Categories: Main Course Recipes

Easy Chicken Curry

Looking for a delicious, flavor-packed easy chicken curry recipe? This freezer-to-crockpot recipe comes together in minutes and is the perfect meal for a weeknight dinner! Get all the flavors of a traditional curry with half the effort. Now you can easily make your favorite takeout food at home!

It’s no secret that we LOVE quick & easy freezer meals around here, especially ones that use budget-friendly ingredients! Believe it or not, this tender, juicy, flavor-packed Chicken Curry is a winner. It’s uses mostly basic ingredients, whips up in minutes, then goes straight from the freezer to the crockpot to the table, all while tasting like you spent hours slaving away in the kitchen!

To make it as part of a freezer cooking day, just split the sauce & chicken into multiple bags, then throw it right into the freezer–no cooking required!

Chicken in the crockpot can get very dry, especially when it is cut into smaller pieces. I used boneless skinless thigh meat rather than breast meat because it has a lot more fat, which helped keep the meat nice and moist.

Easy Chicken Curry

Here is what you need:

3-4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon Garam Masala
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 red chili pepper, chopped
1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes or 2 15oz can diced tomatoes with chilies
4 tablespoons honey
2 cartons chicken stock
1 cup plain yogurt (cooking day only)
1 cup cooked rice (cooking day only)

Step 1: Cut chicken into strips; set aside.

Step 2: Chop chili pepper, and mince garlic; set aside.

Step 3: Mix together lemon juice, chili powder, salt, garlic, ginger, red chili peppers, crushed tomatoes, honey, chicken stock, Garam masala, and melted butter.

Step 4: Divide chicken into 2 gallon size freezer bags ( be sure to label bags first.) Divide mixture over top chicken.

Step 5: Thaw if frozen; cook in crockpot on low for 3-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours; until chicken is cooked. (Note-don’t worry if your chicken isn’t all the way thawed. It can also cook from frozen, it might just take a little longer.)

Step 6: Once chicken is cooked; turn heat off and add yogurt to crockpot and stir.

Step 7: Serve chicken over cooked rice and along side some naan.

Instant Pot recipe update: Defrost chicken curry in the fridge the night before. Then place chicken curry in Instant Pot and add a 3/4 cup of water, close the lid making sure the vent valve is on the sealing position. Press the Pressure-cooking setting and set the time for 40 minutes. Once 40 minutes is up, do a quick release. Then remove at least one cup of liquid and turn IP to sauté. This helps the sauce to thicken and coat the chicken.

Easy Chicken Curry

This deliciously simple Chicken Curry recipe is the perfect way to turn boring old chicken into a meal your whole family will love.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Easy Chicken Curry
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3-4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons Chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tablespoon Garam masala
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • 1 red chili pepper chopped
  • 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes or 2 15oz can diced tomatoes with chilies
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • 2 carton chicken stock
  • 1 cup plain yogurt cooking day only
  • 1 cup cooked rice cooking day only

Instructions

  1. Cut chicken into strips; set aside.
  2. Chop green chili peppers, and mince garlic; set aside.

  3. Mix together lemon juice, chili powder, salt, garlic, ginger, red chili peppers, crushed tomatoes, honey, chicken stock, Garam masala, and melted butter.
  4. Divide chicken into 2 gallon size freezer bags (be sure to label bags first). Divide mixture over top chicken.
  5. Thaw if frozen; cook in crockpot on low for 3-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours; until chicken is cooked. (Note-don’t worry if your chicken isn’t all the way thawed. It can also cook from frozen, it might just take a little longer.)
  6. Once chicken is cooked; turn heat off and add yogurt to crockpot and stir.
  7. Serve chicken over cooked rice and along side some naan.

Recipe Notes

Crockpot Cooking time: 3-5 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high in slow cooker

Number of servings (yield): 4

Instant Pot recipe update: Defrost chicken curry in the fridge the night before. Then place chicken curry in Instant Pot and add a 3/4 cup of water, close the lid making sure the vent valve is on the sealing position. Press the Pressure-cooking setting and set the time for 40 minutes. Once 40 minutes is up, do a quick release. Then remove at least one cup of liquid and turn IP to sauté. This helps the sauce to thicken and coat the chicken.

Check out these chicken recipes:

PIN FOR LATER:

If you love this resource, be sure to check out our digital library of helpful tools and resources for cleaning faster, taking control of your budget, organizing your schedule, and getting food on the table easier than ever before. This toolbox includes our incredible 10 Meals in an Hour cookbook, which is a must have!

 

Click here to get full access to our Home Systems Toolbox now!

 

Ruth Soukup

Ruth Soukup is dedicated to helping people everywhere create a life they love by follwing their dreams and achieving their biggest goals. She is the host of the wildly popular Do It Scared podcast, as well as the founder of Living Well Spending Less® and Elite Blog Academy®. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including Do It Scared®: Finding the Courage to Face Your Fears, Overcome Obstacles, and Create a Life You Love, which was the inspiration for this book. She lives in Florida with her husband Chuck, and 2 daughters Maggie & Annie.

View Comments

  • engredients mentioned red chili pepper; instructions mentions green
    instructions say cut in strips; picture looks like bite size

  • How many liquid ounces is 2 cartons? Your curry chicken sound so yummy. Please inform me.
    thank you

    • Each carton of stock is 32 ounces. :)

  • The recipe says to divide into 2 gallon bags. Does that mean 2 bags or x number of 2 gallon size bags.
    Later it says 4 servings, hmm.

  • The recipe at top seems to be doubled compared to one on bottom. Also did you use the tomatoes with chilies? It is not listed at bottom. Looks like a good recipe.

    Thanks,
    Joyce Fowler

    • Hi Joyce,

      Thanks for catching my mistakes. You can use either the 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes or the 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes with chilies. I hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think. :)

  • Is this supposed to call for one red bell pepper not a chili pepper? I imagine a whole chili pepper would be incredibly spicey.

    • I did use a whole chili pepper but if you are concerned about spice you can use less. Just remember to not keep the seeds.

  • Hi, I am so excited to get excited. My first year with this planner. I am checking out all the goodies.
    I LOVE, LOVE, this section! This is going to help me meal plan and CRUSH it! Thank you Ruth! 2017 is going to be epic! :0)
    This planner is all I can think about already, still getting acquainted with it, but wake up in the morning and run to my computer to read and check out everything that I can read to make this happen for me. I have a l.o.n.g. way to go. But, now I have a real plan! Woo Hoo

Share
Published by
Ruth Soukup

Recent Posts

  • Holiday Resources

Our LWSL Holiday Planner is back (but only for a limited time!)

Have you heard the news? It’s the 12th Anniversary of our LWSL Holiday Planner! For…

2 years ago
  • Archived

Favorite 5 – Organizational Tools

LWSL & Co. Favorite 5 It seems crazy that it's fall already, but we can…

2 years ago
  • Archived

Favorite 5 – Things We Use Every Day

Lisa's Favorite 5 I'm a busy wife, mom, and gigi, so I'm all about finding…

2 years ago
  • Fix Your Budget

Stop Worrying About Money

Feeling like your finances are out of control can be downright scary. Don't miss these…

2 years ago
  • Archived

Favorite 5 – Mama’s Me Time Necessities

Amanda's Favorite 5 Do you spend so much time pouring into everyone else in your…

2 years ago
  • Archived

Favorite 5 – Gifts for Dads

Danny's Favorite 5 Need some gift ideas for the Dads in your life? I've got…

2 years ago

Simplify your life in just 3 simple steps. Get our Living Well Starter Guide, absolutely free!

GET IT HERE