This mild chicken curry for kids recipe is one I have been making for years, it's one of the easiest currys for kids. I love a curry, so when my kids were young I was always on the lookout for kid friendly curry recipes, which had enough flavour to appeal to the adults around the table too.
I love spice in my food, so have never kept it out of the meals we enjoy as a family. I started off introducing spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric. I also used spice blends like Cajun or taco seasoning, or ras el hanout. When they developed a taste for spice I then started adding small amounts of chilli.
This easy chicken curry for kids does include a chilli, but if your kids are completely new to spice I would suggest leaving out the chilli to start with. Then if they cope ok with the spices, you can add ½ deseeded chilli to the curry paste next time. Working up in stages so they develop a taste for spicy food.
I also make my easy kid friendly chicken curry with coconut milk. Coconut milk not only adds a creaminess to the sauce, it also helps to temper and soften the spices.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Make ahead, this curry is a great make ahead recipe. I often make curry a day ahead as the curry will taste even better then next day once the flavours have melded together.
- A simple curry recipe that can be prepared, cooked and ready to enjoy in around 40 minutes.
- Easy to adapt recipe, adjust the spicing to suit your own tastes and remove the deseeded chilli if you prefer.
- Containing no dairy or gluten so suitable for dairy free and gluten free diners.
Recipe ingredients
Curry paste ingredients
- Onion – I use a regular onion for the base curry paste.
- Garlic – I always use fresh or frozen garlic in the curry paste, although you could use garlic puree in a pinch.
- Ginger – I always use fresh or frozen root ginger in a curry paste, although you could use ginger puree in a pinch.
- Red chilli – I like to add one deseeded red chilli to the curry paste, to give it a very mild chilli heat. If you prefer only add half a chilli, or leave it out altogether.
Easy chicken curry ingredients
- Oil – I use olive oil or sunflower oil in this curry, but you can use your oil of choice.
- Salt – I like to add a teaspoon of sea salt to the curry sauce to balance out the spices.
- Dry spices – I use a combination of ground spices including turmeric, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and garam masala. If there is a spice you don’t like, leave it out.
- Chicken - I use 3-4 medium sized chicken breasts which will feed 4.
- Red pepper – I’ve used a red pepper, but you can use any colour of pepper in this recipe.
- Tomatoes – I use both a can of plum tomatoes and also tomato puree in this recipe.
- Coconut milk - I use full fat coconut milk in this recipe as it has the best creamy flavour. You can use light coconut milk if you prefer, but the curry sauce will be thinner and need cooking down a little longer.
- Almonds - I like to garnish the curry with some toasted flaked almonds, this adds great crunch and texture to the dish. This is entirely optional and you can leave off the dish if you prefer.
- Coriander leaf – I like to garnish the curry with some chopped coriander leaf (cilantro) for a burst of fresh herb flavour. You could also use fresh parsley or chives.
How to make easy kid friendly chicken curry
- Place the ingredients for the curry paste into a small food processor or blender. Add a splash of water and blend until well broken down but still with a rough consistency.
- Add the oil to a large frying pan and place over medium heat. Now add the curry paste and sauté for 10 minutes, to soften, but not brown the paste.
TOP TIP: For a super mild curry with zero chilli, leave the chilli out of the curry paste!
- Next the salt and ground spices to the pan, stir well to combine and cook for 2 minutes until the spices release their aroma. Continue to stir to stop the spices from burning.
- Now add the chicken to the pan, stir to completely cover the pieces of chicken in the spice mix, and cook gently for 5 minutes.
- Add the sliced pepper, tomatoes and tomato puree to the pan, along with the coconut solids from the top of the can of coconut milk.
- Pour the coconut water into the tomato can, swill it around to ensure you get all the tomato juice from the can. Pour into the curry and cook gently for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- While the curry is cooking, place the flaked almonds into a dry non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Gently toast the nuts until golden, moving them around the pan to stop them sticking and burning.
- Once the curry has cooked, garnish the with the toasted almond and freshly chopped coriander. Serve with rice, chapatis, or naan breads.
Recipe variations
- Chicken - Swap chicken breast meat for boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Vegetables - I've added a red bell pepper to the curry for some crunch, but you can add in other veggies like mushrooms, carrots, sweet potato, green beans, butternut squash or courgette.
- Leafy greens - leafy greens are a great addition to any curry, I like to add a handful of spinach or even a couple of cubes of frozen spinach. Chard and kale are great options too.
- Spices - this recipe is very adaptable and if there is a spice you don't like then leave it out. If you don't have any individual spices the next best thing would be to use a mild curry powder.
- Coconut milk - coconut milk adds a creaminess to the curry which tempers the spices. If you don't have coconut milk you can always stir through some thick Greek yogurt, or double cream (heavy cream) at the end of the cook and warm through.
Serving suggestions
There’s so much flavour in this curry I like to keep the sides simple with some basmati rice, and some chapatis or naan breads. You can also make your own flatbreads, try my Easy Yogurt Flatbreads.
Useful hints and tips
- Garnishes: I like to serve the toasted flaked almonds and chopped coriander in a separate bowls, that way everyone can add their own. I find that kids often don't want/are highly suspicious of garnishes, but it's a great addition for the adults around the table.
- Nut allergy: remove the toasted almonds from the recipe if serving anyone with a nut allergy.
- Dairy free: I've swapped cream for coconut milk making this a dairy free chicken curry.
- Allergy advice: gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soya free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.
FAQs
Most kids are fine with spice, but what they don't like is too much chilli heat. I've added no dried chillies or chilli powder to this recipe. What I have added is one mild red chilli which I've deseeded as the heat is in the seeds. You can leave the chilli out if you prefer. Note - if using pre-blended curry powders always check how much chilli they contain.
This curry also contains coconut milk, which will calm down the spices, you could also use yogurt or double cream to do the same job.
Chicken curry is a great make ahead dish and the curry will actually benefit from being made the day before as the flavours meld together. Once the curry is cool, place into an airtight container and store in the fridge for 2-3 days. When ready to serve, warm up the curry to piping hot and garnish with the toasted almonds and coriander if using.
Once cooked and cooled, and before adding any garnishes, place the curry into an freezer-proof container and store for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to serve, defrost overnight in the fridge, before placing into a pan and warming up to piping hot.
This chicken curry does not contain any cream, so freezes really well, making it ideal for batch cooking. I will often make double the amount of curry, enjoying some now and freezing the rest for an easy dinner another night.
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Additional recipe suggestions
If you like this recipe then try some of my favourite curry recipes:
- Easy Butter Chicken Curry (a mild curry recipe)
- Lamb & Spinach Curry (no chilli in this recipe)
- Easy Chickpea Curry with Spinach
- Vegetable & Coconut Curry
- Easy Matar Paneer Curry
- Indian Cottage Pie
Looking for inspiration for feeding the family mid week, then take a look at my Ultimate Guide to Family Dinners. Full of useful hints, tips and lots of recipes.
Mild Chicken Curry for Kids
Equipment
- chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Measuring jug
- measuring spoons
- Large frying pan
Ingredients
Curry Paste
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 cm root ginger
- 1 large mild red chilli (deseeded, optional, leave out if preferred)
Chicken Curry
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
- 1 heaped tsp ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 720 g chicken breasts (roughly 4 breasts, sliced into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 red pepper (deseeded and sliced)
- 400 g can plum tomatoes
- 400 g can full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 30 g flaked almonds (optional, to garnish)
- 1 handful fresh coriander leaf (chopped, to garnish)
Instructions
- Place the ingredients for the curry paste into a small food processor or blender. Add a splash of water and blend until well broken down but still with a rough consistency.
- Add the oil to a large frying pan and place over medium heat. Now add the curry paste and saute for 10 minutes, to soften, but not brown the paste.
- Next the salt and ground spices to the pan, stir well to combine and cook for 2 minutes until the spices release their aroma. Continue to stir to stop the spices from burning.
- Now add the chicken to the pan, stir to completely cover the pieces of chicken in the spice mix, and cook gently for 5 minutes.
- Add the sliced pepper, tomatoes and tomato puree to the pan, along with the coconut solids from the top of the can of coconut milk.
- Pour the coconut water into the tomato can, swill it around to ensure you get all the tomato juice from the can. Pour into the curry and cook gently for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- While the curry is cooking, place the flaked almonds into a dry non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Gently toast the nuts until golden, moving them around the pan to stop them sticking and burning.
- Once the curry has cooked, garnish the with the toasted almond and freshly chopped coriander. Serve with rice, chapatis, or naan breads.
Notes
- Swap chicken breast meat for boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- One deseeded mild red chilli is added to the curry paste. This is entirely optional and you can leave it out if preferred.
- This curry is a great make ahead curry recipe. I often make curry a day ahead as the curry will taste even better then next day once the flavours have melded together.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Chloe says
forget the kids, this was one was great for me! but that i can't handle spice, just that I often prefer a really tasty curry over a spicy one and this was perfect!
Lesley says
I totally agree, despite being a complete chilli head, for me it is always about balance and that's what I like to have in all my curries.
Janice says
What a delicious curry! One of my grandsons is very picky about anything that's spicy but he loved this curry.
Lesley says
Thank you Janice, I'm glad you all enjoyed it, particularly your picky eater, my own one is happy with this recipe as it's not too hot.
Diana says
Hi. I made this receipe for the family and they loved it. Much better than curry from the jar, the only problem I had that the sauce was too runny, so I had to add a bit of flour to make it thicker. I used chilli powder instead of chilli paprika and didn't add the red pepper (fussy kids), but it was still very delicious. I will definitely make it again.
Lesley says
Thank you Diana, I'm glad you enjoyed it, such an easy recipe and so much tastier than a jar of sauce. What you can do to thicken a sauce, is to remove the chicken once it's cooked, then increase the heat and reduce the sauce a little. Then all you need to do is put the chicken back into the pan to warm through.
Cat says
One of my nephews loves curry so I knew I had to make this for him as a change from his usual butter chicken from a jar. He absolutely loved it so I've passed the recipe onto my sister so she can make it too.
Lesley says
Thank you Cat that's great news, I'm really happy he enjoyed the curry.