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 when I started dating my girlfriend and she loved it! I’ve made it a handful of times since because it’s so good! From a guy just trying to please his girl, thank you very much for sharing this dish :)
That is a great story and I love it! Glad that you are trying to impress her and working at it! Keep up the great work!
I made this recipe with seitan instead of chicken and used the hot curry paste – Delicious!
I made this recipe with seitan instead of chicken and used the hot curry paste – Delicious!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this turned out great with seitan and the hot curry paste you used!
The dish turned out excellent! well done! 😊
The dish turned out excellent! well done! 😊
Thanks for the five star review, and I’m glad it was excellent!
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This recipe is absolutely delicious and we will have to have this on a very regular basis. I didn’t have spinach and I served it over coconut rice and it was just awesome! I saw the recipe for the green thai chicken but I wander what is the taste difference between the red & green?
This recipe is absolutely delicious and we will have to have this on a very regular basis. I didn’t have spinach and I served it over coconut rice and it was just awesome! I saw the recipe for the green thai chicken but I wander what is the taste difference between the red & green?
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was absolutely delicious!
In my experience, green curry is a bit more herby tasting, more “fresh” for lack of a better word whereas red has a more warming type of vibe. Very hard to put into words – best to just try green as well as they are both delicious!
My first attempt & my son loves curry. He came into the kitchen cause it smelt sooo good (his words). This will be in my rotation!
My first attempt & my son loves curry. He came into the kitchen cause it smelt sooo good (his words). This will be in my rotation!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that your son approves and this will be in your rotation!
So I am confused-is the calorie count 141 or 475? Both of those counts are listed!
NUTRITION INFORMATION: YIELD: 6 SERVING SIZE: 1
Amount Per Serving: CALORIES: 474
It’s a computer generated estimate provided as a courtesy only. But 400-500 calories is more logical then 141, not sure where you saw that. That would be an extremely small portion.
It’s towards the top of the page. It says “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.”
Soo good! Even my 1-year old daughter can’t get enough of it. My husband hates onions so we left them out and even without them it tasted delicious. Easy, simple, and so good. You really can’t ask for more.
Soo good! Even my 1-year old daughter can’t get enough of it. My husband hates onions so we left them out and even without them it tasted delicious. Easy, simple, and so good. You really can’t ask for more.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that everyone from the 1 year old on up has been loving this recipe!
This is a GREAT recipe! I’m so glad I made this! We loved it. I’ve never made curry before, and it turned out really yummy. I only added 1 tbsp of the brown sugar and it was perfect. I added in potatoes because I love them in curry. I made the mistake of not cooking the cubed potatoes beforehand so I kept it on the pan for too long waiting for it to cook. That slightly overcooked the chicken and boiled off too much of the sauce, haha. But it still was good!!! would 100% make this again!! Added white rice on the side.
This is a GREAT recipe! I’m so glad I made this! We loved it. I’ve never made curry before, and it turned out really yummy. I only added 1 tbsp of the brown sugar and it was perfect. I added in potatoes because I love them in curry. I made the mistake of not cooking the cubed potatoes beforehand so I kept it on the pan for too long waiting for it to cook. That slightly overcooked the chicken and boiled off too much of the sauce, haha. But it still was good!!! would 100% make this again!! Added white rice on the side.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will make this again for sure! And yes, potatoes take longer to cook than anything else in the curry as written, so good thinking to precook them next time you make this.
Also this one https://www.averiecooks.com/sweet-potato-chickpea-coconut-curry/ is where this chicken version you made was inspired from. Has sweet potatoes rather than white, you can add chicken to it, too.
https://www.averiecooks.com/potato-chickpea-coconut-curry/ uses white potatoes. I made this in the spring 2020 when I quite literally couldn’t find anything in the grocery stores and this came to be.
What brand red curry paste would you recommend? Thanks!
The one I linked to in the post https://amzn.to/2x2FbMl Thai Kitchen brand.
Amazing recipe! My fifth time making it. First time I made it I stuck to the recipe and my best friend who detests curry now begs me to make this for him. Tonight I tweaked it to our preferred spice level using extra red curry paste, a little curry powder, 1/3 of a jalapeño and a pinch cayenne. I also try to incorporate as many veggies as possible so I added assorted peppers, broccoli, extra onion and spinach and I shoestring cut the carrots, I have a texture issue with grated carrots. I doubled up on the coconut milk and seasonings to compensate for the extra veggies. Had to leave out the cilantro as the supermarket was out of it. Once again it’s out of this world. Thank you so much!