This slow cooker chicken curry is perfect in every way - juicy pieces of chicken, a spicy, flavorful gravy that has the right consistency - this is the perfect dinner to come home to.
Alright! So who is with me when I say slow cookers are awesome? Especially when you have recipes where you can dump a whole lotta stuff in and after a few hours, you are left with plain deliciousness.
Enter: Slow Cooker Chicken Curry.
Here's the thing. I have always had a little bit of a problem with chicken cooked in a slow cooker. Which is why you won't find any slow cooker chicken recipes on the blog. Because most recipes I've tried result in dry or over cooked chicken, or a lot of water in the dish.
Not anymore.
This recipe took a few tries but I've got it exactly the way we like it. Tender, juicy chicken, a gravy that coats each piece of chicken instead of pooling at the bottom and so much flavor that you would think we marinated the chicken for a few hours.
And it's really simple to make. The only real cooking you'll do here is to cook the onions and garlic together in a little oil before adding it to the slow cooker. And the only reason I recommend doing that is so that we can get rid of the raw, overpowering taste of onions and garlic; and take advantage of their sweet flavor once we cook them. The rest of the recipe is really dump and cook.
Top tips to cooking juicy chicken in a slow cooker
To cook really juicy chicken in the slow cooker, here are my top tips:
- Use chicken thighs because they have more fat than breasts so they remain tender when cooked for long periods and don't get stringy or dry out
- Don't add too much liquid because you are locking in the steam in a slow cooker so the water in the recipe does not have room to evaporate as much as it does in a pot. The chicken also leaves a fair amount of water so you are actually left with more liquid than you started with in the beginning
- Cutting chicken into the desired size right in the beginning will save you the time and effort to shred it or chop it later. It will also ensure that the flavors coat and seep through every piece right from the beginning
- Don't cook it for longer than 6-7 hours because really, chicken cooks pretty fast compared to lamb or beef and that's all the time it needs if you are cooking it on low sitting. When you slow cook it on high, the chicken only needs 3.5-4 hours
We are using some really simple ingredients to flavor this chicken curry. I love adding whole spices like bay leaf, cloves and whole black pepper in the recipe in addition to garam masala because the whole spices really infuse flavor in this recipe. But if you don't have them, feel free to skip them and increase the garam masala by ¼ teaspoon.
This slow cooker chicken curry will not disappoint. Its packed with flavor and you can watch how easy it is in the video below.
Other Slow Cooker Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Korean Pork Bulgogi
- Slow Cooker Dal Makhani
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Watch Slow Cooker Chicken Curry Recipe Video
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 cup Onions finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 7-8 Baby Potatoes cut into half (or 2 large potatoes, diced into 1 inch pieces)
- 8 Chicken Thighs skinless and boneless , cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Bayleaf
- 2-3 Cloves
- 6-8 Peppercorns whole
- 1 Green Chilli finely chopped (or Serrano Pepper)
- 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder or chilli flakes
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Tomato Puree
- ½ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- Chopped coriander for topping
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions and minced garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes till the onions soften. Transfer this mixture to the slow cooker along with all the other ingredients. Mix well.
- Cover and cook on high for 3.5-4 hours or low for 6 hours. Once the chicken curry is cooked, mix in the chopped coriander and serve hot on top of steamed rice or with some butter naan.
Video
Notes
- Chicken Thighs vs. Breasts: I recommend chicken thighs for this recipe because they don't dry out and retain their juiciness in the slow cooker. You can also use bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe. If you insist on using chicken breasts, keep them whole and once the curry is cooked, use a fork to shred the chicken in the slow cooker.
- Butter: Butter adds an extra layer of flavor and the fat keeps the chicken curry from drying out. You can also stir in some cream or coconut milk in the end in this recipe.
- Spices: The blend of coriander powder, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala is powerful, and adds tons of flavor. Chilli powder can be swapped with paprika or cayenne pepper in this recipe. You can also swap these spices for two tablespoons generic curry powder.
Charles Slement says
You do not use Cumin in your recipe, is there a reason?
Would it spoil the results if I added Cumin?
Richa says
Its just a preference - I didn't feel the need for it, but a half teaspoon of cumin powder won't hurt!
Jan Markley says
Can I substitute the water with coconut milk? And if so, should I wait until the end to put it in? I would do lower heat setting. Thx!
Richa says
Absolutely! That sounds fantastic. You can add it right at the start instead of water
Jan says
Thanks! I'm going to make it tomorrow! Can't wait!
Elaine says
Hi Richa - this recipe looks gorgeous! Could I do it with lentils for protein instead of chicken? And would I then need to add more liquid? Thank you!
Richa says
For sure Elaine! Lentils would work well. Please use an additional cup of water
Michael Hughes says
Awesome recepe, we used the thigh fillets uncut and a full tin of tomatoes. Such an awesome simple recepe that taste as good as it is easy.
Heidi cook says
Very tasty easy to prepare
Stefania says
Smells amazing as I was prepping ! Thank you !!!! I do have a question tho , may I add chickpeas ? If so ,should I do that when ? Thank you kindly
Richa Gupta says
Hey Stefania! Chickpeas have a distinct taste which might not be the best for this chicken curry. If you like chickpeas, check out our Pressure Cooker Chana Masala (Instant Pot and Stovetop recipes) and Chickpea Pulao recipes!