Thai Red Curry inspired coconut chicken – chicken pieces swimming in a rich, coconut sauce with blended up herbs and spices and sliced red bell pepper. Ready in under 30 minutes! | Gluten Free + Whole30
If you’re ready to get punched in the mouth with flavour then have I got a recipe for you! I promise it’s more appealing than that probably sounds.
Seriously though this Thai Red Curry inspired sauce is on another level it’s so damn good.
Let’s get to it!
Curry Paste
It all starts with a quick, red curry inspired paste. If you’re like me and never think to buy things like curry paste until it’s too late – then this recipe is for you because we’re making our own!
Making the curry paste is pretty easy – it’s really just a matter of throwing all your ingredients together in a blender or small food processor and blending until you have a thick, smooth paste. The consistency should be very similar to that of a pesto.
Coconut Chicken
Moving on to the chicken – start off by wrapping and pounding the breasts into flat, even pieces. This will not only make the chicken more tender in the long run but will make sure that it all cooks evenly. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and quickly brown the sides in a large skillet.
After browning the chicken remove it from the pan for the time being to begin working on the sauce. Wipe down the pan and then gently sauté the onion. Cook for about 5 minutes to begin softening the onion and bell pepper. Add in the curry paste and cook a couple of minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and chicken stock. Mix it all together and bring the mixture to a boil before reducing down to a simmer to thicken up. After a few minutes add the chicken back to the pan, cover and let it finish cooking through, soaking in the juices as it goes.
Taste the sauce and season as needed – add a little more salt more salt and pepper as needed. Top with fresh cilantro and that’s it!
This is a very saucy kitchen so make sure to serve it over a side of rice/cauliflower rice to soak up all the extra flavour.
Altogether this dish takes about 30 minutes to prepare making it a great dinner option for busy weeknights. If you like this Thai Red Coconut Chicken you’ll probably also like my:
Enjoy!
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Thai Red Coconut Chicken
Thai Red Curry inspired coconut chicken - chicken pieces swimming in a rich, coconut sauce with blended up herbs and spices and sliced red bell pepper. Ready in under 30 minutes! | Gluten Free + Whole30
Ingredients
Curry Paste
- 3 cloves garlic, about 1 heaping tablespoons
- 1 inch ginger, about 1 tablespoon
- 1 red chili, deseeded
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves + stems, (roughly the size of a small handful)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, avocado oil or vegetable oil
Chicken
- 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 4 pieces)
- 1/2 teaspoons salt & pepper, each
- 1 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 1 sliced red bell pepper
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk, (or coconut cream)
- 1/2 cup chicken stock*
- fresh cilantro for topping
Instructions
Curry Paste
- Add all of the ingredients listed under 'curry paste' to a mini food processor or powerful blender and process until you reach a pasty, purred mixture. The texture should be something similar to a pesto - a little more grainy in places.
Chicken
- Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic cling wrap and pound them down to make them even in thickness. This will help the chicken cook evenly and make for more tender chicken. Sprinkle each side of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet over a medium high heat on the stove. Add the chicken breasts and cook each side for 5-7 minutes or until browned on each side. Remove the chicken from a skillet and set aside on a plate. The chicken doesn't need to be fully cooked yet because you'll be returning it to the heat shortly. Wipe down the pan with a paper towel to remove black/brown bits.
- Add a little more oil back to the pan along with the chopped onion to the same skillet and sauté for a few minutes to soften. Add the bell pepper. Sauté another couple of minutes.
- Mix in the curry paste and cook a minute or two. Stir in the coconut cream and chicken stock until combined. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce down to a simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes to let reduce down.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, cover and let cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
- Serve over rice/cauliflower rice with the sauce spooned over the top. Top with fresh cilantro and enjoy!
Notes
*If you need this recipe to strict Whole 30 make sure to check the labels on your chicken stock for hidden sugars.
Janet Coe says
Is this dish really spicy?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Janet! It’s not particularly spicy, but I think this will mostly depend on what type of chili you use. If you want a mild curry paste you can just make sure to use a mild chili or skip the chili altogether
Candace says
Looks delicious! Gonna try this week. Could I make the curry paste in advance? How long would the curry paste keep in the fridge? Thanks!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Candace! That’s no problem! Rule of thumb is that you can make homemade curry paste and keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks so long as you store it in an air tight container. That being said I like using it within 1 week just to be on the safe side.
Kashmiri says
This was a really good recipe! it turned out amazing and it’s very easy to adjust for the flavours you like!
Sarah Nevins says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know what you thought!
Scott says
This may sound like I silly question and I may be missing the info but is this dish dairy free? I’m okay with gluten and dairy myself however me and my partner have a circle of friends who are intolerant to both and we would love to invite them over for dinner and cook an amazing dish that’s both delicious and okay for them. This looks incredible so I’m really excited to make this!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Scott! Not silly at all – speaking from experience it can be hard to keep track of potential food allergies. As for your questions – yes this is dairy free!
Ashlee says
What could I use instead of the red chili? Maybe red curry paste?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Ashlee! The chili is used in this recipe in what is essentially a red curry paste so adding more curry paste might be a little overkill. You could always use skip the entire curry paste section and use about 1/4 cup red curry paste in its place if that’s easier for you! Otherwise you can try adding 1-3 teaspoons chili powder in place of the chili. Hope that helps!
Nell says
Oh my gosh!! Had this for dinner tonight. It was delicious!!
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! Thanks Nell – glad you liked it!
stuart says
Hi
I’m having a BBQ soon and would like to make this for my guests about 30 how do I up the ingredients for my party ?.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Stuart! I’ve never made anything for that many people at a time so I’m not quite sure the best way to scale this recipe. The ingredients for the curry paste should be easy enough to multiply by 6 or 7 but the sauce might be a little trickier with all of that liquid. I imagine that you’ll need to give the sauce quite a lot more time to cook and reduce down.
Sorry I can’t be more help here!
Anna says
OMG! This dish is AMAZINGLY AMAZING! I’m gonna cook thru all your blog. Thank you for great recipes.
Sarah says
Yay! Thanks Anna – so glad you liked it!
Cate says
This was HEAVENLY!
Sarah says
Thanks Cate!
Kristen says
This was such a hit! I was looking forward to enjoying the leftovers for my lunch today but my 13 year old went in for seconds last night! Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah says
Ha! I love that! Thanks for coming back to let me know what you guys thought!