Thai Chicken Curry

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This Thai Chicken Curry is a creamy, one-pan dinner made with seared chicken thighs simmered in coconut milk and Thai red curry paste, with sweet potato, bell pepper, green beans, and spinach. It's a perfect weeknight dinner when you want restaurant-quality Thai food at home.

 

One-Pan Thai Chicken Curry

This is the Thai curry recipe I make when I want "an almost authentic" Thai curry feel at home. After my trip to Thailand, I got picky about what makes a curry taste "right." It's not just heat. It's that balance of savory, sweet, and bright (fish sauce, a touch of sugar, and lime at the end). This one nails that.

It comes together in under an hour, uses one pan, and reheats beautifully. The sweet potato makes it hearty enough to stand on its own over rice, and the leftovers are even better the next day once everything has had time to settle.

It's also flexible. You can use shrimp, salmon, cubed white fish like halibut or cod, extra firm tofu, or even beef instead of chicken. Or make Thai curry vegetarian by omitting the chicken and adding more veggies like zucchini, eggplant, bamboo shoots, baby corn, and canned or fresh chopped tomatoes!

This Thai Curry Is Better Than Takeout

This recipe is as close as I could get to authentic Thai curry chicken while keeping it doable on a weeknight. I'd argue it's even better in some ways because it uses accessible ingredients and easy cooking techniques that work in a home kitchen. If you want it more authentic, use palm sugar instead of brown sugar and add kaffir lime leaves (among other additions).

What I love the best about my chicken curry is that it still falls into the healthy weeknight dinner category, as it's packed with vegetables, protein, and healthy fats.

Literally everybody loves it! I've made it for casual dinners with friends, doubled it for meal prep for my family, and adjusted the heat depending on who's at the table. It scales well and doesn't fall apart if you tweak it slightly.

And if you're exploring more Thai recipes, you're in for a treat. My website has quite a few popular Thai curry recipes, like Thai Coconut Curry Salmon and Thai Duck Curry, plus Thai Shrimp Soup and Thai Chicken Curry Soup when you want something brothy.

5 Reasons You'll Love It

1. One-pan meal that's ready in 40 minutes - perfect for weeknight dinners when you're craving Thai takeout.
2. Uses easy-to-find ingredients from regular grocery stores, no specialty shopping required.
3. Chicken thighs stay tender and don't dry out like breast meat would.
4. Sweet potato adds natural sweetness and makes the Thai curry more filling and substantial.
5. I tested the spice level multiple times so it's flavorful but not overwhelming-you can adjust the curry paste to your preference

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Chicken: I use boneless skinless thighs because they stay moist and tender even if slightly overcooked. Chicken breasts work but tend to dry out. Leftover rotisserie chicken can be shredded and added in the last 5 minutes just to heat through. Shrimp, cubed white fish like halibut or cod, extra firm tofu, or even beef can work in place of chicken. Chickpeas work well in Thai curry, too!
• Sweet potato: Butternut squash, pumpkin, or kabocha squash make great substitutions.
• Thai red curry paste: I like Thai Kitchen brand - it's widely available and reliably good. Yellow, panang, or green curry paste can substitute, but the flavor will change completely (still really good!). Don't use Indian curry powder - it's not the same thing.
• Brown sugar or palm sugar: Coconut sugar or half the amount in white sugar would be great!
• Coconut milk: You are welcome to use lite coconut milk or, you can halve the amount of full-fat coconut milk and add more chicken broth instead.
• Fresh garlic and ginger: No way to source fresh? Use 2 teaspoons of dried garlic and 2 teaspoons of dried ginger powder instead.
• Spinach: Kale, Bok Choy, or Swiss chard can be great replacements for spinach! Just remember these take a bit longer to cook, so add about ½ way into the curry being finished instead of waiting until the end.
• Neutral oil: Use canola, vegetable, or avocado oil. You can also use light olive oil labeled as suitable for frying.
• Fish sauce: It adds savory, salty flavor that balances the sweetness of the coconut milk and sugar. There's no fishy taste in the final dish, just enhanced savoriness. You can use soy sauce instead, but add a bit less since it's saltier.
• Lime juice: Lemon juice can substitute, but lime is more traditional and tastes better here.

Serving Suggestions

• Rice: I almost always serve Thai curry the traditional way - over hot jasmine rice. The fluffy grains soak up the sauce perfectly. It's also great with brown rice, coconut rice, or even rice noodles.
• Cauliflower rice is a lower-carb option that still absorbs the sauce well.
• Noodles: Create an Asian fusion combo by spooning the chicken curry over rice noodles, ramen noodles, or even soba noodles. The sauce clings to noodles differently than rice and makes it feel like a completely different meal.

Best Topping for Thai Curry

When I serve this, I treat toppings seriously. They change the whole bowl. Here is what I recommend:

• Chopped roasted salted peanuts for crunch. You can also use cashews or sesame seeds.
• Fresh Thai basil (if you can find it). You can also use regular basil or fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges
• Thinly sliced Thai chiles, if you like heat
• Crispy shallots

Can I use curry powder instead of curry paste?

No, they're completely different ingredients. Curry powder is a dry spice blend (usually Indian-style), while Thai curry paste is a wet mixture of chiles, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, and other ingredients. Using curry powder will give you a totally different dish that doesn't taste like Thai curry. If you can't find curry paste at regular grocery stores, check the Asian foods aisle or order it online - it's shelf-stable and lasts months in the fridge after opening.

Variations

• Veggie-forward/Vegetarian: Omit the chicken and fish sauce, or use a vegetarian-friendly alternative! Add zucchini, eggplant, bamboo shoot, baby corn, canned or fresh chopped tomatoes, or other veggies you love!
• Tropical: Add pineapple chunks at the last step for a fruity twist!
• Peanut forward: Add 2 tablespoons or more to the Thai curry for a rich, nuttier flavor. 

More Thai-Inspired Recipes

• Thai Chicken Meatballs
• Thai Basil Beef
• Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken

How to Make Thai Chicken Curry (Step-by-Step Photos)

• Sear the chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a large pot until golden on the outside (it won't be fully cooked yet); transfer to a plate.

• Sauté the onion with 2 extra tablespoons of cooking oil for 2-3 minutes until softened, then stir in garlic and ginger and cook for more 1 minute.

• Stir in red curry paste and cook 1 minute, letting it darken slightly and release its aroma.
• Add sweet potato, coconut milk, and broth; stir and scrape up browned bits. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer, uncovered, on low for about 6 minutes, until the sweet potato is just tender.

• Add chicken back in with bell pepper and green beans; simmer uncovered 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked through and veggies are crisp-tender.
• Season the broth: Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice. Taste and adjust.

• Fold in spinach (off heat) until wilted.
• Serve Thai curry over jasmine rice, garnished with peanuts, Thai basil, cilantro, lime wedges, and sliced Thai chiles.