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This Simple Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Spicy Garlic Butter is full of Thai flavors and so quick to make. Made with flavorful Thai red curry paste, yellow curry powder, lemongrass, and creamy coconut milk. The chicken is simmered in the sauce with potatoes and then served with spicy garlic honey butter. A side of rice soaks up all that yummy curry sauce, so delicious.
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I feel like a broken record here, but yet again, this Thai yellow curry recipe was inspired by Creighton. He’s obviously been spending much more time here in Colorado this year. It’s not that he loves the snowy climate, it’s honestly more that he just really loves being around family. I think that all of his years of being in Cleveland with no one around really helped him realize how much he loves being with the family, and more importantly these days, little Oslo.
So with Creighton here I’ve been tending to make more recipes with him in mind. I love to cook for people, so inspiration is welcomed.
When it comes to curry, Creighton loves any kind, whether it’s Indian or Thai. He requests it weekly. And while I’ve perfected his favorite butter chicken, I haven’t done much with Thai-inspired curries.
Most yellow curry is made with a Thai yellow curry paste, which you can make at home. However, lack of time and ingredients lead me to improvise a little, using a mix of Thai red curry paste and then yellow curry powder.
This ended up taking less than 30 minutes to throw together, and it was so good.
The process is simple
What I love about this dish is just how easily it comes together, nothing fancy at all. Cook the potatoes, then add in the chicken thighs and a mix of Thai red curry paste and yellow curry powder. I love to add lemongrass as well, which adds a really bright pop of freshness.
Cook the spices without any liquid for a few minutes to really activate their flavor. Then stir in the coconut milk and a small splash of fish sauce. Allow this to simmer.
On to the spicy honey butter
While the chicken is simmering in the curry sauce, make the spicy honey butter. When I made this the first time around, I felt like it was good. But, of course, I wanted it to be really great.
I thought about the recent curry I had made with salmon. We all loved the spicy butter so much, so I wanted to add that element to this curry. I also decided to add a touch of honey for a sweet and spicy element.
It ended up being just what the dish needed to make it really delicious!
For serving, keep it simple, steamed basmati rice or jasmine rice and garnish with lots of cilantro, and a side of limes.
This dish is definitely becoming a quick, weeknight family favorite. Creighton loved this, and the rest of the family enjoyed it too. Even my dad, who is not really a curry fan, thought the sauce was delicious.
Looking for other curries?
Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter
Creamy Coconut Chicken Meatball and Noodle Curry
Sweet Potato Lentil Curry with Crispy Sesame Chickpeas
Lastly, if you make this Simple Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Spicy Garlic Butter 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 Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Spicy Garlic Butter
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 pound baby potatoes, cubed
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons yellow curry powder
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste
- 2 cups canned full-fat coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce or tamari
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- juice and zest of 1 lime
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- chili flakes
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
- 1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and potatoes. Cook 10 minutes, until soft. Add the chicken, curry paste, curry powder, lemongrass paste, and season with salt. Toss to coat the chicken, then cook 3 minutes. 2. Pour in the coconut milk and 1/3 cup water. Season with salt. Cover and cook 5-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickened.3. Meanwhile, melt together the butter and garlic. Cook until the butter is browning. Stir in the chili flakes and honey. 4. Remove the curry from the heat. Stir in the fish sauce, cilantro, and lime zest + juice. Serve the chicken and sauce over rice. Top with spicy honey butter.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Delicious and everyone loved it! Also, I made it with 1 lb of ground chicken and slightly more potatoes then called for and enjoyed the ratio very much.
Hey Emily,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! xxT
It calls for cooked baby potatoes; how are the potatoes cooked? Looking forward to making this tonight!
Hi Debbie,
However you like to cook them:) You could boil or roast whatever you like! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
We made this at the weekend for a dinner with friends. I was a little sceptical about the honey butter but I have to say the whole thing was delicious. One of the easiest and tastiest recipes. Also who knew about lemongrass paste!
Hey Marcia,
That’s great!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xxT
I just made this and while it is super delicious, I think I put in a little too much water and/or coconut milk, so the sauce didn’t thicken enough. Is there anything gluten free that I can add to thicken it slightly?
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, the sauce really should not be thick, it should be more like a broth:) xTieghan
Just made this curry last night, fantastic! I doubled the curry powder and paste for stronger flavors, sooo good! My grocery store didn’t have the lemongrass paste or fish sauce, didn’t matter, it was simple and easy to make. My husband doesn’t usually gravitate towards curries, they but are always my favorite, and he loved it too! Will definitely be making again!
Hey Clare,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
Delish! I added a bag of frozen veggies to get more veggies in
Hey Ruth,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled to hear that it was a winner! Have the best week!? xT
One of my favorite recipes! Perfect, healthy comfort food to make on lazy work-week night! We probably make this once a month! Delish! I don’t always add the butter depending on how I am feeling, but it does add a little pizazz!
Hey Emmalee,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xx
What if we added too much salt? Any way I can fix this?
Just to explain, we added salt before the fish sauce not realizing how salty fish sauce is. It was still delicious, and I will make this again. But we have leftovers so I was hoping to have it again tonight but try to make it less salty. 🙂
One way to remove the over-salty flavor is by adding in more potatoes. The starch absorbs some of the salt. And you could throw in more veggies too, as supplementing with ingredients that are not salty will help balance the flavors.
Thanks for sharing Greta!!
Hi Ashley,
So sorry to hear this, unfortunately I think it’s a little to late now. Thanks for giving the recipe a try! xx
If you add to much salt to anything my grandma taught to cut a raw potato in half and put it in your dish. The potato will soak up a ton of salt.
I’ve done that to pasta salads.
Just a tip for the future
Thanks so much for sharing Debbi!
What can you use instead of lemongrass paste?
Hi Charlotte,
You will either want to use the lemongrass paste or just skip it:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Might be a dumb question..what is yellow curry powder versus regular curry powder because I can’t seem to find it anywhere!
Hi Meryem,
It’s the same thing:) Sorry for any confusion!! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Ok I was really thinking I was missing something haha just made it last night with the addition of zucchini and it was really good! A nice variation with the lemongrass and baby potatoes from your other curry recipes I usually make 🙂
Hey there,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Good basic recipe, I added chopped carrots, 2 tbs fish sauce, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbs chicken bouillon, 1 tbs sugar. The garlic sauce on top was a nice addition. It was a hit with the kids. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try!
We loved it. I didn’t use the fish sauce and I only put in one cup coconut milk. It was great and not too spicy.
Hi Amy,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for making it! xxT
This recipe is to die for! I am usually the person who adds a lot of additional seasonings to recipes but this one is so incredibly flavorful as is, we’ve made it over and over again with no tweaks!
Hey Paige,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try!! Have the best day:) xx
Can this be made in advance and reheated?
Hey Sarah,
Sure, that will work well for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I make a lot of Tieghan’s recipes and this one is now one of my favorites! The sauce and the garlic butter are so dang good, that I don’t care about the chicken, lol. I could eat a huge bowl of rice with the sauce and garlic butter and be perfectly satisfied.
I made this recipe as written, except no potatoes.
Big thumbs up!
Hi Melanie,
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan