This Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry is healthy, tasty, & only takes one dish & five minutes to put together! 3 hours of cook time & you’ve got one yummy meal!
Question #1: Why do I not use my crockpot
Question #2: Why do I not make homemade curry more?
Question #3: Why have I never used my crockpot to make homemade curry before this?!
These questions were raised after I taste tested this yummy, delicious, creamy, tangy, so-full-of-flavor-I-almost-couldn’t-take-it, Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry recipe.
Crockpot meet your new best friend Thai chicken curry.
Trevor has introduced me to some pretty wonderful food over our years together: Indian, Vietnamese, Thai… the list could go on. While we love getting take-out from all of these delicious cuisines, making them at home always seems so daunting.
Here’s the thing though: it doesn’t HAVE to be.
Do you wanna know why?
Because you can make great tasting, better than take-out, ethnic food IN. THE. CROCKPOT.
I know. It seems crazy to think you could create something ethnic and wonderful in the slow cooker. But I’m here to tell you that you can.
Do you wanna know something else?
We only use ONE pot in this crockpot Thai chicken curry, because we whisk together our peanut-ty, red curry sauce directly in the crockpot!
Speaking of which. That sauce is 👌.
Coconut milk, peanut butter, red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, chicken stock, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes get whisked together to make a wonderfully flavorful, sweet, peanut-ty, smooth, rich, tangy sauce.
But hold up a minute, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
The dreaded fish sauce.
Here’s the deal: don’t skip it! Honestly… it. is. stiiiiinky. I use it in my Roasted Red Chili Tilapia and Thai Peanut Noodles, too. Every time I use fish sauce, I wonder if it’s going to kill the dish. I mean, how can something SO stinky, make food taste SO delicious?
I don’t know, but it works.
Fish sauce is so savory and really adds depth to the dish.
Just don’t smell it and you’ll be fine! 😉 Everything else smells great and I’m guessing you have everything but the red curry paste at home already! No worries, you can find this red curry paste
This crockpot Thai chicken curry is perfect for those Saturday’s or Sunday’s when you’re feeling lazy and have absolutely zero desire to cook or even walk to the nearest restaurant. That’s not just me, right?
So what’s left? Delivery.
Nope. Not anymore.
Crockpot Thai chicken curry toooo the rescue! It takes five minutes to put together and only a few hours to cook!
Don’t be confused when you read the recipe below…you read it right: 3 hours on low. Normally, you’ll see crockpot recipes that need eight hours on low, but for this recipe, we only need three. We don’t want the chicken to be falling apart tender. I tried cooking the chicken longer, but the texture just wasn’t right. After 3 hours, the chicken is perfectly cooked, juicy, but still intact, so take it out of the crockpot, cut it into bite sized chunks, and place back in the sauce and stir to coat.
After 3 hours, your house will smell ridiculously good and you’ll get to enjoy the best crockpot Thai chicken curry!
I served this over tender rice, sauteed red bell peppers – seriously, do it – and topped it with crushed peanuts for some crunch, fresh cilantro and sliced green onions.
So long take-out! See you never!
Fine. Trevor always tells me to “never say never”. But you get the idea. 😉
– Jennifer
Should I do more crockpot recipes? Show me the yummy!
- 1 (14 oz) can full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
- red bell peppers sautéed - optional, but recommended*
- cilantro for topping
- peanuts for topping
- sliced green onions for topping
- Grease crockpot with cooking spray.
- Whisk together sauce ingredients: coconut milk, peanut butter, red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic, chicken stock, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes directly in the crockpot.
- Place chicken breasts on top.
- Spoon sauce over the chicken, so it's fully submerged.
- Cook in crockpot on LOW for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, remove chicken from the crockpot and cut into large, bite sized chunks. Place back into the sauce and stir to coat.
- Serve immediately with sauteed bell peppers over rice. Top with chopped cilantro, crushed peanuts, and sliced green onions.
*For the bell peppers: I just warmed a nonstick pan over medium heat. Once hot, I added in olive oil and let it coat the pan. Then I added in large bell pepper chunks, seasoned with salt, and sauteed them until they were tender (about 10 minutes).
Yes, please, please make more delicious crockpot recipes. I am a bit crockpot challenged (I know, whaaaat?) and HATE the recipes that use cream of some can of soup. I love your site because it has real food deconstructed so even I can make it. I love how you even tell how to make the sautéed peppers. I’m sure I could’ve figured it out but it helps to have a guideline. Thanks for inspiring me to cook! You make it less of a chore and actually fun. Especially when the food turns out to be delicious and then I look like a diva chef to my boyfriend!!
Hi Adrienne! You honestly just made my day. 🙂 This was so nice to read. I will definitely make more crockpot recipes… I may have another coming your way in a few weeks (fingers crossed it turns out! 😉 ). I’m so happy that you’re enjoying the recipes and that you’re having an easy time following along! I’m especially happy to hear that you’re having fun in the kitchen! Seriously. Thanks again for commenting, it truly makes me happy to know that you’re enjoying the blog! 🙂 Glad to have you as a part of the SMTY family!
I have never posted before so am not sure if I am doing it right. I would like to try this but have 2 questions. My husband can’t have peanuts or other nuts. Could I stir that into the pot after removing his portion? Or better yet, is there a good substitute for the peanut butter? I’d like to use penang paste. Will that work? Thank you.
Hi Bev! I’d recommend using sunflower seed butter 🙂 Like this: https://sunbutter.com/sunbutter-creamy/
Thank you. I hadn’t heard of that.
Be
A fantastic recipe! I love crockpot recipes and this is something different that I needed in my meal rotation. The fish sauce was well worth the fishy smell, it gave the dish great flavor!
Thank you, Nicole! I’m so happy you loved it. 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
How long is too long to have it on warm after the 3 hours?
Hi Sara! It should be fine for up to 2 hours on “warm”. 🙂
I think you’ve inspired me to actually take my crockpot out 🙂 Looks delish!
Ha! Thanks Maria 🙂 It’s SO easy and yummy! I love my crockpot waaaaay too much. 😉
This looks great! What is the serving size? I know it says it will serve 4, but do you know how many cups it yeilds over all?
Thanks!!
Hi Erin! My guess with the sauce and chicken, it would yield about 4 cups? Honestly, I’m not sure! So sorry about that. I’ll keep that in mind for my next recipes. Thanks. 🙂
This is delicious! My husband is the cook between the two of us, but he’s been begging me to cook for him for once! Cooking is super intimidating for me & I always try to make excuses not to cook & insist that he does it instead. However, this recipe is SUPER EASY & it turned out so YUMMY! I will make it again & again! Thank you!
Hi Nina! I’m so happy that this turned out for you! Sometimes the easiest recipes are the best! 🙂 I love any recipe where I can dump all the ingredients into my crockpot and be done! I hope you can find more recipes on SMTY that make cooking less intimidating for you. 🙂 Thanks for making (and enjoying!) the recipe. 🙂
I used this recipe as a base and edited a few things. I kept the curry itself the same (the sauce) but instead of chicken I used tofu and frozen vegetables. This recipe is amazingly tasty! Thank you so much for posting it!
Love that you made this vegetarian, Blaine! It sounds delicious 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
I made this tonight with a few tweaks… I added thin sliced yellow onion and thin sliced red peppers right to the crosk pot. I also used fresh ginger instead of ground ginger and I used light coconut milk ( I will use regular next time). I also cut the chicken into chunks before cooking.
On the side I served thin sliced cucumber and jalepeno with a touch of sesame oil and rice wine vinegar… found this was delish right on the curry with the cilantro and green onion!
This was so delicious! My husband had two giant servings! I will definitely make this again!
Thanks for making the recipe, Shawna, and I’m so happy to hear you loved it!! 🙂 The cucumber w/ jalapeno sounds absolutely delicious!
I had a dinner party last night and served this dish. Everyone loved it! Thank you for the video and all the instructions. Seeing it being made encouraged me tremendously. With the weather turning a little cooler, I may actually start cooking again!
Hi Alison!! Thank you so much for making the curry! I’m really glad to hear that everyone loved it. 🙂 It feels good to be cozy in the kitchen when it starts getting cooler, doesn’t it? 🙂
can we double the number of chicken breasts for more servings?
Hi there! I’d double the whole recipe if you want more servings. A longer cook time may be needed, however. Hope that helps! 🙂
This looks amazing!!! I want to make this right now and eat it right now at 11pm…..not feasible? Dang it! I’m wondering how spicy the red curry is. I love Thai and Indian but I don’t tolerate a lot of eat. A cool cucumber side dish sounds delicious and perfect for this kind of dish. Thanks for the idea Shawna!
Ha! This curry is the perfect midnight snack 😉 I, personally, don’t think red curry is very spicy…but I reeeeally like spicy food. My suggestion would be to taste the curry paste alone to test how spicy you think is it. 🙂 If you think it’s really spicy, maybe add a little less than written in the recipe. 🙂 Trevor and I both absolutely love Thai & Indian food. 🙂
love this recipe! so easy and delicious. if i’m in a time crunch and need to cook on high, how long would you recommend?
Thanks Megan! I’d say an hour and a half on high should be fine! 🙂
If you use this as is, it is very strong with the coconut milk flavor. I used half as much coconut milk and nearly twice as much red curry and it was absolutely delicious. As with most “asian inspired” recipes, it is best when it has time to sit for at least a day after you cook it.
I also used mushroom sauce instead of fish sauce – when I was in Thailand, they told me if a person does not like fish sauce, it is a great alternative.
Mushroom sauce? Amazing!! Thanks for the tip!
Hi Karin! I’m so glad you liked this!! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I sent this to my boss and now he cannot stop talking about this AMAZING recipe! Delicious!!!
Hi Corky! Oh I’m so glad!! Thank you! 🙂
I made this once before and it was delicious! However, this time I have a couple of large chicken thighs (bone-in) that I’d like to use. What’s your time and temperature recommendation? I’m thinking it may be more like 4-6 hours on low?
Hi Colleen! Thank you so much! 🙂 You’re right on… I’d say 4-6 hours (definitely check after 4) on low. 🙂 Let me know how the thigh meat works…sounds delicious!
Hi, i’m trying to lose weight and try put in more interesting food in my diet other than just meat and vegetables. Would this meal be ok if i’m losing weight for dinner? I wouldn’t have rice of course, I would LOVE to know the nutrition, please let me know thank you
Hi Denita! To make this lower in calories, I’d suggest using lite canned coconut milk. Four servings (with the lite milk) would be about 540 calories per serving. I hope that helps! 🙂 If you’re looking for lower calorie dinners, I’d definitely suggest looking through our healthy recipe category, too! Let me know if you want any recommendations. 🙂 Also, here’s a great calorie counter… all you do is put in the recipe/servings and it will tell you all the nutritional information: http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Thanks so much for your reply 🙂 I was going to use light coconut milk anyway 🙂 Just one more question is that 540 calories with rice? I’m going to be making it for dinner tonight, very keen to try!
You’re welcome! It’s 540 without the rice. 🙂 I hope you love it!
Can you substitute green curry paste
Hi Melissa! Yes! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I’m not sure how I stumbled on your recipe, but I’m glad I did! We have made this dish every Sunday for the past 4 weeks. So flavorful and filling. Thanks for sharing.
Maura
Hi Maura! Thank you SO much 🙂 I’m so happy we’re a part of your Sunday dinner routine and I’m really glad you love it so much! 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It was an instant favorite for my family. The sauce is so well balanced and mild that both of my toddlers gobbled it up with their chicken and zucchini. I served the dish with rice for my husband and kids and used cauliflower “rice” for myself.
Hi Anna! I’m so glad you and the whole family loved this! I LOVE the idea of serving this with cauliflower rice. 🙂
This recipe sounds so easy and delicious! I plan on making it for 4 adults and one hungry toddler. Do you recommend I just double the recipe?
Thank you so much Melissa! Yes. I’d double it, even if you have leftovers, they reheat wonderfully! 🙂 I hope you love it!!
Hi! I’m so excited to try this recipe! Have you ever tried adding any veggies? Any recommendations on which ones wouldn’t get mushy over 3 hours? Thanks in advance!
Hi Char! I hope you love it! Honestly, I had tried cooking veggies right in the crockpot with this and didn’t like the texture. I’d recommend sautéing some veggies (red bell peppers, mushrooms, etc) separately right before serving! You can see what I did in the notes in the recipe box 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hey!
Not sure what I did wrong… but my chicken was NOT done after 3 hours on low! I put it on high for another two and plan to check on it after an hour. A little bummed because it will be done too late to eat for dinner and had to order take out…
Hi Sofia! After three hours, the chicken should be cooked. A few things could’ve gone wrong. Were your chicken breasts frozen? Or were the chicken breasts really big? Was the lid on? Something with the crockpot? Was it on warm instead of low? There are so many things that could have happened, but after 3 hours, the chicken should be cooked, so I’m sure what it could be. Sorry it didn’t work out for you, but thanks for trying the recipe!
This recipe is unbelievably delicious. The sauce is complex– slightly sweet from the coconut milk, savory and peanuty, and spicy (we increased the red pepper flakes). SO GOOD. This is the third time we’ve made it. Perfect crock pot recipe for a busy husband and wife.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Cate!!! I’m so SO happy you guys are loving this 🙂
are the cooking times the same if you double the recipe?
Hi Danielle! I’d check it after 3 hours, but allow for 4 hours just in case! 🙂
Thanks for posting this recipe! It was so so easy and delicious! It impressed my chef husband too! I love your website – thanks again!
That’s awesome Tayla!!! Glad to hear you both loved this! 🙂
Made this for the family and it was a big hit – flavor wise. However, I was disappointed in the texture of the chicken – mine came out pretty tough after cooking on low for 2.5 hours. The flavor is great though, and was even better the next day as leftovers.
I’m going to try this again, using the sauce as an all day marinade, and then baking the chicken in the oven.
Any tips for keeping the chicken tender?
Hi Ashley! So glad you liked the flavor 🙂 I’m surprised the chicken came out tough… I haven’t had that problem! That being said, all crockpots are different, so maybe mine isn’t quite as hot. You could definitely try making this with bone in chicken thighs or breasts, which would definitely be more juicy (you may need to cook them longer, however)! I hope that helps 🙂
We love this recipe. LOVE IT! So easy the kids can make it with ingredients that are easy to keep around. Towards the end, throw in whatever veggies are going soft in the fridge and serve over rice.
Awesome!! I love that you got your kids involved and I love that you added veggies in towards the end. I’m really happy that you enjoyed this! Thanks for making it 🙂
This was absolutely lovely and almost too easy. I wound up with lite coconut milk (all they had at the market) and it wasn’t missing any richness at all. So right about fish sauce; it’s a difficult smell to stomach, but really adds a lot of depth of flavour. If you aren’t so keen, you could half the fish sauce but don’t omit! It really is a staple of Thai curries and it completely loses its pungency during cooking 🙂 Great idea to keep the chicken whole during cooking so it doesn’t fall apart. This one is going to be a staple, thanks!
Yay! Thanks so much, Brie! Glad to hear that lite coconut milk works and that you really enjoyed the curry. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe more than a few times now and it is always a dinner we look forward to! The only modifications I’ve made are sometimes to add bamboo shoots and baby corn, which hold up well in the slow cooker and add some great texture. Thanks again for such a lovely recipe, I’ve shared it many times.
Yay!! Thank you so much! LOVE the addition of baby corn 🙂
I’ve made your recipe 3 or 4 times now, it’s a staple in my house! I triple the recipe and it makes enough (with rice) for 2 adults and 2 kids for 3 dinners. I add in a bag of frozen broccoli toward the end. It is so, so good, and I LOVE takeout chicken curry. Also, I use frozen chicken tenders and cook it on low about 6-8 hours.
Love it, Sara! I’m so happy it’s become a staple in your house 🙂 Great idea with the addition of the broccoli and I’m really glad to hear that this triples well! 🙂 Thank you!!
I made this last night for my dad for father’s day. He lived in Algeria for a while, and other countries where he developed his love for spicy food. He is a connoisseur on this type of red curry sauce.
Well he absolutely loved it! He wouldn’t stop eating, and making noises while he was eating it. It was just enough spice to make your nose run, but not so much that you dull your taste buds. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Nina! You just made my day 🙂 We’re huge fans of spicy food, so it sounds like we’d get along really well 🙂 So so happy you all enjoyed this!
3 hours on low for boneless chicken is safe, right? I’m being paranoid?
You’re good, Julie! Just cut into a piece of chicken to double check that it’s cooked for extra safety 🙂
Do you use raw peanut butter or something like Jiff with sugar & oil in it? I would imagine the sugar would change the taste.
I’ve used Jiff in the past, but I think this would be completely fine with a no sugar added peanut butter 🙂 Let me know!
I love Thai Red Curry and have made it before in my slow cooker. I’ve never tried adding peanut butter before – thanks for the idea! I’ve added it to my meal planner for next week 🙂
I hope you love it Liana! It’s one of our favorites 🙂
This was SO good! I have been trying my hand at curry this year and have inched my way closer to getting the hang of it each time- but my husband said it was the best one I had made by far. He called it “restaurant quality”. I had one question: we noticed that as the crock pot sat on warm for a few hours and we stuck the leftovers in the refrigerator, the sauce thickened. Is there a way to do this on the first serving? I was thinking- what if I cooked the curry sauce for 3 hours on low before adding the chicken and then did an additional 3 hours. I really liked the thickness of the curry when we are the leftovers.
Hi Sarah! You just made me so happy!! Really glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe so much. If you want a thicker sauce, I’d actually recommend removing the lid (the liquid will then have a chance to evaporate and thicken) in the last hour of cook time. Let me know if you give that a try and how it works out! 🙂 Thanks again so much!
thank you for this recipe, I will definitely use this.
Enjoy! 🙂
I am SOOO glad I found my way to this recipe! My three year old and I made this one afternoon for our family for dinner and it was sooooo easy and AMAZINGLY delicious! Thank you so much!! You made our night! No more quick sandwiches on soccer practice nights!
Hi Laura! Yay!!! So happy the whole family loved this 🙂 Thank you!
do you use unsweetened or sweetened coconut milk?
Hi Charity! I use canned coconut milk which is unsweetened 🙂
Thank you for such a quick response running to store to grab the stuff I need for a yummy surprise meal for the family tonight =)
Oh I love that!! Enjoy! 🙂
Wow this was really yummy!! I had 10 skinless bone in chicken thighs so I doubled the coconut milk and tripled the rest of the ingredients and put on low for 5 hours. Served it over cauli-rice with cilantro and green onion. Hubby says he’d love to have this again!!! I agree. thank you.
Hi Judy! Thank you so much! LOVE the idea of serving this over cauli rice 🙂
Jennifer, I have to come back and tell you that I took some of the leftovers (2 servings worth) and froze it in a food saver bag to make a boil a bag for our camping trip last week …. it was fantastic!! Hubby said it was our best meal of the week log trip.
First I put 2 servings of cauli-rice in the bottom of the quart size bag; spooned in the chicken thighs and sauce; then slowly vacuum pulsed the bag to get the air out and sealed it. In the freezer it went. To reheat you just heat a pot of water; stick the bag in and let it heat up on a simmer. Cut the bag open and serve in individual bowls. Such a treat! I will do this again just to have a ready to go meal at home.
Oh my gosh, thank you so much Judy!! SO happy these re-heated well and I absolutely need to try this over cauli rice!! 🙂
Hi Jennifer,
I just made the curry, and it came out tasting very different from what it’s supposed to taste like. It kind of tastes like it’s overcooked – but I only left it in there for 3 hours on low.
I have made this recipe before and it was incredible, so I’m not sure what could have gone wrong…
The one thing I did differently was (1) make chicken stock out of powdered chicken stock, because I didn’t have time to buy the liquid version at the store and (2) use honey instead of brown sugar.
Any ideas as to what it could have been?
Hi Daniel! So glad you’ve made it before and loved it 🙂 It definitely could be the powdered chicken stock, but the honey should be just fine! Did you maybe accidentally cook it on high instead of low? Also, how old is your crockpot? The stock, temperature, or crockpot malfunctioning would be my best guesses 🙂 I hope that helps!
I actully know what else it might be. I doubled the amount of chicken, so I also doubled everything else. I’ve seen here that if you double the coconut milk, it might be best to triple the other ingredients?
It was definitely on low, and new crockpot!
I’ve actually never doubled this recipe personally, but that could definitely be the case!
Is it possible to freeze leftovers? What is the best way to do this? I just made this recipe and it was delicious. But now I am going out of town and cannot eat it all.
Also – any suggestions on making this spicier? Should I simply add more red pepper flakes? I tried doing that but I am wondering if that will give it the heat profile that I want.
Thank you!
Hi Wendy! I think this would freeze just fine in a sealed Tupperware container. 🙂 You could definitely try adding a little sriracha…LOVE that you love spice!
I love love LOVE this recipe! I made a tiny few tweaks since I like spicy and am a sucker for garlic. I only did about a nickel size of peanut butter, and added another tablespoon of curry paste. I also added siracha and almost doubled the garlic. My oh, my…so delicious. My boyfriend says it rivals restaurant Thai curry. I’ve made it almost 5 times now and every time it gets better. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!!
You are SO sweet! Thanks Meika! Love that you add more curry paste, sriracha, and garlic… a woman after my own heart! 😉