I’ve been a professional recipe developer for more than 20 years so please don’t ask me to choose my favorite recipe, but this Coconut Curry Chicken is at the top of the list! I’m not the only one who loves it! I developed this recipe for EatingWell Magazine more than 10 years ago and it has been a fan favorite ever since!

dark background with a white bowl of curry with a spoonful of curry powder in the foreground

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Why We Love This Coconut Chicken Curry

One taste of this Chicken Coconut Curry and you’ll fall in love too. The tender chunks of chicken in the coconut curry sauce is nothing short of sublime. It hits the perfect balance of creamy coconut, mild sweetness and spice. The onions, carrots, celery and potatoes are so hearty. Read on to find out the key to balancing the flavors in curry, see our step by step photos, watch a how to video and more!

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Coconut Curry Chicken Ingredients

a tin of curry powder with the curry stew in the background
  • Curry Powder & Seasonings – For this mild curry, I like to use 2 tablespoons curry powder to season the chicken and sauce. In large supermarkets in the spice isle, you’ll find “Curry Powder” which is a British-style curry spice blend and works really well with the sweet coconut sauce.
    • Additionally, you’ll need salt and garlic for seasoning. Plus I like to add in fresh chopped cilantro and maple syrup for sweetness at the end. You can substitute brown sugar for the maple syrup if you prefer.
  • Chicken Breast – The protein of choice for this coconut curry chicken is boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You’ll want to cut it into bite-sized cubes before searing it. You can also use skinless chicken thighs or turkey breast instead for an equally yummy curry. Note, if your chicken is frozen, here’s how to safely thaw it.
  • Chicken Broth, Coconut Milk and Coconut Oil – The main sauce for this curry is a combination of “lite” coconut milk and broth. You can certainly use homemade chicken stock or bone broth instead.
    • And for more coconut flavor, I opted for coconut oil as the cooking fat. Other options would be ghee or canola oil.
  • Vegetables – Around here we are always in favor of veggie-forward recipes, even those that include meat or poultry. So we have added an extra dose of veggies to this chicken curry. Here’s what you’ll need:
    • 4 cups gold potatoes cut into 1-inch chunks, about 1 pound 4 ounces
    • 1 cup sliced carrots
    • ½ cup chopped celery
    • ¾ cup frozen peas
    • 1 large yellow onion, diced

How to Make Coconut Curry

sear the chicken, remove it, then cook the aromatics in the Dutch Oven

Step 1: Sear Chicken

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon curry spice powder and ¼ teaspoon salt over the chicken and toss to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown, stirring once or twice until mostly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. It will continue cooking in a later step.

Step 2: Cook Aromatics

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often until the onions are starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons curry and cook, stirring until fragrant but not browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

add the liquid ingredients and vegetables and simmer until the potatoes are tender, then add in peas, cilantro and sweetner

Step 3: Add Liquid and Vegetables

Add coconut milk, broth, potatoes, carrots, celery and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and carrots are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Step 4: Finish The Curry

Stir in the chicken and peas and increase heat to high. Simmer the chicken curry with coconut milk until the chicken pieces are cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and maple syrup. Serve hot over steamed white rice or with Naan (leavened, oven-baked flatbread).

side view of a white bowl of hearty chicken, potato and vegetable curry with peas and cilantro on a green dish towel.

Coconut Curry Recipe Tips

Is Coconut Curry Indian?

This combination of curry powder and coconut milk-based chicken curry is more British inspired than Indian. In fact, curry powder was invented by British Colonists who were trying to create a spice blend to mimic Indian cuisines, not an easy task considering the breadth of curries and spice blends.

What is curry?

Curry is a term used in many cultures and cuisines and has a variety of meanings. Generally, curry means a thick stew consisting of vegetables, sometimes meat, fish or poultry and a blend of spices. Often curry is spicy and usually layers most if not all of the five tastes: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Some of the cultures that enjoy curry as part of their diet are India, Persia, Iran, Thailand, Japan, China and Afghan to name a few! As you can imagine, the spices and fresh ingredients vary widely among them.

What goes with Chicken Coconut Curry?

We like the sauce over steamed basmati rice or brown rice. You can also try warm Naan bread torn and used to dip into the curry’s saucy goodness. For more vegetables serve sautéed spinach or another green such as Swiss Chard on the side. If you like you can add wedges of lime on the side for serving.

Substitutions and Variations To Try

  • Sweet potatoes would be a delicious addition or substitution for the traditional potatoes. You could also add any additional vegetables you have on hand like green beans, snow peas, red bell pepper or cauliflower, stirring in some spinach or kale at the end would be a nice nutritional boost.
  • Serve with a side of homemade cauliflower rice.
  • Make it vegetarian by swapping out the chicken for seared tofu.
  • Squeeze some fresh lime juice into the curry before serving.

Leftovers, Storage, Reheating and Freezing Instructions

How To Store Leftover Coconut Curry with Chicken

Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days. Keep refrigerated.

How to Reheat

Since the texture of this curry is thick, like a stew, and the potatoes and veggies will absorb the liquid as it sits in the fridge, you may need to add a little broth to thin it out to reheat it. Thin as desired with chicken broth or water. Reheat the curry in a small saucepan over medium-low heat stirring often until steaming hot, 4 to 5 minutes.

How to Freeze Chicken Coconut Curry

For best results, freeze individual portions of this healthy delicious curry in 16-ounce containers. You’ll want to make sure to leave head-space because the curry will expand as it freezes. I recommend leaving the lids off until the chicken curry is cold, and then seal the airtight container shut. I like these quart containers (that’s an affiliate link) because the lids screw on tight, and when it comes time to defrost the curry, you can pop it out by running hot water over the outside of the container.

I just pop it out into a large Pyrex measuring cup and then microwave it to heat it back up. And don’t forget to make a label with the name of the recipe and the date on it — there’s nothing worse than having a freezer full of meals you can’t remember making! 

a serving of the curry with a spoon in it

More Recipes To Try

More Healthy Curry Dish Recipes

If you love Curry Spice here are some of our favorite healthy recipes with curry spice.

More Freezer-friendly Meals

  • Our veggie-packed recipe for Slow Cooker White Bean Stew with Chicken and Ham is a good one to freeze in individual portions for satisfying high-protein and high-fiber lunches. Just pop them into the microwave to heat up.
  • This creamy and bright green 4 Ingredient Kale and Cheddar Soup re-heats surprisingly well. Just make sure to stir it as you heat if doing so on the stove-top.
  • We love making a double batch of Carrot Ginger Soup for the freezer. (the Oregano Crotons will also freeze well, just pop them in a ziplock)
  • You can actually freeze Moroccan Lamb Shanks too. Just remove the meat from the bone before freezing.
  • Our non-traditional Healthy Beef Burgundy has a little maple syrup added in to balance the delicious flavors. Try it!

At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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close-up of the curry in a white bowl from the side

Coconut Curry Recipe with Chicken

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4.8 from 17 reviews

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Description

This healthy coconut chicken curry stew is one of my favorite chicken dinners! It’s made with light coconut milk, carrots and peas. I add in fresh cilantro and maple syrup at the end for a pop of fresh flavor.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or avocado oil, divided
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • a 14-ounce can “lite” coconut milk
  • a 14-ounce can reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 4 cups gold potatoes cut into 1-inch chunks, about 1 pound 4 ounces
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, dark or amber

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon curry powder and ¼ teaspoon salt over the chicken and toss to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven or Soup pot over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown, stirring once or twice until mostly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. It will continue cooking in a later step.
  2. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often until the onions are starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons curry and cook, stirring until fragrant but not browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  3. Add coconut milk, broth, potatoes, carrots, celery and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and carrots are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
  4. Stir in the chicken and peas, increase heat to high, and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and maple syrup.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: British

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cup each
  • Calories: 302
  • Sugar: 7 g
  • Sodium: 735 mg
  • Fat: 12 g
  • Saturated Fat: 8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 30 g
  • Fiber: 5 g
  • Protein: 27 g

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