This recipe for chicken coconut curry was an entry in our Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest, created and submitted by Diane Halferty. In this rich and comforting recipe, chicken and sweet potatoes are cooked and baked in one-pot with a rich red curry sauce. To finish, it’s topped with toasted coconut and mustard seeds, and served with lime wedges and jasmine rice.
Special Diet Notes: Chicken Coconut Curry
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, optionally peanut-free, soy-free, and generally top food allergy-friendly.
For paleo and grain-free chicken coconut curry, simply skip the rice or serve this dish over easy cauliflower rice.
- 1 (3½ pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 2½ teaspoons Kosher salt, plus additional as needed
- Black pepper, as needed
- 2 tablespoons peanut, safflower or vegetable oil
- ¼ cup finely chopped scallion
- 1½ inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated (1½ tablespoons)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 to 2 jalapeño or Serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 cups canned coconut milk
- 1-2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1½ inch chunks
- ¾ cup coconut flakes
- 1 tablespoon black or brown mustard seeds, optional
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Lime wedges
- 4 cups hot cooked Jasmine or Basmati rice, for serving
- Heat oven to 325°F.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil. Brown chicken pieces, in batches if necessary, until golden all over, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Stir scallion, ginger, garlic and chiles into pot and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in curry paste and cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, brown sugar, and sweet potatoes.
- Arrange chicken pieces on top of potatoes, placing breast meat on top. Pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of chicken (about ½ cup). Bring to a boil. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large dry skillet over medium heat, toast coconut flakes until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mustard seeds, if used, and toast until they begin to pop, 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl and season with a pinch of salt.
- Transfer chicken and sweet potatoes to a platter. Return Dutch oven to the stove and simmer over medium-high heat until cooking liquid has thickened to a saucelike consistency, 5 to 10 minutes.Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Pour over chicken and potatoes.
- Sprinkle with the coconut and mustard seed (if used) mixture and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing. Serve over hot Jasmine or Basmati rice.
3 Comments
This sounds fabulous! I threw together something similar last month, but it came out just a little flat. I think I just missed something in the flavor profile, so I can’t wait to give this recipe a try and get it right!
I hope this one works out better for you Renee!
Absolutely craving curry right now- Love how there is coconut flakes in it too! Making this!