Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry
This is not just any other coconut chicken curry recipe. Boneless pieces of chicken breast slow-cooked in a beautiful blend of indian spices, onion-ginger garlic-tomato base, and creamy coconut milk. I will share the best way to add flavor and make a fantastic curry without much effort.
Coby Watkins says:
Just made this for the first time. It was sensational!
I made a couple of changes in mine though. I added half a tablespoon of Garam Masala, and an extra teaspoon of curry powder to the onion mix in the frypan.The step of cooking the onions, garlic, ginger etc is essential. It creates a new level of rich flavour. Don’t be lazy and just dump it all in the slow cooker together. I found the Garam Masala kicked it up a notch!
Served over steamed Basmati rice, and i pan fried some frozen Aloo Paratha i had. It was absolutely delicious. My partner has made it a staple for me to cook hahahaha.
Much love from Victoria, Australia.
This chicken coconut curry is made in a slow cooker with boneless chicken breast sauteed in onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, and basic spices. Adding coconut milk makes the sauce creamy and rich. Slow cooking the chicken ensures the chicken pieces remain Juicy and tender.
There are a few variations of coconut chicken curries out there. This recipe calls for staple Indian spices to make the curry sauce. I have simplified the process and have used easily available ingredients to make this process less intimidating and easily adaptable. But when it comes to flavors, it is 10/10.
My version of Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry is a little different
Crockpot recipes are supposed to be ‘Dump & cook’ categories. While this method might work for most recipes, when making curries, add one extra step to the process. For someone who is been cooking curries all her life, you can take my word for it.
Sauteing the aromatics like onion, ginger, and garlic and then the curry powder before adding to slow cooker makes a huge difference. You might have to spend 5 minutes more and will have an extra pan to clean up but trust me, the curry will be sensational.
Ingredients
- Boneless Chicken – Make it with boneless chicken breasts, thighs and also chicken drumsticks. I have gone with skinless boneless chicken breast. Cut the chicken into cubes.
- Oil – Use any neutral oil like regular vegetable oil to saute the aromatics and spices. You can use coconut oil or butter too.
- Onion – usual aromatics used in indian recipes. Use finely chopped onion and minced garlic.
- Garlic and Ginger – Used as a curry base for all curry recipes. Use garlic paste and grated ginger so that it blend in the sauce.
- Curry Powder (ref note 1 in recipe card) – It is a blend of various spice powders. Lots of brands out there , use curry powder meant for Indian cooking.This one I love using.
- Tomato paste – Use tomato paste instead of regular diced tomato because of its intense flavor, and it won’t add extra liquid to the sauce.
- Kashmiri Red chilli powder (ref note 2) – it gives a bright red color to the curry. it is not hot/spicy.
- Coconut milk – Use full-fat canned coconut milk, brought to room temperature. Avoid using cold coconut milk. Shake the can so that the contents mix well. If you use homemade coconut milk, use the first extracted thick one.
- Salt to taste
- Coriander/cilantro leaves – use chopped cilantro leaves for garnish.
How to make chicken curry
Preparing the coconut chicken curry remains the same if you make it in a crockpot or skillet on the stovetop.
Make the aromatic base
These steps remain the same whether you choose slow cooker or stovetop.
Heat oil in a pan on medium flame. Add finely chopped onion and allow it to cook until it becomes soft and transparent. Follow it with garlic and ginger. Saute them and cook for a minute until they lose their raw smell.
Add curry powder and saute everything to prevent it from burning. You have prepared the aromatic curry base.
To cook in slow cooker, transfer this to the slow cooker and move on to the next section.
Cook in slow cooker
Add the curry base and the rest of the ingredients – chicken pieces, tomato paste, Kashmiri chilli powder, coconut milk and salt to the slow cooker. Stir it well and set it cook at high for 3 hours or for 5 hours at low.
Want to make this curry on stove top?
Making Chicken Curry With Coconut on the stovetop is similar to any other chicken curry.
Splash some water on the curry base and then add tomato paste. Saute it for another minute. Once the Onion tomato curry base is cooked, add chicken pieces to the pan. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Then add coconut milk, chilli powder and salt and cook on low covered for 12-15 minutes more.
Tips For Making Curry
- Chicken breast or chicken thighs can be used in this curry. I also use bone-in chicken sometimes for more flavor.
- Use fresh curry powder for maximum flavor. The quality of the curry powder you use makes a lot of difference. Every curry powder has different ingredients in varied proportions. The one I used had coriander, cumin, fennel, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and turmeric powder. It is had a nice strong flavor. You can substitute curry powder with one tablespoon of coriander powder, one teaspoon of cumin, one teaspoon of garam masala, and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder.
- Instead of dumping everything directly into the slow cooker, first, we will cook onion, ginger, and garlic in a pan. Once it has cooked, add curry powder to the mixture. By cooking the aromatics in oil, we develop some flavor.
- Coconut cream can be a substitute for coconut milk. Note that coconut cream is very concentrated and has high fat. Therefore, it is not a like for like substitute of coconut milk. It has to be diluted with water before added to the curry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check if the coconut milk you have used are as that mentioned in the recipe. If heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk is to be used, do not substitute it with low-fat versions. Low fat coconut milk tend to split when cooked for long hours, turning the curry watery.
Canned coconut milk has thickening agents in it that make it creamy. Homemade coconut milk does not have any thickeners. Therefore, you might find the curry a bit watery.
You can make a cornstarch slurry and use it to thicken the curry. Mix one part cornstarch with two parts water, mix it well and add to the curry. Cook the curry now for another 30 minutes to get the desired thick gravy.
Cooking curries or gravies with coconut milk on low-heat, as suggested in this recipe, in a slow cooker, helps keep it together.
Also, ensure that you rest the canned coconut milk, taken out from the refrigerator, to allow it to come to room temperature. And shake it well so that the separated fat and liquid is mixed together.
Definitely! Potatoes, carrots, peas, or bell peppers go really well. Add hard veggies along with chicken so that they cook thoroughly. Bell peppers you can add mid way through. Peas add towards the end.
Storing Leftovers and Reheating
Leftover coconut chicken curry can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in microwave. Because of coconut milk, it doesn’t freeze well. On freezing curry, the coconut milk might split, and the sacue will look grainy.
Serve with
This curry pairs well with roti (Indian flatbread), plain white or brown rice, Jeera rice, basmati rice, Vegetable pulao, or Paneer pulao.
Love curries?? Give these a try
Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 500 grams Boneless Chicken Breast Or chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 2 Medium Onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Garlic finely minced
- ½ tablespoon Grated Ginger
- 2 tablespoon Curry Powder (Ref note 1)
- ¼ cup Tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri Red chilli powder/ paprika (Ref note 2)
- 400 ml Coconut milk Use full-fat coconut milk
- Salt to taste
- Coriander leaves Also known as Cilantro. Use finely chopped.
Instructions
Prepare the curry base in a pan
- Start with the curry base. To make the curry base heat oil in a pan.
- Add finely chopped Onion to the pan. Cook on medium flame until the onion starts to soften and brown.
- Then add minced garlic and ginger. Saute for a minute so that the raw smell of garlic and ginger is gone.
- Add curry powder to the pan and saute for 30 seconds until aromatic. Keep stirring to avoid burning.
Add base with rest of ingredients to slow cooker
- Add chicken pieces to the crockpot along with the onion-ginger-garlic base (made above), tomato paste, Kashmiri chili powder, salt, and coconut milk.
- Mix well and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 5 hours.
- While serving sprinkle fresh coriander.
Video
Notes
- The curry powder that I used was a mixture of coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder, cardamom powder, cloves, cinnamon, and turmeric powder. I have seen a few brands of curry powder, that contain only coriander, cumin, fennel, and turmeric powder. In that case, use 1.5 tablespoons of curry powder and 1 teaspoon of garam masala.
- Kashmiri red chili powder is a less spicy chilli powder used in Indian Cuisine for giving deep red color to curries. You can use paprika instead. I also add 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder to the curry because we love it spicy.
- The amount of curry powder I have used has mild flavor. You can increase or decrease the amount as per your preference. Add 1/4th- 1/2 teaspoon cayane pepper for some heat.
Delicious, and easy!! Will definitely make it again!
Thank for the recipe.
Very easy and very likely to always have all the ingredients on hand- making it even more ideal.
It was however very runny like water and thus the chicken taste was quite bland and plain, as the soupy juices just ran straight off. I did 5 hrs on low.
Flavour wasn’t much to rave about, but my children toddler and 5 yr old didn’t complain- and they can often be fussy.
It certainly has potential- i will use this recipe as a base and tweak it to thicken and enhance flavours.
If the curry powder you use is available on Amazon can you please tell the brand. I’ve searched for hours for the same list of ingredients and I can’t find it.
Do you use coconut milk or coconut cream in your curry? This will be my first time making a curry of any kind. I bought both. Please advise. Thanks
I have used coconut milk. You can use coconut cream by diluting it with water since you need a curry-like gravy.
This recipe is amazing. I will be making it again today for my son’s 20th birthday dinner and will try it using boneless thighs for a bit more fat and flavour. I have been making extra and freezing it so when we want Indain take out I have it in my freezer!! Yay. I make garlic naan and Indian basmati to go with it. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Super easy, super delish and cheaper than take out.
I am so happy that you loved it. Hope it turned out great again.
I don’t understand the comment about 2 Green Cardamom. I don’t see it in the list of ingredients. Should cardamom be part of this recipe and if so, how much?
Hi Jannine,
That was an old comment. The recipe has been improvised later. So no cardamom in the recipe.
I have made this recipe multiple times, I love it! So easy to make and so flavorful.
This coconut chicken curry recipe is absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making this again.
I’ve made this recipe loads of my times, I’m making this in slow cooker tonight I can’t wait to wake up to the beautiful aroma
If I have curry paste, not powder, could you substitute and how much? And would I still use tomato paste? Thanks,
You can use curry paste instead but I am sorry I can’t tell you how much. If can add tomato paste with curry paste as well.
I read that when using powder instead of paste it’s a teaspoon of powder per tablespoon of paste so go backwards
Great recipe. And I’m a novice cook.
Best home made curry! Super easy to make and delicious . Brought some
Over to my mom and she loved it too! Plus it makes your house smell amazinggg
Great recipe… thank you so much for sharing it with all of us! I’ve just made this for the 2nd time so thought it only right to take the time to show my appreciation. I’m sure this curry will be an ongoing family favourite of ours.
So glad that you liked it. This one is one of our favourites. If you don’t mind, can you please give a rating?
Trying this now with a twist! Added cubed sweet potatoes and galangal root to the slow cooker. Will serve with cauliflower rice and cilantro topping. So excited! Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
Made sure to read the authors notes and I took the advice of combining garam masala to the curry powder and I also combined chilli powder and paprika. Unused full fat coconut milk and made sure to pre-cook my onions and spices as noted Absolutely divine! Anyone who hasn’t given this recipe 5 stars is not cooking it to the instructions & notes. Thank you for sharing. I loved this dish and will make again.
I added blended mango to add depth of flavour and some mango pieces and my toddler and hubby loved it
I did this recipe today, but my coconut milk had separated due to low temperatures. I poured it all and after a while it blended fine, but at the end the food was not creamy like yours, it was rather watery and the chicken not as tender…
I am sorry you had trouble while making the recipe. I use coconut milk quite frequently and never faced such a problem. Was the coconut milk low on fat? And ideally, the chicken comes out nice and tender in the slow cooker, but looks like yours got definitely overcooked.
I had this issue too! With mine I thought that it seemed like the sauce hadn’t cooked quite long enough..
Hiya is it tinned coconut milk or fresh coconut milk that u use or would it matter I’m gonna make this tomorrow using a tin but was wondering if u could use fresh would it matter ?
Hi Mary,
I had used Tinned Coconut milk. You can also use fresh coconut milk.
Thanks
Hi,
Where can I purchase the curry powder that you used in this recipe?
Any Indian/Asian stored should have curry powder. It is also available on amazon.
While looking at this recipe I noticed in the ingredients there is 2 Green Card I think this might be green chili leave. a possible typing error.
Yes, it is 2 Green Cardamom. Corrected the typo. Thanks a lot for pointing it out, Chris