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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.
Those days when you know you need something tasty, satisfying, hearty BUT quick? If you have chicken and a handful of store cupboard ingredients, it’s got to be time to whip up an Easy Chicken Curry, right?!
This recipe is convenient, super easy, ready in about half an hour, all made in one pot AND it’s really healthy. A quick curry with about 300 calories for a midweek win? Yes please.
Of course, add your favourite side dishes (poppadoms, naans, flatbreads etc) or make it alongside other curries as part of a curry night banquet because it’s ideal for making ahead, batch-cooking and freezing 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
How we came up with this recipe
While I have plenty of different types of curry recipes, most of which are pretty straightforward, I wanted to create an UBER simple chicken curry that was really adaptable, nice and healthy, but also involved just a few ingredients we might already have in (because we all need those last minute ‘I-haven’t-thought-of-anything-for-dinner-and-dinner-is-now’ recipes).
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.
Easy Chicken Curry Ingredients
- Chicken breast – Skinless and boneless
- Tikka masala curry paste
- Natural yoghurt – I use low fat
- Vegetable oil – Olive oil is also OK
- Onion – You can use fresh or pre-chopped frozen
- Chopped tomatoes
- Water
- HoneyLemon – 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 for about 15 minutes.
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
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 we marinate
This really allows the flavours to get deep into the meat, which means the flavour is on another level. 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
- Rice
- Naan breads
- Poppadoms
- Pickles, raita and mango chutney
- Easy flatbreads
Add veggies
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.
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 {Quick & Healthy}
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, 2 x 400g tins
- 150 ml (0.75 cups) Water
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 4 Tsp Lemon juice
Instructions
- 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.
- Heat the oil in your saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes. Try not to stir too much. Let it sit still and get crispy edges.
- Add the tomatoes, water, honey and lemon juice and cook for another 15 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published on March 17, 2021 and updated later to make improvements.
Great curry. Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely make it again. Everyone is very pleased with this dinner.
The recipe says 1kg chicken for 8 portions is this correct. I am making a huge amount for a village event and could do with a teensy bit of reassurance that the quantities are ok. Can anyone help?
I didn’t read the method before getting going, so didn’t realise I needed to marinate the chicken. Doh! However, I was committed and decided to just roll with it anyway. The chicken sat for a bit in the yoghurt and paste whilst I prepped the onions and other bits. I was worried it wouldn’t be very good but it was literally the nicest curry I’ve ever cooked. Next time I know to marinate and I’m sure it’ll be even better. Highly recommend this recipe-don’t forget the time to marinate lol!
I cooked this for two so tweaked the quantities and added vegetables but I have to say it came out absolutely delicious and I will be adding it to our list of firm favourites. Thanks so much. So happy to have found this recipe. 😊
This was delicious. I added a little extra curry paste for a bit more heat and some chopped spinach towards the end. I loved the idea of adding the honey and this made all the difference. I will definitely be making this one again.
Wow Sarah this was delicious!!! So easy to make!
Easy to follow instructions , we al loved it!
Made this as my cousin Wendy Simpson said it was quick easy and very tasty, and it was delicious made batch and froze half and tasted even better after frozen what a great low cal dish going to make it for a group of friends in a few weeks thankyou it’s a first of many dishes out of your book x
Hi what if you don’t have lemon juice
how about you grow a lemon tree you pleb