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January 23, 2019

Crockpot Coconut Thai Curry Chicken

Name: Crockpot Coconut Thai Curry Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pound chicken breast or thighs; 1 can 14 oz coconut milk (full fat) or 1/2 can 13 oz coconut cream *; 3 tbsp yellow curry paste; 1 small sweet potato (optional); 3 medium carrots (Optional); 2 - 3 cloves garlic; 1-inch ginger; 1/4 cup chopped shallots; pinches chili pepper flakes (optional); 1 bunch cilantro (for garnish); 2 tbsp turmeric powder; 1 - 2 cups chicken broth **; Salt to Taste

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This Easy Coconut Thai curry Chicken is so flavorful and super easy to make in your crockpot. This recipe makes a fast and delicious weekday dinner for the whole family to enjoy. Even better, It is Paleo, Whole30, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

A bowl of jasmine rice and Thai Coconut Curry Chicken. There is a fork on the side.

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines with its layers of flavors and spices in every bite.

As much as I have been obsessed with going to a Thai restaurant, I never made any curry myself before Tom and I went to Thailand for our honeymoon.

Thai food just seemed so intimidating for me to master.

During our honeymoon in Thailand, Tom and I fell in love with Thai Coconut Curry. We pretty much had it every single day.

Our favorite is hands-down yellow coconut curry chicken. The sweet, spicy, and creamy curry paired with chicken, seafood or any vegetables are the most magical thing ever.

How Spicy is Yellow Chicken Curry?

There are a few popular Thai Curry:

Yellow Coconut Curry (The kind I am making here)
Green Coconut Curry
Red Curry
Panang Curry

And more!

So is Yellow Curry super spicy?

The short answer is NO.

Yellow curry is usually mild to medium compare to red curry.

However, you can always reduce or increase the amount of heat in your coconut curry by adjusting the amount of red chili pepper.

Easy Crockpot Thai Curry Chicken

After we got back home, I was determined to replicate this yellow curry recipe using my crockpot.

A crockpot or a slow cooker makes hearty and cozy recipes super easy to make.

A few of my favorite slow cooker chicken recipes:

All you need is to simmer a few simple and accessible ingredients: chicken, sweet potato (optional), carrot (optional), bell pepper(optional), coconut milk, curry paste, turmeric, and curry powder in one pot.

chicken and vegetable in a crock pot, before and after being cooked

“Chuck” all the ingredients in one pot, and simmer

The slow cooker is one of my favorites this winter. I literally have been using it 2 – 3 times a week.

It is the most convenient thing ever. One of my other obsessions in addition to this coconut curry recipe is my sweet potato Turkey Chili.

All you need is to throw all the ingredients in there and just leave it. Check out this 6-QT Crock-Pot I have (proud owner since 2013).

If you need one appliance this winter, this slow cooker will be it.

What does Thai Coconut Curry Taste Like

Before you get yourself into this recipe, you may wonder –

What is so good about Thai Coconut Curry? What does it taste like?

Thai Coconut Curry is a bit sweet, spicy, and incredibly flavorful from the curry paste.

Curry paste is traditionally made from lemongrass, ginger, shallots, garlic, and Thai chili pepper.

Yes, a lot of flavors.

Make your own Thai Curry Paste

Certainly, you can easily pick up a great curry paste in the store. Make sure you look at the ingredients to make sure there are no additives, preservatives, and all the other fillers.

But homemade Thai Curry Paste is so much fresher. Inspired by the Thai Cooking class Tom and I did, which by the way, was so much fun, I made my own authentic Thai Curry Paste.

Since I don’t have one of those fancy Pounding Stone (this is what it looks like), I made my “authentic” curry paste in a food processor. ( I will perfect this curry paste recipe and post it soon for you guys!)

Is Yellow Curry Healthy?

Besides the traditional ingredients a curry has, yellow curry contains turmeric. Hence, the reason it is yellow.

Turmeric has a lot of health benefits. One of the most known nutritional properties turmeric has is its anti-inflammatory effect.

You can read more here.

Therefore, this Yellow Thai Coconut Curry Chicken is packed with anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting ingredients:

Ginger
Turmeric
Garlic

I also talked a little more about the benefits of turmeric and other ways to incorporate it into your diet in this post.

What coconut milk is the best for Thai Curry?

I love using canned coconut milk or coconut cream.

You can scoop out the hard coconut “cream” on top. It will make this Thai coconut curry come out extra creamy. Save the milk part on the bottom for smoothies.

Coconut cream is much thicker and richer compare to coconut milk (such as the carton ones sold in-store). It is able to provide a much richer flavor and creamier texture.

Thai Coconut Chicken Curry in Instant Pot

Make Thai Coconut Curry Recipe Vegan

If you are vegetarian or vegan, a simple way to make this fit into your dietary restriction is to substitute the chicken with the legumes of your choice.

A couple of my favorites are lentil or chickpea curry. You will need 2 cans of drained chickpeas or 2 cups of lentils soaked overnight for this vegan curry recipe alternative.

how To Serve Coconut Thai Curry Chicken

You can either serve this sweet, spicy, and hearty curry with jasmine rice or use cauliflower rice to make it a great Paleo, Whole 30 compliant option.

Save this Easy Crockpot Thai Curry Chicken on your favorite Pinterest board to share with your friends and family!

Pinterest Picture for a gluten-free and whole30 coconut curry with chicken

Yield: 8