers
- After 4 hours, stir in the coconut milk and kale and let it sit while you prepare the rice, cauliflower rice, or quinoa to serve.14 ounce can coconut milk, 1 large bunch of kale
- Top with a little cilantro, lime, and, if you like it extra spicy, some chopped chili peppers.Optional: cilantro, chili peppers, and lime to serve
Last step:
- After you make this recipe, take a picture with your phone and share it in the comments section below. I love seeing it when you make my recipes!
Equipment Used
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
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Wow! Hubby and I loved this- our favorite new meal! We didn’t have fresh chili peppers so we did fried chilis in oil. I added a little coriander, turmeric, onion and garlic powder. The lime and cilantro to garnish were what made it so good! Definitely going into our normal rotation!
I’m so glad you both loved it! 😊 Fried chilis in oil sounds like a great swap, and I love the extra spices you added. And yes — that lime and cilantro at the end really brings everything to life. So happy it’s going into your regular rotation. Thanks so much for sharing! 💛
So flavorful! I did make a few tweaks – I had 1/2 each red and green peppers that needed to be used so I rough chopped and tossed them in at the beginning. I make large batches of rice in a pressure cooker, then freeze in 1c portions. I partially thawed 4c to add with the kale and coconut milk. Another hour on high and it was ready to serve. Delicious one pot meal!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 😊 I love how you used what you had on hand — adding the peppers and frozen rice is such a smart move. And I’m all for a cozy one-pot meal that comes together like that. Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks and taking the time to leave a note!
Sooo tasty! Made it with Delicata squash. This will be a new weeknight favorite.
Delicata squash sounds like such a cozy twist—so glad you loved it! Perfect idea for an easy weeknight favorite. 🍽️✨
I wanted to love this recipe! However, that is not how it turned out. I only rated two stars because I thought it was relatively easy to put together. This curry was extremely runny more like broth than a curry I’m imagining mine didn’t have the yellow hue as I didn’t use the squash instead I replaced it with potatoes, which I didn’t add in until about an hour left. I thought that the flavor was lacking. It smelled delicious however that did not come through with taste. I followed this recipe exactly as it said minus the potatoes and I really don’t know why it didn’t thicken up. I only added one and a half cups of the broth as I expected it to thicken, but did not want it to be too thick perhaps that’s my fault. And cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces just made it completely fall apart and shred verse being chunks.
When you use squash, as in the recipe, some of it breaks down and helps to create a wonderful, slightly creamy texture. As I’ve noted in the recipe card, not all brands of curry paste are created equal. I’ve bought some pretty lacklustre ones in the past myself. For the best flavor, use curry paste that is made in Thailand.
I love this recipe! Could I cook it for longer on low?
Hi Myar! I have tested this recipe on low for 8 hours but I found that the chicken became too soft. If you want to experiment, I suggest trying adding the chicken whole and then removing and shredding it before dinner.
This recipe is so easy to make and is heavenly on the tongue. I highly recommend this dish
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for the kind words and recommendation—it means so much.
It was good, just needed salt! I recommend cooking on low for 4 hours, and adding the kale the last 30 minutes. Also, you dont need to cut up the thighs into small pieces, just add them whole, and shred with a fork before serving.
Good call on shredding the meat!
Taste was good but was really thin and runny even with the 1 cup of stock. I add pasta to thicken it up. I’ll try again next weekend with less stock 🙂
Thanks for the feedback! Adding pasta to thicken sounds like a tasty fix. Definitely feel free to use less stock next time to get the consistency just right—can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
Thank you my daughters enjoyed it! Kept the spicy to a minimum due to the girls preference.
It looks fab! Thank you for sharing your photo!
I can’t find fresh chili peppers at the moment. Would chili powder work? If so, how much do you suggest.
I would add a pinch of chili flakes!
Is this freezable?
Yes! It freezes very well.
Loved this recipe! I kept the chicken thighs whole and bought already cut up butternut squash so it was so easy. The flavor was amazing…rich and creamy (only used 1 cup of chicken broth and may reduce to 1/2 cup next time)I am making it for a dinner party this weekend. Thank you, big success!
You’re very welcome, Judy!
I was a little nervous about the heat level so only added 3 tablespoons of curry paste. (Not the recommended brand) will make again but will use 4-6 table spoons of curry will also use Hot peppers and add a little garlic. Overall really good!
Always a good call to start with less and add more to taste!
Thanks for the recipe <3 but how do I convert imperial units to metric as rest of the world are using besides u s n a
I’m Canadian and use imperial. Google is what I use to convert metric to imperial. Hoping to one day have both on my site!
you could also invest in some basic measuring cups stop being a whiny little baby! Just a thought.
Followed the recipe to a T, but the curry came out watery (used only one cup of chicken stock) and flavorless. I love Thai curries, but this was not it. I’m not sure why it’s so highly rated.
I’m sorry this wasn’t a hit for you. Most of the flavor comes from the curry paste, so make sure you are using one you like. I’ve noted my favorite in the notes section.
Hi, I haven’t made this yet and want to add snap peas and water chestnuts. Do you think that will work? If so, when should I add them?
Yes I think both are a great idea! I would add them at the very end as water chestnuts only need to warm through and snap peas cook very fast.