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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This was SO. GOOD. It made my house smell like a Thai restaurant! Really filling and pretty too. Like some others, I chose to omit the water, which was the right move in my opinion. I also added some sliced bell peppers, green beans, and about half a bag of frozen peas and carrots at the 3 hr 30 min mark. I think that when I make this next time, I’ll add another tablespoon of soy sauce (maybe 2), a pinch more sugar, and another tablespoon of chili paste (I used the Huy Fong brand). My only critique is that the butternut squash ended up being pretty mushy – I like mine with a bit of bite to it, similar to the texture of roasted squash. I think I will add it at the 1 hr mark.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
Can I make this on the stove? If so how long do I let it simmer?
You can! It should only need about an hour (max) for the chicken to be tender.
This recipe sounds so great! How would you suggest adjusting to cook in instapot?
I’m not super familiar with cooking in Instant Pots. Maybe look for an IP chicken curry and use the time on that one and the ingredients on this one. 🙂
I’m going to try this tomorrow I’m so excited
Would I be able to put this on low for 8 hrs instead of on high for 4 ?
I’ve tried this recipe on low for 8 hours, but it doesn’t work as well. The squash will be VERY soft and I find that even the chicken is too tender for my taste. It still tastes great and if you’re not picky about the texture then you could still give it a go. 🙂
I love this recipe! I make a large batch, add mushrooms, water chestnuts, and baby corn and serve it over cauliflower rice for a meal that we can eat for a few days! I do go heavy on the seasonings and (and have added a few), but it’s a definite keeper! For those who say it’s runny- I do cut the water a bit- but that’s just how Thai curry is..let the rice soak it up and enjoy! Thank you for sharing!
Great call on adding water chestnuts!
I love this recipe. We have it at least once a month. We modify, because we light it more creamy so we don’t add the water. Also, we season the chicken with salt before adding into the slow cooker.
Thank you so much for coming back to let us know!
I’m eating this right now, and oh MAN is it good! I ended up adding an additional can of coconut milk toward the end bc the coconut flavor wasn’t strong enough for me, and it was the right move! I also made this with Thai noodles instead of rice, and added green beans toward the end so that they would still be a bit crunchy. Next time I think I will do broccoli instead of kale, but that’s just personal preference. This is delish! Thanks, Kristen!
Noodles with this sound amazing!
hi I am relatively new to cooking and I just want to confirm, the chicken goes in raw or already cooked? Thanks
It goes in raw. It will cook in the crockpot. 🙂
Is this spicy?
It’s mildly spicy. If you’d like more kick, simply add more curry paste. 🙂
Delicious but way too much liquid. I think I’ll omit the water next time.
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the flavors. 🙂
I was so excited to make this as I LOVE Thai curry. I ordered the recommended curry paste from Amazon and waited two days, read most of these reviews for tips and then set out to work. Based on so many comments, I actually eliminated the water all together and just used 1 can coconut milk and it was still a runny mess! It tasted good but I was disappointed as I thought it would be thicker and creamier.
I’m sorry to hear you were disappointed. The recipe is not supposed to be the thick, Indian-style curry gravy but rather a thinner curry common in Thai curries. If you’d prefer a thick curry, you could try mashing some of the squash into the sauce. That would thicken it.
Kristen,
I would like to make this today. I want to omit the fish sauce.
Do you recommend a replacement or ok just to leave out?
Tina
You can definitely leave it out. It may need a little extra salt or a splash of soy sauce, but you can adjust the seasoning at the end. 🙂
Hi! Do you think subbing the chicken for cauliflower or tofu would be okay? Any other suggestions on making this dish vegetarian? Thanks!
I’d be careful with the cauliflower as it might become too soft. But adding some tofu at the end would work well. You could even fry it before adding it for extra flavor. 🙂
Was very very liquidy. I used chicken stock instead of water. An hour before it finished I took off lid thinking it would help and it didn’t. I ended up adding the cooked rice to the pot to absorb the liquid. Any advice? When it all went into the bottom the sauce consistency was beautiful.
It’s not supposed to be super thick as normally it is served over rice or (in my case) cauliflower rice. But if it was really liquidy it may have been because of the chicken. Sometimes chicken is pumped full of water to make it look bigger than it is. That’s the only thing I can think of.
Delicious! I did make a larger batch of this and was wondering if you ever froze part of it and if it held up ok when reheating?
Yes! It freezes well. 🙂
Kinda bland… it’s a good base but it really needs a lot more spices or something to make it less bland.
Most of the flavor comes from the curry paste. I highly suggest buying the brand that I recommend. It’s definitely not bland!