Yogurt Curry Chicken Thighs
These Yogurt Curry Marinated Chicken Thighs are super simple to make. They are a fantastic recipe to make when you’re entertaining because they are effortless. You can prep them completely ahead and pop them into the oven. They bake right in their marinade and come out tender, moist and super flavorful!
This post was originally shared on June 13, 2010. I have updated the recipe, photos and text today.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Yogurt Curry Chicken Thighs
One of my favorite make-ahead staples is chicken thighs because they are so forgiving. These zesty curry and yogurt marinated thighs are a make ahead miracle. They can be partly or wholly prepared in advance so you can focus on corralling the family and enjoying our guests.
Pair them with one of these side dish ideas for serving with chicken. We love them with brown basmati rice and sauteed swiss chard.
Ingredient Notes
- Greek yogurt: I use plain non-fat yogurt but low-fat or full-fat is fine too.
- Honey: You can use agave if you don’t have honey
- Curry powder: Look for a high-quality curry powder in the spice aise
- Seasonings: Salt, lime juice and chopped cilantro
- Aromatics: Grated ginger and garlic cloves
- Bone-in chicken thighs: Remove the skin and trim away any visible fat
How to Make This Curry Marinated Chicken Thighs Recipe
Step 1: Make yogurt marinade
Fit a food processor with the steel blade attachment. With the motor running, drop garlic cloves one at a time through the feed tube and process until finely chopped. Remove the lid and add yogurt, honey, lime juice, curry powder, ginger and salt. Process until smooth. Alternatively, mince garlic and whisk it together with the marinade ingredients.
Step 2: Marinate chicken
Place chicken thighs in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish (or similar size). Add marinade, and turn to coat the chicken in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 1 day for maximum flavor.
Step 3: Roast chicken & serve
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the cover from the baking dish and transfer to the oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (without touching the bone) registers 168 degrees F, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Serve hot garnished with cilantro.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Yes. Since the chicken should marinate for at least 4 hours to 1 day you can easily leave it to marinate overnight too.
The marinade can be made two days ahead, and the chicken marinates a day ahead. Then when it comes time to cook the chicken, just take the cover off the dish that the chicken is marinating in, and pop it straight into the oven! Boom, 1 hour later, chicken is served.
Store any leftovers or cooked chicken thighs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
I love the curry powder from Teeny Tiny Spice Company (their British Curry is my fave) at the grocery store look for Simply Organic or Morton and Bassett. You can also get really amazing curry powder at any Indian market.
More Delicious Chicken Thigh Recipes to Try
- If you’re the lucky owner of a slow cooker this Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Word on the block is that this Crispy Skin Roast Chicken Thighs is some of the best chicken you’ll have.
- One Pan Chicken and Potatoes is cooked all on one sheet pan!
- Looking for a super easy recipe? This 5-Ingredient Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs is it.
- These Grilled Greek Boneless Chicken Thighs are great with a classic Greek salad.
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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Yogurt Curry Chicken Thighs
- Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
These yogurt curry marinated chicken thighs are super simple to make. They are a fantastic recipe to make when you’re entertaining, because they are effortless. You can prep them completely ahead, and then just pop them into the oven. They bake right in their marinade, and they come out tender, moist and super flavorful!
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 tablespoons grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed and any visible fat trimmed
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Fit food-processor with steel blade attachment. With motor running, drop garlic cloves one at a time through feed tube and process until finely chopped. Remove lid and add yogurt, honey, lime juice, curry powder, ginger and salt. Process until smooth. Alternatively mince garlic and whisk together with the marinade ingredients.
- Place chicken thighs in a large baking dish. Add marinade, turn to coat chicken in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 1 day for maximum flavor.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove cover from baking dish and transfer to the oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (without touching the bone) registers 168 degrees F, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Serve hot garnished with cilantro.
Notes
Make ahead: Prepare marinade up to two days before adding the chicken.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: entree
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece chicken, about 4 ounces meat
- Calories: 228 cal
- Sugar: 3.46 g
- Fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 87 mg
Loved this chicken thigh recipe, and bone-in makes it so good. I overbaked it a little and the chicken was still moist inside and delicious, and the outside (no skin) had a little bit crispy texture. The curry flavor had just the right amount of bite for me, and my husband likes things spicier so he can add heat if he wants. I wonder if this would be good with chicken breasts.
Yes you can use chicken breast, but I suggest looking for bone-in chicken breast instead of boneless skinless chicken breast to ensure it will stay moist and not dry out too much. Boneless will also work, just make sure to prevent overcooking it when using breast meat, which will dry it out more easily than thigh meat. Take an internal temp to make sure it is cooked through. It should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
This recipe is is simple and yet delicious. The marinade comes together in the blender or food processor with little effort. I like to marinate the chicken a little longer, so making this at breakfast time and letting it sit in the fridge all day makes for an easy dinnertime. My husband and sons give this recipe their highest praise.
Did you say 4 pounds of chicken?
I am so sorry to be the one that can not give a 5 stars to this dish.
400 degrees was way to hot, after 40 minutes I went to check, and the bottom of the dish was already burnt, (middle rack). There was no marinade left at all.
The temperature was 170 already, and I used regular tights skin and bone.
The smell was great in the house, I might try again but at much lower temperature.
Oh no Marissa! I will re-test this one for you and report back. That didn’t happen to me so I want to double-check since I haven’t made this in a while. Before I do, by any chance did you use a dark metal pan instead of glass?
PS Another question for you, did you do a 1x batch of the recipe? Or did you cut it in half?
I retested this again and it worked well for me. I noticed that the edges of the baking dish got dark and cleaning it was not fun, lol, but the chicken and sauce did not burn at all. I temped my chicken at 40 minutes and it was done but to double check I let them go for 50 minutes. I am wondering if you could respond to either of these two questions: Did you use a dark/metal pan, did you do a full batch? I also wanted to make sure you left the marinade in the pan to bake. Thanks!
Very good! I put some of the marinade under the skin as recommended by a commenter. Didn’t use a food processor, just whisked everything together and it was yummy. Next time I will add a touch of something to add just a bit more zing, maybe paprika.
thanks for a tasty and easy recipe!
Paprika would be good (maybe hot paprika would be nice if you like some spice.) Thank you for coming back to review Amy!
This recipe was perfect! I used boneless, skinless thighs but other than that, I made this as written. I love the simplicity and the silky creaminess of the sauce. Perfect amount of curry too. I made this for my daughter and she loved it and also is saving this recipe as a go to for a good curry. Thank you!