Healthy slow cooker chicken curry is a great easy mid week dinner that you can prepare ahead when you've got a busy day. Like so many slow cooker recipes, you just have to prep the ingredients and leave the slow cooker to do the rest of the work.
This healthy slow cooker chicken curry is:
- Easy to make. Everything goes straight into the slow cooker. There's no need to precook any of the ingredients, which means there's less washing up.
- Great for meal prep. The beauty of a slow cooker meal is that you can do the prep ahead of time, and open the door to the delicious smell of your ready cooked dinner.
- One pot/all in one recipe. There's 2 portions of vegetables in each helping of this chicken curry, so you won't have to cook any side dishes. Of course, you could also add another portion of veggies with a big handful of salad greens if you like.
- Filling. There's plenty of protein in the chicken to keep you and your family feeling full. And the sweet potatoes are a healthy carb, which is full of fibre and low GI.
Ingredients
For this slow cooker chicken curry recipe you'll need chicken thighs with the bone in. Cooking the chicken on the bone will keep the meat more moist and add more flavour to the dish. Allow either one large or two small thighs per person. If you are concerned about the level of fat in your diet, remove the skin before cooking.
This healthy slow cooker chicken curry recipe contains plenty of vegetables. I've included sweet potato, carrot, onion and tinned tomatoes. Sweet potatoes, unlike white potatoes, count as one of your five a day. Both carrots and sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin A and C. If you leave your vegetables unpeeled (just give them a scrub first), that will also increase the fibre and vitamins in the dish. Tomatoes, especially cooked tomatoes, are a great source of lycopene which is a heart protecting antioxidant. Garlic and onions, both from the allium family, are also packed with health benefits including immunity boosting properties.
Spices. I've used a mild curry powder in this recipe, as although I love the flavours of spices, I wanted the dish to be kid friendly, and not too hot. But if you prefer, you could use a hotter curry powder. The spices in curry powder add more than just flavour. Turmeric, one of the key components of curry powder, is well known for its anti inflammatory benefits. It can also benefit your brain and lower your risks of heart disease. There's more information about the health benefits of turmeric here. Cumin, coriander and ginger also have health benefits, and are great for your digestion.
Coconut milk or creamed coconut. I like the coconut flavour in this chicken curry to be quite subtle. So I've used just 200 ml of coconut milk which is half of a can. You can use a reduced fat coconut milk if you prefer. You can also freeze the remaining coconut milk if you don't have an immediate use for it.
However, I often use creamed coconut instead of coconut milk as I find it more convenient. Creamed coconut milk comes in a block, and stores very well in the fridge. Just cut off 50g from the block, chop it up, and then add to the recipe along with 200 ml of water. Wrap up the remainder, and pop in the fridge. Creamed coconut is also a budget friendly option.
Cornflour is a quick and easy way to thicken the sauce for this chicken curry. You'll need to mix the cornflour into the coconut milk or cold water before adding it to the rest of the ingredients, to ensure that it doesn't go lumpy. It's important to add cornflour to a cold liquid.
Substitutes and tips for healthy slow cooker curry
You can switch in different vegetables in this curry recipe if you prefer. If you don't have (or like) sweet potatoes you can use swede or butternut squash. Leeks would work well instead of, or as well as, onion. You can also add greens such as broccoli and kale. Add these for the final half hour of cooking, otherwise they will go mushy.
Slow cookers do vary. I find that the recipe takes 4 hrs to cook on medium in mine, but do make sure that you check that the chicken is thoroughly cooked through and the vegetables are soft. If you want, you can cook the curry for longer on a low setting.
Leftovers
If you don't eat all of the curry on the day it is cooked, it will store well in the fridge for a day or two and reheat perfectly. I actually find it tastes even better the following day as the flavours develop.
Other recipes you might like:
If you are looking for a recipe which is ready to eat more quickly, you might like to try healthy chicken tray bake which also uses chicken thighs, sweet potato and carrots. Or another great way to make the most of your slow cooker is to poach a whole chicken.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a rating and/or comment at the bottom of the page. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated.
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Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken thighs (or 8 small)
- 300 g sweet potatoes cut into 2 cm cubes
- 300 g carrots cut into 2 cm cubes
- 1 large onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 400 g canned tomatoes
- 200 ml coconut milk or 50 g creamed coconut and 200 ml water, see notes above
- 2 teaspoon mild curry powder
- 2 teaspoon cornflour
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the chopped vegetables, tomatoes, curry powder and seasoning to the slow cooker.
- Mix the cornflour with the cold coconut milk (or 200ml cold water if you are using creamed coconut), add to the slow cooker and stir to mix. Nestle the chicken thighs into the mixture.
- Cook on medium for 4 hrs. Check that the chicken is cooked thoroughly before serving.
Notes
Please note nutritional information is for guidance only
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