Refreshing and zippy, this Easy Green Curry Recipe with Chicken is made with fresh, flavorful ingredients for a Thai-inspired easy chicken curry recipe that comes together in a single skillet or pot! Serve it over cooked rice or cauliflower rice for a filling gluten free meal all your friends and family will adore.
What Is Green Curry?
Often thought of as coming solely from Indian cuisine, curry recipes are also a staple in Thai cooking. The term curry is used to refer to both the entire dish and the curry paste used to create it. When it comes to Thai food, there are three main types of curries including red, yellow, and green. Traditionally, all three varieties were made with the same ingredients, their only difference being the chilies used in each recipe. However, over time, different ingredients have been incorporated into the dishes, making them more distinct and easy to distinguish based on both their flavor and color.
Often considered to be the most popular, green curry is vibrant in color and herbaceous in flavor, often containing ingredients like cilantro, basil, and green chilies. The most common ways to find green curry are in chicken recipes like this green curry chicken or meals like fish dumplings.
Which is Hotter Red or Green Curry?
Of course, every recipe differs in flavor and heat depending on the chef. However, in general, red curry is considered to be much hotter than its green curry counterpart.
Why You’ll Love This Green Curry Recipe
Admittedly, this easy chicken curry recipe isn’t completely authentic. However, it is delicious and easy to make in batches for quick meal prep! Keeping the core ingredient, green curry paste, in mind, we created a quick recipe that’s absolutely bursting with flavor, but that’s not the only reason why we love it! It’s also:
- High in protein and rich in nutrients.
- Easily customized to fit all your flavor preferences and dietary needs.
- Budget-friendly and great for feeding a crowd.
- Freezer-friendly and perfect for packed lunches or quick dinners.
Gluten Free Ingredient You’ll Need
While this easy green curry recipe with chicken isn’t 100% authentic, we used inspiration from classic Thai recipes to recreate the same incredible flavors using whole food, budget-friendly, gluten free ingredients you’ll love! Here’s what you’ll need:
Key Flavorings:
- Oil – We prefer to use avocado oil for its high smoke point and omega fatty acids, but coconut oil or avocado oil can be used, too.
- Ginger – Fresh, grated ginger works best to add a slight tang. It can easily be found in the vegetable section of your local grocery store!
- Lemongrass – Similar in appearance to green onions, lemongrass adds a light, refreshing flavor that balances out the heat.
- Garlic – Used to enhance the savoriness of the dish and extract more flavor out of the curry paste.
- Gluten Free Curry Paste – Any green curry paste you can find can be used. However, we found that this version yields the most authentic flavor!
Cooking Tip: Every curry paste will have a different level of spice. Be sure to taste your recipe as it cooks, and adjust the recipe, adding more or less curry paste as needed to suit your preferences.
Key Base Ingredients
- Full-Fat or Lite Canned Coconut Milk – Used to mellow out the ingredients and create a creamier consistency. Make sure to use canned coconut milk, often found in the ethnic aisle of the grocery store!
- Broth – We use vegetable broth, but chicken broth works as well.
- Sweetener – We prefer to use coconut sugar, but brown sugar would work, too.
- Sweet Potato – Typically, traditional green curry recipes use Thai eggplant. However, for a more budget-friendly option, we opted for sweet potato instead. Every bit as tasty, it helps balance out the spice and adds an extra boost of nutrients and fiber!
- Thai Basil – Make sure to chop your basil leaves small before adding them to the dish.
Ingredient Swap: If you can’t find Thai basil, regular Italian basil can be used in its place. It will just have a slightly more pepper taste.
- Lime – We will want to use the peel and the juice. Or, feel free to replace the lime peel with kaffir lime leaves.
- Salt – Fish sauce can be used in its place.
- Chicken – To keep this recipe super simple, we simply use cooked, diced chicken leftover from shredded chicken meal prep or store-bought rotisserie chicken!
- Vegetables – We use a combination of red bell pepper, snow peas, and baby spinach, but feel free to mix and match what you have on hand.
How to Make The Best Easy Green Curry Recipe
If you think curry is difficult to make, think again! This easy chicken curry recipe comes together in minutes with minimal prep and easy cleanup.
- Dry Out the Curry. To begin, heat the oil in a large skillet or pot, and add the ginger, lemongrass, and garlic. Mix in the curry paste, and cook until it is fragrant.
- Boil. Add the coconut milk, broth, and sugar, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Simmer. Add the potatoes, basil, lime peel, and salt, simmering until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the Chicken and Remaining Ingredients. Stir in the rest of the vegetables and cooked chicken. Simmer until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is nicely coated with the curry sauce. Remove and discard the lime peel. We don’t want to bite into that!
Note: Depending on the type of coconut milk used and how long you simmer the curry, the consistency of your curry may vary.
- Serve. Serve your green curry recipe warm with rice or cauliflower rice, topped with thai basil and lime, if desired. And enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
For a traditional presentation, we love to serve this easy chicken curry recipe over a bed of Jasmine rice. However, it also tastes great paired with any rice you have on hand, quinoa, or even cauliflower rice for a lower-carb option. And don’t forget to add your favorite garnishes like Thai basil, Thai pepper, and chopped cilantro!
Make Ahead and Storage Options
One bite of this easy green curry recipe, and you’ll be adding it to your weekly meal prep routine on repeat! Once cooked and cooled, leftovers can easily be stored for quick, nutritious meals throughout the week.
Refrigerator: Placed in an airtight container, leftover green curry with chicken will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Once cooked and cooled, this green curry recipe can be placed in an airtight container and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just note that the texture of some of the vegetables might change slightly once thawed.
Reheat: Let frozen leftovers thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, warm individual portions in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat in 30-second intervals until your desired temperature is reached.
Or, reheat larger portions by placing them in a skillet over medium heat. Let them cook, stirring frequently until heated through.
More of Our Favorite
More Gluten Free Chicken Recipes
Switch up your chicken dinner with more of our flavor-packed gluten free recipes below!
Easy Green Curry Recipe with Chicken
- Total Time: 24 minute
- Yield: 4–5 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
An easy spin on an authentic Thai recipe, this gluten free green curry recipe is made with fresh produce, Asian herbs and spices, and leftover chicken!
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon light olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh lemongrass
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 garlic cloves
- 2– 4 Tablespoons gluten free green curry paste (closest to real deal is this curry sauce)
- 1 ¼ cans (15-16 ounces) gluten free unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 ½ cups (10 ounces) diced and peeled sweet potato
- ¼ cup basil leaves, chopped
- ½ lime – peel only or kaffir lime leaves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2–3 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken (skinless)
- 1– 2 cups assorted Asian vegetables (sliced red bell pepper, snow peas, baby spinach)
- ½ lime, juiced
- For serving – Cooked white rice or cauliflower rice, if desired
- Garnish- Thai basil, Thai pepper, chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat and add ginger, lemongrass and garlic. Saute for 1 minute or until fragrant. Mix in curry paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often or until very fragrant.
- Stir in coconut milk, broth, and sugar. Bring to a boil on medium heat.
- Add potatoes, basil, lime peel and fish sauce then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- Stir in chicken, thoroughly coating with curry; then add the remaining vegetables and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and spinach is wilted. Remove lime peel and discard.
- Serve curry over cooked rice or cauliflower rice, if desired. Garnish with Thai basil, Thai pepper and/or chopped cilantro.
Notes
Storage Tips – Once cooked and cooled, store in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. The texture of some of the vegetables might change slightly once thawed. To reheat, let frozen leftovers thaw in the fridge overnight. Warm individual portions in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat in 30-second intervals until your desired temperature is reached. Reheat larger portions by placing them in a skillet over medium heat. Let them cook, stirring frequently until heated through.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 22-25
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 291
- Sugar: 8.4 g
- Sodium: 1030.4 mg
- Fat: 13.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.8 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 20.6 g
- Cholesterol: 52.5 mg
Keywords: easy curry, green curry, curry dinner, curry and rice, chicken dinner
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