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
PrintEasy, 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.
393 Comments on “Easy, One-Pot Coconut Thai Chicken Curry”
This has been claimed as ‘winner, winner, chicken dinner’ within my hungry tribe! I’ve made more times than I can count. Absolutely delicious!
Oh yay! Angela, so wonderful to hear this. Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂 It is a staple here as well.
I made this last evening and it received rave reviews from my SO (significant other) and her 98 year old mother. Your directions were followed. It seemed a bit too oily even though I used only three thighs (bone and skin on) and two b/s thighs. Also, I was expecting more of the liquid to be gone, so there was an ample supply of broth for the jasmine rice.
This is a keeper recipe and I will make it regularly. I’m thinking that even b/s thighs have tufts of fat in them, and maybe that’s enough.
Thanks so much for working on simplifying this recipe. It is awesome.
So great to hear all of this, Robert! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your results. Chicken thighs definitely are on the fattier side (which is maybe why I love them). One thought: with the skin-on thighs, take scissors and trim away all of the over-hanging skin. This might reduce the oiliness of the sauce. Anyway, so glad it was a hit, and thanks again for writing!
I do this once a week ,so delicious and very easy to make
Great to hear, Marian! Thanks for writing 🙂
I made this yesterday and it was wonderful. I added the spinach which makes this recipe complete. The left overs were even better today! thx for this great recipe
Catherine Abercrombie
Munich, Germany
Wonderful to hear this, Catherine! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I think I may have already commented, but the genius of this recipe requires a second note: This dish is *incredible*. I feel I’ve broken some sort of home-cook law when I prepare and devour it, as the flavour explosion, tenderness of the chicken, and five-star presentation is fit for a gourmet restaurant. I repeated, “This is the best dish I’ve ever made!” over and over throughout dinner. Followed the recipe to a T, using 1 Tbsp. curry and 1.5 cans of water (next time will go for your original two). Chicken thighs were quite large and required an extra 15 minutes or so—which I would not have known without the note about waiting until the meat easily separates from the bone. So utterly delightful!
Oh yay! So wonderful to hear this, Kristin. Thanks so much for writing (again!) and sharing your notes — so helpful for others. Love your enthusiasm 💕💕💕💕
What a great recipe ,super delicious and easy to make
Great to hear, Marian! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
This dish was the most flavor dense and delicious, not to mention easiest curries I’ve ever made! Definitely will be making it again soon!!
Great to hear, Marie! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Which curry powder do you recommend? I make a lot of Indian curries but not so much thai. Can I use an indian meat curry powder?
I love the Madras brand curry powder… it comes in a small tin. Love it!
I’m about to try this but wondering if I use skinless and boneless how much time would this require?
Thanks it looks super yummy!
Heather
Hi Heather! I imagine with boneless, skinless meat it will take more like 30 minutes or even less … the sauce might not be as concentrated, so you might want to reduce it further stovetop once the chicken is done. Apologies for the delay here … I’m likely too late!
Thank you so much for sharing this. The dish is still in the oven but I am so excited about this. It turned out that I didin’t have curry powder so i googled and found out that Garam Masala is a possible substitute. I tasted the sauce while simmering and it is delish!
Great to hear, Maria! Hope you love it. I love garam masala.
First time making this to use up some bone in skin on thighs I bought on accident. This was very easy and oh so delicious! I will definitely make again! Great weeknight meal!
Great to hear, Michelle! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Easy to make and a crowd pleaser at my house. A tasty way to sneak spinach into my family ha ha!
I love how the spinach basically “disappears”! So great to hear this, Michelle 🙂 🙂 🙂
I just made this tonight and it was easy and delicious. My chicken skin was not yet browning at 1 hour and 20 minutes of cooking so I turned the broiler on for a bit which browned the skin nicely. The skin didn’t get crispy but I’m not sure if it is supposed to in this recipe. Anyway, will absolutely make this again as the husband rated it an A+. Thank you for the great recipe!
Wonderful to hear this, Lala! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes.
Very good. Sauce was a bit thin so I thickened it.
Had the best dinner by Ali! One Pot Thai Coconut Chicken Curry with your mother’s peasant bread as faux focaccia – noting faux about it, absolutely delicious.
I actually gave a workman a piece of the focaccia and a little container of the sauce for dipping. After he left, he called me from the road to tell me how delicious his first ever curry was! I couldn’t agree more.
🙏
Awwww I love this so much, Susan 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing this story. So nice. Great to hear the curry and focaccia were a hit.
This was bomb! Subbed 1 can of water with 1/2 can of chicken stock. Also added two sliced Serranos in with the tomatoes. Broiled for 5 min after baking. Didn’t use spinach but added a ton of cilantro at the end. Served with lime wedges. Delicious.
Great to hear, Amelia! Thanks for writing and sharing all of your notes: sounds delicious!
Absolutely delicious, I followed this as instructed and it was a winner with the whole family. I used chicken drumsticks, but I think thigh would be better.
This will be made again for sure!
Great to hear, Nyssa!
This was fantastic. I used only one T of red chili paste and the spice was perfect for my more mild palette. I also used skinless bones thighs and cooked it about 10 minutes longer. Easy and delish! Gave some to my friend and she texted me that “this curry is on point”. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh yay! So nice to hear this Maryl! What a lucky friend you have 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for writing.
It didn’t brown that much for me because the chicken was a bit too submerged. I’ll try cooking it longer next time so more liquid will evaporate or maybe not add any water at all? Or maybe my pan needs to be even larger diameter. Although I’m using a large All Clad pan, the biggest one there is.
Hi David! You could definitely try using less liquid or reducing it further. A wider, shallower pan might also make a difference. The pan I’m using here is about 14.5 inches in diameter.
I’ve made this recipe and loved it. We are about to have our second baby and I am prepping a lot of freezer meals ahead of time. Am I able to prep the sauce, cool it, and pour on top of raw chicken and put in the freezer to cook in a couple of moths in the oven??
Congratulations Talline! I have never done this, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. It sounds like a great plan to me. I say go for it!
Can you use boneless skinless chicken thighs?
Yes! They’ll cook faster, however, so I would check at 30 minutes. You can remove the thighs and let the liquid reduce stovetop if necessary to thicken it up; then you can return the thighs to the pan to warm them back up before serving.
Can I make this with boneless chicken thighs?
Yes! The cooking time will be less… i’d say around 40 minutes.
“1 can unsweetened coconut milk”
What size can please?
Roughly 13.5 ounces.
This is a winner- I’ve made for my tribe and I’ve made for others and I always have to forward the recipe – never ceases to amaze me- comfort food that’s good and good for you! Always a pleasure to share this recipe!
So great to hear this, Ruby 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
I love this recipe. It one of our family favourites. I’ve recommended this dish to all my friends and family
Great to hear, Julie! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
What can I substitute the coconut milk with? I do not like coconut
Heavy cream or half and half would be great!
I luv so many of ur recipes, & this 1 is no exception! Packed with flavor & so easy to make. Ur peasant bread was my first adventure into bread making & I luv it! Next venture will be ur Three Seed Bread. Sounds yummy! I just bought a boule for bread baking & I’m anxious to make ur bread in. Keep up ur outstanding contribution to awesome recipes!!!
So nice to read all of this, Joan 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind words. Hope you love the 3 seed bread… that’s one of my favorites. ALSO: just a head’s up with that recipe, there is a bit of an error in the text — it never tells you when to toast all of the seeds. I simply toast all of the seeds together, let them cool, then proceed. Happy Baking!
I really enjoyed the flavors of this dish. Very hearty and comforting
Great to hear, Gigi! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I don’t usually comment on recipes however I have used this recipe multiple times and sometimes I have adapted small parts depending on extra veggies and such I have.
But this recipe is delicious as is! Sometimes I add peppers and I always add extra garlic but again this recipe as written is a great staple!
So nice to read all of this, Emily 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. I love throwing in whatever extra veggies I have on hand here, too.
We had this made for us and it was incredible (lucky us)! What dish do you use to do the sauté and oven transfer? And what size is it? Thank you!
Hi! It’s this Le Creuset 5-Qt Braiser
Made this tonight…Delicious! Thank you for such an amazing recipe. I used only 4 thighs since it’s just me and the hubby. I used fresh tumeric root and fresh Thai basil instead of cilantro since it’s what I had at home. The sauce was perfect with 1 can of water. Can’t wait to make it again.
Wonderful to hear this all of this, Debra 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. So glad it was a hit.