This 30 Minute Coconut Chicken Curry is made in a hurry! (had to!) It’s bursting with robust flavors and is the perfect dish for entertaining and impressing any guests. Even the kids will love and enjoy this flavorful delicious meal.
My sister in law loves to make a dish similar to this for our family vacations. Last summer I was in charge of making that particular dish and loved how simple and easy it was.
Since I like to fancy up my own dishes, I made a similar meal but added a few more essentials.
I love to marinade the chicken and give it even more flavor. This part is totally optional, but I promise you won’t regret the 2 minutes of extra time it takes to marinade the chicken ahead of time.
The chicken is then cooked into a bath of sautéed onions and garlic, tomatoes, curry spice and coconut cream.
The key is to use coconut cream because it’s thicker than coconut milk. As it reduces, it becomes a thick and creamy curry sauce that is bursting with flavor.
Then I add some cilantro and a squeeze of lime over every dish–trust me, you don’t want to omit the garnish!
Cook up some rice or quinoa as a side to go with it. Make some Sourdough Naan ahead of time and you have a knock out meal that will impress anyone–guaranteed!
Ingredients to make 30 Minute Coconut Chicken Curry
- Chicken Breasts
- Butter
- Onion
- Garlic Cloves
- Coconut Cream
- Tomatoes
- Cilantro
- Curry
- Salt
- Rice or Quinoa (optional to eat with)
- Cilantro and Lime (optional garish–I promise you will love it!)
- Sourdough Naan (also optional, and so delicious!)
Optional Chicken Marinade
This recipe really is foolproof and you don’t even have to marinade the chicken. However, it’s worth the little bit of extra prep ahead of time!
Plus I love to prepare portions of dinner ahead of time so it’s not as much prep all at the same time.
A few hours before you cook, add diced chicken breasts to a large bowl or bag. Add avocado oil, coriander, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix everything together and rest the chicken marinade in the fridge for 1-12 hours.
You can make it a day ahead, or an hour ahead. You could even throw the spices on just before you add them to the coconut cream pot if you forgot to marinade ahead of time.
Any extra flavor is bold and delicious and I promise you will love it!
How to make 30 Minute Coconut Chicken Curry
- In a large pot (I love to use my Dutch Oven) melt the butter. Add diced onion. Saute for 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add in the marinated chicken, coconut cream, diced tomatoes, curry and salt. On medium heat bring mixture to a boil without a cover. Boil for 30 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it renders down. Mix occasionally to make sure food isn’t getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- During this time prepare the rice or quinoa if desired.
- Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!
I highly recommend eating this meal with a side of Sourdough Naan to help scrape off every last bit of flavor from your plate! It’s the best combo!
Got Leftovers? Make Coconut Chicken Curry Soup!
If you follow me on Instagram you know I love to make soup with the leftovers from this meal. It’s saved to a highlight if you want to view that.
Depending on how many leftovers you have is how much ingredients to add to your leftover soup. You will know as you go. But here is a general guide to a recipe below.
- Leftover Coconut Chicken Curry and rice or quinoa.
- 1-2 Carrots, diced
- 1-2 Celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 Onion, diced (sweet, yellow or green onions)
- 1- 1 1/2 Quarts Chicken or Beef Stock
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Garnish with Cilantro and Lime
Dice the veggies and add a few tablespoons of butter to a large sauce pan. Saute veggies in butter and season with salt and pepper. Add Stock and leftover chicken curry and rice or quinoa. Bring to a boil. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, especially if you’re using homemade stock.
Garnish with Cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Simple is Gourmet. Enjoy!
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Let’s make 30 Minute Coconut Chicken Curry
30 Minute Coconut Chicken Curry
This 30 Minute Coconut Chicken Curry is bursting with robust flavor and is the perfect quick dish for entertaining and impressing any guests.
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken Breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1 Onion, diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 2 (14oz) Cans Coconut Cream
- 1 (28oz) can Diced Tomatoes
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Curry
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Cilantro (for garnish)
- Lime (for Garnish)
- 2 cups prepared Rice or Quinoa
Optional Chicken Marinade:
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Avocado Oil
- 1 tsp Coriander
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
Instructions
- Optional Chicken Marinade: You could just add unseasoned chicken and skip this step, but I promise you'll love this option. Dice chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces. Place into bowl or bag and add oil, coriander, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper. Mix all together, cover and marinate chicken for 1-12 hours. Or add the spices to the chicken right before you cook it if you forgot to marinade ahead of time.
- In a large pot (I love to use my Dutch Oven) melt the butter. Add diced onion. Saute for 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add in the diced {marinated} chicken, coconut cream, diced tomatoes, curry and salt and pepper to taste. On medium heat, uncovered, bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 30 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it renders down. Mix occasionally to make sure food isn't getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- During this time prepare the rice or quinoa.
- Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!
Notes
Enjoy with a side of Sourdough Naan.
Kristen
This was AMAZING. Such a unique combination of flavors, and it works!
simpleisgourmet
Yay–so glad, it’s one of our favorites too! Thanks for the feedback 🙂