This one pot lemongrass chicken curry is packed with layers of bold spices and fragrant aromatics in a creamy coconut sauce. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or when you're craving something comforting and vibrant.
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About This Recipe
This Lemongrass Chicken Curry is full of bold spices, tender chicken and an array of vegetables, all simmered in a fragrant and creamy coconut curry sauce that’s as comforting as it is flavorful.
The combination of red curry paste, fresh lemongrass, and ginger creates a beautifully aromatic base, infusing every bite. Made in just one pot, this chicken coconut curry is easy enough to make for weeknight dinner and will have your kitchen smelling heavenly!
If you can’t get enough curry, you might also love my Salmon Curry or Coconut Curry Mussels for a seafood twist.
📋 Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: Chicken thighs are juicy and flavorful, but you can substitute chicken breasts if you prefer a leaner option.
- Coconut Oil: Adds richness and a subtle coconut flavor, but other neutral oils like avocado or vegetable oil work too.
- Lemongrass and Ginger: These bring bold, fresh, and citrusy notes to the dish. Bruising the lemongrass releases its essential oils for maximum flavor.
- Spices: Garam Masala, Turmeric and curry powder. This blend of spices adds depth, heat, and a vibrant golden color.
- Fish Sauce: Just a few drops of fish sauce gives the entire dish a lovely savoriness and saltiness that goes so well with the other flavors.
- Red Curry Paste: I took help from the store and used Thai Red Curry Paste which has great flavor. Green curry paste would work great too.
- Vegetables: Simmer the vegetables that can handle a bit longer cooking, such as the bell peppers. Save the tender vegetables, such as snow peas for the last few minutes of cooking
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🍋 Substitutions and Variations
- Protein: Swap the chicken thighs for shrimp, salmon or tofu. If using shrimp, simmer the shrimp in the sauce for the last 7-8 minutes.
- Curry Paste: Try green curry paste for a fresh, herbal flavor or yellow curry paste for a milder, sweeter profile.
- Vegetables: Use zucchini, eggplant, or spinach if you have them on hand.
- Vegan Option: Replace the chicken with tofu or chickpeas, use vegetable stock, and swap fish sauce for soy sauce or a vegan fish sauce alternative.
⏲️ Instructions
Saute the Aromatics. Heat coconut oil in a large pot or skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and serrano, sautéing until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.
Add Lemongrass and Ginger. Add the ginger, garlic and bruised lemongrass and continue sautéing for another minute.
Add the Spices. Stir in the curry powder, garam masala, turmeric and brown sugar.
Season the Chicken: Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add them to the pot and stir to coat evenly in the spice mixture.
Add the Vegetables and Liquids: Add the mushrooms, peppers, coconut milk, chicken stock, curry paste and few dashes of fish sauce. Stir to combine.
Cook the Curry. Cover the pot and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the snow peas and cook for another 5 minutes. Garnish with lime juice and cilantro.
📍 Recipe Tips
- Bruise the Lemongrass: Lemongrass is fibrous, but it holds incredible citrusy and herbal flavors. For the best flavor, cut the stalks into chunks and use the back of a knife to gently bruise them.
- Sauté the Spices: Before adding liquids, sauté the spices in the hot oil. This "blooms" the spices, enhancing their flavors.
- Add Tender Vegetables at the End: Snow peas and snap peas cook very quickly, so add them towards the end so they stay crisp.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the lemongrass chicken curry alongside fragrant jasmine rice to sop up the delicious sauce. Even though not traditional, a dollop of creamy tzatziki would pair beautifully with the warm and spicy flavors.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Lemongrass Chicken Coconut Curry
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-2 inch peices
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
Curry
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or other neutral oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 serrano finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 3 stalks of lemon grass cut into 1-2 inch chunks and bruised
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 pint button mushrooms large ones, cut in half
- 1 large red bell pepper cut into large chunks or 5-6 baby bell peppers
- 13.5 ounce canned full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups chicken stock or water
- 4 ounces snow peas string removed
- Few dashes of fish sauce
To Serve
- Lime wedges
- Chopped cilantro
- Cooked rice
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat coconut oil in a large pot or skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and serrano, sautéing until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and lemongrass, ensuring the lemongrass is cut into large chunks and "bruised" with the back of a knife to release its fragrance. Cook for another minute until the garlic begins to caramelize.
- Add the spices: Stir in the curry powder, garam masala, turmeric and brown sugar. Toss to coat the aromatics evenly in the spices.
- Season the chicken: Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add them to the pot and stir to coat evenly in the spice mixture.
- Add the vegetables: Add the mushrooms and red bell peppers (or baby bell peppers). Toss to coat everything evenly. Reserve the snow peas to add later to prevent overcooking.
- Add the liquids: Pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock (or water). Stir in the red curry paste until fully dissolved. The liquid should lightly cover the ingredients; adjust with more stock if needed. Add a few dashes of fish sauce.
- Simmer: Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the snow peas and cook for another 5 minutes until they are tender but still vibrant.
- Serve: Garnish the curry with chopped cilantro and lime wedges. Serve hot with cooked rice.
Notes
-
- Protein: Swap the chicken thighs for shrimp, salmon or tofu. If using shrimp, simmer the shrimp in the sauce for the last 7-8 minutes.
- Vegetables: Use zucchini, eggplant, or spinach if you have them on hand.
- Vegan Option: Replace the chicken with tofu or chickpeas, use vegetable stock, and swap fish sauce for soy sauce or a vegan fish sauce alternative.
- Bruise the Lemongrass: Lemongrass is fibrous, but it holds incredible citrusy and herbal flavors. For the best flavor, cut the stalks into chunks and use the back of a knife to gently bruise them.
- Add Tender Vegetables at the End: Snow peas and snap peas cook very quickly, so add them towards the end so they stay crisp
- Sauté the Spices: Before adding liquids, sauté the spices in the hot oil. This "blooms" the spices, enhancing their flavors.
Bridget Secrest says
Delicious recipe. However how do i make the sauce thicker mine was pretty runny.
Samantha Ferraro says
Hi Bridget! A few suggestions to make it thicker/creamier: 1. Use full fay coconut milk, the lite milk has more water. 2. Use less stock, limit it to 1 1/2-2 cups at the most and see if that does the trick. 3. Simmer the broth for another 10 minutes to reduce, if you do this, hold off on adding the more tender vegetables until it reduces a bit. Please let me know if I can help any other way and let me know how it goes!
Amy says
Amazing! Best curry I have ever made. Will become a family staple.
Samantha says
Thank you so much Amy!!
ashok says
Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing this recipe and this website with my friends. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
Tacey R Whittemore says
I'm new to curry but really wanted to give it a try. This was easy to do and was a huge hit with my S.O. I toned down the spice a bit by not adding the jalapeno or siracha. I didn't have curry paste so I made my own based on a recipe I found online that had enough spice for me. I really enjoyed making this and really enjoyed eating it. I wish you guys could smell it, it smells absolutely amazing. I saved this to my Pinterest board so I could make it again.
Samantha says
Thank you for sharing Tracey!! Your changes sound great!!
Dave says
Add the Thai chile paste with the dry spices or the liquids?
Samantha says
Thank you for noticing that....add the curry paste with the liquids (coconut milk and water/stock). The recipe is updated! 🙂
Kyle Furness says
I absolutely love this recipe, love cooking with lemongrass. I've made it twice in the past 2 weeks and both times it turned out great. First time I had a jalapeño but this time I just used 2 tbsp of siracha and it had the perfect spice. Both times I thickened it with 1 tbsp arrowroot powder with 1 tbsp water and stirred in slowly. I added the fish sauce this time and we do so again. This recipe is definitely getting bookmarked, I could eat it once a week, Thanks.
Samantha says
Hi Kyle!! I love the additions you made and I think 'll try it your way next!!
Leah says
Cooking this now and it smells divine. I too missed the curry paste but have just added it with the liquid and am hoping for the best.
Samantha says
Awesome...please let me know how it is!!
Katie says
When does the curry paste go in? Making this right now and adding it with the liquids, thanks for the recipe!
Samantha says
Hi Katie! It should've gone in with the other spices!! How did it come out?
Sarah says
I was excited to make this but ended up somewhat disappointed. The flavour was overall delicious, but the confusion between Thai and Indian flavours didn't quite sit right with me. The lemongrass fell apart such that we had to pick out all the woody bits of it. The sauce was watery and when I tried to boil it down to thicken, so the peppers ended up overcooked and mushy. I will continue on my mission to find authentic Thai curry made at home!
Samantha says
Hi Sarah! I'm so sorry it didn't work out for you! Lemongrass has layers, so I can see how different pieces came apart. Perhaps use less liquid the next time around and add the veggies in just 10 minutes before serving? I hope you find a recipe that you enjoy and please let me know the outcome! Happy cooking!
Don says
Great curry! Nothing to add or change. My family found it a little hot, but one can adjust the heat elements to match their taste. Was perfect for me! thanks for posting.
Samantha says
Wonderful...thanks for letting me know Don!
Bonnie Jean says
This looks like an awesome recipe. Can't wait to try it! Your recipe doesn't say- how much cubed chicken do you normally use with this?
Samantha says
Hi Bonnie Jean..I meant to include 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces...thank you for letting me know. Recipe is updated 🙂
Heather says
Oh man, we have been on a curry bender lately. Mostly we stick with panang curry, but this looks like it needs to be added to the rotation! Thanks for sharing!
Samantha says
Thanks Heather! I'd love to try different styles of curry!
kita says
Look at that bright beautiful bowl of awesome! Come to mama! Great photos 😀
Julia says
I could eat chicken curry every single day of my life and your recipe looks AMAZING! I love lemongrass and have never made chicken curry with it. The recipe may not be new to you, but it's certainly going to get ravaged in my house!
Mimi says
Beautiful! I can't get lemongrass fresh. Is there any substitute?
Samantha says
Hi Mimi...I would suggest using long strips of lemon peel. You can peel it using your vegetable peeler. That shouldngive it a similar bright lemon flavor!