Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
on Sep 17, 2018, Updated Oct 19, 2020
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This Slow Cooker Chicken Curry is perfect in every way – juicy pieces of chicken and 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.
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!
- A really simple dump-and-go recipe that yields a really flavorful chicken curry
- Most of the recipe is hands-off. 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
- Can be made in a large batch and stored for later
Jump to section: Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
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
- If you don’t have whole spices, feel free to skip them and increase the garam masala by 1/4 teaspoon
This slow cooker chicken curry uses simple ingredients but is really high on flavour. Plus you’re going to love just how simple it is to put together. I usually serve this with some plain steamed rice and a lemon wedge for weeknight dinners. But you can easily alleviate the recipe by serving with some butter garlic naan for weekend lunch or if you’re making this for guests.
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)
- 685 grams 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
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Tomato Puree
- 1/2 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.
What brand tomato purée do you use ? The consistency of the one here in the UK is like paste and thick, I used the measurement in the recipe and the curry tasted like a stew rather than a curry.
Hey Sheela, I use an Indian brand called Dabur Homemade. I’m sorry this one didn’t turn out well for you. If the tomato puree is really thick, you can add an additional onion in the recipe. That should balance it out.
Hi. I am planning on cooking this on the weekend. The recipe calls for one cup of tomato puree. Do you mean as in the tubes? Or 1 cup of tinned or passata? Thanks 🙂
Hey! I mean 1 cup of tomato passata
I tried the recipe today. It was almost good. my sauce had a faint bitter taste not sure from which spice. Any idea which spice may have caused it. I used tomato paste because I didn’t have tomato puree on hand. could this be the culprit?
The bitterness could come from the garam masala if its not proportionately made
Hi Richa,
What about adding in some YOGURT to the mix ? Can I add in some full-fat YOGURT at the beginning (I grew up in a Punjabi home where Mom always put yogurt into her curry base). Will this make everything too watery ?……..
Yes absolutely. Use about 1/2 cup and that shouldn’t make the curry watery
How hot is this really hot chillie hot
What rice etc is best to serve if wanting not too much carbohydrates
It really depends on the chilli. The amount of carb shouldn’t change too much based on the rice variety. For a low carb option, you can try this with cauliflower rice
Hello
What is a cup? How many grams please?
Hey Nipun, I don’t have gram measurements. A cup is usually 236 ml, but I’m basically measuring things like onions in volume.
I did a google search in 2 seconds and got that info
Hi Richa, I have just bought a 7L slow cooker, can I double the recipe to cook for a larger group of people?
Absolutely
My shipt shopper brought breasts instead of thighs! (freaking 9 of them) I know you said not to use breasts, but how can I make this good with breasts?
How many breasts should I use? I have a 3 year old and can’t get out to exchange them. I’ve gotta run it.
Made this for the first time on Thursday to use up some chicken thigh fillets – it was divine! I think it’s become a new favourite.
Wondered if this can be modified to use a whole chook (chicken)?
I think you can double the recipe while using a whole chicken. The chicken will leave enough water while cooking to give you a nice thick gravy
You do not use Cumin in your recipe, is there a reason?
Would it spoil the results if I added Cumin?
Its just a preference – I didn’t feel the need for it, but a half teaspoon of cumin powder won’t hurt!