Rebecca Baron 77 Comments
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This Paleo chicken curry recipe is simple and delicious and I've made it tons of times for a quick weeknight meal. I'm totally in love with this recipe I made up. I love it because I can make it fast, it's FULL of flavor and it's even Keto chicken curry, and Whole30, depending on what you serve it over.
The sauce is so good you don't even miss the carbs! Plus, it has a lot of healthy vegetables and no sugar and the spices totally make it so you are so content with all the flavor that you don't even feel like you're on any sort of special diet.
This a quick, flavorful recipe for a clean chicken curry with coconut milk, made with zucchini, yellow grape tomatoes, and onion. This Indian-inspired dish makes a great meal when combined with basmati rice, cauliflower "rice", brown rice, quinoa or even nothing, depending on your diet.
This recipe really needs to be cooked in a skillet/frying pan. I've tried it in the oven and the crockpot and it's just not the same. You don't get the caramelization you get from the skillet - just make sure you have enough oil so it will caramelize. When you use this method, you get a lot of flavors and can eat it like soup if you want.
My children all love this dish and it's their second favorite Indian dish that I make, but the Indian Chicken Korma Coconut Milk Recipe with Three Variationsdish I make is their all-time favorite Indian dish. I make both this curry and the korma pretty spicy and they like it that way. My 4-year-old girl says things like, "It's spicy, mom, but I like it anyway." as she tries to find something to cut down the spice. Are my children unusual that they LOVE Indian food?
Tips
This recipe with chicken and veggies really is easy. I've made it tons of times, with lots of variations on this basic recipe. Here are some of the changes I like to make for variety along with some tips and tricks:
- You could totally add some white potatoes to this recipe. I personally don't like them in this recipe but they are pretty traditional and if they are on your diet, you may enjoy them. I do like how they soak up the sauce.
- You CAN substitute chicken breasts or tenders if you really want to but I really prefer chicken thighs in this recipe because they get so tender and the coconut milk does a good job of breaking them down and chicken breasts can dry out easily. Just watch the chicken breasts carefully and lower the cooking time and you should be good.
- I highly recommend the Spice Hunter curry brand. It's not always available on Amazon but there are several stores in our town that carry it so I thought you may want to see what it looks like. It's totally worth some effort to find. Their brand is always fresh and has so much more flavor than other brands and their curry blend is so good.
- If you're not afraid of a little heat, don't hesitate to add a little cayenne pepper along with the spices.
- The zucchini and tomato aren't totally necessary and may be left out if you realize you don't have them. They aren't authentic, but I think they work well and it gives it a nice burst of flavor, texture, and nutrition
- If really prefer grape tomatoes in this dish. Just dicing a regular tomato is definitely not the same.
- It can be served with a side of your choice- such as rice, quinoa or mashed cauliflower. It's also good on its own as a soup.
- This traditionally has potatoes in it, but I like them out since I pretty much hate all potatoes. I would think a Yukon gold would taste the best with this recipe. That's part of the reason I added the other veggies in, so it wouldn't just be chicken with sauce on it.
- I often add veggies I have on hand that aren't in this recipe, like red bell peppers
- A little fish sauce is good with this. I don't like it sweet, but if you do, you could add a little pure maple syrup.
- Lime juice from fresh limes is good sprinkled on top after it's done cooking.
- Indian food is comfort food for me and like my Indian food HOT. If you do too, please feel free to add some cayenne pepper. Oh, I'm just getting into hot sauce. I should try some of that on this . . .
Please let me know if you try this recipe and if you have any favorite ways to eat it. Do you like your food spicy or mild?
Recipe
Simple Paleo Chicken Curry Recipe
★★★★★4.9 from 16 reviews
- Author: Rebecca Baron
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Paleo
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Description
This Paleo coconut curry chicken uses only a few ingredients a few simple steps. It's a delicious, quick weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 Tbl Coconut Oil (or oil of your choice)
- 8 Chicken Thighs (boneless skinless, cut into 1" pieces)
- 1 Large Onion (cut into large chunks)
- 3 Small Zucchini (Cut half lengthwise and thickly sliced)
- 1 tsp Garlic (minced)
- 1 Tbl Curry Powder *
- ½ tsp Paprika
- 2 tsp Real Salt *
- 2 cans Coconut Milk * (about 15 oz each)
- 1 cup tomatoes
- Cilantro (to garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a stock pot or a large skillet to high heat. Add the chicken and cook until chicken pieces are browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside, keeping the remaining oil in the stock pot.
- Add the onion and zucchini and saute until lightly browned. Add the garlic, curry powder, paprika, and salt and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken back into the pot, along with the coconut milk. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid, and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Add the tomatoes to the pot in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Serve in a bowl with the coconut broth, like a soup. Top with cilantro.
Keywords: Simple, Stove Top, Paleo, Easy
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Jen
Reviewing this recipe bc I can't believe is not in the best recipes of this site. My family LOVEEE this recipe. I use Arroy D coconut milk (best coconut milk ever in my opinion), zucchini, 2 red peppers for vegetables (no tomatoes) and top it with very small slices of jalapeño for the adults. I don't make spicy bc the kids but the jalapeño at the end adds spice and crunch. My kids and husband love it. The family eats it with Jazmin rice and I eat it with quinoa. Thank you so much for this deliciousness!!!!
★★★★★
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Rebecca Baron
I'm so glad you like it. It's definitely one of my family's favorites.
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Christine
Simple and SO delicious 😋
★★★★★
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Pattie
We love this recipe I have made it so many times! I change it up a bit by adding baby corn and water chestnuts.
★★★★★
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Lisa Marzak
I made it tonight! My first time making curry, and your title convinced me. I'm not kidding, it was fantastic!! I served it over some leftover baby red potatoes that I kinda smashed a bit, and what a perfect combo! (Although, it was perfect just as a soup). Great dish for when you want to take a meal to someone in need. Warms the soul. Soooooo good!
★★★★★
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melissa kinsler
Followed the recipe exactly with a little added cayenne pepper as suggested and it was Delicious! The grape tomatoes in this dish made it extra special! Thank you for sharing!
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Rebecca
I'm glad you like the recipe. I often add a lot more than a little cayenne pepper and yes, I love the grape tomatoes in it and I don't care if they aren't traditional. They are so good - especially when you use fresh from the garden tomatoes.
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Linlem
Love this recipe! Just made 2 days ago and decided to make again tonight bc I was already craving it!!
★★★★★
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Rebecca
I'm glad you like it. We sure like it at our house. Thanks for commenting!
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Kimberly
I love this recipe! I made it back to back. The first time I used three boneless/skinless chicken breast because that's what I had on hand. Yep I finished it eventually and made it right back again it was that good. Absolutely love the flavors and yes! the grape tomatoes give a nice fresh burst of flavor. Eating low carb is divine with chow like this! Thanks so much for this recipe I very much enjoy.
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Julie
I've lost track of how many times I've made this- it's so good and easy! I like to add other veggies, like carrots, cauliflower or mushrooms. It all depends on what I happen to have on hand. I usually don't bother with the tomatoes though, I didn't think they added much flavor. To lighten it up a bit I use chicken breast, one can of lite coconut milk and a cup of chicken broth. It's actually the first curry dish I've ever tried and it's delicious! Thanks!
★★★★★
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Rebecca
Comments like this make me so happy. I've made it tons of times too. If you like this dish, you really should try this one too - https://www.mynaturalfamily.com/recipes/paleo-recipes/paleo-basil-coconut-curry-chicken-recipe/
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Jenny
This was incredible! Thanks for such a delicious recipe 🙂
★★★★★
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Rebecca
I'm so glad you like it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
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Hazel
I have made this twice and it is so delicious! It is flexible based on the amount of recipe ingredients I have on hand. It won't really hurt anything if I use "a little less of this and a little more of that." The zucchini and halved grape tomatoes are fantastic. I don't usually have cilantro so I sprinkle parsley on the top and it makes such a beautiful bowl. I give this recipe 5 stars and I recommend anyone who likes curry will be happy they tried this -- I don't think anyone will make it just once. 🙂
★★★★★
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Rebecca
Thanks for such a nice review! I don't think of this as a fall recipe, but it is perfect for fall, especially if you have lots of grape tomatoes and zucchini in your garden. I love how the zucchini soaks up the sauce. Thanks for commenting.
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Mike Puckett
Thank you for you recipe, I ommited the tomatos and zucinni, I added celery and carrots and diakion radish, to which I sauteed with the onions in until the veg were semi soft. I also used one can of coconut milk. It was the best curry Ive ever made !! Kids really liked it ...whew !!
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Rebecca
I'm so glad you liked it - and thanks for your suggestions of modifications. I'm sure they will be helpful to others!
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Jaz
This was made as meal prep for this weeks lunch. It was so yummy I had to eat some for dinner and leave myself one meal short.
I used Cauli/Brocolli rice on the side.
Thank you for the simple and delicious recipe.★★★★★
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Rebecca
You're welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
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Karen
Loved it! Thanks. Usually only like one recipe per website, and I have found 3 great ones from you and counting! Thank you so much for sharing! I have Celiac and daughter has gluten intolerance. Paleo seams to work good for us. Great job!
★★★★★
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Rebecca
I'm flattered! I don't know what other recipes you've liked, but I recently made this page that has all my most popular recipes and it updates itself and it could be a good place for you to find another recipe you may like - https://www.mynaturalfamily.com/best-paleo-recipes/
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Anna
This curry recipe is amazing. I have made It 4 times. I love it. The changes I made are
- I changed 1 can of cocout milk to light coconut.
- removed the tomato
- added 1 diced red pepper.
- use chicken breast instead of thighs.It really is better than restaurants. Great recipe.
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Rebecca
How nice of you to take the time to comment - and I love your suggestions of changes and I'm sure other people will love to try the changes too. In fact, I may try them myself because my husband is allergic to tomatoes and can't eat this, so I'll try it with the red pepper instead of tomato and see what we think.
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Cassandra Bush
Can the coconut milk be substituted with something else
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Rebecca
Well, good question. I don't always eat Paleo nowadays, but I still always use coconut milk in this recipe because I like the flavor of it and because it's healthy. But I would imagine cream would work too. It's one of those dishes I'm pretty sure they use coconut milk, even in Indian restaurants though. If you haven't tried coconut milk, you should give it a try. I hate coconut and love coconut milk.
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Maria
Hi! the nutrition facts, how many ounces are they based on? It shows 8 servings but not how many oz per serving is this based of. Can you clarify?
Thanks,Reply
Rebecca
I count one chicken thigh as a serving, which is give or take 3 ounces of meat on average.
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Treasa
I'm confused on serving size as well , is it 3 oz total ingredients or just 3 oz of chicken ? also do you slice or cube the tomatoes?
★★★★★
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Rebecca
Just 3 oz of chicken. I usually use grape tomatoes and cut them in half.
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Erin
Hello! Are you able to tell me how many servings this makes ?
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Rebecca
If you look right above the ingredients, there are orange boxes. In one of the orange boxes, one of the boxes says servings. This recipe has 8 servings. If you want to change the servings so it more accurately reflects how your family eats, hover over it and you can change the number of servings and the nutrition information will change automatically.
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Ana
Thanks for the recipe. I used chicken thighs and left the tomatoes out, and it tasted great. Next time I will try with the breast, which I like more.
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Rebecca
Yes. Chicken breast would work just fine and would take longer to cook. I actually think most Indian restaurant use chicken breasts anyway. I just like thighs because I can cook them for a long time and they won't dry out and I like the flavor of the thighs.
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Lindsey
Yummm! I modified mine a little and added mushrooms, water chestnuts and a bay leaf! Definitely saving this recipe 🙂
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Rebecca
Thanks for the suggestions of modifications. Hopefully other people will find it useful!
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Rebecca Baron
Oh my! I made this last night, and it was delicious! It is definitely a keeper in my recipe book! Thank you for this amazing dish! xoxo
★★★★★
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Jenn
Can this reciepe be made in bulk for a weeks worth of dinners and still be good for a week?
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Rebecca
I have eaten this a leftover for about a week. You should be good to do this I would think.
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Rachel
Looks like a fantastic weeknight go-to.
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Anastasia
I made this for dinner last night and I loved it! My husband liked it, but he thought that the tomatoes were gross. And while I like tomatoes, I felt like they were weird in this dish. I will leave them out the next time I make this. I know it is a paleo dish, but it would go awesome over rice or quinoa! My husband also thought that the broth was kind of weird, he said it wasn't like soup or a sauce, so I think next time I'll make one of the cans light coconut milk and see if that helps.
★★★★
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Rebecca
Thank you for your comment, I am glad you liked it overall.
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Vivian
I always heard that olive oil should not be heated high.
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Rebecca
That's true. We've actually started using avocado oil for most of our cooking now because it has a really high smoking point.
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Rene
Tried this recipe last night, was delicious! a real winner 🙂
Will definitely add this one to the book of keepers.Reply
Rebecca
I know. Isn't it so good? All my children love it. I've started finishing it off in the oven instead of simmering it on the stove. It gets that good roasted flavor and it doesn't take as much attention either.
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Rene
Just happens that it is back on the menu tonight, maybe I will give the oven idea a go.
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Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life
This looks so good! I love the taste of curry! Adding this one to the menu!
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Corinne
This soup looks amazing and between the warmth of the soup and the heat from the curry, I bet it's great comfort food for winter weather.
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Suzie@homemaker-mom
Now this seems amazing. I must try it!
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Sarah L
I like the addition of the grape tomatoes. Very yummy.
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ohmydish.com
I LOVE a good curry, thank you for sharing!
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Rebecca
Thanks for commenting and please let me know if you like it.
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Derry
This looks lovely. I think that I will add some celery and green beans to this dish to add more bulk
★★★★★
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Rebecca
Good idea. Not Indian, but a good way to get more vegetable, and it's not like it's all that authentic anyway.
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Bec
Drool worthy!
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Beth
I made this tonight and my 2 picky eaters loved it! I forgot to add the tomatoes, but they don't like tomatoes anyway. I only used half the salt, thought it was bland, and ended up adding more at the table and it really tasted amazing. Next time I'll follow the recipe and use the full amount of salt. This is definitely a keeper recipe!!!
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Rebecca
That's funny you forgot the tomatoes. I forget them a lot or don't have them and I still love it. My pickiest eater loves this curry.
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Kirsten Oliphant
This looks great! Pinned for later!
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Lisa
I needed a meal in a pinch and this recipe was recommended to me. It came out great and my whole family loved it! Thanks!
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Rebecca
So good to hear from you and I'm glad people are recommending my recipes. I'm flattered!
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Barri Harges
This dish sounds super yummmy
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Cathy R.
Starting a Paleo/Low Carb diet. Will definitely have to try this one. We love curry and know it is good for you!
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Kelly Minyard
This looks amazing! I'm always looking for adventurous ethic paleo meals and I can't wait to try this one 🙂
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Sarah J
I have made this dish several times now. So easy and so delicious! My kids love it too!
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Rebecca
So good to hear! It's definitely a staple here. Thanks for your nice comment too!
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Sarah L
I love spicy foods and this looks wonderful.
★★★★★
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Kara
Hi Rebecca! I really want to try this as it looks amazing but I am not the mist seasoned cook. Would you be able to give me the amounts of coconut milk, tomatoes, zucchini, salt and coconut oil please? 🙂
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Rebecca
Sorry about the instructions. I'm terrible about measuring things and like to changes things up a lot and a lot of it is personal preference. For coconut milk I usually do one can, tomatoes about half a cup, 1-2 zucchinis depending on size and I also really like half zucchini, half summer squash. For coconut oil it's just enough for the bottom of the pan so the seasonings are all wet and the chicken doesn't stick.
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Kara
Thanks so much... Can't wait to try it!
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Ana
Hi there! I ran into your blog today looking for a chicken curry recipe that's Paleo and I gotta say yours is the best I've tried so far! I didn't follow it exactly (never really measure stuff).. But I did use lots of coconut oil and curry seasoning and I got a perfectly creamy and intense sauce.. Plus it's so easy and quick so it can't get much better than that! I'll definitely be cooking this often =)
★★★★★
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Rebecca
Oh, I'm so glad! I've made it so many times and LOVE it but it's hard to know if others will love it too. It's my default when I need something quick but tasty and satisfying.
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JMI
Chicken curry is my favorite dish. This looks yummy - can't wait to try it!
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Patricia Krank
Hi Rebecca - I found you over at DIY Home Sweet Home. This recipe looks amazing and I love that it doesn't have many carbs. Printed for my recipe book.
Blessings to you,
PattiReply
Rebecca
It really is a popular recipe of mine that I make often. In fact, I made it tonight. I was in the mood for something spicy so I put tons of spices on it, including extra cayenne. It was nice and spicy and it's burning in my tummy right now. I love that feeling!
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Sasha
Hi,
This recipe looks great. Do you think it works with almond or oat milk? Need to cut Dien fats, gallbladder issue.
Thanks!
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Rebecca Baron
Probably. I haven't tried that myself but I would say it is worth a try.
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