Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
Tender chicken pieces are smothered in a flavorful coconut curry sauce in this basil chicken in coconut curry sauce recipe. So delicious!
Easily one of my top favorite meals ever, I’m not alone in my love for this meal. It is widely heralded as one of “the best dinners” by my crew every time we eat it.
The flavors are simple, but they combine into a delicious combination that is so yummy served over rice.
Build the Flavor
In this recipe, the chicken pieces get a quick dry rub marinade with curry powder, salt, pepper and a bit of chili powder.
The seasoned chicken then cooks in a pan with garlic, ginger, jalapeños and onion before getting dunked in a bath of coconut milk (and a bit of cornstarch).
As the chicken, aromatics, and coconut milk all simmer together, the curry flavors work their magic on the creamy sauce.
Coconut Curry Sauce
With just a few minutes of simmering, the sauce takes on the gentle yellow hue of the curry powder (this will vary depending on the brand of curry powder used).
My favorite curry powder is the sweet curry powder from Penzey’s spices. It’s intensely flavorful with a very mild heat.
After cooking, the basil chicken in coconut curry sauce can be served right away or it can be kept warm on the stovetop for a little while. The flavor gets better with time. (As in, the leftovers are gooooood.)
A Fan Favorite
This recipe has become a favorite of many! You can see below in the comments that many people have adapted the recipe over the years to add potatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, mushrooms, you name it.
So if you’re looking for a fresh variation on the basil coconut curry theme, glance through the comments for inspiration.
Dodi recently commented: I made this for my family on a day when I was going out to eat with friends. Let’s just say the food at home was better than the food I paid top dollar for. This is so good! I was glad my kids saved enough for me to eat for leftovers. The taste reminded me of a chicken curry I get at one of my favorite restaurants. The restaurant version includes mushrooms and potatoes. I am going to double the sauce and add those next time I make this. So, SO good!
What to Serve With This:
Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 2 teaspoons curry powder (see note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1-2 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (leave seeds in for more heat)
- 14- ounce can light or regular coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Hot cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl. Stir together curry, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.
- In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, basil, garlic, ginger, and peppers, and cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until onion and peppers start to soften.
- Add the chicken and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, flipping the chicken now and then, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Whisk together the coconut milk and cornstarch until well-combined. Add the mixture to the skillet with the chicken, and whisk over medium heat, until the sauce simmers and thickens, 5-6 minutes. Serve over hot, cooked rice.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
Originally posted September 2009; updated January 2020 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Venessa – I’m glad you found your way here! The amount of chicken I use in this recipe is about 1 1/2 pounds, give or take. Hope that helps!
My friend just showed me your website, and I LOVE it! I LOVE curry, so I’d like to try this tomorrow, but I have a quick question. How many ounces of chicken is 3 breast halves?? Isn’t each breast about 5 ounces, so do you really only use 7-8 ounces of chicken for this whole dish?
Made this tonight – DELISH! A keeper for sure! I didn’t have jalapenos nor red onion. I used a regular onion. Also, I didn’t have the time to let the chicken sit with the seasonings any longer than the prep time. Thanks for the great recipe!
We LOVED this tonight! I didn’t have jalepenos so I used green peppers instead, regular onion instead of purple, and I didn’t have fresh ginger so I used dried and it was still fantastic! Thanks so much…this is a favorite for my whole family now!
Great meal as always! I think I’ve now made every meal you have with curry and coconut milk and they are all amazing. Keep them coming! Your other meal are amazing too but the curry ones are my favorite.
I made this recipe tonight for myself and my parents. They love spicy food, but I definitely don’t, and we finished this recipe between the three of us. No leftovers here!
I made a couple modifications – I only used one jalapeno because I’m a heat wimp, and I used fresh basil so I used about 4 leaves cut up. (2.5-3 tbsp, I’d guess).
It was a great recipe, and not too spicy with the one large jalapeno that I used. I will definitely be making this one again.
I made this last night for dinner and my husband and I both loved it! I used regular coconut milk, as I could not find light. The flavors were great! I think this recipe is restaurant quality. Thank you for sharing!
This is a most delicious recipe!!! I have also recommended it on my blog http://mamaknowszest.wordpress.com/.
Kindly,
Christina
Oh, and I forgot to say, I added some mini sweet bell pepper chunks and some chunks of zucchini . I also omitted the jalapenos, simply because I didn’t have any on hand.
I was craving something curry today, and came across your recipe on Pinterest. My whole family loved it! It was the perfect comfort food to end the day with. Thank you for posting!
An amazingly flavorful dish that is surprisingly simple to execute.
I made this the other night and finished off the leftovers today. We love the flavor. I found a pin on Pinterest the other day that suggested using chia seeds as a thickener instead of corn starch, so I gave it a try. It was a great substitution and I would recommend it to other people who are not entirely fond of corn starch (I think it makes the leftovers a little chalky). I subbed 1 tbsp for 1 tbsp.
Definitely making this again… and other recipes from this blog! Well done.
I just made this for dinner last night and it was SO DELICIOUS! My husband loved it too and had to use great restraint to keep from eating too much. 🙂 I did add a couple tablespoons of brown sugar which really helped round out the flavor. So yummy! Thanks for the recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
I have been on a big Indian Food kick lately. Made an amazing chicken tiki masala last weekend and was looking forward to making this last night. My family really enjoyed it! Before cooking the rice I added some lemon zest and chopped ginger. After the rice was finished I tossed in some chopped cilantro. This made me think that some chopped cilantro in this sauce would be great. This is the first recipe of yours I have tried and can’t wait to try more!
I made this last night and we all enjoyed it. I was worried about the basil curry combination and was surprised at how well they blended together. I used less garlic (only 3 ) and put all the salt in with the spices as a rub on the cubed chicken. I dried the chicken before cutting it and I put it in a plastic bag to sit in the fridge until time to cook. I also just used ground yellow curry powder from Farmer Brother’s. Thanks for sharing. We will definitely have this again.
*by adding more curry, not cumin. lol
I just finished cleaning up dinner after having made this. DELISH! My kids aren’t picky or anything, but when it comes to spicier dishes, they can be a little wimpy. I kicked up the heat with this one and they didn’t even complain. I tweaked it just a teensy bit by adding a bit more cumin as well as adding a few tablespoons of Hot Curry Paste to the onions and jalapenos while they were cooking. I will definitely be adding this one to the dinner rotation. Thanks!
I found your dish on Pinterest and I’m SOOO excited! I’m planning a Jamaican themed wedding/honeymoon shower and was looking for something easy/flavorful to prepare for 100+ guests. I made a small ”test” batch tonight and it was wonderful.
I didn’t use cornstarch in the sauce as I am fridge/freezing as I go along this week but this turned out beautifully. I added Cumin, onion and garlic powder to the marinade and just enough coconut milk to deglaze the pan. I hope to heat the dish back up with a coconut milk/curry sauce the day of the event. Thanks for a beautifully simple and delicious addition to my menu!!
We had this for dinner last night and I was in heaven!!! So simple & easy and soooooo good!! I added veggies to mine. I sauteed some veggies and then put them on a plate and then cooked the chicken & when that was pretty much cooked added the veggies back in and then went on to and the coconut milk, etc. It turned out great!!
Michele – I’ve used fresh basil a time or two. I usually use about 2-3 tablespoons chopped and I add it in at the end with the ginger.
This looks fabulous! I can’t wait to try it. Just wondering, have you ever used fresh basil in this dish? I think I may try that this week.
made this tonight. my husband is pretty much anti Indian food, but he liked it and my 1 yr old and 3 yr old gobbled it up too. Very tasty! Not too curryish or spicy or coconutty. just the right amount of everything. AND the chicken was very tender! thanks for the great recipe!
Yum! This was delicious and really easy to make. I added broccoli, carrots and red peppers to the onion mixture to up the veg factor and make it a complete meal in one bowl. Really enjoyed this and will definitely make again. Thanks!
I just made this recipe, and I do believe that this is my new favorite recipe for coconut curry chicken! I fell in love with a similar dish at a local Chinese restaurant, and was so disappointed when it was removed from the menu. This recipe was so easy and came together quickly, and it’s better than the version that I remember at the restaurant. Thank you!
I don’t know why people were complaining about this recipe. I made it tonight along with one of your recipes for naan, and we loved it- and I am pregnant and have very picky taste buds right now!
Heather-I have used both a normal yellow curry powder and also a hot madras curry powder. As long as you taste as you go and add more seasonings as needed it should turn out great.
Did you use a special curry powder? Like something from the asian section of the grocery store? I want to make this, but right now all I have is a basic yellow curry powder that you would find by all the other spices. Want to make sure I am using the right thing! :0)
This is a fabulous recipe. You know it’s a keeper when the leftovers last no more than a day. I like my food hot, so I added more curry and chili powder. I also added a few scoops of plain yogurt to the marinade, but maybe that just made the final product more runny. It was still awesome though. Good find Mel! And thanks for commenting on my blog! It’s a confidence booster when “real” food bloggers comment on my new little project 🙂
I made this tonight and it was SOOOOO good!
It is simple, quick and very flavorful.
Thank you so much!
K, I know I’ve posted more than once about this recipe, but honestly…It’s so so satisfying. I LOVE all the flavors and might consider it my favorite meal! Thanks!
I made this tonight for my husband’s birthday. He is a big curry fan (we both are!) and loved it! We will definately make this one again!
This recipe was so good that a part of me wants to share the link on Facebook and the other part of me is saying “No, keep it to yourself”!! haha. I’ll make it for the next company we have! (My 5-yr old wants me to make it for supper again tomorrow night!)
Hi Mel! Where do I begin? First I’d like to say my husband and I would like to consider ourselves Indian food connoisseurs. He was born and raised in India and I lived there for 5 years and we’ve eaten in every fancy restaurant in Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore among others (plus UK, Canada and US). Nuff said. So this dish–absolutely DELECTABLE! I do all the cooking in our house, but when we want Indian, my husband does it and his dishes are incredible. I wanted to surprise him with an Indian dish but I truly wasn’t expecting this to be as good as this! He said we’ll have to make this for company (cuz obviously everyone wants Indian when they come to our house)!!!
I made a few changes, but I don’t know how much they’d affect the final outcome.
1. I added the basil just before the coconut milk as I didn’t want it to singe.
2. I added the ginger with the garlic to fry with the onions–typical in Indian cooking.
3. I don’t cook with curry as it is not done in India! Curry is a spice only tourists buy and can only be found in touristy stores! So I substituted Garam Masala which has a warmer flavor and is also a mixture of many spices. That could have changed the flavor quite a lot. I’d recommend trying it with that next time! Nothing beats good ‘ol Garam Masala.
4. i used green chillies instead of jalapeno.
Thank you for a recipe that will be a keeper. Even my 5-year old is begging me to make it when her friends come over!
I made this for dinner on Saturday and I have to say it was very easy to make but I felt something was missing from the ingredients. I’m curious, has anyone tried adding a little bit of peanut butter to the coconut milk? I think I may try that next time.
Just tried this recipe!!! Pretty good! I made just the slightestest tweaks! I didn’t have red onion so I used yellow, one jalapeño (kids don’t like heat) and half of a yellow pepper, a bit more salt at the end, an extra teaspoon of curry powder and a teaspoon of agave nectar at the end to brighten it up and I must say it is SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!! Thanks!
Hiya Angela!
Made this for dinner last night and loved it. Thank you for these wonderful recipes! My husband spoils me with Pensey Spices…I used one of their curry powers..it turned out to be delicious. Can’t wait to try it again.
Lyn Kobes
Hi Melanie,
This recipe sounds delicious and I’ve been playing around with the idea of making it. However, because I’m barely home long enough to really take the time in making it, I’m curious: How could this recipe be converted in a slow cooker recipe? If that’s at all possible.
If you have any idea, please let me know before I turn something that looks delicious into a disaster in a crock.
Thanks! 🙂
~Nym – you know, I don’t know that this would fare too well in the slow cooker. I’ve never used coconut milk in the slow cooker and I’m not sure if the texture would change or curdle. You might try googling “coconut curry in slow cooker” to get some ideas. Sorry I’m not more help!
We made this last week and really loved it! (well my husband and I anyway)
OH. MY. HEAVEN. Absolute perfection.
I haven’t made this recipe but I make chicken and beef curry a lot. I think to add another layer/depth of flavor and save time even I always season my meat with the spices then dredge it in seasoned flour, cornstarch, or a mixture of both. Then brown the meat in batches to ensure that nice brown crust on the outside. Add enough coconut milk or any other liquid like chicken or beef stock and it will create a nice creamy sauce. on it’s own. Then taste and add more curry powder if needed.
Hi! I found your blog last weekend, linked from Pinterest. We made this dish tonight for dinner and absolutely loved it! We used the Hot Madras Curry Powder by McCormick, we put all the salt into the bowl with the chicken (by accident!), we used Canola oil instead of olive oil, and we used ground ginger instead of fresh. It was wonderful. I can’t wait to make it again! Thank you!!!
I made this last night and it was PERFECT! Thanks for the recipe.
I made this last night and my whole family LOVED it! That is saying something that my kids loved it. I used one jalapeno, fresh basil, and only a tiny bit of ground ginger, as I am not crazy about ginger. The dish was sweet and savory, mild and lovely. Thanks Mel. I hope you know that this blog has saved me a ton of money and changed my life. Really, no kidding. I really appreciate you!
Delicious! Even my picky 4-year-old loved it, which amazed me.
I am going to try this recipe soon and wondered if you thought I could use the carton of refrigerated coconut milk with the same success as the canned light coconut milk?
This one didn’t work for me as well as most of your recipes, but it was my fault because I changed some things since I was nervous it would be too spicy for my family. We love Indian food but only if it’s really mild. I’m usually disappointed in any Indian food unless its from a restaurant; just a haven’t gotten the hang of it yet. It’s always too spicy – except this time it wasn’t too spicy, just didn’t have much flavor (like I said, my fault) Anyway, maybe I’ll try it again sometime.
I also made your Lasagna Primavera and the chocolate pudding this week. Both turned out really good. Thanks!
This was the best meal I have cooked for awhile. I cut back a little on the onions and only added one jalepeno because I know my family. I recommend it with Jasmine rice, our favorite. This recipe will become a regular here.
I love that this made your sidebar. I think this meal is one of the meals we make more than any other off of your site. I LOVE it! I recommended it to a friend and gave her the link. She LOVED it and her husband loved it even more! It’s definitely a favorite of mine.
I just have to say I discovered your website a few months ago, I have so far tried 3 of your recipes and they were a Huge hit! This one was by far the BEST! My husband LOVES, and I mean Loves Curry. I made this for him and my 3 kids and he rated it a 9.7 (he said when he added extra heat, red pepper flakes, it made it a 10) I love your recipes, my dinner schedule consists of almost all of your recipes and my mouth waters when I see more. Hehe. Thank you SO much for all the hard work you do for your family and helping thousands of other families like mine to cook good, flavorful, variety filled AMAZING food.
This is also a regular on the menu for us now. 🙂 I absolutely love it and have found that adding some more curry powder to sauce with the ginger brings it up a lot in flavor. Thanks for sharing!!