Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

4.37 stars average

Warm curry flavors and coconut milk add flavor and moisture to lean chicken breasts to make this recipe a delicious one-pot dish.

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes

Slow cooker chicken curry

Warm curry flavors and coconut milk add flavor and moisture to lean chicken breasts to make this Slow Cooker Chicken Curry recipe a delicious one-pot dish.

Slow cooker chicken curry.

When it comes to preparing moist and delicious dishes using lean chicken breasts, I’ve learned that the slow cooker is your friend! By locking in the moisture and cooking the meat slowly, you always end up with tender and juicy chicken without relying on fat, oil, or extra calories from the skin. My Slow Cooker Chicken Curry is a family favorite, as it’s mild enough for anyone to enjoy! It’s also extremely versatile, so you can change it up to be whatever you like!

Ingredients

  • Chicken breasts: While I prefer lean chicken breasts you can use Chicken thighs or any type of dark meat. The darker meats will boost the flavor!
  • Onion: White onion will add great, strong flavor without adding more sweetness.
  • Sweet potatoes: Mild and sweet, they make the curry filling and hearty.
  • Chickpeas: A great source of protein, and makes the curry more hearty and filling.
  • Coconut milk: A staple in many curries, it adds sweetness to balance out the savory and sometimes spicy flavor.
  • Chicken stock: While you can also use veggie stock, I think chicken stock adds the best flavor to curry.
  • Tomato sauce: Slightly sweet and slightly acidic, you could also use crushed or diced tomatoes if you want your curry more chunky.
  • Curry powder: Different brands have different blends, but it usually consists of cumin, turmeric, ginger, and pepper, but they all add a delicious warmth.
  • Green peas: Added towards the end of cooking, they don’t soften too much to add a great pop as well as fiber and antioxidants.
  • Lemon juice: Bright, acidic flavor that adds freshness to the curry.

How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

Chopping sweet potatoes

Start your Slow Cooker Chicken Curry by peeling and chopping up your sweet potatoes, and dicing your onion.

Adding sweet potatoes to crockpot

Then add the sweet potato to the bowl of your slow cooker.

Adding onion to crockpot

Followed by the diced onion.

Rinsing chickpeas

Then drain and rinse your chickpeas, and add them to the pot.

Adding coconut milk to curry

Next pour in the full-fat coconut milk.

Adding chicken broth to curry

And your chicken or veggie stock.

Adding tomato sauce to curry

And the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes.

Seasoning with curry powder

Next add the curry powder and cayenne.

Chicken added to crockpot curry

Then place your raw chicken breasts and season with some salt and pepper.

Stirring up curry

Using a large spoon or tongs, gently stir until mixed and chicken is coated. Then cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.

Garnishing slow cooker chicken curry

During the last couple minutes, add the frozen peas until warmed through and the lemon juice. Then serve over rice, garnish with fresh scallions or cilantro, and enjoy your Slow Cooker Chicken Curry!

Easy substitutions

  • Swap the potatoes: If you aren’t a fan of sweet potatoes, use regular or try something new like Brussels sprouts.
  • Make it vegetarian: Swap the chicken out for extra veggies, or follow the recipe for my vegetarian curry.

Frequently asked questions:

Can you put raw chicken in a slow cooker?

Yes you can! And you can even start with frozen breasts, not needing to thaw them ahead of time.

Will coconut milk curdle in slow cooker?

As long as you use a good quality brand, you shouldn’t have to worry about curdling.

Can I make this curry in a instant pot?

Yes you can! Follow the first 2 steps the same, then seal and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Stir in the peas and lemon juice, until heated through. Then serve!

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

More Slow Cooker Meals

Eat It, Like IT, Share It!

Did you try this slow cooker recipe? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your meal.

Liz eating slow cooker chicken curry.

With so many ways to play with curry, let me know how you decide to serve yours in a commet below!

Your fork is waiting.

Slow cooker chicken curry

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

4.37 stars average
Warm curry flavors and coconut milk add flavor and moisture to lean chicken breasts to make this recipe a delicious one-pot dish.
PREP: 10 minutes
COOK: 4 hours
TOTAL: 4 hours 10 minutes
Pin
Servings: 4

Equipment

Recipe Video

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound boneless (skinless chicken breasts)
  • 1 medium onion (sliced or diced)
  • 15 ounces can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
  • ½ cup full-fat coconut milk (light)
  • ½ cup chicken stock (low sodium)
  • 15 ounces can tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder (salt-free)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)
  • 1 cup green peas (frozen)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • cilantro (optional garnish)

Instructions
 

  • In the bottom of the slow cooker, whisk together coconut milk, chicken stock, tomato sauce, curry powder, salt and cayenne.
  • Add chicken breasts, onion, chickpeas and sweet potatoes. Using tongs, gently toss ingredients together to ensure evenly coated.
  • Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. Shred the chicken.
  • Stir in peas and lemon juice 5 minutes before serving.
  • Serve over rice and with plenty of fresh cilantro.

Notes

Serving Size: 2 1/2 cups
 

Nutrition

Serving: 2.5cupsCalories: 302kcalCarbohydrates: 43.1gProtein: 24.4gFat: 4.7gSaturated Fat: 1.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2.8gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 1232mgFiber: 8.6gSugar: 12.2g

465 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Chicken Curry”

  1. Doubled the recipe. Far to spicy. We ended up removing the chicken, rinsing it off, and shredding it for other uses. We threw the rest away.

    1. Hi Jayne, I’m so sorry this didnt work out for you. Out of curiosity, did you accidentally add cayenne? There’s no spice in this curry. Let me know – it should’t be spicy unless you add in cayenne. :)

    2. If it was too spicy I bet you used red curry, not mild green curry. My family prefers spicy red curry, but my elderly mama cannot do spice. This recipe reminds me of growing up near a woman who lived her growing up years in India and shared her recipes with my mama. Be sure to use quality jasmine rice (or basmati if you prefer a slightly stronger flavor).

    3. Sorry you didn’t like it! If you skim the comments, a lot of people have made adjustments to make it their own, and maybe something they’ve tried would alter it to your liking! But everyone has their own tastes. Some people will like it, and some won’t :)

  2. I doubled the recipe and it tasted very bland to me. I added crushed tomatoes instead of the sauce…how would you make it not bland?

  3. I skimped on the curry powder because of my one year old and regretted it later!..added it in later and was lovely. I shredded the chicken and served it with rice..yum!

    1. Forgot to mention I added red lentils to thicken it up and only put the stock cube in a small amount of boiling water

  4. This is fabulous! Just delicious!

    To keep it from being runny, I omitted the half cup of water and just added half a teaspoon liquid bullion. Consistency was perfect!! Also used salt free tomato sauce, low sodium chickpeas, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt (rather than full teaspoon – found half teaspoon wasn’t enough).

    Try it!! Thank you for the awesome recipe!!

  5. I really liked this! Really easy to make and was tasty. I accidentally added a whole can of coconut milk, so tried to compensate by adding more tomatoes and chickpeas and a bit more curry powder and cayenne pepper but probably didn’t put enough in.
    To those saying this isn’t flavorful enough- I disagree, and I love strong flavor. It’s delicious as it is and would be a good base to add other veggies.

    Thanks so much for sharing this recipe-will definitely be making this again

  6. I have this sitting in the slow cooker now- looking forward to dinner tonight!
    I used passata instead of tomato sauce, and a combo of pumpkin and sweet potato. Nom nom

  7. Hi Love this simple recipe and can’t wait to try it..I was wondering if I could use chicken nibbles in this recipe? Chicken Breast is quite expensive here in NZ.

  8. This looks so good I can’t wait to make it can I add frozen vegetables and the peas to this dish also I love chickpeas can I also add more chickpeas or another bean to this dish.???????

    Thank you.

  9. This will be an easy regular! Delicious! I used 750 grams boneless chicken thighs (my preference). In Australia, the can of tomato sauce is a can of crushed tomatoes. Looking forward to the leftovers which are stored in the freezer. Thank you.

  10. Hi!
    Question about scale for this.
    Suggestions on quantities fr this recipe if I wanted to cook for a crowd of 50?

  11. Quick question, can I toss the frozen peas in with everything instead of waiting to put them in before serving? Please email me back my answer :)

  12. Cassandra Miller

    My husband and I LOVE this recipe. I make it at least once per month. We use tomato sauce and the flavor is great, but we also like how loose it is. If you don’t want to to be as loose, you can use a slotted spoon. Tomato paste would not have the same flavor. It is perfect just the way it is ????

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