Featured comment
Quick, easy and SO delicious. My husband said this was “restaurant quality”. Can’t wait to make this again!
Marissa
Can I Have This For Dinner Every Night?
Because I think I really could eat this for dinner every night.
Golden, juicy, thinly sliced pan-fried chicken swims in a creamy coconut-kale gravy-like situation with slips of shallot and a bit of heat. It’s like a cozy curry meets a show-stopping marry me chicken. Except it’s stupidly easy. That coconut kale sauce carries us with, like, 5 ingredients.
This is one of those all-in-one meals; the veg is there, the protein is there, the flavor is there! Make sure to give yourself an extra scoop or three of sauce on top some rice, because you know what? You deserve to feel good. And let all that luscious flavor absorb into the rice, and really just enjoy that moment.
I have been working my way through a shipment of Maesri yellow curry which I ordered on Amazon (affiliate link) – it’s premade, flavorful and concentrated, golden in color. It works perfectly here. That said, red curry paste is often easier to find and would be a less-golden but still-delicious substitute. And if you’re feeling the calling to stock your freezer with something great, then you should probably make this yellow curry paste which will make your house smell like the aromatics of heaven. It is an absolute gem to pull out of the freezer through the winter. I make a batch of it at least once every year.
My girls, bless their hearts, are not super into the coconut kale. Something about multiple cups of freshly shredded kale? It’s fine – I just leave out a few pieces of “plain chicken” for them and happily serve up a bit of extra coconut kale for myself in their honor.
I love chicken for this, but lately, I’ve been dreaming of a skillet of gently pan-fried shrimp swirled in this coconut kale sauce. It just feels right. It’s a choose-your-own adventure, and all paths end with you licking the last bits of sauce out of the pan.
If you love a one-pan meal like this one, you’ll love this creamy cajun chicken, too!
How To Make This Recipe
1
Cut Your Chicken.
This is optional, but I really love a thinly sliced piece of chicken. It’s easier to cook and it’s more enjoyable to eat. I thinly slice chicken breasts and season them right on the cutting board.
2
Cook That Chicken.
Pan fry for a few minutes on each side. Yummy.
3
Make Your Sauce.
Shallots, curry paste, kale, and coconut milk. You’re basically there.
4
Pop The Chicken Back In.
Once the sauce is golden and thickened, get the chicken back in there.
5
Yum! You’re Done!
Garnish and deliver this to the table to a chorus of oohs and ahhs. It’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
Watch Me Make This Recipe
Chicken with Coconut Kale
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Golden, juicy, thinly sliced pan-fried chicken swims in a creamy coconut-kale gravy-like situation with slips of shallot and a bit of heat. Super easy, minimal ingredients!
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut or pounded into thin pieces
- 2–3 tablespoons all-purpose chicken seasoning (I use the McCormick Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil (divided)
Coconut Kale
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 2–3 cups finely shredded curly kale, stems removed (about 3-4 stalks)
- 1 tablespoon yellow curry paste (see notes for subs)
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Optional, for serving:
- rice
- chili crisp or cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the Chicken: Coat the chicken with the spices. In a large nonstick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Set chicken aside.
- Start the Coconut Kale: If needed, wipe your pan out (see notes). In the same pan, add 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil if needed. Saute the shallots, kale, and yellow curry paste for 5 minutes until everything is aromatic and tender.
- Simmer the Coconut Kale: Add all other sauce ingredients; simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken. When the sauce has thickened, tuck the chicken back in the sauce. Let it get gently bubbly and spoon the sauce over top.
- You’re Done! Yum! Sprinkle the whole thing with cilantro. Serve chicken with scoops of the sauce over rice! Finish with whatever toppings you like – for me it’s chili crisp!
Notes
For the chicken seasoning, you’ll want to use something that uses spices like paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and/or salt. If you’re working without a spice mix, I would recommend the spices in our Air Fryer Chicken! The chicken spices play a big part of both the flavor of the dish and the caramelization / browning of the chicken. For example, if you choose a chicken seasoning that contains sugar, then the overall dish will be sweeter and you’ll notice more browned bits getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.
For the chicken, you want to cook it to 165 degrees internal temperature – I use this meat thermometer all the time and I love it. This one that’s more affordable is also great. (affiliate links)
I’ve been using a ceramic nonstick for this recipe (Nordic Ware Basalt Skillet – affiliate link) and it has amazing release properties so I rarely need to wipe the pan out! That said, if you’re using an older nonstick or a different type of pan that’s holding onto a lot of brown or burnt bits from the chicken, wipe the pan out before you start the sauce. This helps the sauce stay light and golden colored. It is really pan-dependent – for my Nordic Ware nonstick I don’t need to do this at all, but others require a quick wipe down to avoid too much brown in the sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai-Inspired
Keywords: coconut chicken, coconut sauce, easy dinner, easy chicken dinner
Frequently Asked Questions / Things To Know
Yes! The color will be different but the flavor will be great. If you’re using a more mainstream brand like Thai Kitchen, you may want to use 2 tablespoons instead of 1 tablespoon to make sure you get enough flavor. I use Maesri which is pretty potent so I find that 1 tablespoon is enough.
You can, but it won’t be nearly as potent (read: yummy). If that’s all you have, I would help it out with some sriracha or chili crisp, or turmeric, or roasted red chile paste, or anything else you have to add some flavor depth and dimension.
Yes, but the sauce won’t thicken quite as well. You could always thicken it with a cornstarch slurry if having a low fat content is important to you!
No, you don’t have to. If the pan just has some light nice browning left in it, leave it alone! But if it looks like this after cooking the chicken, then yes, I would wipe it out to avoid the sauce turning a dark brown color.
Shrimp would be great. I’ve been dying to try it. I also feel like this sauce would be A+ with meatballs or chickpeas (very similar to Steph’s Chickpea Curry)!
No! I happen to have a lot of it in my otherwise very struggling garden right now, which is why I have been using it (plus, it’s a nice hefty green that wilts really pleasantly into the sauce). Other great options: spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms, basically anything you’d put in a curry.
Yes. I like shallots a lot. But a thinly sliced onion will do the trick!
This is a good dish for using kale. I don’t like curly kale but need to eat it for eye health. The flavour is good but next time I will use less curry paste.
Absolutely delicious! Every dinner that was made this week that followed this, this dish set the bar and was the comparison to anything else that came across our table. This served three of us, and I served it over cauliflower rice. There were no leftovers and next time I will double the recipe.
10 Stars! SO GOOD! First time trying kale-yay. I added more yellow curry paste (just cuz!) and some sweet red/yellow peppers I had on hand. The chili crisp bites were amazing treats. Adding this recipe to my go to dinners!
I’ve made other recipes of yours, will try this one soon! I’ve never been disappointed ! Thanks!
This was divine. I could only find Green Curry Paste, but it was delish. And I added a squeeze of lemon juice right before serving. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Any recommendations on how I can make this just as yummy without being spicy at all? My kids and I are wimps. We like flavor but not heat. 🙂
Red curry paste is more mild, or you could use mild curry powder!
Winner, winner…chicken dinner! As always, another insanely delicious recipe from Pinch of Yum. Came together super fast and was so flavorful…hubs and I devoured the whole thing.
I personally skipped the brown sugar in the sauce just because I didn’t feel like it needed extra sweetness. Also had to use red curry paste because I couldn’t find yellow at the store. Will definitely make this again!
Can I ask how you store the opened curry paste for using later? At 1 Tbsp in this recipe, that can would make it seven times.
Stored with cover on in the fridge! Lasts a long time.
You could freeze in ice cube trays
Excellent
Oh, my! This is delicious. No, more than delicious. I added a little fresh ginger and some sliced mushrooms because…well, those are my favorite things. And at the very end I added a little Sambal Oelek fresh chili paste for a bit of spice. I think I want to eat this every day. 🙂
Made this recipe with a few add ins and it was delish. I switched out kale for spinach, added some turmeric, red pepper and garam masala .
I made this with crispy tofu instead of chicken and it was delicious. I will definitely make this again.
This recipe is so easy and sooooo delicious! We make a big batch (3 meals for the two of us at a time) and yet still on repeat. It freezes really well and dare I say even more flavourful. We use light coconut milk and love having it extra saucy lol Absolutely love your recipes! TY
On Repeat at our house! We re loving this easy, delicious curry recipe, I do add more shallots and kale than the recipe calls for, It comes together some nicely, it’s a big hit!! Thank you!
So good once I found yellow curry paste! The only downside is it didn’t make enough for four adult servings….next time I’ll add some additional veggies (bell pepper?) and double the sauce so it goes a bit farther!
I make this at least every other week. Everyone loves it. If I’m really feeling coconutty I make your coconut rice to go with it.
The chicken coconut kale curry was so yummy! Topping it off with chili crisp was 🩷
I love most of your recipes, but this is my favourite! It is so flavourful, easy, and my toddler even eats it. I use red curry paste because that’s all I have and it’s still delicious!
This was spectacular! Super easy and fast, and everyone loved it (including the picky child). I think we’d choose spinach next time vs. the kale and maybe add some peppers but this recipe is so versatile — I can’t wait to make it again.
Okay, this was really good. Pinch of Yum recipes have always been great successes in my house, but this was a standout. Boyfriend couldn’t help but have a second plate, despite admitting it would make great leftovers. I used the air fryer chicken spice mix, but otherwise made exactly as written and served with short grain white rice and chili crisp, and I have no notes. Well done.
I absolutely love this recipe. It is cozy and hearty and you get lots of wonderful greens without feeling like you’re eating a whole plate of greens. I also think it would be a wonderful sauce for salmon.
This was delicious! I made exactly as written but did not have the all purpose chicken seasoning so used your rotisserie chicken recipe (paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salet & pepper) and it was sooooo good and super easy to make!
I made the dish tonight and it had an unusual flavor, but it definitely tasted like an Indian dish. I used red curry paste since I couldn’t find the yellow. Also, I added other spices since the sauce needed something. My boyfriend liked it and I did too, but it does have an unusual taste.
This is delicious! I had most of the ingredients and doubled the recipe to make sure there were leftovers. I used both chicken breasts (my husband’s favorite) and chicken thighs (my favorite). I only had roasted red curry paste available which worked perfectly as you suggested. The one tweak I made was adding a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans. My husband loved it so much he had seconds last night and asked for “encores” tonight. I will definitely make again soon. thank you!
this is very good. would be better with thighs.