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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Lovely and so easy !
can I add brocolli and cauliflower?
Yes but I would add them only 30 minutes before serving so they don’t turn to mush.
Can I do this with an instapot?
I haven’t tried but I would assume it would work. 🙂
I love this recipe! The quality / brand of the curry paste makes a big difference.
It sure does!
I went ahead and gave the original recipe the benefit of the doubt despite all of the comments saying it’s runny and a few that mentioned it’s bland. As made according to the recipe, it’s a mildly spicy soup. I’ve eaten Thai and never had anything this watery. Anyway, I can work with it…. When I make it again as a curry, I will cut back significantly on the added water and probably double the curry paste. If I want soup, I’ll keep the original amount of water.
Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
Made this last night love it. Has anyone tried to freeze the leftovers?
Leftovers freeze well. 🙂
Great substitute for take out! Loved the spicy, creamy flavor! Such an easy and delicious recipe!
That’s wonderful to hear!
I enjoyed this chicken curry as much as the curry at my favorite Thai restaurant! I did substitute yellow curry for the red curry because I prefer over the red.
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you for coming back to let us know, Teresa!
If I don’t have curry paste, can I just use curry powder and other spices? Also, how critical is the soy and fish sauce?
Curry powder (which is Indian) is quite different than curry paste (which is Thai). Using one for the other would change the flavor dramatically. Depending on what you have in your fridge, you may be able to make your own using this recipe: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/easy-thai-red-curry-paste-recipe/
The soy sauce and fish sauce both add a ton of flavor to curries. If you don’t have them on hand, you’ll want to use a lot more salt. 🙂
Wish I would have read more of the reviews first. Curry came out too watery. Like soup. Ugh
I’m sorry to hear that it wasn’t a hit.
i wanted to add seafood (shrimp, oysters, scalps) to this at what point would i do that
I would add them at the end. All of those cook very quickly so they’ll only need a couple of minutes. 🙂
I just tried to make this dish and the coconut milk became a really gross texture… unfortunately I didn’t read your notes until now (my fault). It seemed like it would have been a really good recipe aside from this – it might be worth writing in the body of the recipe instead of the notes. Thanks!
Thank you for the feedback! We will do that. 🙂
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. 🙂