Easy Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry with Vegetables

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Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry is delightful combination of rich, savory, and aromatic flavors. It’s an easy and comforting family dinner for busy weeknights.

This Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry is rich, creamy, and so full flavored.  Curry paste gives you such depth of flavor in a short amount of time.  Filled with healthy carrots and spinach and served over a bowl of white rice, this is a hearty dinner the whole family will love!

Thai food is known for its bold and aromatic flavors. The combination of red curry paste, ginger, garlic, onions, and fish sauce create a complex and deep flavor with minimal effort. The coconut milk adds a creamy and slightly sweet undertone to the curry, balancing the spiciness. Finally, you get a wonderful balance of sweet and sour from the honey and lime juice.

This slow cooker recipe was inspired by Thai Coconut Curry Chicken recipe from my Cookbook. I just love the fantastic flavors so much that I wanted to bring a version to the blog.

The cookbook gives you everything you need to start planning and preparing easy and healthy dinners! It has easy dinner recipes with prep-ahead steps and cooking steps. But it has more than just recipes! It has…

• Meal Planning Guide with Downloadable Lists and Templates
• Dinner/Meal Prep Guide with Downloadable Lists and Templates

Jump to:

• The Slow Cooker is a Dinner Time-Saver!
• Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
• Simple Equipment
• Prep-Ahead Steps for Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry
• Cooking Steps for Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry
• Variations on Crockpot Thai Chicken
• Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry FAQs
• Want More Easy Slow Cooker Dinners like this?
• Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry Recipe
• Comments

The Slow Cooker is a Dinner Time-Saver!

For busy families, the end of the day is usually the most chaotic. Kids are getting home from school and activities. Parents are getting home from work. Homework has to get done, if you’re lucky you can squeeze in a workout. And of course, usually everyone is ‘starving’!

That’s where the slow cooker can be a life, or at least dinner, saver. With a little prep in the morning to toss the ingredients in, dinner can be waiting for you at the end of the day!

I love my Crockpot, but there are so many options out there today for slow cookers. Make sure to check out of the Slow Cooker Recipes on this blog!

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

Quick note!  This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them.  This commission is what helps me keep this blog afloat :).  I also share these links because I have used the products, genuinely love them, and want you to know exactly what I used. 

For Slow Cooker

• Carrots, diced – You can use whole carrots with the skin on or peeled. I peeled for this recipe. You can substitute with diced baby carrots, parsnips, or even radishes.
• Onion, diced – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, shallots, or even green onions (scallions). If you don’t have fresh onion, you can also use a tablespoon of onion flakes or onion powder.
• Fresh Garlic, minced – Fresh is best when it comes to garlic, but you can buy pre-minced garlic to save time or mince it in bulk and freeze it for use when you need it!
• Ginger – I love to buy the fresh root and then mince it in bulk in the food processor, so that I can freeze and always have it on. You can also grate the fresh ginger root using a grater or microplane. You can use dry ginger powder as a substitute if you cannot get fresh.
• Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless – You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs. I always have raw boneless skinless chicken breasts in the freezer as they can last up to 12 months if in an airtight container or packaging. Check out all of my tips on Prepping and Storing Chicken for Easier Dinners.
• Thai Red Curry Paste – There are different curry paste options. There is green Thai curry paste, which has more herbs or yellow curry paste which has more turmeric, but I love the spicier of the options, which is Thai Red Curry Paste. If you don’t have curry paste, you can use a tablespoon or so of curry powder along with a teaspoon of red pepper powder, such as paprika or chili powder. You can also add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for the spicy notes.
• Fish Sauce – Fish sauce is a common ingredient in Thai curry to bring umami. You can substitute with oyster sauce or soy sauce.
• Honey – Honey brings a touch of natural sweetness. You can substitute the same quantity of white granulated sugar or even brown sugar.
• Chicken Broth or chicken stock – You can also use, vegetable broth or stock or beef broth or stock. You can also use water mixed with a beef or chicken bouillon cube or beef base or chicken base.
• Cilantro leaves – Fresh cilantro leaves bring a bright fresh flavor. If you don’t like cilantro, you can substitute with Thai basil, parsley, or leave it out.

Finishing Ingredients

• White Long Grain Rice, uncooked – You can substitute with any rice that you have on hand, such as serving this over jasmine rice. You can also sub in quinoa, rice noodles, regular noodles, brown rice, or salad. You could also serve this over cauliflower rice.
• Cornstarch – Cornstarch is the thickener in the sauce and is great because it can be mixed into cold liquid to dissolve and create a slurry. Then add it’s added to hot liquid to thicken it. It’s much easy than making a flour roux and saves lots of time and fuss!
• Unsweetened Coconut milk – I used Goya Coconut Milk in a can. However, you can use any brand of canned Lite or regular full fat Coconut milk. If you buy your coconut milk from the dairy section, be sure to get the Plain Unsweetened variety. You can also substitute with regular cows milk, plain unsweetened almond milk, or heavy cream.
• Lime – For the fresh lime juice, you can substitute in fresh lemon juice.
• Baby Spinach leaves – The spinach is optional, but adds great texture and lots of healthy vitamins to round out the meal! You can substitute with 1 cup frozen spinach.

See recipe card for quantities.

Simple Equipment

For this recipe, you need to mince the ginger and the garlic. This can be done with a knife, using a grater or microplane or with a Garlic Press. You could also use a food processor to mince them in bulk, such as this mini food processor. Once minced, place in a freezer bag in the freezer.

You also need a slow cooker.

Prep-Ahead Steps for Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below) 

You can make the rice and prep the other ingredients 1-2 days in advance and store them in airtight containers in the fridge.

Peel and dice the carrot. Dice the onion, peel and mince the garlic, peel and mince the ginger. Chop the cilantro.

Cooking Steps for Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry

To the slow cooker insert with the carrots, onions, garlic, and ginger, add the curry paste, honey, fish sauce, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cilantro leaves (reserve about a tablespoon for garnish). Mix to combine. Add the chicken breasts (uncut) and submerge in the liquids. Set the slow cooker to High 4 hours (or 8 hours low).

After 3 hours (or 7 hours if set for 8 on low), remove the chicken and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Squeeze the juice from ½ the lime and stir in the spinach leaves to the sauce so they wilt down. Then add the cut chicken back and any juices and stir to combine. Cook for 1 additional hour on high until thickened.

Serve over rice, garnish with extra lime and cilantro leaves. Enjoy!

Variations on Crockpot Thai Chicken

You can add so many different ingredients to this recipe based on what you love. Here are just a few ideas.

• Change up the protein – In addition to chicken breasts or chicken thighs, you can use several other delicious proteins. Pork shoulder cut into chunks to help the cooking process is a good option. Beef chuck cut into chunks is also great. You could also make this with shrimp, but I recommend searing the shrimp in a pan 1-2 minutes on each side at the end of the slow cooking time. Then add the shrimp to the crockpot in the last 10 minutes just to integrate with the curry.
• Different Veggies – You can use your favorite vegetables in this recipe. Add vegetables like red bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, or snow peas. Use what’s in season for freshness. In addition to or in place of carrots, you can add other root vegetables, such as diced sweet potatoes, or butternut squash for a hearty touch.
• Vegetarian – This recipe is delicious as a vegetarian option! Seared firm tofu is fantastic with curry. Check out my Easy Thai Vegetable Stir Fry with Tofu and Peanut Sauce. For the slow cooker, however, tofu would need to be added at the end (similar to the shrimp noted above). However, you could also go with chickpeas and add in more veggies, such as sweet potatoes and mushrooms.

And by the way, check out this Thai Basil Pork Recipe Over Rice for another delicious Thai-inspired easy dinner!

Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry FAQs

Can I Use Leftover Chicken Or Leftover Turkey For This?

Yes, you can use pre-cooked or leftover chicken or turkey in this Thai Chicken Curry. This recipe includes instructions for cooking raw chicken breasts. However, you could cook all of the other ingredients in the crockpot and then add the cut chicken at the final hour of the cooking.

Can I Use Chicken Thighs instead of breasts?

Yes, boneless, skinless chicken thighs will work perfectly in this. The instructions are the same.

Is this Thai Chicken Curry Gluten Free?

This Chicken Potato Recipe is gluten free. Always check food ingredient labels to ensure that they are gluten free.

How long with this Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry last?

Once cooked, this soup can be stored in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat it on the stove in a pot on medium heat. Or reheat it in the microwave in a microwave safe container.

Can I freeze this Thai Chicken Curry?

This Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry can portioned out as desired and then frozen. I like to freeze this soup in freezer bags laying flat in a sheet pan. Once frozen, I can stack the bags like books for easy access in the freezer. You can also use an airtight freezer safe container. This soup will last for up to 6 months in the freezer.

To reheat the chicken curry, you can thaw it in the fridge overnight and then heat it on medium heat in a pot on the stove. You can also reheat it from the frozen state. Note, if the soup seems too thin after reheated, simply mix in another slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch with ¼ cup milk. Then bring to a simmer stirring as it thickens.

Want More Easy Slow Cooker Dinners like this?

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Have you tried this recipe? If so, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe below! I love to hear your feedback and your rating helps others to find this recipe. Thanks so much!