Coconut Chicken Curry in the Crockpot

This delicious Coconut Chicken Curry has a creamy coconut milk base, tender chicken, and savory veggies, all cooked right in your crockpot for a super easy dinner!

Coconut Chicken Curry

We love curry at our house.  There is something about the sweet flavor with a little spice, yummy veggies over warm brown rice that says comfort food to me.  All of my kids love it too!  It has a rich flavor with familiar ingredients which is appealing even to picky eaters!  

This recipe is perfect for those days when you don’t have a lot of time, but want to come home to a really great meal.  I put my ingredients in the crockpot at 2:00pm, didn’t get home until 5:40pm and we were eating by 6:00pm!!  I used my rice cooker to cook up brown rice, and it turned out perfect in just 20 minutes. We paired this with fresh pineapple and steamed pea pods for a super yummy, healthy and balanced meal.

How to Make Coconut Chicken Curry in the Crockpot

This recipe is easy and doesn’t take long using your crockpot. If you are in a real hurry, I also have Instant Pot instructions for you 🙂

1. Peel and chop veggies and chicken. Chop onion, carrots and chicken into small uniform pieces. Mince garlic, and chop bell peppers into cubes or strips. Add everything to your slow curry with the veggies on bottom and chicken next.
2. Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato paste, coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, and garam masala. Pour sauce over chicken and veggies, place lid on slow cooker.
3. Cook. Cook on high for 3 -4 hours (or on low for 5-6 hours) until veggies are tender and chicken is no longer pink.
4. About 1/2 hour before serving, cook rice according to the package directions.
5. Serve curry over brown or white rice.

Instant Pot Instructions for Coconut Chicken Curry

1. Peel and chop veggies and chicken. Chop onion, carrots and chicken into small uniform pieces. Mince garlic, and chop bell peppers into cubes or strips. Turn your Instant Pot to saute mode and add a couple of teaspoons of oil. Add your veggies to the pot and saute for a few minutes until the veggies begin to soften.
2. Add the chicken, stir to combine and saute for 2 more minutes.
3. Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato paste, coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, and garam masala. Pour sauce over chicken and veggies, place the lid on your Instant Pot.
4. Cook. Set to manual, high pressure for 4 minutes. Once the Instant Pot has completed the 4 minutes, let it natural pressure release for 10 minutes. Let remaining pressure out and carefully open the lid.
5. Give the curry a stir, and then serve or warm rice.

Tips and Variations for making Delicious Coconut Chicken Curry

• To save time, you can buy pre-trimmed chicken stew meat from your butcher.  It is already cut into bite-size pieces and so no prep required!
• Don’t open the crockpot while it is cooking.  Every time you open the lid, it loses a lot of heat and will increase cooking time.
• Put the veggies on the bottom.  Layer in this order: Carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, peppers.  This helps the veggies that take longer cook all the way through.
• If you want to add more spice you can do a couple of things: 1) Add more curry powder 2) Chop a few jalapenos with the seeds and add to the veggie mix.
• You can find Garam Masala by the spices at most grocery stores. If you can’t find it, you can make your own by mixing cumin + allspice. 1 part cumin to 1/4 part allspice. Garam Masala is warm with hints of cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns.
• Vegetarian Option – instead of chicken, add chickpeas with the vegetable mix. Also, cauliflower is a great option for a heartier bite.

What Other Veggies Can I Add To Coconut Curry?

Curry goes well with lots of veggies! This recipe calls for carrots, onions, and bell peppers. Other veggies that would be good are:

• Green peas
• Potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Pumpkin, butternut squash, or sweet potato cubes
• Broccoli
• Bamboo shoots
• Mushrooms

We love introducing our kids to new flavors and help them develop the ability to try new foods.  This Coconut Chicken Curry recipe is a great way to introduce them to different flavors, while still having familiar elements.

We hope you enjoy!

More Favorite Curry Dinners

• Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry – a delicious and easy milk curry recipe that makes a great family meal!
• Kids Curry with Chicken and Lentils – this is a delicious healthy curry packed with protein and veggies.
• Indian Spinach Curry – this veggie fill curry is packed with spinach and makes a delicious and nutrient powerhouse sauce!
• Thai Chicken Curry with Quinoa – this delicious coconuty curry is served over quinoa instead of rice.