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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This is such a great curry recipe!
I’ve made it several times. Just as it’s written and also slightly tweaking it with extra spices and extra can of coconut milk.
It is so good. We have this every week.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Vanessa, and I’m glad you’ve made it several times and are enjoying it every week!
I’ve made this recipe more times I can count. However, I combine the diced chicken, onion, curry paste, carrots, seasonings, and cilantro all into a bowl and let marinate for 1 hour. Then cook and add the coconut milk and spinach and the rest of the ingredients.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Blake, and your method sounds fabulous! I bet the marinading just infuses even more flavor and I am sure it’s incredible! I need to try this!
My to go chicken curry! I love this recipe! Any idea of macro tracking? Amount of protein, fat and carbs?
Thanks for the 5 star review, Raquel, and I’m glad it’s your go to curry! The nutrition stats are at the bottom of the recipe card on any of my recipes.
The base sauce of this is spot on for a restaurant style Thai red curry. I played around with the veggies I had available and it was delicious. Chicken thighs were a great sub for chicken breasts and stayed moist even after I left them simmering for a bit. All 5 in my family cleaned their bowls and said the sauce was delicious and rivaled their favorite restaurant’s curry. I immediately jotted this down in my “family favorites” cookbook!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Emily, and I’m glad your family devoured this and that it rivals your favorite Thai restaurant! Good job for using the ingredients you had on hand, too!
I tried this recipe and it was so delicious that I made it again 2 days later. My hubby couldn’t get enough of it. This is a keeper. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Karen, and I’m glad to hear this has been on repeat in your house and a keeper!
It tasted so good! I will be looking forward to making this recipe many more times over again!
I wondered if I could use tomato paste instead of Thai curry paste and if it would taste the same.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Cristina, and I’m glad that this turned out great for you! No, you cannot use tomato paste – it has basically no real “flavor” whereas curry paste has tons; so they’re not interchangeable. Stick with curry paste for this recipe.
Didn’t have all the right ingredients, but it was a hit with our family!
The lime at the end was just magic!
Thank you
Thanks for the 5 star review, Melisa, and I’m glad it was a hit even without all the ingredients! And yes, I love the lime juice at the end too!
I followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful. I usually tweak recipes after I make them, but not this one. It is a definite do again exactly as it is written.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Anne, and I’m glad that you don’t need to tweak anything about my recipe and will make it again exactly as written!
I followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful. I usually tweak recipes after I make them, but not this one. It is a definite do again.
This is DELICIOUS. I was craving thai curry something serious, and I thought there has to be a way to make this myself. so i tried this recipe and it is incredible! It’s better than the restaurant I like! I didn’t put any coriander, cilantro or lime juice. But I did add the optional brown sugar. Even my wife who’s a picky eater loved this. Paired it with some sticky white rice and it was heaven in a bowl! Thank you for this recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Junie, and I am glad the currie turned out amazing and better than a restaurant! And that your wife loved it too!
The savory/mildly sweet/herbal flavors compliment one and the recipe is visually lovely. It was so easy to put together. At the very end, I built up on the flavor with the lime juice, sugar, red paste, and salt – tasting the curry after every ingredient – until it was perfect for my palate. Gorgeous recipe. I will be bookmarking this. Thank you so much for this. I can’t wait for my husband to try this.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Calvina, and I’m glad you love the recipe and you added the flavoring ingredients, tasting as you went, until it was perfect for YOU! I wish everyone cooked this way!
This is a wonderful recipe! It has great flavor and is perfect over jasmine rice.Thank you! I will definately make this again soon. We like a mix of sweet potato, Yukon, carrots, zucchini and cauliflower roasted to top with the cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Just delicious Averie.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Kris! Glad this turned out wonderfully for you and you’ll make it again!
This came together so easily and it was DELICIOUS! I didn’t have an onion so I used shallots which worked fine. We also used shrimp but I think the recommended chicken (or even tofu) would be better with this dish.
I also added way more spinach because it really shrinks down and it’s a great way to get your veggies in! I wonder if you could use a lower fat coconut milk and get the same results texture-wise because the creaminess from full fat coconut cream was so good but high calorie.
I recommend Mae Ploy brand red curry paste if you can find it in your town. It’s more authentic than the one linked in the recipe.
Thanks for this great recipe! We will definitely make it again and maybe add broccoli next time too! Yum!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a winner! Thanks for sharing your photo as well!
This was so delicious!!! Saved to my favorite recipes folder! And she’s right, leftovers taste even better!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was so delicious and you saved it to your favorites folder! The leftovers are SO good!
Great recipe! Easy, flavorful and quick. I like to add some diced bell pepper to bump up the veggies and I use more chicken because everyone likes it so much. When the whole family is home I have to make a double batch!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this is such a family favorite that you need to make a double batch when everyone’s home and good thinking to pump up the veggies a little bit and get more of those in, too.
Absolutely delicious and extremely easy and quick to make! Love it and will definitely make it again and again! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Max, and I’m glad this was extremely easy, quick, and you’ll make it again and again! That’s the best kind of recipe!