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 slow cooker chicken curry is everything I want in a comforting, flavor-packed dinner. It starts with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which stay juicy and tender as they simmer in a rich, coconut-based curry sauce. The sauce is built from classic Thai curry staples—red curry paste, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, and coconut milk—with a touch of brown sugar (or palm or coconut sugar, if you have it) to round everything out.
Vegetables make this curry hearty and colorful. Sweet kombucha squash (or butternut squash), yellow onion, chili peppers, and kale soften into the sauce and soak up all that bold flavor. I like to finish each bowl with fresh cilantro, extra chili, and a squeeze of lime for brightness. Spoon it over rice, and you’ve got a cozy, satisfying meal that tastes deeply flavorful and completely complete.
Ingredients to gather
Most of these ingredients are items you likely have on hand. Just grab your chicken and veggies, throw everything in the crockpot, and you’re good to go! Gather these items:
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the way to go.
- Chicken stock: Grab store-bought, or make your own. You can adjust the amount according to the consistency you like – check out the notes section under the recipe!
- Thai red curry paste: Not all curry pastes are created equal. Make your own, otherwise make sure to taste a little bit before adding it to assess the heat and flavor.
- Brown sugar: If you have palm sugar or coconut sugar on hand, both of those great options.
- Curry staples: Soy sauce, minced ginger, fish sauce, garlic, and coconut milk.
- Veggies: Kombucha squash (or butternut squash), yellow onion, chili peppers, and kale.
- To serve: I love to serve this with cilantro, chili peppers, and lime!
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!
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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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.
I’ve made this recipe a thousand times, and it’s a family fave. A couple things to note: 1.) We never add the chicken broth as it’s way too watery 2.) the recipe neglects to mention that you should season the chicken chunks with salt and pepper before adding to slow cooker. This is a MUST or else it is very bland 3.) I use Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk. Once I used the Goya Coconut Milk and it was a disaster. The Goy Coconut Milk curdles badly in this recipe, and it won’t come out creamy.
Thank you for sharing your tips and suggestions!
I read there’s already a lot of salt in the fish sauce and another ingredient. Due to taste, I will just stick to the regular recipe.
Yummy but wasn’t enough for 4 people! Will make again!
Sooo good. Took to my friends’ & they loved it too!
How the heck did anyone prepare this so quickly. It took me 15 minutes just to cut up the kobacha squash. And did cut up my chicken, just shredded it after the 4 hours and it was cooked through.