Easy, One-Pot Coconut Thai Chicken Curry
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This one-pot coconut Thai chicken curry is incredibly flavorful and easy to prepare thanks to delicious time-saving tip: not browning the chicken. After sautéing an onion and making a simple sauce with spices, curry pastes, tomatoes, and coconut milk, you add the chicken to the pot and transfer it to the oven. In just about an hour, it will be done! The sauce is plentiful, so making rice or some sort of flatbread essential.
Are you still browning chicken?
When I was first learning to cook, browning meat prior to braising it, is what all of my favorite cookbooks taught. It’s also what I learned from the chef, Thien Ngo, I worked for at Fork. Before Thien braised anything — chicken, brisket, short ribs — he always began by browning the meat first.
But browning, as far as I can tell, serves only one good purpose: to remove excess fat, thereby ensuring the sauce, in the end, won’t taste unpleasantly fatty. For a braise, browning is not a step that produces crispy skin. And while it creates an appealing color and, in turn, flavor, these two outcomes can be achieved without actually going through the tedious process of browning.
How? In the oven.
Two years ago I made Diana Henry’s Moroccan Chicken and Rice with Harissa and Dates, a recipe that calls for essentially chucking everything into a pan at once and throwing it in the oven. There’s no preliminary browning, and it works: the end product being crispy skin and fall-off-the-bone meat.
I’ve stopped browning chicken ever since, and I’ve been revisiting my favorite braises in the meantime, giving them the chuck-in-the-oven treatment. This one-pan chicken with sherry vinegar sauce is a favorite, and here’s another one: one-pan Thai chicken curry with spinach.
It uses all of the same flavorings as Thien’s Thai chicken curry, but the method is different, simpler.
One-Pan Thai Chicken Curry How-To
- Sauté an onion.
- Add turmeric, curry powder, and Thai red curry paste.
- Add tomatoes, coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, and water.
- Add chicken, transfer to the oven and cook for 1 hour.
- Out of the oven, add a heap of spinach, stir, and serve over rice.
After an hour in the oven, the chicken skins are browned, and the meat has absorbed all the flavors of the sauce. The sauce is plentiful, making rice or some sort of flatbread essential.
A final note regarding not browning:
As noted above, browning meat does remove excess fat. If, prior to cooking, you notice your chicken thighs or drumsticks are particularly fatty, trim the excess fat/overhanging skin. This step usually is enough to ensure the final sauce doesn’t taste too fatty, but if, in the end, you still find the sauce tasting too rich, you can skim excess fat, which will pool to the surface.
5 Favorite No-Browning Chicken Recipes
- One-Pan Chicken and Shallots
- One-Pan Chicken with Sherry Vinegar Sauce
- Chicken legs with white wine, parmigiano, and olive oil
- Moroccan Chicken and Rice
- Spatchcocked Chicken with Za’atar and Lemon
PS: Curried Lentils with Kale & Coconut Milk
PPS: Chopped Thai Satay Salad with Peanut-Ginger Dressing
PPS: Easy Thai Chicken Satay with Coconut Rice
Easy, One-Pot Coconut Thai Chicken Curry
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Description
I learned to make this chicken curry while working at Fork in Philadelphia many years ago, now. The chef, Thien Ngo, prepared it somewhat differently — he browned the meat first in one pot; browned a ton of vegetables (carrots, parsnips, onions) in another pan; additionally, he deep-fried potatoes; and he cooked everything stove top.
I’ve converted this to a one-pan number, and in place of the carrots, parsnips, and potatoes, I stir in a heap of spinach at the end.
A few notes:
- If your chicken thighs or drumsticks are particularly fatty, trim the excess fat. This will prevent your sauce from being too fatty in the end.
- Thai red curry paste. Maesri is the brand I buy at the Asian market. You can find it online, too. I use half a tin for this recipe (which is about 3 tablespoons), which makes it quite spicy but not outrageous. If you are sensitive to heat, start with a tablespoon and adjust the sauce with more at the end.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- kosher salt
- 8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs or drumsticks or a combination of both
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 to 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (see notes above)
- 3 to 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1 can (13.5 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped, or more or less to taste
- 3 to 5 ounces spinach, optional
For serving:
- cooked Jasmine or Basmati rice (or any rice you like)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400ºF.
- In a large sauté pan over hight heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, and immediately turn the heat to medium-low. Stir every so often, and cook until the onions soften and begin browning at the edges, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the chicken in a large bowl and season all over with kosher salt. Use 1 teaspoon per pound.
- Add the curry powder, turmeric, and Thai red curry paste to the onions, and stir until onions are coated in the spices, about a minute. Add the tomatoes, and stir until they just begin to soften, about a minute. Add the can of coconut milk. Fill up the empty can of coconut milk with water and add to the pan. Add the fish sauce and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. (Note: A number of people have had issues with this being too liquidy, so I’ve reduced the amount of water from 2 empty cans to one… hope this solves the issues.).
- Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Transfer pan to the oven uncovered and cook for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced considerably, the chicken skin is brown, and the meat is falling off the bone. If the liquid has reduced too much, add more by the quarter cup. Note: If you make this ahead, you may need to add more water upon reheating.
- Add cilantro and stir. Add spinach, if using, and stir. Spoon rice into bowls. Top with chicken and sauce, and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop/Oven
- Cuisine: Thai
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
443 Comments on “Easy, One-Pot Coconut Thai Chicken Curry”
My family loved this recipe! They said it’s by far the best chicken dish they’ve had!
Great to hear, Nadia! Thanks for writing!
This was so delicious! I use 3 tablespoons of fish sauce (bc I love fish sauce) and double the spinach & tomatoes! Thanks so much for the recipe it’s now a regular at our house, very easy too!
Great to hear, Shaina! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
This was delicious! Took a little longer because I accidentally turned my oven off. This made chicken legs super tasty and will go into the rotation. Next time I’d probably remove the skin.
Great to hear, Lexi! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂 🙂 🙂
I was out of Thai red curry paste, so I substituted tom yum kung paste instead, and the curry turned out to be delicious in flavor.
Great to hear! Thanks for sharing this swap 🙂
This recipe is to die for. Packed with flavour and very simple instructions. Thank you!
Great to hear, Shanleigh! Thanks for writing 🙂
Lord that was amazing! I went into my garden this morning and noticed my Cilantro had gotten really big. I went searching for a recipe where I could use quite a bit. This is a total WIN!
Great to hear, Mel! Thanks for writing 🙂
I rarely leave comments on recipes but this one is incredible. I followed the instructions (used a different curry powder because I didn’t have the curry paste on hand). Chicken turned out well browned and crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. I’m a fan of good curry dishes and have had (and made) plenty of bad ones. But this is perfect. One pan deliciousness!
Great to hear, Anoj! Thanks so much for writing and sharing these notes.
Can this recipe be made in a dutch oven?
Yes, but if the sides are too high, the chicken won’t brown properly. If you don’t care about the skin browning, then go for it, otherwise I’d look for a shallower dish. You could start the recipe on the stovetop then transfer the contents to 9×13-inch pan or something similar.
Thank you! For health reason I actually remove the skin from chicken so browning isn’t an issue.
OK! Perfect… go for it 🙂
Tried this recipe and result was great. I’ve reduced the curry spice to half to make it less spicy, turn out the taste was great. Have also added some chickpeas as well. Will definitely try this again. Thank you!
Great to hear, Cathy! Thanks for writing 🙂
This is going on my make again list! So easy, so tasty! I used diced chicken breast & added quartered baby potatoes too. Highly recommend.
Great to hear, Anna! Thanks for writing 🙂
This recipe looks so good, I’m going to try it with boneless skinless breasts. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be just as good without the fatty skins, and healthier too. Thanks for sharing this fabulous recipe!
this is perfection, ali. from the simple ingredients to the simple instructions, including most of it hands off in the oven, to the spectacular appearance and taste of the final dish. the spinach and cilantro really add the finishing touches. i baked stone ground whole wheat pita to go along with it. thank you!!!!!!!!
Great to hear, Jude! Thanks so much for writing. Your homemade pita sounds divine 🙂
Combined this with the chickpea version (because why not!) and it was amazingly good. Eyeballed most ingredients (used 3x as many fresh cherry tomatoes, added leftover canned spagh. and tom. sauce, panang curry, etc.).
Most ingredients are staples, and I love that alternatives are provided and “you don’t really need this thing” comment. Your recipes have made me a more relaxed and better cook.
Awww so nice to read all of this, Catherine! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. I love the idea of combining/adding chickpeas here 🙂
Another great recipe, thank you. I made it 2 times this past week. I didn’t have red curry paste so the first time I used yellow. Loved it but my husband wanted the sauce much thicker.
The second time I used green curry paste, nice, a little spicier and about 3/4 cup of split red lentils added just before the chicken. They cooked down during the hour in the oven.
After the oven i carefully removed the cooked chicken and mixed in about 10 ounces of baby spinach and the fresh cilantro into the sauce and topped it with the cooked chicken.
I’ve been using a 14 inch vintage copco style paella pan, lots of surface for the chicken to brown.
I can’t wait to make it again,
Great to hear, Lisa! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of these notes 🙂
Amazing flavours! I added 1 tbsp fresh ground ginger and 2 large cloves of garlic. I browned the chicken first and put it aside. After I had the rest done I put all in a crock pot to complete the cooking. I also added sliced red pepper, zuccini chunks and sweet potato chunks. Definitelt a full meal!! I am rating as a 4 a i added so much other stuff – but that made it a 5!
I’ve made this three times now. It’s incredible as is, but I add garlic and grated ginger to the onions, as well as a squeeze of lime juice at the end…. really adds a little complexity to an already divine meal. Thank you so much for sharing this!!
Yum! Love the sound of all of this 🙂
Amazing! I used boneless chicken breast and added assorted vegetables. I didn’t have cilantro or romaine, so I added basil at the end. The dish was so flavourful and my house smelled so fragrant from the coconut milk and the spices. I enjoyed the aftertaste all evening.
Great to hear, Laura! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
I would make this again as the flavour was nice. I still found it watery with the 1 can of water and the flavour was a bit weak for my taste. I did use almost 3 tablespoons of red curry paste too. I might try 1/2 cup of chicken stock the next time.
So good. Only had green curry so I used that instead of red.
Great to hear, Jenn!
This dish is easy to make and ALWAYS a winner!
Great to hear, Caroline!
This was an absolute winner. What attracted me to it was the no browning and it worked perfectly. I halved the recipe and used a lot of spinach but otherwise followed and it was delicious! We’re saving this one to our Paprika app as it is definitely a recipe we’ll want to do again and I will take it as a lesson for further recipes re browning/braising.
Great to hear, Ann! Thanks for writing… I never brown chicken anymore 🙂
This was DELICIOUS! I used boneless chicken thighs, a can of fire roasted tomatoes with liquid, and added no water. I covered half way thru to prevent chicken from drying out. Fantastic flavor and will definitely make again.
Great to hear, Cheryl! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
Ali, so many of your recipes are in my regular rotation and this is one of them. I just came here to say I now almost always make this with boneless skinless thighs so I don’t have to remove skin/bones for everyone else in my family who apparently CANNOT with delicious bone in skin on chicken. Anyway, it’s delicious with boneless skinless thighs for anyone who is wondering. Thank goodness.
Christina, thank you for this! I will try as my children sometimes find skin and bones just to be TOO MUCH 🤣. So appreciate you writing and sharing.
Very good and super easy to make. Personally thought it could use a little heat, but that would be easy to do with some red pepper flakes or jalepeno, etc. There will be some fat in the sauce, but not too greasy. I’m tempted to try skinless thighs. Thanks for the recipe.
Great to hear Jeff! You could up the amount of Thai red curry paste, too, for a little more heat. I have made this with boneless skinless thighs and so have many others, so, go for it 🙂
This was a pretty good recipe. I’d make it again but I would add more paste/fish sauce when building the flavors and sweet potatoes or carrots halfway through cooking for more veggies. I love those Thai flavors I just like to taste them a bit more.