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If you regularly crave a tasty but simple curry, you NEED this easy Chicken Curry recipe in your life! It’s perfect for throwing together quickly with just a few ingredients, it’s healthy and is ready in about 30 minutes. Perfect for the whole family.
There are times when I want to pour time and effort over a recipe in the kitchen, and then there are times when I need something quick and easy (i.e. most of the time.)
With a family of curry cravers, this meant I must have a few easy curry recipes up my sleeve, and that’s how my Chickpea Curry and Slow Cooker Beef Curry came about.
But I soon realised I needed a classic chicken curry that hit the spot with rich, aromatic flavours, but was also simple enough for a midweek meal.
Here it is. My Easy Chicken Curry isn’t quite as basic as my Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, but it’s not far off.
I love it because I can make it in about half an hour and use basic storecupboard ingredients. So far it has more than 100 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews, and I am so glad it’s working for so many of you too.
Why you’ll love this Easy Chicken Curry recipe
⭐️ Super simple, with a few tweaks to level up
⭐️ Perfect for easy batch cooking
⭐️ Easily adaptable to budget, taste or what you’ve got in
Recipe Notes
Curries are a great dish to make if you also want to make something that’s packed with flavour but is relatively low in calories, because we can easily make lighter choices that don’t compromise on flavour.
I’ve done this with this recipe by choosing low fat yoghurt and chicken breast. There is a real depth of flavour because I like to marinate my chicken, which I do recommend for best results, but isn’t mandatory if you don’t have time.
Take a quick look at my ‘substitutions’ list below to see how you can easily adapt this recipe if you like.
Easy Chicken Curry Ingredients
- Chicken breast – I use skinless and boneless breasts for this recipe, but see below for using chicken thighs instead.
- Tikka masala curry paste – Again, see the substitutions list about paste. This one is simply my favourite, there’s so much flavour.
- Natural yoghurt – I use low fat for this but you can use any type you like. If you use Greek yoghurt, it may be a little thicker, so you might need to add an extra splash of water too.
- Vegetable oil – Olive oil is also OK.
- Onion – You can use fresh or pre-chopped frozen.
- Chopped tomatoes – Using good quality tinned tomatoes makes a difference, if you can.
- Water – This releases the sauce a little.
- Honey – Just a tablespoon gives a wonderful tang and hint of sweetness.
- Lemon – Juice only.
How to make Easy Chicken Curry
- Add chopped chicken, curry paste and yoghurt to a bowl and mix. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When ready to make, cook your onions in hot oil in a pan.
- Add the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes (try not to stir too much so the sides crisp up a little).
- Add the tomatoes, water, honey and lemon juice and cook, as per the full recipe below.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian – You can use a chicken/meat alternative if you’d like to make this a vegetarian dish.
- Curry paste – I use tikka masala because I like its aromatic tanginess, but you could swap this for another one you have in or prefer, such as madras, jalfrezi or rogan josh.
- Chicken thighs – If you’d rather use thighs instead of breast, go ahead. Just be aware the nutritional value in the recipe will be different and they might need slightly longer cooking time.
- Vegetables – If you’d like to bulk this out or add a little more goodness, feel free to add any vegetables that you have in. I love spinach, mushrooms and cauliflower in a curry, and chickpeas also work really well too.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully by before serving.
In the freezer This recipe freezes well. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating before serving.
This is a perfect batch cook meal, so make a double portion to freeze for a pre-made dinner another day!
Top Tips
Why marinate?
This really allows the flavours to get deep into the meat, which means the flavour is on another level. Even just a couple of hours would make a difference. But if you don’t get a chance to do this part, it’s fine to make straight away.
What to serve with this easy Chicken Curry
How about some…
- Pilau Rice
- Naan breads
- Poppadoms
- Pickles, raita and mango chutney
- Easy flatbreads
FAQs
If you want to make a slow cooker version, try my Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, or my very popular and simple Slow Cooker Chicken Curry (which has more than 550 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews!) Both super easy and super delicious.
If you’re cooking a selection of curries for guests or just as a home fakeaway, make this alongside my Easy Lamb Keema and my Palak Paneer.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Easy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) Chicken breast, Boneless, skinless. Cut into 2cm pieces
- 200 g (7 oz) Tikka masala curry paste
- 300 g (11 oz) Natural low fat yoghurt
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 2 Large onions, Finely chopped. See notes
- 800 g (28 oz) Chopped tomatoes
- 150 ml (0.75 cups) Water
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 4 Tsp Lemon juice
Instructions
- Make the marinade: In a large bowl, mix the chicken, curry paste and the yoghurt. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinade over night or for at least 2 hours.
- Cook the onions: Heat the oil in your saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes.
- Now the chicken: Add the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes. Try not to stir too much. Let it sit still and get crispy edges.
- Rest of the ingredients in: Add the tomatoes, water, honey and lemon juice and cook for another 15 minutes.
Did you make this recipe? Click here to let us know how it went and give it a ⭐️ rating! Your feedback helps us to make more recipes you really want.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on March 17, 2021 and updated later to make improvements.
I have eaten way too much cake and chocolate too! Need to have a go at some low fat recipes like this x
Sarah, I love Chicken Tikka Masala and think my own recipe is great, but this one looks really good, too. I see so many recipes that just don’t sound “right” and the photos don’t look appealing. This CTM looks good!
This looks seriously tempting. Interested that it heats so high to seal the meat.
This looks so tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe x x
This looks delicious Sarah, nothing like curry from scratch. The Actifry looks intriguing too. Did I meet you at a Pinterest event with Tom Aiken? Is it just my imagination? You just look very familiar. That was a great night !
Never is gone the dog went over the moon SpongeBob came back and attack the cow 😂
What a fab picture and recipe. I want to dig right in.
I actually made this in my Actifry the other day too. It was delicious. I seriously love that machine.
I am really impressed by the number of things that you can make in an Actifry, when they first came out I thought they would be a fad, but they really have stood the test of time.
Lovey photos of a difficult subject too.
Oh my goodness this recipe looks AMAZING and the ActiFry sounds intriguing too – I like the idea of cooking with hot air. Yum!
I have owned an Actifry since they first came out and am now onto my third one – an Actifry Family. I swear by it and haven’t bought frozen potato products since we bought the Actifry all those years ago. I haven’t heard of the Actifry Express though, I’ll be investigating! That Tikka looks lush x