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If you regularly crave a tasty but simple curry, you NEED this easy Chicken Curry recipe in your life! It’s perfect for throwing together quickly with just a few ingredients, it’s healthy and is ready in about 45 minutes. Perfect for the whole family.
With a family of curry cravers, I must have a few easy curry recipes up my sleeve, and that’s how my Chickpea Curry and Slow Cooker Beef Curry came about.
But I soon realised I needed a classic chicken curry that hit the spot with rich, aromatic flavours, but was also simple enough for a midweek meal.
Here it is. My Easy Chicken Curry isn’t quite as basic as my Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, but it’s not far off.
I have given this a recent refresh because I wanted to simplify it further, and I’m so glad it did. I still marinate if I have the time ahead of cooking (which is super quick anyway), but I’ve reduced the yoghurt quantity a little to help with the texture, and removed the need for paste.
Instead, go for curry powder (it’s healthier, cheaper and has so much flavour). Go for a mild, medium or hot option in the supermarket, depending on your spice tolerance!
If you’d like to bulk this out or add a little more goodness, feel free to add any vegetables that you have in. I love spinach, mushrooms and cauliflower in a curry, and chickpeas also work really well too.
So far this recipe has had more than 100 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews, and I am so glad it’s working for so many of you too.
Why you’ll love this Easy Chicken Curry recipe
⭐️ Super simple, with a few tweaks to level up
⭐️ Perfect for easy batch cooking
⭐️ Easily adaptable to budget, taste or what you’ve got in
Sarah’s Notes
Leaving the chicken to marinate in the yoghurt mix helps keep the chicken tender and allow the flavour to deepen.
It’s all to do with the acid in the yoghurt reacting with the protein in the chicken, which results in a delicious curry.
I try to leave it for at least 2 hours before cooking, but if you don’t get a chance to do this, don’t worry. It’s not mandatory and the curry will still taste really good without this step.
Easy Chicken Curry Ingredients
- Chicken breast – I use skinless and boneless breasts, but into small pieces, for this recipe. See below for using chicken thighs instead.
- Garlic and ginger – Crushed garlic and ginger pastes would work here. I use both cheat and fresh depending on the day, but I have to say nothing beats the fresh zing of using fresh ginger.
- Greek yoghurt – About 100g gives a lovely flavour and texture to the sauce and chicken.
- Curry powder – You can use any curry powder you like – mild, medium or hot.
- Oil – I use vegetable oil for this but olive oil is fine too.
- Onions – Fresh or pre-chopped frozen is fine.
- Chopped tomatoes and tomato puree – Using good quality makes a difference with these, if you can.
- Coconut milk – We tested with low fat and full fat coconut milk and while both work fine, full fat definitely gives you better flavour and texture.
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – To season.
- To serve – I like to garnish with a little red onion and coriander on top, and have basmati or pilau rice and naans on the side.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian – You can use a chicken/meat alternative if you’d like to make this a vegetarian dish.
- Chicken thighs – If you’d rather use thighs instead of breast, go ahead. Just be aware the nutritional value in the recipe will be different and they might need slightly longer cooking time.
- Vegetables – If you’d like to bulk this out or add a little more goodness, feel free to add any vegetables that you have in. I love spinach, mushrooms and cauliflower in a curry, and chickpeas also work really well too.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully by before serving.
In the freezer This recipe freezes well. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating before serving.
This is a perfect batch cook meal, so make a double portion to freeze for a pre-made dinner another day!
Top Tips
Why marinate?
This really allows the flavours to get deep into the meat, which means the flavour is on another level. Even just a couple of hours would make a difference. But if you don’t get a chance to do this part, it’s fine to make straight away.
What to serve with this easy Chicken Curry
How about some…
- Pilau Rice
- Naan breads
- Poppadoms
- Pickles, raita and mango chutney
- Easy flatbreads
More tasty curry recipes…
Under 30 minutes
Easy Lamb Keema Curry
Vegetarian
Easy Palak Paneer {Indian Spinach Curry}
Dump & Bake
Chicken Curry and Rice {Dump & Bake}
Slow Cooker Curries
Slow Cooker Chicken Korma
FAQs
If you want to make a slow cooker version, try my Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, or my very popular and simple Slow Cooker Chicken Curry (which has more than 550 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews!) Both super easy and super delicious.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Easy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken breasts, Boneless, skinless. Cut into 2cm pieces
- 3 Garlic cloves, Crushed
- 100 g (0.5 cup) Greek yoghurt
- 3 tbsp Curry powder, Mild, medium or hot
- 1 tsp Fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 2 Onions, Diced
- 3 cm Ginger, Peeled and grated
- 2 tbsp Tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 800 g (5 cups) Chopped tomatoes
- 400 g (2 cups) Coconut milk, Full fat
To serve:
- 1/2 Red onion, Thinly sliced
- Basmati rice
- Naans
- Chopped coriander
Instructions
- Make the marinade: Mix the diced chicken breasts with the garlic, yoghurt, curry powder, salt and pepper and set to one side for 2 hours (or even better, pop it in the fridge overnight).
- Cook the onions: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onions for 8-10 minutes until softened.
- Now the chicken, tomato puree and yoghurt: Stir in the tomato puree, then add in the chicken and yoghurt mix, and cook for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked on the outside.
- Rest of the ingredients in: Add in the chopped tomatoes and the coconut milk and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
- To serve: Serve with rice, naan, some very thinly sliced red onion and a little chopped coriander.
Did you make this recipe? Click here to let us know how it went and give it a ⭐️ rating! Your feedback helps us to make more recipes you really want.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on March 17, 2021 and updated later to make improvements.
Hi 🙂 Would this work with (real) Greek yoghurt instead? Thanks!x
Hi Laura, yes it would be fine using this. If you think it’s a bit thick then add 1/2tbsp water to loosen it.
10/10 banging recipe , would highly recommend. Cheers Sarah
Great curry. Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely make it again. Everyone is very pleased with this dinner.
The recipe says 1kg chicken for 8 portions is this correct. I am making a huge amount for a village event and could do with a teensy bit of reassurance that the quantities are ok. Can anyone help?
I didn’t read the method before getting going, so didn’t realise I needed to marinate the chicken. Doh! However, I was committed and decided to just roll with it anyway. The chicken sat for a bit in the yoghurt and paste whilst I prepped the onions and other bits. I was worried it wouldn’t be very good but it was literally the nicest curry I’ve ever cooked. Next time I know to marinate and I’m sure it’ll be even better. Highly recommend this recipe-don’t forget the time to marinate lol!
I cooked this for two so tweaked the quantities and added vegetables but I have to say it came out absolutely delicious and I will be adding it to our list of firm favourites. Thanks so much. So happy to have found this recipe. 😊
This was delicious. I added a little extra curry paste for a bit more heat and some chopped spinach towards the end. I loved the idea of adding the honey and this made all the difference. I will definitely be making this one again.
Wow Sarah this was delicious!!! So easy to make!
Easy to follow instructions , we al loved it!
Made this as my cousin Wendy Simpson said it was quick easy and very tasty, and it was delicious made batch and froze half and tasted even better after frozen what a great low cal dish going to make it for a group of friends in a few weeks thankyou it’s a first of many dishes out of your book x
Hi what if you don’t have lemon juice
how about you grow a lemon tree you pleb