Coconut Chicken Curry
This coconut chicken curry recipe is crazy delicious! The coconut milk and subtle heat of the curry make the perfect combination.
This meal? It was crazy delicious. Not only did it taste incredible but as it was cooking, my house smelled like curry heaven (actually it smelled like that for days after – potent ingredients!).
Honest to goodness, I hoarded the leftovers and sent my husband to work with PB&J and ate this for lunch for three days and I still wasn’t tired of it.
The flavors are utterly amazing – the sweet coconut milk and subtle heat of the curry made the perfect combination.
I omitted the cayenne and used paprika, which was perfect for my family since we like the low-end of spiciness. Initially, I was skeptical about the potatoes, but oh my, I think their velvety goodness was my favorite part of the dish.
I’m not exaggerating when I say this meal could easily make it in a weekly meal rotation and I would love it every time.
If you have never made curry or swear you don’t like it, give this one a try – I can almost guarantee it will make you a fan.
What to Serve With This
- Rice (or better yet, Coconut Rice)
- Fresh, seasonal fruit
- Spinach Strawberry Salad with Homemade Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
Coconut Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks or strips
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika, substitute cayenne pepper if you like the heat
- ½ onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk, light or regular
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, Italian style
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Hot cooked Jasmine rice or brown rice
Instructions
- Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil, curry powder, and paprika in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat for two minutes, until fragrant (but don’t let it burn). Turn the heat up to medium and stir in onions and garlic and cook 7-9 minutes more or until onions are very clear.
- Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through or nearly cooked through (it will continue to simmer in the next step).
- Add potatoes, coconut milk, tomatoes (I lightly crushed the stewed tomatoes with my fingers before adding), tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine.
- Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes. The sauce thickens slightly upon standing, but is great served piping hot (and a bit thinner), too.
- Serve with Jasmine rice (or your favorite rice) and garnish with cilantro, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: slightly adapted from Favorite Family Recipes
I tried this not too long ago! It’s fantastic! It has a slight sweetness to it, it’s creamy, has the perfect amount of curry, and the potatoes (I agree with you) made this dish fantastic! Thanks for posting this recipe! I’m a huge curry fan, too!
Thanks, Felicia!
Another of your recipes that I've enjoyed eating myself. Thanks!
Thanks, Brittany!
yeah, this is really good! thanks so much!
Janeil – thanks for checking in about this recipe. I’m glad that this recipe was a hit and that you found a way to modify it even more to your husband’s liking!
Yummy! I was a little nervous because I have never made anything even close to this but after you raved about it I thought I would give it a try. My husband loved the flavor but he is not a fan of tomato chunks so he said as long as I blend them up smaller next time he would love to have it again. Yea I love it when he loves what I do so I can make it over and over.
Traci – the addition of pineapples sounds delicious with this dish. Thanks for letting me know you and your husband liked this!
this was great! i added pineapples to please my husband and copy his favorite dish from a local restaurant. it added a nice tangy flavor. i love your blog! thanks so much!
melanie – your comment made me laugh since my husband says the same thing about his coworkers – they all gather around to see what he brings for lunch. They are pretty bummed out when it is just PB&J! Glad you liked this!
i made this for dinner last night and it was so good! i added a little more garlic (we love garlic!) and a bit more sugar(we love sugar!) to taste and it was great! i am gaining quite a reputation with my husband’s co-workers. they can’t wait to see what my husband brings for lunch. tonight we are having your honey lime chicken enchiladas. can’t wait!
I’m crossing my fingers, Laura! Let me know how it turns out.
Holly – I think the brand of curry powder I have in my cupboard right now is Spice Islands. Seems to work great in this recipe!
Ok, I have never made anything like this before, but it sounds delish. I have a can of coconut milk I bought at the store a while ago when it was on sale, in order to save it for something exotic. I am going to use it up and give this a try. Cross your fingers it will get my family’s seal of approval.
AmISparky – I love your comments! Thanks for letting me know when you try things. I’m glad you liked this curry, I think I am going to make it again this week. Feel free to let me know when directions/ingredients aren’t straight forward enough!
This recipe was SO GOOD! We are going to be making it often. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Nicole – glad you liked this. Scott is so cute with his little comments!
Very very tasty and I love how Scott kept saying, “Is that dinner!?” in excitement over the smell. The smell was soooo wonderful! I wonder if your husband smelled it at work today- Kevin brought left overs 🙂
Hello,>>We bumped into your blog and we really liked it – great recipes YUM!!! YUM!!!.>We would like to add it to the Ptitchef.com.> >We would be delighted if you could add your blog to Petitchef so that our users can, as us,>enjoy your recipes.> >Petitchef is a french based Cooking recipes Portal. Several hundred Blogs are already members>and benefit from their exposure on Petitchef.com (more than 30 000 visitors per day)> >To add your site to the Ptitchef family you can use http://www.petitchef.com/?obj=front&action=site_ajout_form or just go to http://en.petitchef.com and click on “Add your site”> >Best regards,> >Octávio>http://www.petitchef.com
Anonymous – My husband and your husband would get along if sweet and sour chicken was the deciding factor because my husband loves that meal, too! Thanks for letting me know you liked it. I appreciate you checking in!
Mikaela – glad you liked this! It is one of my very favorite meals.
Joanna – I’m glad your first try with a curry recipe didn’t disappoint. Curry is so delicious and I’m glad you liked this recipe!
Shari – Wow! Better than ice cream? That’s saying a lot. 🙂 I’m glad you liked this meal – we actually just ate it on Mother’s Day because it is one of my favorites.
I really enjoyed this recipe and love your blog for meal ideas- thanks!
so this is one of those things that doesn’t deteriorate in the fridge? awesome. coconut milk is simply not used enough in my household. 🙂
See! Another great dinner idea – hoarded it for three days you say? I have to try this. So, what brand of curry powder are you using? As I don’t have any I might as well use what you know and love right? 🙂
Hey Melissa – I have no doubt yours was probably prettier than mine because a garnish of cilantro on top would add great color to the dish! Did the sweetened coconut milk add a great deal of extra sweetness? You’ll have to let me know in case I’m in a pinch and that’s all I can find.
Yum, this looks fab
Rebecca – thanks for your comment! This is one of my favorite meals and I am very glad you liked it, too!
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous! This was the first time I have ever made curry and it turned out great. I love it!
Well goodness, after a rave like “It was crazy good”, I MUST try it! I wonder if I could make it in the slow cooker….
Carlsons – thanks for trying this and letting me know you loved it! That is always good news for me to hear!
Erica – of course you can add my blog to your blogroll. I have several of your recipes bookmarked to try so you’ll probably be hearing more from me soon!
OH MY GOSH! I cannot WAIT to run out of food this week so I can make it next week! It looks TO DIE FOR! And I also love potatoes with anything curry. YUM!
Tried it tonight – thanks for hooking me up, as always. I love that blog, I’ve already tried their kung pao chicken and I’m trying two other recipes this week.
I LOOKS crazy delicious! I’m drolling over here!
Melissa – it’s always nice to get a comment like that so I don’t have to wonder if I’m the only one who crazily raves about a meal. Thanks for letting me know you made it and loved it (and for the nice compliment on my picture)!
Looks yummy! I’ve never cooked curry before at home, but you’ve convinced me to give it a try!
this sounds fantastic!!
I’m definitely going to try this. It looks yummy.
This is delicious. We really enjoyed it. Thank you (possibly again) for the wonderful directions.
I am so glad you liked this recipe! It is one of my favs for sure! Your blog is awesome! I love it! Can I add it to my blogroll? >-Erica (favorite family recipes)
I made this…and my oh my is it good. I mean like seriously good. Mine did not look that pretty though. That is one good lookin’ picture. Thanks for all the great recipies.
Oh yum! I am crazy about coconut curry! Plus I have 6 types of rice in my cupboard that need to make a dinner table appearance! This sounds/looks wonderful!
Kristin – how was the kung pao chicken? You’ll have to let me know what other recipes to try that come well recommended from you. >>Anonymous – glad you can find a way to make it less sweet for your tastes. Thanks for checking in and letting me know you tried it.
Melanie-this is Melissa again and I made this again this week. It turned out as good as before! I garnished mine with a few springs of cilantro and it was a good combo (I love cilantro and I could eat it like lettuce!) This time I used a “sweetened coconut milk” instead of the regular kind and I liked it too. Thanks again. This time mine was almost as pretty as yours!>Melissa
This was very easy to make, and sooooo good. We followed the recipe exactly as written, except that we used 3 lbs of chicken (we bought a family pack). While the sauce itself was a bit spicy (used cayenne instead of paprika) it wasn’t as spicy the second day. My 19 mo old son ate the chicken and by itself it wasn’t spicy. Great dish and it will be made again and again.
Wow, I came to your blog from a friends blog and I love your style of cooking and can’t wait to try the many, many yummy recipes you have tempted me with. I tried the sweet and sour chicken and it was a fav with my husband. I plan on trying this one next. Thanks for you effort and time.
🙂 This looks like something that would yield delicious leftover’s I’d like to use the savor all on my own too. I’ve actually had something like this before and loved it!
I tried it last night. It’s a little too sweet for my taste. Next time I’ll omit the extra sugar. Thanks for the recipe!
We had this for dinner tonight….a definite hit! My son declared it “better than ice cream”. Thanks for sharing!