Simple Tomato Curry Chicken

This curry chicken has a simple tomato sauce base with peppers and onions, a heaping few tablespoons of curry powder, and lightly breaded chicken pieces.

It's a super comforting dish with just the lightest, tiniest barely there bit of heat that warms you up from the inside out. So good served over white rice, but also excellent served with farro.

Serve this curry chicken over rice, couscous, or any grain you like. I usually go for plain white rice or a long grain brown basmati rice, because nostalgia. It would also be great with naan or even pita bread.

This simple tomato curry chicken comes from the same recipe binder as other nostalgic, budget weeknight dinner recipes like tuna newberg, angel hair pasta with chicken, and green spaghetti sauce.

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• Ingredient Notes
• Substitutions and Variations
• How to Make Curry Chicken
• Storage Notes
• Practical Tips & Recipe Notes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

About This Recipe

Let me preface this by saying this is not a "traditional" chicken curry. It is, however, what I grew up thinking of as curry chicken.

It's literally a tomato sauce seasoned with curry powder, so while I'd love to call it something less—ahem—culturally appropriative, my options are really rather limited by the simplicity of the ingredients themselves.

I first shared this recipe with y'all early in the pandemic when we had to limit our grocery trips and were making a lot more recipes using pantry staples. I spent a lot of time dipping back into the family recipe archives.

Most of the weeknight dinner recipes my mom used to make have 10 ingredients max, many of them canned or pantry items. This kid-friendly, simple tomato curry chicken is no different.

In true inherited recipe fashion, the recipe my mom gave me has absolutely zero measurements included, so until I wrote it down here, I used to make it mostly from memory. That's how easy it is!

Ingredient Notes

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this simple tomato based chicken curry recipe. (Not pictured: Rice or other grain for serving.) See recipe card at the end for quantities!

• Chicken Breast - You can also use chicken thighs!
• Onion - I usually use a yellow or white onion, but a sweet onion will also work here.
• Green Bell Pepper - A red bell pepper will also work if you prefer a slightly sweeter flavor. For a little heat, you can use poblano, Serrano, or even jalapeño peppers.
• Chicken Broth - I recommend an unsalted or low-sodium chicken broth or chicken stock so that you can salt the recipe to your taste preference.
• Tomato Paste & Tomato Sauce - The simplest, most basic version of this recipe uses one small can of tomato paste and one small can of tomato sauce. Scroll down to the "Substitutions and Variations" sections for how to sub in other canned tomato products.
• Curry Powder - Curry powder is a spice blend which can vary in taste by brand or manufacturer. I grew up using this Madras Curry Powder, but you can whatever curry powder your grocery store has on hand.
• Flour - For dredging the chicken before pan-frying it. This gives the chicken a very very very light breading and also helps thicken the sauce.
• Salt and Pepper - For seasoning the chicken before cooking it, and for seasoning the sauce to finish.
• Cilantro - This is optional as a garnish, but adds a really nice fresh flavor to the curry chicken. If you don't like cilantro, you may prefer a squeeze of lime juice right before serving. (You could also serve this with a dollop or drizzle of my simple lime cilantro yogurt sauce!)

Substitutions and Variations

One of the things I love most about this curry chicken recipe is that it can hold up to a lot of ingredient swapping. You can definitely adjust it to suit your own preferences.

• Chicken broth - The original recipe calls for a crushed chicken bouillon cube and water to make the sauce with the tomato paste and sauce. I think its easier to use boxed chicken broth, or homemade chicken broth if I have it, so that's how I've written the recipe. But you can use a crushed bouillon cube (add it to the peppers and onions) or a tablespoon of Better than Bouillon and water if you prefer.
• Tomato paste and tomato sauce - Use a large 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes instead. This will add a lot more liquid to your pan, so you'll definitely want to skip adding chicken broth and use the crushed bouillon cube or Better than Bouillon paste instead. If you do find the pan needs more liquid, you can add up to a cup of water. Using crushed tomatoes instead of tomato paste gives the same great tomato flavor in a slightly chunkier sauce. I generally prefer the smoother sauce, but either will do in a pinch.
• Curry powder - If you don't have something called "curry powder" you can substitute a blend of spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin, cardamom, paprika, or ginger. When we're out of curry powder, I usually sub in some garam masala, tandoori masala, and/or a Kitchen King spice blend that my friend brought me back from India. None of these are curry powders, but they all share similar flavor profiles that work just as well in this simple tomato based curry sauce.

How to Make Curry Chicken

Start by cutting the chicken breast into cubes approximately 1 inch in size. You can use chicken shears or a knife, and don't worry if they're not all perfect in size. You're aiming for consistently bite sized pieces of chicken.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add a generous glug of oil — enough to coat the bottom of the pan. The flour from the chicken will absorb a lot of the oil, so you need a little more than you might think. At least two tablespoons to start.

When the oil has loosened up and ripples slightly when you move the pan, add the chicken in a single layer and cook until golden brown. If the chicken pieces stick at all, don't pry them up — they'll release once they're cooked.

Remove the cooked chicken to a plate. It should be mostly cooked through, but may not be all the way cooked through. It will continue cooking as it rests, and will finish cooking when you add it back to the sauce.

Without cleaning out the pan, it's time to start making the sauce. Those brown bits stuck to the bottom are going to add a ton of flavor!

Serve curry chicken over whatever rice or grain you like best with a garnish of chopped cilantro. Unless you don't like cilantro, in which case, leave it out. It's your dinner not mine!

Storage Notes

Store any leftover curry chicken in airtight container for up to a week. Reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave in one minute bursts, stirring in between until warmed throughout.

Curry chicken is a great freezer meal — I recommend freezing it in a large resealable bag, pressed into in a flat layer. Defrost by submerging the bag in cool water, then reheat in a skillet on the stove.

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• When it comes to cutting your onions and peppers what matters most is that they're uniformly sized pieces. I like big chunks, so I do a fairly large chop. But Jimmy doesn't like big pieces of onion and pepper, so he prefers a smaller dice. It's really up to you! Just remember that smaller pieces will cook faster, so adjust the cooking times accordingly.
• If you're cooking for more than 5 people, add a third chicken breast or two additional chicken thighs. No need to scale up the sauce portion of the recipe unless you're serving more than 8 people.
• Taste the sauce as you go — the curry spice flavors will intensify as the sauce simmers and thickens. If the sauce is too spicy for you, stir in a dollop of sour cream, plain greek yogurt, or heavy cream right before serving, or serve with a dollop of plain greek yogurt or sour cream on the side.
• For more on the long, colonized history of curry dishes, I recommend watching season 2, episode 2 of David Chang's Ugly Delicious on Netflix, or listening to "The Curry Chronicles" episode of Gastropod.

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