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Make the best authentic Thai Chicken Massaman Curry with this easy, flavorful recipe! Tender chicken and potatoes, creamy coconut milk, and aromatic spices create a comforting, nutty, and mildly spiced curry that’s perfect for dinner. One of those recipes that you are fighting over the leftovers the next day.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Awesome recipe! I made it exactly as written, and both my son and my husband declared it to be better than the same dish at our local Thai restaurant! Thank you for the recipe!” – Tracy
“I make this every other week. It is luxurious and delicious. My picky 1 and 3 year old love it. Thank you thank you for this recipe. Truly a blessing to my family.” – Erin
“Excellent recipe really simple and tastes 100% authentic. Takes me back to eating in the markets of Thailand every time.” – Kerry
What is Massaman Curry?
If you’re looking for a dish that’s rich, creamy, and full of flavor, you’ve got to try my Chicken Massaman Curry recipe! Chicken Massaman Curry is a creamy Thai curry made with coconut milk, chicken, potatoes, and warm spices. It is a little different from other curries because it is not very spicy. It has a mild heat, a little sweetness, and a subtle nutty flavor from the peanuts.
I’ve made this curry countless times, and every time it’s a hit. It’s a mild curry, so it’s perfect if you like a little spice, but nothing overwhelming. Plus, it’s super customizable, so you can make it as spicy or mild as you like! This curry goes perfectly with a side of Jasmine Rice (which I make in the Instant Pot so it comes out perfect every time).
🩷 Erica
Ingredients You’ll Need
Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store or Asian market.
- Chicken – I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but thighs work great too if you want something a little more tender and forgiving.
- Massaman curry paste – This is where all that classic curry flavor comes from. Different brands vary a bit in spice level, so use one you like.
- Coconut milk – Go with full-fat coconut milk here. It makes the sauce extra creamy and rich, which is exactly what you want in this curry.
- Peanut butter – Just a spoonful adds a subtle nutty flavor and helps make the sauce nice and smooth. It doesn’t overpower anything, it just makes everything better.
- Seasonings and sauces – This is where all the depth of flavor comes in. You will use garlic and fresh ginger for that bold, classic curry base, then lime juice to brighten things up, brown sugar for a touch of sweetness, fish sauce for that deep savory flavor, and a little Worcestershire to round it all out. It might sound like a lot, but it all works together.
- Vegetables – I like using potatoes and carrots here. Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes both work great because they get nice and tender and soak up the sauce, and the carrots add a little texture and natural sweetness.
- Toppings (optional) – Chopped peanuts add a little crunch, and if you like some heat you can drizzle on sriracha or sprinkle in red pepper flakes. I also like to finish it with fresh cilantro for a little pop of freshness right at the end.
Additions and Substitutions
Meat
More often than not, we use chicken as the protein in our Massaman curry (just because it’s what we have on hand most of the time) but we have also used beef and shrimp and loved it. Some people also use veal or lamb. To make vegetarian or vegan Massaman curry, you easily can use tofu instead of meat.
Vegetables
You can easily customize this curry with a variety of vegetables. Red bell peppers are a classic choice, but yellow or orange work just as well. Green beans, peas, baby corn, zucchini, bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes, or even butternut squash all make great additions or substitutions depending on what you have on hand.
How to Make Chicken Massaman Curry
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add curry paste and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Stir in 1 can of coconut milk, then add ginger, cilantro, brown sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil.
- Add thinly sliced onion and chicken. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the second can of coconut milk and return to a boil.
- Add peeled and chopped potatoes and carrots. Stir well, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Serve over Jasmine rice with cilantro or lime, if desired.
Massaman Curry Paste
Massaman curry paste is a must for this recipe—don’t swap it with red or yellow curry or you will have a different kind of curry. Store-bought paste is convenient and has just about all the flavor you need. We use the Maesri brand, often found at Asian markets or online in small yellow cans.
Key ingredients in the curry paste include garlic, dried red chili, tamarind, lemongrass, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and kaffir lime. Some versions may also include shrimp paste or Thai basil. Making it from scratch is possible, but store-bought is much easier and just as tasty.
Helpful Tips
- It’s not a bad idea to boil your potatoes for three-four minutes before adding them to your curry. This is a great trick for when you are in a hurry and just trying to get dinner on the table and don’t want to wait for the potatoes to soften in the curry sauce.
- If you are adding extra vegetables, allow the vegetables to soften in the sauce for optimal flavor. If you are in a hurry, stir-fry the veggies until tender before adding to the sauce.
- Shake the coconut milk really well before opening so it doesn’t come out in one big clump. You can also avoid this by opening the coconut milk can from the bottom.
- Make it as spicy or as mild as you would like! Add sriracha while cooking, or serve it on the side if people prefer different spice levels.
- Instead of adding salt (if needed), try adding soy sauce. It gives you the salty flavor while also deepening the overall flavor of the dish.
- Don’t forget the limes! Adding a squeeze of fresh lime right before serving ties all those delicious flavors together. This gives it a little extra boost over other Massaman curry recipes I have had.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best rice for curry is Jasmine rice. It’s a fragrant, long-grain rice that pairs perfectly with Thai dishes. Brown Jasmine or Basmati rice also work well. If those aren’t available, any long-grain white rice will do.
Yes, just double check to make sure that the paste you are using does not contain gluten.
Yes, definitely! To make this a Vegetarian Massaman Curry simply leave out the chicken (Tofu is a great substitute) and sub for a vegan fish sauce.
Yes! To make this in a slow cooker, sauté the curry paste in a bit of oil first to bring out the flavor, then add it to the slow cooker along with the coconut milk, chicken, veggies, and seasonings. Cook on low for 6–7 hours or on high for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
Yes! Use the sauté function to cook the curry paste in oil for 2–3 minutes. Add the coconut milk, chicken, veggies, and seasonings. Seal the lid and cook on Manual/Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest. Give everything a good stir and serve over rice.
Thai and Indian curries are both saucy dishes with meat and vegetables served over rice, but they’re quite different in flavor. Thai curry is lighter and more aromatic, made with coconut milk, lemongrass, and fish sauce for a sweet, salty, sour, and spicy balance. Indian curry is richer and spicier, using ground spices like cumin and garam masala with tomato, yogurt, or cream for a deeper flavor.
Because curry and rice can be a complete meal on it’s own, but if you are expecting company or simply just want the meal to go further, you can try some of these tasty Asian-inspired and Thai side dishes:
Thai Coconut Soup
Asian Cucumber Salad
Asian Lettuce Wraps (PF Chang’s Copycat Recipe)
Pork and Veggie Potstickers
Thai Lettuce wraps
Storing Leftovers
If you have leftovers (lucky you!), store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This curry also freezes really well—just make sure to freeze it without rice (rice doesn’t freeze as well). It will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, just thaw it overnight in the fridge and warm it up on the stove.
More Delicious Curry Recipes
I can’t wait for you to try this delicious authentic Thai Chicken Massaman Curry. It’s easy to make, full of flavor, and the perfect dish to add some spice to your regular dinner rotation. Give it a try and let me know in the comments how it turns out or any modifications you tried to make it your own! 🥘
Chicken Massaman Curry
Video
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Massaman curry paste, (see notes above)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cans (14 oz each) unsweetened coconut milk, full fat
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter , (creamy or crunchy)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 onion
- 1 pound chicken
- 4 medium potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1/2 cup peanuts
- sriracha sauce, to taste
- red pepper flakes, to taste
- jasmine rice, (cooked)
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in an extra large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in curry paste; cook and stir for about 2-3 minutes. This is strong, make sure your windows are open and a fan is blowing.
- Add 1 can coconut milk and stir until well blended. Add ginger, cilantro, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil.
- Thinly slice the onion and chicken, then add them to the sauce. Reduce to a simmer. When chicken is white and cooked through add another can of coconut milk and bring back to a boil.
- Peel and dice potatoes. Peel and slice carrots. Add the potatoes, carrots, and remaining ingredients (except for the rice) and stir until everything is well mixed. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are no longer crunchy in the middle. Serve hot over Jasmine rice and garnish with extra cilantro and/or limes if desired.
Notes
- Boil potatoes for 3–4 minutes before adding to the curry to speed up cooking.
- For extra veggies, let them simmer in the sauce or stir-fry them first if you’re short on time.
- Shake or stir coconut milk well before opening—or open from the bottom to avoid separation.
- Adjust spice level with sriracha: mix it in or serve on the side.
- Use soy sauce instead of salt to deepen flavor.
- Don’t skip the lime—fresh lime juice brightens the whole dish!
- Slow Cooker: Sauté curry paste first, then add all ingredients and cook on low for 6–7 hours or high for 3–4.
- Instant Pot: Sauté curry paste, add ingredients, and pressure cook for 8 minutes. Natural release 5 minutes, then quick release.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi, Can you leave out the Fish Sauce or is it 100% nessecary?
You can leave it out if you don’t like fish sauce. It adds a salty, tangy flavor that some may not prefer. Totally up to you!
Made this for a load of friends, got 5-star reviews all round!
Hi Michael- That is awesome! So glad your friends loved it! Thanks for the 5-stars!
I can’t wait to try this recipe:). Can I use lite coconut milk?
Yes, you can, it just won’t be quite as thick and creamy. Hope this helps!
Omg so so so good. I omitted Sriracha/red pepper flakes and subbed some of the potatoes for butternut squash and sweet potatoes. This will definitely have me ordering curry from Amazon regularly!
We are so glad you liked it! Thank you for the 5-star review!
This is my favorite dish at a local Thai restaurant and it tasted just like it. It was amazing. Has anyone tried to keeping it warm in a slow cooker for a couple of hours? We are having company and I want to make it again.
I don’t see why there would be any problem keeping it warm in a slow cooker for a couple hours. You should be totally fine! Hope this helps!
This recipe is amazing and easy. I was able to order the curry on Amazon and had all the other ingredients. This is better than the local Thai restaurant. I’m planning on making it for our annual ice fishing event in a couple of weeks, bet there will be nothing left!!
Thanks so much for sharing this.
This would be perfect for an ice fishing festival! Should keep everyone nice and warm 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! So happy to hear you liked it so much!
One of the only dishes I’ll eat from our local thai restaurant is massaman curry. I love the balance of heat and sweetness. It has gotten expensive to eat out so I decided to find a recipe. My husband is usually the cook so to be able to do this on my own was awesome. Super easy to follow recipe. I made some tweaks based on my own likes such as using olive oil instead of vegetable oil and adding snap peas and pineapples. I chopped the peanuts peanuts. I also added 1 small can of unsweetened coconut cream as someone else recommended. Seriously an awesome recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Wow thank you so much for sharing! Massaman is one of my go-to menu choices when I go Thai. You almost can’t go wrong no matter where you go. So glad you found our recipe and that it was a success!
After eating at our favorite Thai restaurant the other day, my family agreed, we will stay home next time and make this recipe. They love it so much better!! Thanks for sharing, It’s delish.
Wow! That is quite a compliment! Thank you so much! 🙂
YUM!
I didn’t have any fish sauce on hand and it still came out awesome. Also added some extra veggies we had to use when we put the potatoes etc in. Everyone loved it ages 5-45.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for the 5-star rating! We are so glad you loved it!
My husband’s words after his 1st bowl “Wow! You’ve mastered this dish on your 1st attempt!” This is 1 of our favorite Thai dishes & now we’ll be having it more often. I actually made it in the instant pot.
On SAUTE mode in Instant Pot, I added ginger, garlic, curry paste and chicken and sauted for 30-45 seconds. Added carrots, onions, sweet potatoes and coconut milk, stir well till the curry starts bubbling. Then I cooked on manual for 10 minutes. Perfection!
I am so glad you loved it!! Thanks for the 5-star rating!!
Does anyone know how to get that thick coconut milk like in the video? All the coconut milk that I bought isn’t thick like in the video.
The coconut milk that comes in cans is thicker. You can usually find it by the Asian foods in your grocery store.
I’m very excited to try making this recipe. I had massaman curry for the first time a few weeks ago and have been craving it ever since.
I’m curious, roughly go much siracha sauce and red pepper flakes do you use? I don’t want to mess it up lol
It really depends on how much spice you like/can handle. I would start out just adding a little bit at a time and taste-testing it until you find the right spice level. Hope this helps!
I didn’t add any sriracha or red pepper flakes. I don’t find that it needed it..
This was AMAZING!! Great recipe, balanced flavors. I add a bit more ginger and cilantro b/c I love it, and I also added some green beans to this for some greens. Will keep in my files for future:) Thank you!!
Oooh sounds yummy!! We are so glad you liked it!!
This was gorgeous! Now cooked this many times and it always gets rave reviews from guests! I dont like fish sauce so use half the amount in the recipe but still tastes fab. Thanks so much.
Thank you for the 5 stars! We are so glad you like the recipe!
Could someone please tell me what kind of onion I’m suppose to use?
Sweet Vidalia, yellow, white, spring onions? There are so many different kinds and I don’t want to use the wrong one and ruin the dish. Thanks!
You can use any of the ones you have mentioned and it will turn out great! Typically we use yellow onions but any will do fine. Hope this helps!
This recipe is amazing, thanks so much for sharing. The peanut butter is a fab touch and gives the dish an extra depth, so yummy and super easy to make.
I’m so glad you like it, Jenny! Thank you for the 5-star rating!
First time making massaman curry. This was delicious. Will def make again. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
So glad you liked it!
I just found this recipe via Pinterest. I’ve made it twice, by request, in the last two weeks. Ohmyyummyness. This rivals any Massaman curry I’ve had in restaurants. Thank you!
So glad you like it!
I just made this a day ahead of when it will be served. Naturally I had to taste and I was not disappointed it was delish. I cannot wait to eat it
Tomorrow it will be even better
Good call! We like to double the recipe and freeze half because it reheats so well. 🙂
Excited to try this tomorrow, I am a little nervous because I bought a different brand, it was what was available. It is Mae Ploy. It is a big can, 2 lbs 3 oz. I am hoping to use the suggested measurement I saw in your comment of 4 oz or 1/2 cup. Have you ever tried/heard of that brand? Wish me luck.
I have heard of that brand but haven’t used a big can like that. You should be fine using the 4 oz measurement. Hope this helps!
Thank you sooooo much, I tried another massaman curry recipe and it was disgusting so in despair I went back to the interwebs and came across your recipe. I made it just as written and it came out absolutely delicious. It was better than the curry at my favorite thai spot. Thanks again I will be making this recipe a lot.
Your comment completely made my day 😀 Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let us know how you liked it! I am so glad you found a winner! I hope you will keep coming back for more recipes. We have lots of good Thai/Indian ones 🙂