A quick and simple mild chicken curry recipe with bags of flavour. Ready in 30 minutes, it makes a great go-to mid-week meal for the whole family.
Freezer-friendly so you can make a big batch and save some for later.
We've got loads of curries on our site (madras, jalfrezi, dhansak, Chicken Tikka Masala, Rogan Josh, etc), but what about a simple, easy chicken curry?
A quick curry that you want to whip up, without using ready-made pastes or sauces?
This is the one for you. It uses a regular mild curry powder, but we also use a few additional spices and aromatics as well as creamy coconut milk for a totally moreish curry that the adults and kids will love.
It's totally versatile - you can add in different veggies or easily make it vegetarian. Plus you can adjust the spice level to your liking.
What do we need?
- For the base - chicken breasts (I use 3 to serve 4 people), onion, garlic, ginger
- Spices & seasoning - mild curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper
- For the sauce - tomato puree/paste, tinned tomatoes, chicken stock, coconut milk
- Baby spinach - to add some colour in there.
Want to add more veggies?
This is a GREAT curry to add in extra veggies - green beans, sugarsnap peas/mangetout (snow peas), courgette (zucchini), kale, mushrooms and baby corn all make fantastic additions!
- The green beans, courgette and mushrooms can all be added in at the same time as the coconut milk.
- The sugarsnap peas/mangetout, kale and chopped baby corn just need to be added in for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
How to make the chicken curry
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Seal the chicken in a pan with a little oil.
- Add chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add in garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for a further minute.
- Add in tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, stock and coconut milk.
- Simmer for 10 minutes – until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with boiled rice, topped with fresh coriander and chilli flakes.
What to serve it with
- Simple boiled rice - check out my How To Cook Rice tutorial
- Homemade Chapati
- A nice fresh Tomato, onion and coriander salad
- Raita with poppadoms
- Pilau Rice
- Saag Aloo
- A Fluffy Garlic Naan
More fantastic Curries
- Chicken Jalfrezi - ready in 40 minutes, including homemade pilau rice
- Chicken Madras - a reader favourite
- Easy Chicken Curry
- Ultimate Beef Massaman Curry - fall apart beef
- My favourite Chicken Tikka Masala
- Slow-Cooked Lamb Curry
- Chinese-Style Meatball Curry
- Chicken Dhansak with lentils
- Vegetarian Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry
Watch how to make it
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Easy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 chicken breasts - (approx 500g/17.5 oz) chopped into bite-size chunks
- 1 large onion - (or 2 small) peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp mild curry powder- go hotter if you prefer
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 14 oz (400g) tin finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup (240ml) chicken stock
- 14 oz (400ml) tin full fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water to make a slurry - *optional*
- 2 packed cups (60g) baby spinach
To Serve:
- Boiled rice
- Fresh coriander
- Chilli flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until sealed.
- Add the onion to the pan (with the chicken still in there) and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, to soften.
- Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for a further minute.
- Add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, stock and coconut milk.
- Bring to a gentle bubble, then simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes – until the chicken is cooked through.
- If you would like to thicken the curry, stir in the cornflour slurry. This is optional, you can leave it out if the curry thickness is to your liking.
- Stir in the spinach (it should wilt quickly) then turn off the heat.
- Serve with boiled rice, topped with fresh coriander and chilli flakes.
Video
✎ Notes
Make the curry, then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheat in a pan over a medium heat (you may need to add a splash of water to loosen it up) until the chicken is piping hot throughout. Can I freeze it? Yes, make the curry, then quickly cool, and freeze it in an airtight container. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat as per the 'make ahead' instructions above. Ingredient swaps/additions
- Swap out the chicken for quorn, tofu, courgette or meatballs.
- Swap out the 14oz (400ml) coconut milk for 7oz(200ml) additional chicken stock plus 7oz(200ml) double/heavy cream
- Add in extra veg (see 'Want to add more veg?' near the top of this post)
- Swap out the mild curry powder for medium or hot if you like it a little spicier.
If you double the recipe, it will take 5-10 minutes longer to cook, and you may need to add in a little more cornstarch slurry to thicken if desired. Nutritional information is per serving, not including the serving suggestions of rice, coriander and chilli flakes.
Nutrition
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Nancy Lee says
My favourite curry recipe. I love it 🙂
Julia says
This was a delicious Curry recipe. I added Zucchini and Mushrooms after the coconut milk and let it cook ten minutes before wilting the spinach. I will definitely make this again - its a keeper.
John says
Sounds very nice. I've never made a curry before I'm a man on my own.
Rose says
Love the flavors and how quick and easy it is. Thanks so much.
Julie Martin says
Delightful recipe. We halved it, half chicken…half sweet potato with lentil. Definitely keeping this one.
Miss P says
Hi there,
Your recipe looks delicious and I appreciate the little time it takes to cook.
I just want to know if I want to prepare it for more that 20 people, how do I work out the ingredients ratio? Because I'm not sure and I don't want to make a disaster of a curry😊
Thank You