Thai Coconut Chicken Curry (made in your slow cooker)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Popular Thai Curry Recipes
For more inspiration, check out all of our curry recipes!
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. 🙂