Slow Cooker Yellow Chicken Curry: a thai-style coconut curry with moist bites of chicken, tender bites of yellow potatoes, vibrant turmeric and curry powder all made easily at home in your slow cooker.
Slow Cooker Yellow Chicken Curry
When I made this slow cooker yellow chicken curry I was dancing around my kitchen because I was so happy. Why was I happy? Because it was soooo easy to make and it tasted as good as a restaurant! Hooray! I love the vibrant yellow color from the turmeric and the curry powder. I love the use of full fat coconut milk (yum yum). And I love that my kids ate it until it was gone and asked for more.
If you’re a fan of Thai food you should try this slow cooker yellow chicken curry! You’re going to be in awe of how easy it is to make such a delicious, comforting bowl of goodness at home.
Slow Cooker Curry Recipes
Here are some other curry recipes that you may want to check out:
Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry with White Beans and Zucchini Ribbons
Slow Cooker Chicken Massaman Curry
Slow Cooker Beef Massaman Curry
Slow Cooker Thai Chicken with Peanut Curry Sauce
Slow Cooker Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce from The Food Charlatan
Slow Cooker Curry Chicken and Vegetables from The Slender Chicken
Coconut Slow Cooker Curry with Pumpkin, Quinoa and Eggs from Food, Faith Fitness
What Slow Cooker Did You Use?
For this recipe I used my beloved 6 quart oval KitchenAid slow cooker. I love this slow cooker because it cooks evenly and low. I also love this slow cooker because it has a neat timer with satisfying beeping buttons as well as a medium setting for those days where you start your slow cooker at an in-between time.
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Slow Cooker Yellow Chicken Curry
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
A thai-style coconut curry with moist bites of chicken, tender bites of yellow potatoes, vibrant turmeric and curry powder all made easily at home in your slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced or 2 Tbsp dried onion flakes
- 1 lb yellow potatoes (about 3–4 medium potatoes), cubed (I left the skins on)
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 (13.5 oz) can full fat coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 lime, juiced–optional
- Cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- In your 4-6 quart slow cooker place the onions, potatoes and chicken.
- In a bowl, stir together the coconut milk, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, turmeric, curry powder, coriander seed, salt and red pepper. Whisk until combined. Pour the mixture over the contents of the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours (some slow cookers may take only 3 hours). Test potatoes for tenderness.
- Gently stir. Stir in the lime juice, if desired. Add in more turmeric and curry powder and salt to taste.
- Serve curry with cilantro over rice, if desired.
Notes
I used my 6 quart slow cooker for this recipe.
Click here for the INSTANT POT version of this recipe.
I used chicken thighs and cut all the weird fat stuff from the chicken-is that what I was supposed to do? I also didn’t have Crushed red pepper, so I used some Regular black pepper. It’s still cooking, so not sure how it has turned out yet…is the crushed red pepper for spice?
★★★★
black pepper will be fine, yes it’s for spice. And yes that is good you removed the fat.
It turned out amazing and great with jasmine rice! Chicken was tender and I cooked it on high for 3 hours then on low for 2 and for my crockpot and that made it perfect. Think cooking times on crockpots are tricky depending on the heat levels ect. I’d say just keep an eye on it and once the potatoes are soft and chicken is tender, you’re set! And definitely added more salt and a little more curry and coriander plus a few dashes of cumin per previous comment. Love to see what the doctor crushed red chili pepper adds to it next time I make this. BEST curry dish I’ve ever made!!! Thank you! 🙂
So glad you liked it!
So delicious! A family favorite! I cook on low while I’m at work (8 hours) and it comes out perfect! Great on cauliflower rice!!!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Jen!
Hi! We frequent this one Thai restaurant. Yellow curry chicken is their specialty especially when made with sweet coconut rice. I crave it and dream about it. Have been wanting to reproduce the flavours but haven’t been able to until I used your recipe the other day. It tastes EXACTLY like the restaurant yellow curry chicken! The only thing…as good as it was, (and my kids were asking for seconds and thirds and fourths!) I’m not used to eating this dish with potatoes and I think, they took away from the dish.
Tomorrow I’m making it without the potatoes, I will adjust the spice proportions accordingly and I will serve it over sweet coconut rice.
Either way, this recipe is a killer!!!! Thank you!!!
YESSS! What a great thing to hear! Thanks Monika!
Loved it in the slower cooker!! Will I be able to use this same recipe for the oven?
★★★★★
I have never tried that! Try it and let me know how it goes!
Have made this about 5 times now and it is well received. I strongly suggest a low effort 15 minute boiling the potatoes and lightly browning the chicken (3+ minutes per side) prior to adding to the pot. This ensures the dish is ready after 4 hours. That said, cooking / simmering (using the Warm setting) for an additional 2 hours greatly enhances the flavor as the spices meld together.
★★★★★
Cooked for 4 hours on low and chicken and potatoes were not near done. Had to zap in microwave for 15 minutes so we could eat. That said it was delicious. (I used my crock-pot, It is 6 or 7 quarts).
★★★
I’m making this today!! I really cannot wait to dig in!!!!
This is my favorite slow cooker recipe as of now. Dinner was delicious! I went a little heavy on the fresh ginger, maybe adding an extra teaspoon, added chopped carrots and peas, but I followed the recipe besides that. Thank you so much again.
★★★★★
Love the idea of carrots and peas!
I used ground turkey and skipped the corriander, turmeric & ginger and added a cup of chicken broth and it still came out excellent. I think it’s really the sweet/salty contrast that does it for me! YUM!
I used baby yokon gold potatoes and made a topping with the cilantro and lime but added chpped tomato and pineapple becuase my favorite place used them in their yellow curry.
I’m so excited to eat this! It smells great while cooking. I added three large chopped carrots and am adding a bag of baby spinach at the end. Thank you for the recipe!
This was an excellent way to get my wife to try Thai style food without her knowing!! I just told her it was a chicken dish and she ate it right up! I did enjoy it too, but should’ve made some rice to put it over. I think if the fluid was a little thicker I think I would’ve enjoyed it a little more, although I did use Silk Coconut milk which may have attributed to the lacking thickness? My Thai restaurants yellow and green curry is still #1. I’ll be experimenting with this as a great base to dial it in to my preference. Thank you so much for this dish!!
★★★★★
Are you sure it wasn’t supposed to be 4 hours on high? The potatoes are not cooked at all. I had to put it on high for another 2 hours to cook it through.
★
Every slow cooker cooks differently. That’s why it’s hard to say. What size/brand did you use?
At the end of the recipe you mention adding more seasoning. Being an unskilled bachelor do you have suggested quantities I can try? Thank you!
Hi Steve, just taste the curry. If it seems bland add in a bit more salt. Salt is meant to bring out the natural flavors of foods. For example, when you sprinkle the right amount of salt on an avocado — the flavor of the avocado is heightened. When used correctly, salt will make food taste more like itself — not salty!
Would it be okay to skip the sugar?
Sure…it does add a flavor depth but you could leave it out.
Hi can you use coconut cream instead of coconut milk?
I don’t think so!
I know this comment was a while back, but just want to say that I have made chicken curry before with Coconut cream and it is delicious. As long as it’s the coconut cream that comes in the can like the coconut milk. Not to be cofused with Cream of Coconut, which is often used in cocktails. Also, coconut cream is much thicker than coconut milk, so you might want to add some liquid to the pot to thin out the sauce. This recipe looks delicious. Might be trying it soon!
Have you tried coconut cream in this recipe? I wanted it to be a bit thicker but was afraid straight coconut cream would be too much…maybe half cream, half milk?
Love the recipe!
That sounds like a good idea to me!
Excellent recipe! Used sweet potatoes (with skin on) in place of white potatoes and they just soaked up all the spices and flavors. Delish!
I doubled the recipe and tripled the amount of chicken (so I had less cooking to do in a week) and actually cooked it on high for 4 hours instead of low for 4 hours and that ended up being just right in order to get the onion and potatoes cooked through (again, I had double the potatoes and triple the chicken).
Great recipe and will definitely use again!
★★★★★
Oh that sounds so great Joy! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Just purchased our first slow cooker and this recipe is my first choice! But now I see that this slower cooker doesn’t offer 4 hours on low as a choice. It’s either 4 or 6 hours on high or 8 or 10 hours on low. What to do???
Can you just put it 8 hours on low and then unplug it after 4 hours??
Can you just cook on high for 4 hours?
yes
we are making the recipe now. it doesn’t look like much liquid in the pot. Is it supposed to? Also, my husband stirred it all up first, hopefully that’s ok? Can’t wait to try it!
It’s not too much liquid. How did it turn out?
Double the liquid recipe while using the same amount of meat and veggies to make it a great sauce for the rice.
can I use lite coconut milk ???
Yes!
can I use chicken breast?
Yes you can!
Delicious!! I used cumin in place of coriander seed. It was great! Husband was happy 🙂
★★★★★
I didn’t have coconut milk, used coconut water instead. Didn’t change the taste much! This was on end of the best curry chicken I have ever eaten. Great and easy recipe
Wow this is so great to hear. I wouldn’t think coconut water would work so this is good to know 🙂
Wish I could leave a photo, such a delicious mild curry, we loved it and will be making again, goes so well with peshwari naan. I think added almonds and sultanas would be a good shout also. It’s quite like korma as I didn’t add too many chili flakes, I also added cornflour near the end to thicken. I like to put whole chicken breasts in and take out and ‘fork apart’ instead of dicing beforehand. Thank you for this recipe x
★★★★★
Hi Anna, so glad you liked it!!!
Karen, your recipes are awesome! 365 Days is my new favorite list. I have your slow-cooker yellow Thai curry in the crockpot right now. Smells great, can’t wait to eat it. Turmeric and coriander are my all-time favorite spices. (Along with ginger, cardamom and cumin).
★★★★★
Thank you so much Jonathan!!!
I loved the taste of the sauce before I poured it over the chicken etc. Then after it cooked there was so much liquid it diluted the taste. Next time I think I’ll cook the chicken down for a while, remove some of the liquid, then put the sauce on.
★★★
Good to know. Sometimes this happens with the crockpot. Did you use frozen chicken by chance?
Do you have a certain brand of curry powder you like to use? Or a specific kind? Like hot curry, sweet curry, or roasted curry?
Hi Erin, I wish that I could say that I did. But I’m not that cool. I just buy whatever is at the grocery store in the spice aisle!
Do you have to cook the chicken 1st? Do you double everything if you are coming for 8-12 people?
No, you use raw chicken. I’d double it!
Hi – quick question, will this work with red or white potatoes?
yes totally!
Karen,
This recipe is AMAZING! I made it for lunches this week and it’s perfect for the chillier weather WI is having this week! I made it with sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes and I’m in LOVE. I hope to make this on a more routine basis!
★★★★★
Oh, and I also used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar 🙂
Good idea!
Wow! Good idea on the sweet potatoes. I am so glad you like it 🙂
sorry for the silly question but when you say “crushed red pepper” do you mean chilli pepper or sweet red pepper
chili pepper
I make once a week. It is the best! Thank you Karen.
★★★★★
Wow thanks Sharon 🙂
Can u use yellow curry paste? And if so eliminate curry powder and tumeric and anything else?
I *think* you could but I haven’t tried it myself so I’m not totally sure! Try it out, I bet it will be delish.
Just want to chime in. I used a TBSP yellow curry paste instead of the curry powder and it worked great! I am cooking it now. I do think it will require some cornstarch to thicken at the end though.
My liquid has separated but I followed it exactly what should I do?
Dang! I’m sorry.
Try using fresh chicken breast meat instead of thighs. Thighs are a bit more fatty, and will produce more juices. Good luck, don’t give up.
Delish!!!!!!
glad you liked it!
What may be a good substitute for coconut milk?
Allergies here! 😔
I’m not really sure. It’s just hard because the coconut milk is a main flavor ingredient in this recipe. Are you also allergic to cow’s milk?
Perhaps try a sweetened almond milk. It won’t be exact, but it should work. Add in a little corn starch to thicken it.
I use Sweetened condensed evaporated milk or plain Greek yogurt. I’m allergic to coconut.
★★★★
I made the recipe but the the sauce is terribly thin. And the coconut milk separated although I used full fat. What do you suggest?
Oh I’m sorry Marti. That is unfortunate. This is what I would do next time If I were you…Prepare a cornstarch slurry. Just mix 2 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp water and stir until smooth. Then add the mixture into the crockpot with the coconut milk and other ingredients. This should thicken up the sauce and possibly prevent the milk from separating.
I added Greek yogurt at the end to thicken it up and then went back and added extra amounts of the spices to maintain the orgincal flavor. I also cooked it until the chicken was able to be completely shredded apart when stirring to create a nice overall consistency of the dish. I’ve ate it over rice or in naan bread and both ways were great! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
sounds so good! especially with naan! I love naan bread.
How many does this serve? I’m currently cooking for eleven. Seems like there is never enough.
This serves 4-6!
Hi Karen, I plan on trying this recipe next week. Sounds phenomenal. Due to diet constraints do you think sweet potatoes would work with the recipe? Also wanted to add carrots and something green, maybe peas or green beans? Love the juices of curry over rice, can a little water or chicken broth be added or will this mess with the flavor too much? Thank you so much for your help!
I think all of your ideas sound wonderful. I hope you like it.
Has anyone tried with beef instead of chicken?
nope but I bet it would be really yummy with some beef stew meat. Cooking time would take longer though.
My husband made this curry recipe for me and I thought it was fantastic! Really was the best I have ever had!
I’m so happy to hear this, Jamie!
Was recently introduced to Thai curries and quickly became “addicted”. Since eating out all the time can become expensive, as we know, I made this to see if it would compare to restaurant curry. I was not disappointed! It’s very tasty and extremely easy. Thanks for this recipe!!
Was wondering if you had a recipe for a red curry as well. I wasn’t able to find one on the site but I only spent a few minutes looking.
Hi Tad, thanks for your comment! I haven’t made a red curry yet, but I need to! That sounds really delicious.
Do you think it would greatly hurt the taste to use a lite coconut milk instead of full fat if you’re watching your calories/fat etc.?
The milk might separate but you can give it a shot!
Yummy!!! Super simple… switched to high later on to hurry the potatoes along but overall fantastic!!
★★★★★
Awesome Nancy!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Can you suggest how much ginger powder may be used instead of fresh ginger? I want to make this within the next day or so. Thanks! 🙂 P.S. I agree with previous commenter, Kathy “Would like to have the nutritional values shown too…” 😉
I’d suggest using 1/2 tsp of ginger powder. You can always add more at the end of the cooking time if needs be. And yes, I should show nutritional values!
Trying this out right now! I browned the chicken and sweated the vegetables first though.. the house is smelling great!
yum!
My husband is really rather picky when it comes to certain spices. Would it taste AS GOOD with just Chicken, Potatoes, Curry Powder and Turmeric for color?
I’m not sure! Give it a shot and let me know 🙂
This is so delicious and easy! We order yellow curry chicken all the time from our favorite little Thai place and this is just as good. It’s so inexpensive to make too. Thank you for sharing!!
Monica, this is so nice to hear. Thanks so much!
is there any yellow curry paste used?
nope! Just the turmeric and curry powder…they make it super yellow 🙂
I want to try this next week! Just to clarify, the potatoes are raw when you put them in right? And the chicken not frozen? Just wondering if 3-4 hours on low is long enough to cook the potatoes (I like mine pretty soft and mushy!).
I used thawed chicken. And the potatoes are uncooked. Since they are yellow potatoes they cook quicker than russet potatoes. You can always cook a bit longer for softer potatoes! It won’t hurt anything 🙂
Can you please edit the recipe to drop down the coconut milk under the chicken? I totally missed that ingredient because it was on the same line as the chicken.
Oh I’m so sorry. I didn’t notice that. I just fixed it!
love the recipes for curries. Would like to have the nutritional values shown too as I and many others have dietary restrictions or are watching things like fat, sugars, carbs etc.
I’ve never made any of my many chicken dishes on low for 4 hours, I usually cook on high for 4 hours.
This isn’t a typo, right?
Really? Interesting. All slow cookers cook differently. The newer ones cook quicker. Do you have an old crockpot?