Thai Chicken Coconut Curry – An EASY one-skillet curry that’s ready in 20 minutes and is layered with so many fabulous flavors!! Low-cal, low-carb, and HEALTHY but tastes like comfort food!!
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Thai Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
This is an easy Thai chicken curry that’s made in one skillet, ready in 20 minutes, and is naturally gluten-free. According to the computer-generated nutrition stats, there’s only 141 calories and 4 carbs per serving — no rice or naan included.
With cold weather upon us, nothing is better than diving into a bowl of this hearty yet healthy comfort food that’s layered with flavors. I could just drink the coconut milk-based sauce.
The Thai red curry is savory, salty, there’s natural sweetness from the sweet Vidalia onions, carrots, and coconut milk. There’s perfect acid balance from lime juice and a very gentle heat from the Thai red curry paste.
Since sharing this recipe in 2017, I’ve received almost 600 comments and 240+ five-star reviews on it. To say it’s a reader favorite is an understatement!
Thai Chicken Coconut Curry Ingredients
To make the easy Thai red curry recipe, you’ll need:
- Coconut oil
- Sweet Vidalia onion
- Chicken breasts
- Garlic
- Ground or fresh ginger
- Ground coriander
- Canned coconut milk
- Shredded carrots
- Thai red curry paste
- Fresh spinach
- Lime juice
- Brown sugar
- Fresh cilantro
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Using Curry Powder vs Curry Paste
Thai red curry paste adds a richer and smoother flavor profile than curry powder (Indian) does, but if all you have is curry powder, go for it knowing that the flavor of Thai versus Indian curry products is vastly different and your dish won’t taste like mine.
How to Make Thai Red Curry
This is a very easy Thai curry recipe to make! Here’s how the coconut milk curry comes together:
- Add the oil and chopped onion to a large skillet and sauté until softened.
- Add the diced chicken and cook until done, then add the garlic, ginger, and coriander.
- Coconut milk, carrots, Thai curry paste, salt, and pepper are stirred in next, and then the mixture should be left to bubble away for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach, lime juice, and optional brown sugar last.
I like to serve this coconut milk curry with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro to make the flavors pop.
Recipe Tips
Curry paste: As with all curry pastes and powders, they vary in intensity and everyone’s preferences for spice and heat vary, so adjust to taste. I used 2 rounded tablespoons and I wouldn’t call it spicy at all but very flavorful. My 10-year-old wasn’t at all phased by it but we like spicy food.
Veggies: If you have extra veggies you want to incorporate such as cauliflower, bell peppers, tomatoes, or edamame, add them when you add the coconut milk and carrots.
Meal Prep: Something I love about this Thai curry recipe is that the flavors deepen as the leftovers sit in the fridge. So feel free to make a big batch of curry before a busy work week to enjoy later on!
Storage Instructions
If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this coconut milk curry will last up to five days.
Can You Freeze Red Curry?
Absolutely! I like to store smaller quantities in freezer bags to reheat at a moment’s notice. Frozen curry will last up to three months.
Ingredient Substitutions and Shortcuts
This is a very flexible chicken coconut curry recipe, so feel free to tweak the ingredients list as needed to use up what you have on hand.
- Coconut oil: May be substituted with olive oil.
- Chicken: Use shredded rotisserie chicken or meal prepped chicken instead to save time. Or, use a can of chickpeas to keep this dish vegetarian.
- Veggies: Mix and match the veggies to use up whatever is in your produce drawer.
- Ground coriander: Omit if you don’t have it on hand, but note that the curry won’t have quite the same depth of flavor.
What to Serve with Thai Chicken Curry
We like to serve this Thai chicken curry with naan bread, rice (brown, basmati, or white), or quinoa.
There are so many veggies in the curry itself that a vegetable side isn’t really needed, in my opinion. However, curry pairs nicely with steamed veggies or a crisp green salad.
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Thai Chicken Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut oil, olive oil may be substituted
- 1 medium/large sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, diced small
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 2 to 3 teaspoons ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- one 13-ounce can coconut milk, I used lite; full-fat will deliver a richer/thicker result
- 1 to 1 ½ cups shredded carrots
- 1 to 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, or to taste (curry powder may be substituted, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- about 3 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional and to taste
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped for garnishing (basil may be substituted)
- rice, quinoa, or naan, optional for serving
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the oil, onion, and sauté over medium-high heat until the onion begins to soften about 5 minutes; stir intermittently.
- Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is done; flip and stir often to ensure even cooking.
- Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir frequently.
- Add the coconut milk, carrots, Thai curry paste, salt, pepper, and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium, and allow mixture to gently boil for about 5 minutes, or until liquid volume has reduced as much as desired and thickens slightly.
- Add the spinach, lime juice, and stir to combine. Cook until spinach has wilted and is tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and optionally add brown sugar, additional curry paste, salt, pepper, etc. to taste.
- Evenly sprinkle with the cilantro and serve immediately. Curry is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Thai Curry Recipes:
Favorite CHICKEN RECIPES HERE, CURRY RECIPES HERE, and RECIPES USING COCONUT MILK HERE.
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I made this for dinner and it was phenomenal! I served it with homemade roti bread. Thank you for providing such a wonderful recipe.
Just curious, is this a soup, or do you serve it over rice?
As indicated in the recipe: “rice, quinoa, or naan, optional for serving”
It’s a curry, not a soup, so you can serve it over what you sounds good to you based on the options listed or something else.
Hi there! I’m excited to try this recipe out however I don’t have coriander. Can I substitute the coriander for cumin instead?
Thanks!
Feel free to just omit it. Cumin wouldn’t really be a good swap, totally different flavor. Parsley? It does add a lot to the dish so I would pick up some fresh coriander/cilantro when you plan to make this.
Love this recipe so much! I usually don’t change anything other than sometimes adding whatever hot pepper we have on hand. I also rarely add the brown sugar. This is one of my all time favorite recipes.
My only complaint is that this webpage and recipe layout drives me crazy! It’s annoying navigating to and through the recipe with all the additional content, ads, etc. I can overlook that though since the outcome is so delicious :)
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this is one of your favorite recipes of all time!
Love this recipe so much! I usually don’t change anything other than sometimes adding whatever hot pepper we have on hand. I also rarely add the brown sugar. This is one of my all time favorite recipes.
My only complaint is that this webpage and recipe layout drives me crazy! It’s annoying navigating to and through the recipe with all the additional content, ads, etc. I can overlook that though since the outcome is so delicious :)
Just made this for a dinner tonite. I am a vegetarian so i wont be having this but my curry looks exactly like the ones in your pictures. 5 stars just for ease and how good it looks, I will be sure to post my review on guest comments after the party. Thank you for a great recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’ll be a hit with your guests!
Try this https://www.averiecooks.com/sweet-potato-chickpea-coconut-curry/ it’s one of my faves and it’s what actually inspired the chicken version but is veg.
Love this recipe so much! We make it at least once a month since a friend made it for us at a dinner party.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this has become a favorite of yours!
Just made this for a dinner tonite. I am a vegetarian so i wont be having this but my curry looks exactly like the ones in your pictures. 5 stars just for ease and how good it looks, I will be sure to post my review on guest comments after the party. Thank you for a great recipe.
Love this recipe so much! We make it at least once a month since a friend made it for us at a dinner party.
This recipe was super delicious! I tweaked it to my liking by using chicken thigh as well as adding a little bit of tomato paste! I couldn’t be bothered to shred carrots so I chopped them and it was just as good. I skipped the spinach and opted for potatoes and red bell pepper instead. Thank you so much!
I made this, omitting carrots but using a red bell pepper, Chinese long bean, and a few Fresno chilies. Used Coconut cream. It was delicious!
I’m glad that you were able to make this and love it based on what you had on hand!
This recipe was super delicious! I tweaked it to my liking by using chicken thigh as well as adding a little bit of tomato paste! I couldn’t be bothered to shred carrots so I chopped them and it was just as good. I skipped the spinach and opted for potatoes and red bell pepper instead. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this worked out great for you based on what you swapped in!
I made this, omitting carrots but using a red bell pepper, Chinese long bean, and a few Fresno chilies. Used Coconut cream. It was delicious!
This was so yummy, great comfort food for a cold winter night.
I followed this mostly exactly, with the addition of some broth, we like things wet enough. I used some cauliflower florets because we didn’t want to serve on rice. I added turmeric for anti-inflammation. Put the whole can of red curry paste. Plenty of onion and pepper. The spinach and cilantro are not to be missed. I tempered the coconut milk before adding to the pot because in the past it has “split”, this worried great and it was a nice smooth sauce. Yummm!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was super yummy! Great calls on the cauliflower in lieu of rice and the tumeric. Coconut milk generally is hard to “break” in comparison to other dairy milks because it’s got such a high fat content and that is insurance against it breaking. But tempering is the gold standard although I think you are the first person who’e ever done that and commented about it.
This was so yummy, great comfort food for a cold winter night.
I followed this mostly exactly, with the addition of some broth, we like things wet enough. I used some cauliflower florets because we didn’t want to serve on rice. I added turmeric for anti-inflammation. Put the whole can of red curry paste. Plenty of onion and pepper. The spinach and cilantro are not to be missed. I tempered the coconut milk before adding to the pot because in the past it has “split”, this worried great and it was a nice smooth sauce. Yummm!!!
This was excellent! Thank you for posting this!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was excellent!
Hi. Love this recipe. I came back on here and noticed that Thai curry paste recipe has been replaced with an Amazon store Thai curry. Can you please add the home made Thai recipe back on the website. I really love it and I don’t want to use the one from Amazon. Thanks.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you love the recipe! However, I never had a a recipe for homemade Thai curry paste on my site. You have me confused with another site. I wish I could say it was me, but no. I have always used and had on this recipe (and almost all of my Thai curry recipes) the Thai Kitchen brand paste.
For this yellow curry, I used another brand which I loved, because it is WAY more intense than the Thai Kitchen brand, for me, that’s a bonus. You can check it out https://www.averiecooks.com/yellow-thai-chicken-coconut-curry/ and https://amzn.to/38Duy2C