Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
When we’re working all day and want to come home to an instant dinner, this slow cooker chicken curry is the answer. Tender pieces of chicken, potatoes are carrots really satisfy our appetites without alot of work. This no fuss crock pot chicken curry is the answer to comfort food cravings and best of all, there’s leftovers for the week.
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
We love coconut milk curries. The flavors of coconut combined with enough richness of the milk makes this a fantastic curry. The crazy to think how delicious this meal is with barely any effort. Anyone who cooks with the crock pot knows the excitement of coming come to a houseful of delicious smells. Best of all, the coconut milk is great for folks who want to have a gravy-ish meal that’s dairy free.
Crock Pot Chicken Curry with Thai Flavors
There’s so many different types of curries and the International list of flavors are mind boggling. But to keep our recipe simple, we use Thai-inspired flavors. With fish sauce as the one of the main umami flavors, this curry is more than just flavorful, it’s addicting. To take the flavors to another level, you can add a stalk of crushed lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf or galangal root.
Video: Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Curry Recipe
Boneless skinless chicken: thighs or breast meat?
There’s always two camps when it comes to preferable chicken meat. Personally, we prefer chicken thighs because the flavor is much more rich and the meat doesn’t get as dry as chicken breast. Both will taste great because the curry gravy is rich, so even bland chicken breast is flavorful. It’s more about texture too between the two cuts of chicken. But either way, the recipe will be delicious with what ever cut of chicken you choose. Just make sure it’s boneless and skinless.
Top picks for curry powder or curry paste
There’s so many prepared curry powders and curry pastes out there on the market. Here’s some of our favorites with a great balance of flavor and spices:
Tips on Making Our Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
- We use coconut milk, NOT cream. What’s the difference? The cream is much thicker and will require a little more water to make it more “milky”. So make sure to buy coconut milk and not the cream.
- We love using chicken thighs for this recipe. We talked about it previously but just wanted to remind you all that using boneless skinless chicken thighs makes it so much more flavorful.
- Add any root vegetables you want. We use regular potatoes and carrots but sweet potatoes, turnips and even big chunks of onion are good options.
- Make sure to check the chicken so that it doesn’t get overcooked or mushy. If you don’t like your chicken on the soft side, then check often to make sure it’s cooked through but to your liking.
- All slow cooker curry chicken recipe details are in the recipe box below.
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (907 g) chicken thighs or breasts , boneless & skinless , about 7-8 thighs or 3-4 breasts
- 1 pound (454 g) potatoes , cut into 1″ pieces
- 2 carrots , peeled & cut into 1″ pieces (about 1 cup)
For the Curry Sauce
- 13.5 oz. (400 g) canned coconut milk (NOT coconut water)
- 8 oz. (227 g) tomato sauce (NOT tomato paste)
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce (or soy sauce, but fish sauce is our favorite)
- 3-4 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) minced fresh ginger (or about 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) curry powder
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) kosher salt , or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) cayenne pepper , or to personal spicy taste (optional)
Cornstarch Slurry to Thicken Sauce (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) water
Equipment
Instructions
- In the slow cooker, combine all the curry sauce ingredients first: coconut milk, tomato sauce, fish sauce (or soy sauce), garlic, ginger, curry powder, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt. Gently stir to combine all the ingredients together.
- Add chicken, potatoes and carrots.
- Gently press the chicken and veggies into the sauce to make sure the sauce covers all the chicken, potatoes and carrots.
- Slow cook on HIGH for about 4-5 hours or 6-7 hours on LOW. Depending on how thick you cut your potatoes and carrots, cooking time will vary. Check the chicken to make sure it’s cooked through and to your desired texture. If you don’t want mushy chicken, monitor the pot more.
- For a thicker sauce, make a cornstarch slurry: Combine the cornstarch and water. Stir to remove all lumps and add to the chicken with sauce. Gently stir the sauce and cover the crock pot. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit more.
- Serve as a soup or with rice, pasta, noodles or bread for dipping.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Serve chicken curry as a soup or on rice
This chicken curry can easily be served in different ways. It’s great as a soup and if it’s too salty, just add a little water to it. Serve the curry on a bed of warm white rice, brown rice, couscous or quinoa. You can also dip some crusty bread into the curry. This crock pot chicken curry is great when served with bread!
How to store leftover chicken curry
Try to eat it within 2-3 days because fresh is always better. You can store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. If you have any leftovers that’s can’t be eaten within 2-3 days, just freeze them in airtight containers. You can freeze the curry chicken for up to 2-3 months. Don’t wait longer because it can get freezer burn, which affects the flavor and texture of the chicken.
More Simple Curry Recipes:
- Easy thai coconut curry on stovetop
- Curry coconut milk chicken thighs
- Chicken wings with curry sauce
- Roasted curry cauliflower
- Add some curry powder on our easy baked cod in garlic butter
Hi! If I cut the recipe in half would you recommend cooking for less time?
Hi Kelly, it till take about the same amount of original time so that the chicken can cook all the way through.
What an easy recipe. The chicken came out really tender and just filled with flavor. Loved this recipe. I’ll be back to making this again.
Delicious
Thanks Barbara!