This Easy Chicken Curry is one of my family’s favorite quick weeknight meals. Just a bit spicy, with a fragrant, slightly sweet tomato base and big chunks of tender chicken breast throughout, it’s made with pantry staples and can be on your table in about 35 minutes.
Hey, friends. Today’s recipe is a fun one because it’s both an old family favorite and something I just learned to cook myself: super easy Chicken Curry.
Unlike other childhood favorites I’ve posted (Mom’s Simple Sunday Beef Stew, Chicken Cacciatore, Slow Cooker Tri-tip Sandwiches, etc.), I’ve eaten this Chicken Curry literally hundreds of times in my life, and yet somehow never actually been the one to make it. When I asked my mom for the recipe a couple weeks ago, she looked at me like I was a moron because everyone else in the family knows it by heart. She must have said “Really?” approximately seven times when I told her I didn’t know how to make it.
But, I have good excuses! The first is that because it’s so easy to make, it was one of the first recipes my little sisters learned to cook growing up, so now they’re the ones that always make it for family functions, and second, because the original makes a giant, family-size vat of curry that I’d never be able to eat on my own.
So for today, in addition to learning how to actually cook chicken curry for myself so I could share it with you, I cut the recipe way down so now it serves just two or three.
If you don’t usually make curries at home, this is a perfect curry to start with because you don’t need any special spices or chilies, just curry powder. And while completely delicious, this is a very mild curry, only the slightest bit spicy with a fragrant, slightly sweet tomato base and big chunks of tender chicken breast throughout.
Because this Chicken Curry is so simple and quick to make, in our house growing up, it was usually a weeknight meal, and the scaled down version is even quicker since there’s hardly any chopping to be done, just a bit of green bell pepper, onion, and one chicken breast.
After cutting, the chicken breast gets floured and browned on the stove, the vegetables and spices get a couple minutes in the skillet, and then chicken gets added back to the pan and everything simmers with a can of stewed tomatoes for about twenty minutes. At the very end, you stir in a spoonful of jam for a little added sweetness, and you’re done!
From start to finish, this curry will take just over half an hour, which is perfect because that’s about the time your rice cooker should be done too, so dinner is on the table and ready to go all at the same time. And since the curry is served over rice, this is a very filling meal all on its own, no need to go all out on sides. Just serve with some simple steamed broccoli and enjoy.
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Easy Chicken Curry Recipe Notes
- This recipe calls for stewed tomatoes, and sometimes you can only find stewed tomatoes that are labeled Italian- or Mexican-style. Given the choice, my family usually uses Italian, but we’ve used both and both taste great.
- Stewed tomatoes come in pretty large chunks, if you don’t love chunks of tomatoes or are feeding a picky eater, you can open the can, stick a pair of kitchen shears inside and chop the tomatoes into smaller pieces inside the can.
As written, this Easy Chicken Curry recipe makes two very generous portions or three more modest servings. To change the recipe yield, hover over the number of servings (or click if you are on mobile) and slide the slider–no preparation changes are necessary for doubling or tripling.
Easy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- Medium skillet with a lid
Chicken Curry
- 1/3 cup (40g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 medium (8-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast cubed
- 3 teaspoons olive oil divided
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon currant jelly strawberry or grape are also fine
Serve With
- White rice
- Soy sauce optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and set aside.
- In a medium skillet with a lid, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add flour-coated chicken pieces to the pan and cook until browned on all sides. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Turn heat down to medium and add remaining teaspoon of oil to the pan. Add onion, bell pepper, curry powder, and thyme and cook until the edges of the onions begin to turn translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Return chicken to the pan and add stewed tomatoes. Stir together, cover and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook at a simmer until tomatoes are saucy and chicken cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in jelly, and salt to taste. Simmer for another minute or two, until jelly is completely incorporated.
- Serve over rice with a drizzle of soy sauce if desired and enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Clare says
I made this last night with a few substitutions with what I had on hand and it was great.
Thighs instead of breasts, Indian-style canned tomatoes instead of stewed, curry paste instead of powder, red onion and red bell pepper instead of green.
Easy and delicious, It will become a staple with me.
Tracy says
That sounds delish, Clare!!
Agness of Run Agness Run says
Yum! This is such a delightful curry recipe which is making my mouth water, Tracy! Can’t wait to give it a try! 🙂
Tracy says
Hope you enjoy it, Agness!!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I can see why this was so popular growing up! I absolutely love curry anything and the fact that this is made in just over half an hour makes me super happy! Love that you put jelly in there for a lil’ sweet to go with the savoury-ness of the dish! Brilliant!
Hope you have an awesome weekend, Tracy!
Tracy says
Thanks, Dawn!!