Slow Cooker Recipes Chicken Curry Easy Do You Have to Use Coconut Milk in Curry

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(This post has been updated from the original September 2018 version to provide a better experience for you)

This incredible slow cooker chicken curry recipe is SO easy to make it will blow your mind! Just like my slow cooker meatballs recipe, you don't need to precook anything. There's almost zero chopping to do and minimal pots to wash as well! Read on to learn everything you need to know to make this slow cooker chicken curry perfect for your family!

Face it, you know you're onto a winner. This is a great, time saving, family recipe that is perfect for batch cooking and ideal for freezing! In actual fact, it tastes even better after being frozen. Wow – that's a lot of perks for a slow cooker curry isn't it?!

It would also make a great addition to a weekly midweek meal plan. Slow cooker recipes always do!

There's something so wonderful about being able to switch on the slow cooker, go to work, then come home to a barrage of delightful aromas! This slow cooker chicken curry is no exception. (Come to think of it, so is this awesome beef massaman curry recipe!) The positives to this recipe are endless. Don't believe me? Check it out…

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry – The Positives

• There's NO precooking required. I repeat – NO precooking required!
• The prep will take you no more than 10 minutes maximum.
• It's a great batch cook recipe.
• You can freeze it in portions for another day. (When it actually tastes even better!)
• There's hardly any pots to wash.
• It needs the bare minimum of chopping – a food processor does almost ALL the work.
• It's much healthier than shop bought.
• There are no preservatives, additives or added sugars.
• It's perfect for getting vegetables into fussy eaters.
• Set it and forget it!
• It's easy to adjust the heat/spice level for your family's tastes.
• No need to buy lots of expensive herbs and spices that you'll never use again!

I'm not sure I've ever been able to think of that many positives to a recipe before. This slow cooker chicken curry is definitely a keeper in my house that's for sure!

If you're trying to keep things even healthier though, my slow cooker vegetarian chili, slow cooker vegetable curry and coconut chickpea curry recipes are exactly that and more. I freeze individual portions of it and take it hot in a flask for lunches at work. It's feels SO good having a healthy hot lunch in Winter! (Especially as my work doesn't have the facilities to heat/cook anything.) In fact, I bet you could do the same with this slow cooker curry recipe too!

If however, you want to expand your slow cooker chicken recipe archives, you absolutely need my slow cooker BBQ chicken recipe. This is AMAZING for family gatherings and guaranteed to receive lots of yummy noises. Very much like this slow cooker chicken curry haha! It really is insanely delicious. You totally need to try this one my lovely. I promise you won't regret it.

Can you put raw chicken in a slow cooker?

Yes, absolutely! That's exactly what I do in this recipe. No need for precooking – just dice, season and place at the bottom of the slow cooker and it will be perfectly cooked at the end of the cooking time.

How do I thicken curry sauce in a slow cooker?

This is very simple to do. One hour before the cooking time has ended, mix corn flour and water together then gently stir this through the curry. Cook for the final 1 hour and your curry sauce should have thickened up nicely.

Is it ok to put coconut milk in a slow cooker?

I have done this many times and never come across a negative side effect. We use coconut cream in this recipe but I have also made it with coconut milk (you can substitute the cream for 400ml of coconut milk) and it worked like a charm!

What you need to know

In this section you will learn everything you could possibly ever need to know before making this unbelievably delicious slow cooker chicken curry! Trust me, it's worth the read. (Especially the recipe tips bit!!)

Ingredients

Here's everything about the ingredients needed to make an incredible (yet very simple) slow cooker chicken curry.

• Chicken – Skinless and boneless make your life a lot easier in this recipe. Don't worry if there are little pieces of fat on the chicken, that will only add to the flavour.
• Onion – A regular medium white onion is perfect. I wouldn't substitute this for other types of onion.
• Garlic – Always use nice large garlic cloves!! If you only have small, consider adding an extra clove for more flavour.
• Pepper – A large firm green pepper works best. At a push you could use a different colour pepper but it will affect the flavour.
• Tomato Puree – Any kind will work really. The tubes and cans all contain the same sort of thing.
• Coconut Cream – This is key for a luscious creamy sauce. I found mine at Sainsburys but, if you're struggling, you could swap it for 400ml of coconut cream.
• Curry Powder – This is down to personal preference. I used a mild Asda own brand as my whole family enjoy the flavour. So use one your family like the taste of!
• Corn Flour – Simply used to thicken up your sauce towards the end of the cooking time.

How to make slow cooker chicken curry: simplified

1. Place diced chicken at the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Blitz all sauce ingredients in a food processor.
3. Pour sauce over the chicken and cook for 5 hours on low.
4. Mix cornflour and water together, stir into the sauce and cook for 1 hour.
5. Serve immediately or freeze for later.

Recipe tips

Not made a slow cooker chicken curry before? Fear not! Here's some tips to help you along the way.

• Make sure you season the chicken before switching on your slow cooker. It's a little thing that can make a HUGE difference to the taste!
• Want to add more veg? You absolutely can! Just discard any peel, seeds or inedibles etc before tossing into the food processor.
• I highly recommend using coconut cream instead of milk. However, if you can only find milk – just use 400 ml so the curry doesn't become too runny.
• Don't be alarmed by the pale colour of the sauce before cooking. It will become darker as it cooks.
• If freezing, allow to cool completely before dividing between plastic containers/freezer bags. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge before heating again. Use within 1 month of being frozen.
• Don't like waste? Freeze in individual portions so nothing ever has to go in the bin.
• Want even more flavour? Try using chicken thighs instead of breasts. They're cheaper and have a higher fat content – which is where all the best flavour comes from!

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Curry – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to serve 6.

• 1 kg (2 lb 2 oz) Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast, Diced
• 1 x Onion, Peeled & Quartered
• 3 x Garlic Cloves, Peeled
• 1 x Green Pepper, Deseeded & Quartered
• 1 x 140g (5 oz) Tin of Tomato Puree
• 500ml (2 Cups) Coconut Cream *
• 2 tsp Salt + Extra for seasoning
• 3 tbsp Curry Powder
• 2 tbsp Corn Flour
• 2 tbsp Water
• Chopped Coriander and Fresh Red Chilli, To Serve (Optional)

*I found coconut cream at Sainsbury's. If you can't source it, coconut milk is fine as a substitute but only use 400ml.

Essential equipment

• 3.5 litre Slow Cooker
• Food Processor

Easy slow cooker chicken curry instructions

First, dice the skinless boneless chicken (1 kg | 2 lb 2 oz) into evenly sized pieces (about 1 inch/2.5 cm) and place it into the bottom of the slow cooker. Season well with salt, mixing it around to ensure every piece is included.

Now that's sorted, let's get on with the sauce. Place the onion (x 1 peeled and quartered), garlic (x 3 cloves peeled), green pepper (1 x deseeded and quartered), tomato puree (1 x 140g | 5 oz), coconut cream (500ml | 2 Cups), salt (2 tsp) and curry powder (3 tbsp) into a food processor.

It's worth noting that, if you don't like your curry spicy, only use 2 tbsp of the curry powder. If you like it hot – increase it to 4 tbsp and maybe throw in a few chilli flakes too. If you're somewhere in the middle (like me) stick to 3 tbsp. Still not sure? Start with 2 tbsp and taste it. gradually increase until you're happy with the flavour.

Then give it a good blitz until everything is nice and smooth.

Perfect! Now pour the sauce over the chicken but don't mix it. We want that chicken to stay near the bottom of the slow cooker for a bit so just leave it as it is and pop the lid on.

Wow, that was 10 mins of serious hard work right?! (Haha that's what we'll tell everyone else anyway!) Now it's time to switch your slow cooker on low and leave it for 5 hours. Tic toc tic toc…

But Emma, your timer says 6 hours – why is that?

Well. After 5 hours is up, there's still 1 hour left of cooking but we need to do something before we can finish. It's looking a little watery right now isn't it? Let's see if we can fix that. Take the corn flour (2 tbsp) and mix it with the cold water (2 tbsp) until completely dissolved. Pour it into the slow cooker and give everything a really good (but gentle) stir.

That should help thicken things up a bit! Pop the lid back on, restart your timer at 1 hour and wait for the finish line…

Is the timer beeping? I bet your house smells amazing round about now doesn't it? Well it should, because we're done. Hurrah!

Serving and storing suggestions

You can serve it straight away with some pilau rice, scattered with a little chopped coriander and red chilli. OR you can allow it to cool completely and freeze in portions for a later date. (Refer to recipe tips section earlier in the post for freezing advice.)

Have you made this recipe?

Have you made this glorious slow cooker chicken curry? I'd love to know if you have! Send me your pics, comments and questions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com.

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Ingredients

• 1 kg (2 lb 2 oz) Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast, diced
• 1 x Onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 x Garlic Cloves, Peeled
• 1 x Green Pepper, deseeded and quartered
• 1 x 140g (5 oz) Tin of Tomato Puree
• 500ml (2 Cups) Coconut Cream *
• 2 tsp Salt + Extra for seasoning
• 3 tbsp Curry Powder
• 2 tbsp Corn Flour
• 2 tbsp Water
• Chopped Coriander and Fresh Red Chilli, To Serve (Optional)

Essential Equipment

• 3.5 litre Slow Cooker
• Food Processor

Instructions

1. Put the diced chicken into your slow cooker and season well with salt.
2. Pour the sauce over the chicken (don't stir!) and put the lid on. Cook on low for 5 hours.
3. Dissolve the corn flour in the cold water and stir into the curry. Mix well but gently do as not so break up the chicken. Cook for 1 more hour.
4. Serve immediately with rice. Sprinkle over some chopped coriander and chilli if you like.

Notes

*Coconut cream is best for flavour and thickness. However, you can substitute for 400ml of coconut milk instead.

You can also cool completely, divide into individual portions and freeze for a later date. Defrost thoroughly before reheating and use within 1 month of freezing.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 790 Total Fat: 30g Saturated Fat: 20g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 158mg Sodium: 1275mg Carbohydrates: 70g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 58g Protein: 60g

Nutritional information on kitchenmason.com should only be used as a general guideline, I am not a certified nutritionist. Please always check labels for allergens where applicable.

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Source: https://kitchenmason.com/how-to-make-crazy-easy-slow-cooker-chicken-curry/

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