Baked Curried Chicken Breasts in a Coconut Milk Sauce

Curried Chicken Breasts
Cyril Riseng / EyeEm / Getty Images
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 6 servings

These baked curried chicken breasts are super easy and flavorful. Serve them over hot cooked rice with some peas drizzled with a bit of honey for an excellent meal. The sauce for this recipe is just excellent. It's mild and rich, rather like Mughlai curry, a traditional Indian dish.

Serve this easy recipe with a crisp green salad or a fruit salad to complement the rich sauce in addition to the peas and rice. For dessert, a lemon or chocolate pie would be the perfect finishing touch.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 onion, peeled and chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons curry powder

  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 cup coconut milk

  • 1 cup chicken broth

  • 1/2 cup golden raisins

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

  • 2/3 cup flaked coconut

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

  3. In a large saucepan, combine butter and olive oil over medium heat and heat until butter melts. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until tender, about 6 to 7 minutes.

  4. Add curry powder to saucepan; cook and stir for 1 minute. (This helps bloom the spices in the curry powder and enhances the flavor.)

  5. Then add flour, salt, and pepper to saucepan; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and chicken broth; bring to a simmer. Stir until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in raisins.

  6. Cut chicken breasts in half crosswise. Place chicken in prepared pan. Pour sauce evenly over chicken and move it around in the sauce so the bottom is coated. Sprinkle chicken with coconut.

  7. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, 165 F on an instant-read thermometer.

Recipe Variations

  • You can substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken breasts in this recipe. Just use 12 thighs and increase the baking time by about 8 to 10 minutes. Always cook chicken to 165 F as registered on a reliable food thermometer for food safety reasons.
  • You can add other spices to this recipe if you'd like. Curry powder is a blend of many spices, including cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. But you could add more cinnamon, coriander seeds, nigella seeds, or other spices according to your tastes.
  • Adding other vegetables would also be good. Surround the chicken with some chopped celery, sliced green beans, or mushrooms to make this a one-dish meal.
  • Try the less well-known-but-delicious Vietnamese Coconut Chicken Curry.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
440 Calories
22g Fat
23g Carbs
40g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 440
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g 28%
Saturated Fat 14g 68%
Cholesterol 113mg 38%
Sodium 413mg 18%
Total Carbohydrate 23g 8%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 40g
Vitamin C 2mg 10%
Calcium 52mg 4%
Iron 4mg 20%
Potassium 588mg 13%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)