Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry
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Crockpot 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 dinner recipe. Put everything into your crockpot then walk away until dinner!
Complete the meal with a side of perfect basmati rice or cauliflower rice. Also make sure to check out our favorite crockpot Thai chicken soup!
Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry
Friends! It's crockpot time again! This magical pot of cook-my-food-for-me has become a staple around here. Most days we wonder how the heck we lived without one for so long.
Remember back when we thought that crockpots were the domain of frazzled, minivan-driving moms? Boy, were we wrong! They belong to us all. Frazzled moms, cool moms, single dudes, suburban folks, city folks, country folks ā¦ 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 crockpot Thai chicken curry is all about. You literally put a couple of 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}
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
We like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs as they're more flavor than breasts, and they're usually a lot more reasonably priced, too. But if you have chicken breasts on hand, you can definitely use those instead.
Can I cook this on low heat 8-10 hours?
Yes, but there's a caveat. Cooking this curry for a longer time means that the squash will be very soft. At least half of it will disappear into the sauce ā which isn't a bad thing!
The curry sauce will become thicker, sweeter, and taste a little like squash, but it will still be very tasty.
Is this chicken curry thick or thin?
We prefer our curry to be more like a traditional Thai curry, which is on the thin side.
But most Thai restaurants here in North America cater to our tastes and make their curries thicker and creamier, more like traditional Indian curry.
So if you would like yours thicker, all you have to do it reduce the water. (So easy!) There is a note about the exact amount in the recipe card.
Can I make this Thai chicken curry on the stovetop?
Yes! You'll want to simmer the curry for no longer than 1 hour.
What kind of curry paste should I use?
Not all curry paste is created equally. And since the curry paste is the base of the flavor in this recipe, the better the curry paste you can find, the more flavorful the dish will be.
We like Mae Ploy curry paste. When in doubt, look for where the curry paste is made and choose one that is made in Thailand; it's your best bet.
Another option is to make your own curry paste.
Can I use a different color curry paste?
Yes! We've used red, green, and yellow in this recipe and they all work well.
Can I use curry powder?
No, curry powder won't work in this recipe. Curry powder is an Indian spice mix made from ground turmeric, coriander, cumin, and other spices and is very different than Thai curry paste.
Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-2 cups chicken stock (see notes)
- 2-4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten-free, if needed. Coco aminos for paleo and Whole30)
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (or sub maple syrup or brown sugar. Omit for Whole30)
- 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 crockpotĀ 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 coconut 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,Ā 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
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our curry recipes!
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. š
Is this spicy?
It’s mildly spicy. If you’d like more kick, simply add more curry paste. š
Delicious but way too much liquid. I think Iāll omit the water next time.Ā
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the flavors. š
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.Ā
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. š
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. š
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 didnāt. I ended up adding the cooked rice to the pot to absorb the liquid. Any advice? Ā When it all went into the bottom the sauce consistency was beautiful.Ā
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. š
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!
This is a KEEPER!!! So tasty and so easy. I followed your suggestions that were in the comments so that I could make it in my InstantPot. 15 minutes on high was perfect! I added the coconut milk and kale after releasing the steam. This was DELICIOUS!!!!
Hooray! That makes me so happy to hear!
I love the flexibility of this recipe! I added snow peas and eggplant – it turned out great!!!
Flexible recipes are the best, aren’t they? So happy to hear you enjoyed this one!
Not as advertised. We followed this recipe to a T and ended up with a watery runny mess, that looked nothing like the photo and closely resembled a chicken squash soup of some sort. Iām not sure why water was added at all, as it only served to water down any creaminess that could have been there.Ā
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out how you expected.
Great curry, but it was very runny. The can of water thinned the sauce too much. Is there something I am not doing correctly, or should I omit the water?
You can omit or reduce the water if you want a thicker curry. š
I’m going to try this in a pressure cooker tomorrow (on the balcony) because it’s too hot to cook indoors!
I’ve read the recipe and notes twice but don’t understand about the water. You said a can of water two times. Like a can of coconut water? Or just the coconut water from a can of coconut milk? Or did you mean a cup of water?
Thanks! š
Good call on cooking outside!
After I pour the coconut milk into the pot, I fill the can up with water and add that, too. Since the temperature of the pressure cooker will be so high, I would recommend adding the coconut milk at the end of cooking and adding about a can’s worth of water at the beginning. Most cans of coconut milk are 14 ounces so you’ll need 1 3/4 cup of water. I hope that makes more sense! š