Chicken Curry
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Whip up a one-skillet chicken curry, brimming with vibrant peas and rich flavors, all in just 30 minutes—a weeknight winner!
If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the hunt for new recipes to spice up weeknight family dinners. Well, I’ve got just the dish for you to try: chicken curry in a hurry. Start with thinly sliced chicken breasts, give them a quick sauté, then as they simmer in a rich curry sauce, toss in some frozen peas for a pop of color and wholesome goodness. The best part? This one-skillet dish is ready in about 30 minutes, making it perfect for those nights when you have to hit the kitchen running.
Keep in mind, the flavor and spice profile of the finished dish will vary depending on the brand of curry powder you select. I use McCormick curry powder, which is readily available in most supermarkets and produces a mild, kid-friendly curry. Opt for your preferred curry powder and pair the dish with fluffy basmati rice or naan for a meal that’s sure to become a weeknight family favorite.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Curry
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: A lean protein option that absorbs the curry flavors well.
- Curry Powder: A complex blend of spices including turmeric, cumin, coriander, and others that gives the curry its distinctive warm, aromatic flavor.
- Onion, Garlic, Ginger: This trio adds depth and forms the foundational flavor of the curry.
- Chicken Broth: Forms the savory base of the curry sauce.
- Cornstarch: Used to thicken the sauce.
- Frozen Peas: Add color, texture, and sweetness to the dish, offering a nice contrast to the savory and spicy elements of the curry.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: Adds creaminess and a slight tang to the curry sauce, balancing the spices and enriching the texture.
- Cilantro: Brings a fresh flavor that complements the rich and spicy notes of the curry beautifully.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by cutting the chicken into 1/4-inch slices. The best way is to cut each breast in half lengthwise, then slice on the diagonal. Don’t make yourself crazy over it, but try to make each piece about the same size; this ensures that they cook evenly. Next, season the chicken with salt, pepper and curry powder.
Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet, then briefly sauté the chicken until it is lightly browned but still pink in spots.
Transfer the partially cooked chicken to a clean bowl, then add the onions to the pan and cook until soft and translucent.
Add the ginger, garlic, and more curry powder and sauté until fragrant.
Add the chicken stock and cornstarch to the vegetables.
Cook until the sauce is thickened, then add the chicken back to the pan, along with the frozen peas and simmer until the chicken is just cooked.
Add the Greek yogurt and fresh chopped cilantro.
Stir until combined.
Serve with basmati rice and/or naan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Curry powder is a blend of various spices, and each brand has a unique combination with different flavor profiles and levels of heat. For a family-friendly option that’s not too spicy, McCormick is a reliable choice readily available in many supermarkets.
While nonfat yogurt can technically be used, a yogurt with at least 2% fat content is preferable as it adds richness and depth to the sauce. If you’re ever in a pinch and out of yogurt, sour cream can be a great substitute, ensuring the curry maintains its creamy texture and taste.
Absolutely! Just ensure any additional vegetables are pre-cooked before they’re added with the peas. If you’re substantially increasing the veggies, consider also increasing the sauce by about 25% to keep the dish balanced.
Video Tutorial
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Chicken Curry
Whip up a one-skillet chicken curry, brimming with vibrant peas and rich flavors, all in just 30 minutes—a weeknight winner!
Ingredients
- 1¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¼-inch strips
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2½ teaspoons curry powder, divided
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (see note)
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup frozen peas (no need to thaw)
- ¼ cup plain low fat (2%) or whole Greek yogurt (do not use nonfat)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Sprinkle the chicken evenly with ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon curry powder.
- Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned but still pink in spots, about 3 minutes. Transfer the partially cooked chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil to the skillet and set heat to medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger and remaining 1½ teaspoons curry powder and cook until fragrant, about a minute more.
- Whisk the chicken broth and cornstarch together to dissolve the cornstarch, then add to the skillet along with the sugar and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce is nicely thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the peas and partially cooked chicken to the skillet, turn the heat down to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, a few minutes. Off the heat, stir in the yogurt and cilantro; then season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with basmati rice.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 361
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 15g
- Sugar: 6g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 36g
- Sodium: 830mg
- Cholesterol: 93mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Jenn,
Thank you so much for this simple yet delicious recipe. My kids are normally very fussy but they loved it too.
I did tweak it a little. I forgot to buy yogurt so I used coconut milk instead. Also, I fried the onion with some Cayenne pepper to heat it up a bit. Was a great success!
Thanks.
I’ll cook it this evening again. The first time I tried it was a success. I love spices and indian recipes. Thanks for the idea. Italy
Made this for dinner tonight. Slathered yogurt all over the chicken and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. This recipe is far and away one of the best things I’ve made in awhile, amd its the best homemade curry I’ve had. The peas were the perfect addition to the dish. I could not stop eating it. The (small portion of) leftovers will be my lunch tomorrow, or maybe even breakfast. I love your blog and I LOVE your recipes. Your website is great too, very easy to navigate and use. Thanks!
Looks great!! Will this work with pork an is ginger essential??
Hi Jade, Yes, pork will work well. I do think the ginger adds a lot of flavor but it will still be good without it.
Googled curry my husband had a craving and the Indian resturants near me are good yet too expensive with small portions.
This recipe is OMG good. I do advise doing all the chopping in advance or having help. It is worth the effort. I used big skinless chicken breasts that I had marinated in yogurt. Made the house smell great with the onions garlic and ginger and curry. Husband had two servings! Thanks, seriously.
Hello!
I made this Curry for my family and me and it was absolute best. Kids loved it, wife loved it, i l felt inlove with it.. The question is i really want to do fish curry with similar taste (with panga). Can i do exactly the same or is there any other spices, procedures,…? Ty for your time!
Marko (Slovenia)
Hi Marko, So glad you and your family enjoyed! I do think it would work with fish; you’ll just have to be a bit more careful when cooking it so that it doesn’t fall apart. Please come back and let me know how it turns out.
can I substitute sour cream for the yogurt?
Yes, that would work fine.
I actually make TWO of your recipes today! This was wonderful. I omitted the peas, and added some red bell pepper halfway between the onions and the garlic. It was so delicious, simple and easy.
Earlier in the day I made your beef stew for tomorrow night. It’s a great recipe that I’ve made many times. Yeah, it’s a bit labor intensive. But that is unavoidable with greatness in beef stew!
I went into zen mode for the searing part! Tomorrow I will add the carrots and potatoes and reheat in the oven for an hour or so. I’m making it for my very athletic twin teenage nephews who don’t get much home cooking. They are so excited!
Thanks!
Hope they enjoy it, Shannon!
I tripled the recipe for a dinner party for eight! Guests dished up their rice, then the curry topping. Then, we passed bowls full of: crisp chopped bacon, chopped green onions, raisins, chutney, chopped peanuts, coconut, and chopped bananas. What fun it was for everyone to discuss their favorite toppings and why! We served gewurtztraminer (white) wine and offered non-alcoholic Arnie Palmers (Trader Joe’s). Big successful party – thanks, Jenn!!
Sounds like a fun, Laverne. Thanks so much for sharing!
Wonderful recipe which I found really great to follow, not being a ‘great’ cook — and it is extremely adaptable as one can see from others’ comments. Thank you so much for putting it online.
Perfect recipe. This can be used as is or you can tweak it to your taste. We used shelled edamame and would have added hot curry for a bit more kick. The family loved it and raved about it.
Hi Jen–so excited to find your website and can’t wait to try so many of these recipes. First up, the Chicken Curry. Here is my question: I have 3 kids and I know that 1.25 lbs. of chicken will not be enough for the 5 of us. Can you help me adjust this recipe for 5 people? Thank you! P.S. Loved your arcticle on Huff Post!
Hi Michelle, Thank you! I think 1.5 pounds should be enough, especially if you serve with rice. Here goes:
Ingredients:
*1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon curry powder, divided
* 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
* 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
* 5 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
* 2-1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson
* 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 1-1/4 cups frozen peas (no need to thaw)
* 2-1/2 teaspoons sugar
* 1/3 cup plain low fat (2%) or whole Greek yogurt (do not use nonfat)
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions:
1. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned but still pink in spots, about 3 minutes. Transfer the partially cooked chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.
3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and set heat to medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger and remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder and cook until fragrant, about a minute more.
4. Whisk the chicken broth and cornstarch together to dissolve the cornstarch, then add to the skillet along with the sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce is nicely thickened, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the peas and partially cooked chicken to the skillet, turn the heat down to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, a few minutes. Off the heat, stir in the yogurt and cilantro and season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Serve with basmati rice.
Hi Jenny
I really want to cook this for my hubby but would like to know how to make a decent mild curry powder to use with this recipe please can you help with this?
Hi Nikki, Here are a few recipes: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/curry-powder-blend-recipe.html or http://allrecipes.com/recipe/46767/mild-curry-powder/
Excellent, I did not have all the ingredients, but I improvise I just added greek yogurt to the chicken, curry, onion, garlic salt.
We ate it with white rice
Delicious
A lot of people commented that they don’t like peas. Try adding corn instead! It adds a little bit to the sweetness of the dish. I highly recommend!
Really yummy! I would add maybe half an onion instead of a whole one, personal preference. And maybe more (hot) curry because I like a more spicy dish. I also added 1/2 a pineapple cut up at the end of step 3, and let them sit a little (a minute or two) in the pan before adding the chicken for step 4
I make something similar with a lot of Indian spices, Thai red curry and coconut milk.
It’s delish.
How are you Jenn? Long time since we met. All being well I’ll have grandchild number 7 sometime next month. 🙂
Just cooked this tonight for the family. Winner all round. Fabulous fresh taste with the ginger coming through. Loved it. Thanks.
I am so gonna make this tonight…I have some chicken breasts sitting in my fridge, was wondering what to do with them. Well, I just found the answer: I don’t even need to go to the shop, I have everything I need!
I am sure gonna try this!
Very easy to prepare and looks yummy…
This is so delicious! This is the 2nd time I made it and this time I used half mild curry powder and half hot curry powder….just the right amount of heat!! Also, do not skip out on the fresh cilantro!! Thanks for the recipe:)
My daughter wanted to try curry so we made this recipe. It was an easy weeknight meal. We also warmed up some store bought naan which was perfect for dipping in the sauce. Thank you for the recipe
Easy recipe. Next time I would use a touch more curry and salt.
I like to add a diced up granny smith apple to the curry. This recipe is wonderful.
I have had this recipe for awhile, but last night finally made it. Now, it will be a regular for sure! The simplicity of ingredients and the delicious outcome was impressive. My husband and I thought, maybe more curry next time, but it has kind of an after kick. So, really, we thought it was perfect the way it was. My sauce thickened up nicely and if you use the small dice as instructed there should be no vegetable chunks. I served this with quinoa and used the rest of my chicken broth to cook it and it was a nice base for this dish. The colors of this dish were impressive and would serve this for company. Thanks Jenn!
Lovely, will definitely make this again
Thanks
This recipe is fantastic. My family ate it with peanuts, coconut, and raisins on the side to add as toppings. Hope I win the knife set!
I love this recipe. I used sour cream instead of yogurt and it lacked a little zing but was still delicious!
L-O-V-E this recipe! We did personalize it a little bit. We made the following tweaks: (1) after step 3, we use an immersion blender to create a thicker sauce and avoid the chunky onions (of which I am not a fan:) and (2) we don’t use peas, we offer a veggie side dish instead, (3) we use shrimp and it is to die for!! We let the shrimp cook in the sauce to soak up all that yumminess, and (4) we do use non-fat greek yogurt and it works just fine – we’ve also omitted the yogurt altogether and it is still comletely divine! Thank you so much for this flavorfull and healthy weeknight dinner. This family LOVES this recipe
Great tip about thickening the sauce. I was wondering that exact thing! Did you add anything else when you blended it?
Really good recipe! I had to add more cornstarch in mine to thicken the sauce as well as more Indian spices to give it more flavor. I would add more of the following to taste: curry powder, cumin, turmeric, & coriander. Indian cuisine is huge on using a variety of spices, so these additions made it more authentic.
Looks like I found dinner for tonight
This is an easy dinner. My husband and I have just discovered we love curry dishes and this was no exception.
Been wanting a reason to make homemade naan and this is it! Love Curry!
You have some really great time saving ideas. Thanks for sharing them
Made this tonight and loved it. Pretty easy too! We did end up adding quite a bit of extra curry and pepper flakes to increase the heat. Also used coconut milk instead of the yogurt. Will be making this again!
This was the first curry dish I ever made. I didn’t use the ginger at all and I used my own chicken stock which gave it a very robust flavor. It was VERY good!
This was very good!
OMG. I made this last night — FABULOUS!!!! My hubby — who is inherently critical of all meals not prepared by his hands — could not stop raving about it. SCORE!
Hi Jenn,
Erica told me about your site and I just made this dish last night – it’s awesome. I brought it for lunch today and people were checking it out because it smells so good. I will definitely make this again. Thanks!!
Daphne
Just as suspected, absolutely amazing. In this moment, my taste buds could not possibly be happier. Thank you once again!
If it were not for Lent, I’d be making this dish tonight….but alas, it must wait til tomorrow. I haven’t been this excited for a meal in quite a while!
Fantastic flavor and very tender chicken!
Delicious! Just as good as the dishes I got over new year’s in Bombay.
This is one of the most flavorful chicken curry recipes I’ve tried using chicken breasts. I will definitely make this again!
This was so easy to make and it was delicious. The chicken turned out very tender. The only down side was that my house smelled like curry for days:)
Love curry! This looks so yummy!
Made this for dinner last week. It was quick and easy and a big hit with the whole family.
This is on the menu for tomorrow night. Pretty excited! Normally, I don’t like peas either; but I have found that your recipes taste amazing no matrer what’s in them, so will make as suggested.
Great recipe! came out just fine with the nonfat greek yogurt!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
This looks better than the recipe I currently use. I’ll probably add something other than peas (can’t stand them) but otherwise, it looks absolutely yummy!
I made this recipe the other night for dinner. It was pretty quick to whip up on a weeknight plus it was DELICIOUS! The only thing I did change was to add hot curry paste at the end for a little extra kick! I will definitely make this again!