This Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry is the 10-minute-prep dinner I make when I want a restaurant meal made at home! The chicken thighs come out perfectly tender and juicy, and the creamy coconut curry sauce perfectly pairs with a steaming bowl of rice!
My favorite way to make a restaurant-style dinner at home!
I’m the first to admit that I love eating good food, but a) I don’t want to spend a fortune on it, and b) I don’t have hours to spend making it. Enter the humble slow cooker! It’s perfect to cook a coconut chicken curry low and slow, and prep time really is almost nothing – 10 minutes at the most.
Everyone in my family loves this recipe, and I love that I can just stir everything together in my crockpot and hit start (no browning, no extra steps, no nothing!), and I will end up with a delicious meal.
We like this served over rice and flatbreads (I make them when I have the time – I make a cheat’s Greek yogurt version and keep them stocked in the freezer), and mango chutney is a must! If you were to put a name on this curry, it would come closest to a Chicken Korma – although no guarantees on the authenticity.
Tips for the perfect slow cooker chicken curry
- Chicken piece size: Don’t cut the chicken too small, you don’t want it to end up dry. I cut each chicken thigh into ~8 chunks.
- Onion chopping: The onion, however, you’ll want to chop as finely as you can! It’s supposed to almost melt into the sauce, so really chop it small.
- Cooking temperature: I have tried this recipe both on low and on high, and while it works both ways, I highly recommend cooking it on your slow cooker’s low setting! The ingredients have more time to come together and the flavor is just deeper and more intense.
- Yogurt addition: When you add the Greek yogurt, don’t skip tempering the yogurt with a little bit of the steaming hot sauce from the slow cooker, and stir it in quickly by the spoonful so it doesn’t split.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: You can make this with chicken breast instead of chicken thighs, just know that they may be a little more dry. I recommend cooking diced chicken breast on LOW for 4 hours, or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
- Ground almonds: These thicken the sauce and add flavor. If you need to skip them, you can add another tablespoon or two of cornstarch.
- Spices: It may seem like a lot of different spices in this recipe, but to me it’s worth it to have them all because I use them a lot. Feel free to use your favorite curry paste instead.
- Yogurt: You can use heavy cream in place of the yogurt. I would recommend to temper heavy cream in the same way as the yogurt.
Complete the meal
Like I said, we enjoy this recipe very much over rice, with a side of flatbreads! Mango chutney goes really well with it, too, and when I have the time I’ll make a crisp cucumber tomato salad as well.
And if your family isn’t bothered by cilantro, it’s a great topping for the curry!
Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 (~13oz) can coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (if you use a brand low in sodium or not so salty, add some salt as well – when I use Better Than Bouillon I always need to add salt; with regular bouillon I tend to not)
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (visible fat trimmed and cut into pieces (I cut each chicken thigh into ~8 somewhat equal chunks))
- 1 medium-large red onion (very finely diced (about 1 cup))
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 tablespoons ground almonds
- 3-4 tablespoons whole milk Greek or plain yogurt (OR heavy cream)
Spices
- 2 teaspoons EACH ground cumin, ground ginger and ground coriander
- ¾ teaspoon EACH ground turmeric and ground paprika (you can do 1 teaspoon each if you like more spice but the turmeric does come through heavily if you do!)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- feel free to add some cayenne pepper or similar hot spice. I leave it intentionally mild because of the kids.
Instructions
- Whisk the coconut milk, tomato paste, cornstarch, chicken bouillon and spices in a ~4 quart slow cooker.1 (~13oz) can coconut milk, 3 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon, 2 teaspoons EACH ground cumin, ground ginger and ground coriander, ¾ teaspoon EACH ground turmeric and ground paprika, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, feel free to add some cayenne pepper or similar hot spice. I leave it intentionally mild because of the kids.
- Add the chicken, red onion, garlic and ground almonds and stir until evenly coated. Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours, or on HIGH for 2-3 hours (I highly recommend LOW!)2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 1 medium-large red onion, 4 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoons ground almonds
- Once cooked, turn off the slow cooker, open the lid and stir. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Stir the yogurt or cream in a small measuring cup with 3-4 spoonfuls of the sauce from the slow cooker. Quickly stir this into the sauce spoon by spoon.3-4 tablespoons whole milk Greek or plain yogurt
- Serve over rice and a side of flatbread/naan. I like some fresh cilantro on top as well.
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