Quick Chicken Curry
When you want curry tonight but your brain wants the shortest path to dinner.
If you’re staring into the fridge and can’t decide what to cook, this is the kind of dinner that takes over for you. It gives you a familiar chicken curry feel without a long ingredient list or a pile of prep. Use it on a tired weeknight when you want something warm, saucy, and reliable, but you don’t want to shop your way through a whole recipe site. The result is simple, cozy, and flexible: tender chicken, a fragrant curry sauce, and something to soak it up. It’s not restaurant-style curry, but it is fast, comforting, and very doable when your energy is low.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs — Cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp curry powder — Use a mild or medium blend
- 1 cup coconut milk — Full-fat or light both work
- 1 cup chicken broth — Low-sodium if possible
- 1 unit yellow onion — Thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp neutral oil — Such as canola or avocado oil
- 1 tsp salt — More to taste
- 0.5 tsp black pepper — Optional, but helpful
Method
- 1 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until it starts to soften.
- 2 Add the chicken, curry powder, salt, and black pepper. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken loses its raw look on the outside.
- 3 Pour in the chicken broth and coconut milk. Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- 4 Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly. Serve hot.
- 5 Taste and add a little more salt if needed. Spoon over rice, noodles, or warm flatbread if you have them.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Swap the chicken for 2 cans of drained chickpeas and simmer just long enough to heat them through.
- Faster swap — Use thin chicken cutlets sliced into strips; they cook in about 6 to 8 minutes total.
- Substitutions — If you’re out of coconut milk, use an equal amount of half-and-half or plain unsweetened yogurt stirred in off the heat.
Notes
For the fastest version, keep the chicken pieces small and use a wide skillet so the sauce reduces quickly. If your curry powder is very mild, add a pinch more at the end. Leftovers hold well for 2 to 3 days in the fridge, though the sauce may thicken; loosen with a splash of broth or water when reheating.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet — A wide pan helps the sauce reduce faster and keeps the chicken in a single layer.
- Wooden spoon or spatula — It helps you stir the curry without breaking up the chicken pieces.
Find more dinners like this
More like this
