Jamaican Curry Chicken – This easy one-pot meal is bursting with flavor. Homemade curry powder, aromatic garlic and onion, and luscious coconut milk take this hearty recipe over the top. I guarantee this is one curry stew you’ll want to make over and over again.
Did you know that curry is not just one spice but a mixture of several different spices? When I stumbled across that information, suddenly, everything made sense. That’s why some brands of store-bought curry seasoning are spicy and bold while others are milder and sweet and why some are just meh in the taste department.
Honestly, that’s why I came up with my own homemade curry powder recipe, which suits my taste buds perfectly. Feel free to customize it to create your own perfect curry spice mix. Or you can choose your preferred store-bought brand – we all have our favorites.
What Is Jamaican Curry Chicken?
Jamaican curry chicken is a chicken dish that uses Jamaican curry powder. Though it’s similar to Indian curry powder, it has subtle differences. For example, Jamaican curry usually includes allspice, a spice that shows up in other classic Jamaican dishes like jerk chicken. It’s generally heavier on turmeric than Indian curries and a little less spicy.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs – Boneless chicken thighs make for a flavorful, quick meal. You could always use bone-in thighs, legs, or even a whole chicken instead. Just be sure to up your cooking time accordingly.
- Spices – Curry powder, white pepper, and paprika give this dish a super flavorful taste with real depth and just the right amount of heat.
- Coconut Milk – This ingredient makes our Jamaican curry chicken perfectly creamy and tones down the spiciness of the curry powder.
- Chicken Broth – Chicken broth makes for the base of your curry “sauce,” although you could substitute this ingredient for plain old water in a pinch. I definitely recommend using broth if you have it since it adds more flavor to the dish.
- Tomato Paste – Just a touch of tomato paste gives this curry that tomato flavor and contributes to that beautifully rich reddish-yellow color.
- Vegetables – A few veggies, including onion, carrots, green pepper, and potatoes, complete this curry.
How to Make Jamaican Curry Chicken
Cook the Chicken
- Season the Chicken with salt and pepper and set aside. (Photos 1-2)
- Sautee Chicken – In a large, deep pan, heat oil over medium heat until hot, and then add the chicken. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes or until slightly brown. (Photos 3-4)
- Add Seasonings – Add curry powder and onions, followed by minced garlic, thyme, and paprika. Stir for about five minutes, allowing the flavors to blossom. (Photos 5-6)
Make the Curry Sauce
- Add the Liquids – In the same pan, pour in the coconut milk and tomato paste. Continue cooking for two more minutes, then add 2-3 cups of chicken broth or water. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 15 minutes. (Photos 7-8)
- Now the Veggies – Next, add the potatoes and carrots. Cook until potatoes are tender, seven minutes or so. (Photo 9)
- Add the Peppers– Add the sliced bell pepper and cook for another two minutes. (Photo 10)
- Garnish – Finally, add the chopped parsley.
- Adjust the sauce thickness with broth or water and the salt to your preference.
- Serve hot, and enjoy!
Recipe Variations
Vegetarian – Turn this Jamaican curry recipe into a vegan dish using oyster mushrooms, portabellos, chickpeas, or tofu instead of chicken.
Other Meats – You could substitute other meats if you aren’t a fan of chicken. It’s fabulous with goat, but pork and beef also make a fantastic curry.
Tips and Tricks
- Use whole fat coconut milk for the creamiest, most delicious curry.
- Feel free to get creative with your veggie selection if you wish. Broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, and spinach would all work well in a curry, so feel free to clean out your fridge’s vegetable drawer.
- Adjust the spiciness of this dish by adjusting the amount of curry powder you add. You could also make this dish a little spicier by adding more cayenne pepper. 💥 (There may already be some in your curry powder.)
Make-Ahead Instructions
Adding to its appeal is just how easy it is to make this curry dish ahead of time. Simply follow the recipe instructions, allow the curry to cool, then store it in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to three months until you are ready to serve it. Reheat it on the stovetop, and no one will know you haven’t been in the kitchen all day preparing this delicious dish. 😜
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve this curry hot off the stove for best results. I love to serve it over a bed of steamed white rice.
Store leftover chicken curry in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. In the fridge, it will last for about 3-5 days. Use frozen curry within three months, and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
You can reheat Jamaican curry chicken on the stovetop over medium-high heat until it’s hot—alternatively, heat single servings in the microwave. Adjust reheat times according to the amount of curry in your bowl.
FAQs
Jamaican curry powder usually contains more turmeric than other kinds, which gives it a deeper yellow appearance. 💛
Way back in the 17th century, Indian indentured servants were brought to Jamaica, which was then an English colony, to work on sugar cane plantations. They brought curry with them, and ingenious Jamaicans adapted it and deeply entwined it with Jamaica’s culture and cuisine.
Jamaican recipes often call for toasting curry powder in heated oil to release the flavors of the spices. In most cases, though, the spices have already been toasted when blending the curry powder. This step also makes Jamaican curry powder unique from Indian curry powder.
What Goes With Jamaican Curry Chicken
This curry goes great with steamed white rice, but lately, I’ve gotten into serving it with arroz con gandules, making for an interesting (and delicious) cultural mash-up. 🇯🇲🇵🇷 Jamaican curry chicken also goes excellent with sides like Caribbean coleslaw and fried plantains.
More Curry Recipes to Try
Conclusion
I can’t wait to hear what y’all think about this amazingly easy, impossibly flavorful dish. And do you plan on trying other curry recipes? Let me know how it turned out for you in the comment section below! 😘
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”lxT72PrU” upload-date=”Tue Aug 07 2018 11:48:32 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Jamaican Curry Chicken” description=”Jamaican Curry Chicken – a one pot meal that is bursting with flavor. The most delicious curry stew, you will want to make this over and over again.”]
This recipe was first published on Oct. 7, 2014, and has been updated with new photos, a video, and additional writings.
Jamaican Curry Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-2½ pound (1-1¼kg) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon (2.3g) white pepper, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
- 1½-2 tablespoons (6.3g) curry powder
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup (236ml) coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 cups (473ml) chicken broth, or more (can replace with water)
- 1 pound (454g) potatoes, peeled and cut in medium pieces
- 12 ounces (340g) carrots and green pepper, sliced
- 2-3 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a large, deep pan, heat oil over medium heat until hot, and then add the chicken. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes or until slightly brown.
- Add curry powder and onions, followed by minced garlic, thyme, and paprika. Stir for about five minutes, allowing the flavors to blossom.
- In the same pan, pour in the coconut milk and tomato paste. Continue cooking for two more minutes, then add 2-3 cups of chicken broth or water. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 15 minutes.
- Next, add the potatoes and carrots. Cook until potatoes are tender, seven minutes or so.
- Add the sliced bell pepper and cook for another two minutes.
- Finally, add the chopped parsley.
- Adjust the sauce thickness with broth or water and the salt to your preference. Serve and enjoy!
Jennifer Rapalo says
Absolutely loved this! My husband was so pleased and requested I cook this again next week! Now I am scrolling through your recipes as we want more! It is such a delight to try something new and have it turn out as delicious as this. Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Jennifer Iโm SO thrilled that you all loved this Curry chicken!!
Jess says
I want to try this on Sunday but with chicken wings. Would I need to adjust my cooking times!
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you sure would . You would have to use your best judgement about 10 minutes less .
Gloria says
Hello… I tried the stove top version and it was DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for the recipe
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
C P says
This was excellent… even better the next day
Reneka Jones says
whilst adding the chicken into the curry sauce and added water it is way too waterly as i only added 2 cups of water into my sauce, what do i do to thicken the sauce as it been cooking for 40mins?
ImmaculateBites says
Add some cornstarch to thicken it up. Or remove the chicken set aside and let it reduce before adding it back on.
Nicholas says
Thanks for the recipe it was great!
Personally I prefer my potatoes a little crispy so I put them in immediately after taking the chicken out and gave them a bit of a browning in the oil. I then added the garlic and onion as you suggest, but used 50/50 red onion and white onion.
I used about 3 cups of coconut milk which made it really creamy and nice (I made quite a lot).
I also used coconut oil when first browning the chicken
I substituted the carrots for a large green capsicum and also added a smaller slightly hot red pepper
Came out really well thanks for the ideas
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share such detailed feedback . Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
John says
Just made this for my mother as she wasn’t feeling very well, she loved it as did I. Used chicken breast as had no thighs and added just a little cornflour near the end to thicken, personally I found it much nicer than a lot of other recipes I have used. Thanks for sharing.
ImmaculateBites says
My Pleasure! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Carla says
My husband made this tonight. Delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Carla.
Marie Morrison says
I followed the recipe. As I skipped your pics I did not see anything about scotch bonnet. However, definitely worth trying again.
ImmaculateBites says
Glad you enjoyed it. I like adding scotch bonnet pepper for some heat and flavor.
Omoye says
Hi Imma, how much oil is used to brown the chicken? Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
About 2 Tablespoons oil. However, if it’s chicken thighs and are using a cast iron you can even use less.
Hong says
Hi Imma,
I wanted to thank you for posting a delicious recipe. The house smelled wonderful while the dish cooked. I took a few shortcuts and made some modifications. Because I don’t have much time in the evenings to spend a lot of time preparing dinner for the family, I purchased a rotisserie chicken while getting the vegetables at the grocery store. I deboned the chicken and boiled the skin and bones to make the broth while chopping the veggies. There was a lot of chicken, so I added a large sweet potato, a few more carrots, 2 cans of coconut milk, and 2 more teaspoons of curry. The sweet potato, carrots, and extra coconut milk added a subtle sweetness to the dish that makes it more complex. I added the rotisserie chicken after the veggies cooked most of the way through. We gorged ourselves on the stew with warm crusty french bread. Delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
OH BOY! You should see me salivating here. Sounds AH-Mazing!!! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Nancy says
I made this last night. It was the best curry chicken I ever made. Simply delicious.
ImmaculateBites says
AWESOME!!!! Thanks for letting me know.
Onyi says
Made this on Monday. I wanted to try your goat curry recipe but changed my mind since I had chicken already. It was absolutely divine! Had it with steamed basmati rice. My guests couldn’t have enough of it. Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
My Pleasure!!! Glad to hear it was a hit with everyone. Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback.
Shana says
I tried this recipe last night, of course with some adaptations…but this turned out so delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the feedback Shana
Sarah says
You mention bay leaf but it is not listed in the ingredients. How many bay leaves are you suggesting to add? Do you remove them at the end?
ImmaculateBites says
1-2 bay leaves. Yes, you do remove them at the end before serving.