This 30 MINUTE Thai Red Curry Chicken with Vegetables is wonderfully coconut creamy, bursting with layers of flavor, incredibly easy and all made in one pot! Definitely a new favorite at our house and better than any restaurant!
You guys, you HAVE to make this Thai Red Curry Chicken Recipe! I don’t beg often, so I hope you know I never cry wolf. If you are a lover of Thai Food, you will be a LOVER of this warm, comforting, multi-dimensional Thai Red Curry Chicken with Vegetables! Its a one pot wonder worthy of any weeknight or weekend and you should be able to find all the ingredients at your local grocery store!
As I was looking at my other “Thai” or “curry”recipes, many of them boast how quickly they come together in the title, “30 Minute Pantry Friendly Panang Curry,” “30 Minute Pineapple Red Curry Chicken Stir Fry,” “20 Minute Thai Red Curry Beef Tacos” – so apparently Thai food is quick and easy? YES IT IS!!! Thanks to to the magical store bought Thai red curry paste that packs a huge flavor punch. The premade red curry paste is comprised of finely ground coriander, peppercorns, Kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, cilantro, shallot, garlic, and fresh chiles – all combined for you. No wonder it adds tons of flavor with minimal effort.
The key to bringing the red curry paste alive and for its flavors to permeate the entire dish, is to saute it with plenty of onion, garlic and ginger. We also stir fry our chicken, bell peppers and zucchini directly in the simmering red curry paste to infuse it with the dynamic flavors all before we add the coconut milk. Feel free to change up the vegetables to whatever suits your mood or make Thai Red Curry Chicken – cleaning-out-the-fridge-style with whatever you need to use up. It will be the best use of miscellaneous veggies Ever.
To further the complexity of flavors, we also add Thai sweet chili sauce, and the classic cast of Thai food characters: soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, dried basil and a bay leaf. Its a somewhat long list of ingredients, but most of them you are just dumping into the sauce. You might notice we are not using Kaffir lime leaves which are responsible for the distinctive earthy lime-lemon flavor in many traditional Thai Red Curry recipes, but this exotic ingredient can be very difficult to find, and I want you to be able to make this Thai Red Curry Chicken recipe AT ALL TIMES. While there is no direct substitute for Kaffir lime leaves, it doesn’t mean other ingredients can’t be used to produce otherworldly flavors. This Thai Red Curry Chicken achieves a wonderfully fresh citrus zing by playing up the fresh lime juice, bright lime zest and simmering the sauce with a bay leaf. Done.
Finally, my authentically blasphemous key to gorgeously, thick, silky red curry coconut sauce is to whisk our quality coconut milk (I like Chakoah) with a little cornstarch. The end result is a rich, luscious red curry coconut sauce that is soooo creamy, so infused with flavor all cradling your tender chicken and crisp-tender vegetables. All in 30 minutes. And your house will smell incredible. This Thai Red Curry Chicken might be as good as it gets.
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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com
| Prep Time | 18 minutes |
| Cook Time | 12 minutes |
| Servings | -6 servings |
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts sliced into 1/4” slices then 2” pieces**
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced then chopped into 2” pieces
- 1 orange bell pepper thinly sliced then chopped into 2” pieces
- 1 small zucchini, sliced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 13.5 oz. can quality coconut milk (I like Chaokoh)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Asian/Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (like Mae Ploy)
- 2 tablespoons less sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- sriracha to taste (optional)
- lime zest to taste
- fresh basil
- fresh cilantro
- fresh lime juice
Ingredients
Garnish
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- Heat oil over medium high heat in large nonstick skillet. Add chicken, onion and red curry paste and cook just until chicken is no longer pink. Add bell peppers, zucchini, ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute.
- Add half of the coconut milk. Mix remaining coconut milk with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and add to skillet along with all remaining ingredients (expect Garnishes).
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the vegetables reach desired crisp-tenderness. If you would like a thinner sauce, thin with water (I don’t do this). Discard bay leaf.
- Garnish with additional optional fresh basil, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice and Sriracha to taste. Serve with rice.
**Chicken is much easier to slice if partially frozen. It will thaw quickly once sliced. You can slice your chicken and red bell peppers in advance for even quicker meal prep.
©Carlsbad Cravings Original
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Jen, this looks so good I almost want it for breakfast today. But since I have everything but the zucchini I’ll make it tonight. I love your quick, flavor-filled recipes.
Thank you.
YAY! I am so happy you are making it so soon, I think you’ll love it! Thanks Melinda!
This looks fantastic! I love anything that incorporates Thai red curry and fish sauce. Flavor bomb!
Agreed! You have great taste! One of my favorite flavor bombs!!
I love Thai food but I had never made it myself before. I made this last night and it was delicious! Thank you! My all time favorite Thai dish is yellow curry. Can I use all of the same ingredients for the sauce and make it with yellow curry paste instead? If not, do you have a Thai yellow curry recipe that you recommend? I didn’t see one on your website.
By the way, we’ve made a couple dishes now from your website and they have all become a part of our regular rotation!!
Hi Megan, I’m so happy your first attempt at Thai was a success and that you have enjoyed some of my other recipes – yay! I haven’t tried this with yellow curry, but I love that idea! I think it should work great with yellow curry paste. I will work on a yellow curry recipe ASAP!
Made this tonight…With a few modifications. Just didn’t have a few of the ingredients. It did not matter it was SO GOOD!! We loved it! Thank you for introducing me to red curry paste! Can’t wait to try it with shrimp.
You are so welcome Donna, I’m so happy you loved this recipe! Red Curry paste is amazing, you will love it with shrimp!
WOW. This was bursting with flavors and not even spicy.. To me it was restaurant qual but you have to just stick to your portion because its sooo friggin tasty. . Be warned!
Hahaha! That is my kind of warning! I am thrilled you loved it so much Pierre, thank you!
This was so good! I didn’t have zucchini so I added mushrroms. I also didn’t have lime juice. I found it a wee bit salty. From the soy sauce maybe…mine didn’t look as creamy orange-ish as the picture. Mine was more brownish. I’m not complaining!! Just my comments. I was delicious and hubby loved it too!!
Hi Barb, Yours was probably more brownish due to the mushrooms – their juices tend to make any sauce more brown. But thank you for taking the time to comment, I’m so glad you loved this recipe!
Dear Jen,
I made this tonight and oh my goodness it was delicious! I made 2 changes. I could not find the curry paste here in Austin, Texas so I used chili garlic sauce. For a garnish, I used toasted coconut and cashews, since you taught me thatI thought that would be ok, and it was way beyond ok! Served over jasmine rice, this was an amazing dinner. Thank you! I look forward to your posts everyday. Bless you!
Hi Carolyn, you are the sweetest! I love hearing that you look forward to my posts – thank you! Your addition of toasted coconut and cashews sounds absolutely dreamy – I might have to add that to the notes 🙂 Thank you for making my recipes and for taking the time to comment! I’m thrilled this was a winner!
This is so delicious! I made a week of Carlsbad Craving’s meals and everything was a hit! I love your recipes so much. Keep them coming!
A week of Carlsbad Cravings?! That is truly awesome! I am thrilled everything was a hit – phew! Thank you so much for making my recipes!
Greetings Jen! I am eager to try your recipe for Thai Red Curry Chicken! However… my best friend has long been allergic to anything with coconut. Given that coconut milk is a key ingredient of your recipe, as well as many other Thai dishes, I am wondering if you can suggest an alternative to using coconut milk? I was thinking perhaps almond milk or maybe heavy cream? Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
By the way… your Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed Sour Cream Coffee Cake is AMAZING!! Well Wishes!
Hi Thompson! I would suggest heavy cream but you will use the coconut flavor. If your friend isn’t allergic to coconut extract then I would add a little of that in – if they are allergic than just the heavy cream will sill be delicious. Let me know how it turns out! And so happy you love the Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed Coffee Cake! Thank you!!
Love this recipe. I have added different vegetables each time I make it. It’s become a weekly family staple. Thank you, it’s really delicious!
Awesome Jo, I am thrilled it has become a weekly staple, thank you so much! And what a great idea to add different veggies each time to mix it up, yum!
I just made this. So worth it! Honestly I’ve been planning to make it for weeks since you posted it on your page and I finally got around to it. Great recipe! Curry is my comfort food and I’ve been trying to find the perfect recipe. This was perfect for my palate! Thanks so much!
I used only 1 Tablespoon of curry paste because it’s so spicy! I’m not sure if that is normal or if it just the curry paste that I buy.
You are so welcome Katherine! I’m thrilled you loved this curry so much and was worth the wait! Curry is my comfort food too- I could eat it forever, whenever! I am thinking your red curry paste must be extra spicy because this recipe isn’t too spicy, even with 2 – so I’m glad you knew your curry and only used one!
Looks wonderful – will make tonight. Any successful alternatives to coconut milk anyone can suggest? Accommodating an allergy.
Hi Liz! I would substitute half and half – you won’t have the coconut element but all the other flavors will still taste delicious! Enjoy!
I have to tell you that you now have a small following between my friends and me. EVERY recipe on this blog is amazing!! I made this soup the other night and literally could not believe how delicious it was–the best soup I have ever eaten–and I cooked it myself!! We now cook at least one of your recipes a week in my household. I LOVE how every recipe is made from scratch with multiple seasonings and most of them require fresh ingredients. Coming from a farming family, we really enjoy using our produce! I would love to see some more “healthy” entrees if you have them! I usually pick ones that have less carbohydrates for dinner. Thank you so much for providing these recipes for my friends and I to enjoy with our families!!
Hi Bridget, thank you thank you for such an awesome comment! I am thrilled you you and your friends are loving my site and my recipes! That is awesome you have a farm with so much produce. We are definitely coming into healthier eating season with less comfort food and more salads/grilling, so you should see more and more fresh recipes on my blog, but in the meantime you can always add veggies to any other recipe 🙂
Hi there! I have a dumb question. What are the little red sliced peppers I see in the picture of this recipe and the Thai Chicken Noodle soup? I can’t identify it from the ingredient listings for either recipe. Are they a type of jalapeño? I want to try to include them when I make it.
Hi Claire! They are red jalapenos and are very spicy so I didn’t include them in the ingredient list. I would only add them if you like things very spicy! 🙂
Jen, I can’t wait to try all of your curry recipes! My husband will love me! One small problem, I need help! Please tell me what brand of red curry paste you use. Do you have a favorite? I think that’s the key to recreating your deliciousness! Thank you so much!
Hi Sarah! I try and use whatever ingredients are most accessible to everyone so I use the Thai Kitchen brand – it can be found everywhere! Hope this helps, enjoy!
Hi Jen. This is the second of your recipes I’ve made (the other the one pot chicken noodle curry soup, which I made twice in 2 weeks and just gorged on!) and loved it also. Last evening my husband kept saying, “This is great!” over and over. I’m the type of person that tries to stick to the original ingredients so I was able, without much difficulty, to find the red curry paste and Kaffir lime leaves (for those in Orange County, CA, at Thai Laos market in Anaheim where they have them frozen). You’re very inspirational and a terrific chef. I look for recipes that aren’t overly rich. I know this is a lot of work but I would like to see some nutritional info with your recipes (when you have the time :)). I’m promoting your site/soups to my friends. I’ll certainly be making more of your recipes. Shirley
Hi Shirley, thank you so much for your wonderful comment! I am so happy you stumbled upon my site and so far enjoying my recipes! You can calculate nutritional info at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator Thanks for sharing my site with your friends!
Hi! I made this dish last night and it was amazing. The curry tastes just like the one I buy from the local Thai restaurant. The only change I made was to increase the red curry paste a bit.
Thank you!!
You are so welcome, thank YOU for taking the time to comment! I am thrilled it was restaurant quality!