This fork-tender slow cooker Asian chicken stew, infused with plenty of fresh ginger in a rich tomato and coconut milk based sauce is fantastic and comforting. The slow cooker does all the work for you and what you have after about 4-5 hours is a rich stew to fuel the soul. Hope you enjoy this crock pot curry chicken in coconut milk as much as we do!

Slow Cooker Coconut Milk Chicken Recipe in a bowl with chopsticks

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken with Curry and coconut milk

This is one of our favorite crock pot curry chicken recipes. The rich flavors of the coconut milk, curry and fresh ginger is amazing. Leftovers are always wonderful to eat, particularly stews, and slow cooker coconut chicken because the flavors become more deep and pronounced. This slow cooker Asian ginger chicken recipe is a perfect dish to have as a left over and it’s wonderfully versatile.

Video: Slow-Cooker Coconut Chicken

Use Boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs

Which cut of chicken to use? Both of these types of chicken meat are great. If you want extra flavor, use chicken thigh meat. The dark meat will take about the same time to cook and it’ll be super juicy and amazing. If you like both types of white and dark meat, you can use both as well for this recipe. What ever you do, it’ll be delicious.  This recipe has not been tested with bone-in chicken yet, but if you try it please leave a comment below for the results.

Slow Cooker Coconut Milk Chicken Recipe in a cooking pot with a wooden spoon crock pot curry chicken

Is fish sauce necessary for slow cooker coconut milk chicken?

No, but it adds so much amazing umami flavor. You can customize the flavors as well by adding more or less fish sauce. Sure, fish sauce might sound scary, but the flavors are tremendous and it adds a rich flavor that you won’t even find odd. But if you’ve never cooked with fish sauce before, then you can certainly use soy sauce.

Instant pot version of coconut milk curry chicken

The best part about this chicken recipe is that is can also be cooked in the Instant Pot, which is a pressure cooker that is super versatile. The cooking time should be much quicker compared to the slow cooker. If you decide to make this Coconut milk chicken recipe, total cooking time should be about 40 minutes total.

Slow Cooker Coconut Milk-Ginger Chicken

Yield: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
This is great to serve with rice, pasta, noodles or bread for dipping. Sizes of chicken will vary so we added weight and volume of chicken amounts. Sometimes a can of coconut milk will be 13.5 oz and other times 14 oz, depending on brand and thickness of product. Either amount works fine for the recipe.
4.62 from 21 votes

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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (907 g) boneless chicken thighs or breasts , about 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 7-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 13.5 oz. (400 g) canned coconut milk
  • 8 oz. (227 g) tomato sauce (NOT tomato paste) (about 1 cup)
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce (or soy sauce, but fish sauce makes it better!)
  • 3-4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) minced fresh ginger (or about 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) ground curry powder
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) cayenne pepper , or to personal spicy taste (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) kosher salt , or to taste
  • 1 pound (454 g) potatoes , cut into 1" pieces
  • 2 carrots , peeled & cut into 1" pieces (about 1 cup)

Cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce

  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) cornstarch
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) water

Equipment

Instructions 

  • In slow cooker pot, combine coconut milk, tomato sauce, fish sauce (or soy sauce), garlic, ginger, curry powder, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt. Using a whisk, gently combine all ingredients together well.
    spices and coconut milk in slow cooker pot
  • Add chicken, potatoes and carrots. Press into the sauce to make sure the sauce covers all the chicken, potatoes and carrots.
    ingredients in slow cooker
  • Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or 5-6 hours on LOW. Depending on how thick you cut your potatoes and carrots, cooking time will vary.
    cooked chicken
  • Make cornstarch slurry: If you want the sauce to be a little thicker, combine the cornstarch and water. Stir to remove all lumps and add to the chicken with sauce. Gently stir the sauce and cover the crock pot. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit more.
    making cornstarch slurry
  • Serve with rice, pasta, noodles or bread for dipping.
    bowl of slow cooker chicken curry

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 566kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 39g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 23g, Cholesterol: 162mg, Sodium: 1782mg, Potassium: 1488mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 5434IU, Vitamin C: 32mg, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 5mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Asian
Calories: 566

Serving Easy Crock Pot Chicken Recipe in Coconut Milk

Serve this chicken stew on just about anything you like. It’s so good with so many things and in different ways.

  • It’s satisfying on a bed of rice like brown rice, quinoa or even couscous.
  • Love noodles? It’s great with noodles
  • How about pasta? Sure, the creamy sauce is awesome on pasta to soak up the rich and creamy sauce.
  • Dip with bread: Since there’s already potatoes in it and you don’t want the rice or noodles, serve this instead, with some crusty bread. Dipping the bread in the wonderfully ginger infused broth is just wonderful.
  • Sometimes it’s great to have a quick and easy Asian recipe to make in the slow cooker on busy days when you’re juggling work and family!

Freezing and storing leftovers

If you have leftovers, freeze them in airtight ziplock bags and containers. You can freeze it for up to about 2-3 months. We don’t like to freeze leftover chicken for too long because it can get freezer burn and dry out.

Other Awesome Slow Cooker & Instant Pot Recipes

Our Favorite Cookers & Goodies for Entertaining:

Whether you prefer a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or a multi-cooker, these kitchen counter appliances help make dinner a little easier for the busy household, plus with an added bonus of some of our favorite finds for entertaining:

Crockpot Slow Cooker
The Crockpot 6qt. Slow Cooker

The original slow cooker. On this on the lid locks down which is great for transporting to potlucks and such. Simple, inexpensive and reliable.

Instant Pot Duo
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cooker

It has cult-like following for a reason. It’s a pressure cooker and so much more. Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, & Yogurt Maker. It’s awesome! If  you want a pressure cooker that has a few more bells and whistles (like hands free steam release), this Breville Pressure Cooker is also great.

Cuisinart Multi-Cooker
Cuisinart Multi-Cooker

If pressure cooking is a not your thing but want a bit more than just a slow cooker, this multi-cooker is perfect for you. It can Sauté, Steam, and Slow Cook. Perfect to create those one pot meals.

Enjoy More Slow Cooker Recipes and Chicken Recipes This recipe was originally published in 2013 and re-published with a new video! Enjoy!