This easy slow cooker chicken curry recipe is mild enough for the whole family to enjoy, but tasty enough to satisfy the most discerning of curry lovers! It's packed with tender chunks of chicken and plenty of vegetables swimming in a thick flavoursome gravy.

A dish of slow cooker chicken curry next to a small bowl of brown rice.

You won't find this slow cooker chicken curry recipe on any Indian restaurant menu. This is not your traditional Tikka Masala or Madras curry. This is my easy chicken curry recipe that I like to throw together when I'm short of time, but the curry craving hits. To be honest, it's more like a curry-flavoured stew than a traditional Indian restaurant curry, but no less tasty. Its mild fruity flavour makes it suitable for the entire family. And of course, you can add extra chilli and spice it up if you enjoy more heat!

It's the easiest curry recipe ever. There's no frying of spices and onions, and there's no need to brown the chicken first. Simply dump everything in the slow cooker, cover it with a jug of sauce and leave it alone until supper time. The chicken cooks to succulent perfection, while the vegetables are tender and full of flavour.

There's not even any need to thicken the gravy with cornflour. I just transfer 2 cups of gravy and vegetables into a small bowl, blend it with an immersion blender and stir it back into the curry. Thickening the gravy in this way makes the gravy taste amazing. You could almost pour the gravy into a bowl, serve it with some crusty bread and call it curry vegetable soup!

Whenever I make this curry, hubby normally finds me standing over the slow cooker and 'tasting' the gravy with a spoon. It's quite amazing that there's ever any gravy left by supper time!

There are plenty of other curry recipes for both mains and sides on my curry recipes page, including this popular South African chicken curry recipe.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Tips for a successful outcome
What to serve with chicken curry
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Save for later
Related recipes
📋The recipe

Ingredients

You don't need to get too hung up about getting the quantities of chicken and vegetables exact. There's plenty of gravy to go around. I like to add extra carrots and potatoes in any case, so there are lots to blend into the gravy.

The suggested ingredients here will make a huge potful of chicken curry that will feed 6 to 8 people. I normally make a large batch and then freeze the leftovers for an even easier meal another day.

If you want to make a smaller amount, cut down on the chicken and vegetables, use one cup of stock, one cup of passata and adjust the spices and other ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients for making easy slow cooker curry chicken.

Chicken breast fillets - I used chicken breast fillets but you could substitute the breast with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Whatever cut you decide on, the chicken should be cut into bite-sized pieces.
Potatoes and carrots - these should be peeled and cut into pieces. Make sure to add plenty because some of the vegetables will be blended to thicken the gravy.
Onions- I like to peel the onions, cut them into quarters and separate them into petals. If you prefer smaller onion pieces in the curry you could dice them instead.
Passata - this is thick tomato puree that has been sieved to remove any pips and pieces of skin. You can use store-bought passata or make your own from this tomato passata recipe. Whenever I have a glut of tomatoes I always make passata and freeze it in cup-sized portions for use in my recipes.
Curry powder - I normally mix my own spice blend for curry, but because this is a quick and easy recipe I'm using a commercial curry powder blend. You can find it in supermarkets in mild, medium or hot varieties. Use the one suited to your own taste.
Chutney - no self-respecting South African will dream of making curry without adding a dollop of chutney. It adds a delicious fruitiness to the taste. I tend to use Mrs Balls (available on Amazon or most large supermarkets in the UK). Substitute with any fruity chutney (mango chutney would be good) or make your own from these recipes - Mrs Balls chutney or easy mango chutney.
Tomato puree - you may know this as tomato paste. A small amount enhances the tomato flavour of the curry.
Garlic and ginger - you can use either freshly minced garlic and ginger, or for convenience, use read-minced from a jar.
Mustard seeds - these are yellow mustard seeds that add an extra bite to the curry. Leave them out if you prefer.
Cinnamon and cardamom - these warming spices enhance the flavour of the curry.
Stock - this is chicken stock. Substitute with vegetable stock. It's fine to make the stock using a stock cube.
Salt - not pictured and optional - I like to taste the curry once it's cooked and season with salt if I think it needs it.
Fresh coriander/cilantro - not pictured. This is optional as not everyone enjoys the flavour of coriander but I like to stir in 2 or 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped coriander just before serving.

**You can find the exact ingredient measurements for making this easy chicken curry on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Instructions

Step 1: Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place it in the slow cooker.

Vegetables added to chicken in a slow cooker.

Step 2: Peel and clean the vegetables and cut them to size. Add them to the slow cooker.

Stock, chutney, passata and spices poured over veggies and chicken in a slow cooker

Step 3: Combine the stock and passata in a jug with the spices, chutney, tomato paste, ginger and garlic and pour it over the chicken and vegetables.

Step 4: Cover the slow cooker with a lid and leave it for 5 to 6 hours on low, or 4 to 5 hours on high.

Gravy and vegetables transferred to a small bowl.

Step 5: Remove 2 or 3 cups of gravy and vegetables from the slow cooker into a small bowl.

Gravy and vegetables blended to a thick paste in a smal white bowl.

Step 6: Blend the vegetables and gravy using an immersion- or stick-blender until you get a thick paste.

Blended vegetables and gravy stirred back into the curry to thicken it.

Step 7: Stir the vegetable paste back into the curry to thicken. Taste for seasoning and add salt and black pepper to taste. Turn the slow cooker to high and leave for 5 minutes to heat through. Stir in the coriander (if using) and serve hot.

Tips for a successful outcome

Here are my top tips to ensure your slow cooker chicken curry always turns out perfectly:

Cut the chicken into equally sized pieces so that it all cooks at the same time.
Likewise, keep the vegetable pieces to the same sizes.
When adding the stock, combine all the ingredients in a jug to ensure they are well mixed before pouring it over the chicken and vegetables.
To thicken the gravy, transfer 2 or 3 cups of the stock and vegetables (try not to add any chicken pieces) into a small bowl and blend with an immersion- or stick-blender until it turns into a smooth thick paste. Stir this back into the chicken in the slow cooker.
Don't forget to taste for seasoning in case the chicken curry needs salt. Stock cubes normally contain salt; for this reason I like to add salt to taste once the chicken curry has cooked.

What to serve with chicken curry

Because there are already plenty of vegetables in this chicken curry, in the form of potatoes, carrots, onions and tomatoes, you won't need much in the way of side dishes.

I like to serve this slow cooker chicken curry spooned over white or brown plain boiled rice, with homemade garlic naan bread to mop up the sauce.

If you want to add extra vegetables you might like to serve these spicy Indian-style green beans as a side dish.

A white dinner plate with brown rice topped with chicken curry. There is a piece of naan bread on the side.

Variations

This is more of an aromatic curry than a spicy one, and the heat will depend on whether you use mild, medium or hot curry powder. If you prefer more heat, add a finely chopped bird's eye chilli with the vegetables. You could add a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes instead.

I used potatoes, carrots and onions but you could add other vegetables of your own choice. Why not try adding some sliced red bell pepper or green beans? You could also stir in some defrosted frozen peas at the end of the cooking time.

Equipment

You will need a slow cooker to make this curry. I used a 3.5-litre slow cooker (or 3 quarts); anything smaller than that and you may have difficulty in fitting all the ingredients in.

For making the gravy you will need an immersion or stick blender. If you don't have one you could use a metal sieve and the back of a spoon to help push the vegetables through.

Finally, a sharp knife and a chopping board will be helpful for cutting up the chicken and vegetables.

Storage

This chicken curry can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Reheat it in a saucepan on the stove or transfer it back to the slow cooker and reheat on high for about half an hour until piping hot.

The curry can also be frozen. Allow it to come to room temperature, transfer it into meal-sized freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months. To use, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat as above.

Save for later

If you would like to make this easy slow cooker chicken curry, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Visit my chicken recipes page for other easy meal ideas using chicken. Here are a few you might enjoy:

📋The recipe

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Easy slow cooker chicken curry