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Spicy Simple Crockpot Coconut Beef Curry. Enjoy on nights when you’re craving your favorite creamy beef curry but don’t feel like ordering carry-out. Tender beef short ribs slow-cooked in a spicy, creamy coconut curry sauce until the beef is caramelized around the edges and falling off the bone. Shred the meat and serve it over steamy rice. Add fresh cilantro, green onions, and soft, buttery naan. Each bowl is spicy, creamy, and full of yummy Indian curry flavors. All cooked in one pot – either in the crockpot or on the stove. An almost effortless deliciously slow-cooked dinner!
The final days of January are upon us, and the temps are bitter cold. Yes, we’re deep into winter. But I will say that the sun is staying up longer, which means longer days are quickly approaching. For us, the snow is here to stay for a while, so I’ll be in cozy mode for many more weeks to come!
That means slow-cooked dinners, soups, and yummy baked goods! I’m not complaining, I love cozy meals.
Today, we have a seriously delicious curry. Inspired by the Madras Chicken recipe I have in my Every Day cookbook. I swapped the chicken for beef short ribs, and I think I like this variation even more. I was so happy with the way this turned out!
If you have the cookbook, you know that Madras curry is made with curry powder, spices, tomatoes, and coconut milk. It is a spicier curry but an easy-to-make dinner.
We LOVE that curry sauce, and I wanted to give the dish new light here on the website. Using short ribs was the perfect idea! I slow-cooked the meat in the creamy curry sauce. The end result is the most delicious creamy coconut beef curry!
Here are the details
Step 1: make the curry paste
For this recipe, we’re making a quick curry paste with fresh shallots, ginger, and garlic. Then a bit of tomato paste too.
Blend all these ingredients together in a blender or use a food processor.
Step 2: mix everything
Next, season the ribs with curry powder, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, and cinnamon. Then rub with the curry paste. You can do this in the crockpot or in a large Dutch oven.
Add the tomatoes, the coconut milk, some butter, and a little bit of vinegar plus honey.
Step 3: slow cook
At this point, you can slow cook in the crockpot or braise the meat low and slowly cook in the oven. Either way will yield the same result.
When the meat is cooked low and slow, it will fall off the bone after a few hours of cooking.
Step 4: finish it up
Now, lightly shred the meat and toss it with that yummy coconut curry sauce. If there’s a lot of excess grease from the ribs, I recommend draining that away.
Serve this creamy beef curry over rice. And I always make fresh naan, you’ll need it to scoop up the creamy curry sauce! Absolutely DELICIOUS. You can’t skip the naan, it’s reason enough to make any kind of curry.
This curry is simple, and I love that the short ribs make it feel even more special!
As you can guess, my oldest brother, Creighton, loved this recipe. I know he’s already looking forward to me, hopefully, making it again soon. It’s the spicy curry sauce, it certainly is the best!
Looking for other Indian-inspired dinners? Here are my favorites:
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs
Super Simple Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Gingery Coconut Sweet Potato and Rice Stew with Chili Oil
Crockpot Creamy Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Lastly, if you make this Simple Crockpot Coconut Beef Curry be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Simple Crockpot Coconut Beef Curry
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 694 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 shallots, halved
- 2 inches fresh ginger, sliced
- 8 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 fresno or jalapeño, seeded if desired
- 5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
- 3 tablespoons yellow curry powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt and black pepper
- 1 can (28 ounce) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- chopped cilantro and green onion, for serving
Instructions
Stove
- 1. To make the curry paste. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, fresno/jalapeño, and tomato paste to a blender. Pulse until a paste forms. 2. Preheat the oven to 325° F. In a large, oven-safe brasier, season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Add the curry powder, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, and cinnamon. Add the curry paste. Toss the ribs in the seasonings and curry paste to coat. Pour over the crushed tomatoes and coconut milk. Add the butter, vinegar, and honey. Toss to lightly mix. 3.  Cover and roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone. 5. Lightly shred the ribs and discard the bones. Drain any excess grease away from the sauce. Toss the meat into the creamy curry sauce.6. Serve the ribs and sauce over rice. Top with cilantro and green onion.
Crockpot
- 1. To make the curry paste. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, fresno/jalapeño, and tomato paste to a blender. Pulse until a paste forms. 2. In the bowl of the crockpot, season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Add the curry powder, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, and cinnamon. Add the curry paste. Toss the ribs in the seasonings and curry paste to coat. Pour over the crushed tomatoes and coconut milk. Add the butter, vinegar, and honey. Toss to lightly mix. 3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.4. Lightly shred the ribs and discard the bones. Drain any excess grease away from the sauce. Toss the meat into the creamy curry sauce.5. Serve the ribs and sauce over rice. Top with cilantro and green onion.
Used bottom blade roast instead of short ribs and mixed my spices into the curry paste. Delicious.
Hi Alliyah,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for trying this dish, so glad to hear it was enjoyed:) xx
I made this in the crockpot and it was a huge success! I used cubed bottom round (what I had), added more curry, some garam masala, and potatoes and carrots. I used apple cider as I didn’t have the vinegar. My daughter loves Japanese beef curry and said this was the closest curry to the ones she had in Japan! Thank you!!
This was one of the best things I have made in a long time!
Thanks so much Judy!! I love to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
Hi Tieghan!
This looks incredible. I love a good curry. I’m currently having to avoid dairy and notice there’s a minimal amount here with either butter or ghee. Is that just to add a bit of fat? I’m trying to decide if I should try skipping that ingredient or replacing with coconut oil.
Thank you! I have loved all of your recipes I’ve made, and I keep saving all of the cheesy and creamy ones for once I can have dairy again. The list is enormous haha
Hi Katie,
Thanks so much for your kind message!! You could use coconut oil or olive oil in place of the butter, that would also work well for you:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Absolutely delicious. Made it in the instapot and it was tender and flavorful
Hi there,
Awesome! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
What kind of peppers are those in your photo? They kinda look dried? How spicy are they?
Hi Elizabeth,
They are dried peppers:) You do not need to worry about them for this recipe, I just added them in the photos. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Why doesn’t the curry paste contain curry? Do you mean chili paste?
Hi Andrea,
The curry paste is made with these ingredients:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Could I use boneless beef short ribs ?
Hi there! That should be just fine, you would just have to decrease the cook time a little bit! xT
Recipe sounds excellent! As they all do:) I don’t eat red meat – do you think chicken breasts would work with this?
Hi there! Yes, you could definitely use chicken breasts in this recipe! xT
I’m not Tieghan, but I’ve made a fair amount of short rib recipes using chuck instead. Just buy a thick one and cut it into short rib size pieces. There is a minuscule difference in taste/quality but a huge difference in price. Highly recommend!
I do exactly the same thing.
This is such a great suggestion, thank you! I bet lamb would work really well here too.
Thank you for the feedback Lauren! xT
Hi!
Wondering if it’s possible to use doing beef instead of bone in short ribs?
Thanks!
Could this dish be made ahead and frozen?
Hi! You can definitely make this ahead of time! xT
Could store bought red curry paste be used in place of the curry paste here or is that not really the same thing? I don’t have a blender that would easily blend the ingredients for your paste.
can any other cuts of beef be substituted?
Tieghan, I really want to make this dish, BUT half of my family cannot stand the taste of coconut at all! (myself included!) Will this have the coconut flavor in the end result? If so, would any other milk work ok? I always have heavy whipping cream, half and half, and regular milk on hand. I have pastured beef short ribs and everything else in this recipe, but I don’t want to use them all up and blow it if regular milk will not do well. Thank you!
I would substitute plain whole milk yougurt for coconut milk.
I would add more diced tomatoes and then finish off the dish with some heavy cream at the end. It will alter the flavour profile a bit – but I think it will still be very good.
Hi there! You could use heavy cream or milk! xT