Jamaican Curry Chicken
Spicy, creamy, Jamaican curry chicken delivers an incredible flavor explosion. Homemade curry powder, aromatic garlic and onion, and luscious coconut milk take this hearty recipe over the top. I guarantee this is one stew you’ll want to make over and over again.
Did you know that curry is not just one spice but a mixture of several different spices? That’s why some brands of store-bought curry seasoning are spicy and bold, while others are milder and sweeter. Honestly, some are meh in the taste department.
That is why I came up with my own recipe to suit my family’s tastes perfectly. Feel free to customize it to create your own perfect curry spice mix. Or you can choose your preferred store-bought brand – we all have our favorites.
Jamaican Curry vs. Indian Curry
Though similar to Indian curry, Jamaican curry powder has subtle differences. For example, the Jamaican version includes allspice, a spice that shows up in classic Jamaican jerk dishes.
Plus, it’s heavier on the turmeric than Indian curries, and the spices are usually toasted. Some of the best recipes are from fusion cuisines, and this curry takes chicken, goat, lamb, and beef to another level.
How to Make Jamaican Curry Chicken
This versatile recipe is very forgiving. You can make the curry sauce with the chicken in the skillet, or not. The video shows a slightly different process than I prefer now. Both ways are amazingly delicious.
- Season and sear the chicken, set aside, saute the aromatics, and add the tomato paste.
- Add the broth and coconut milk, the chicken, and simmer. Then toss in the potatoes and carrots, simmer, and add the bell peppers.
Recipe Tips and Twists
- You could substitute other meats if you aren’t a fan of chicken. It’s fabulous with goat, but pork and beef also make a fantastic curry.
- Turn this recipe into a plant-based dish with oyster mushrooms, portabellos, chickpeas, or tofu instead of chicken.
- Use whole-fat coconut milk for the creamiest, most delicious curry.
- Feel free to get creative with your veggie selection if you wish. Broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, and spinach would all work well in a curry, so feel free to clean out your fridge’s vegetable drawer.
- Adjust the spiciness of this dish by adjusting the amount of curry powder you add. You can also increase the heat with more cayenne pepper.
Make-Ahead and Leftovers
Adding to its appeal is just how easy it is to make this curry dish ahead of time. Simply follow the recipe instructions, allow the curry to cool, then store it in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months until you are ready to serve it. Reheat it on the stovetop, and no one will know you haven’t been in the kitchen all day preparing this delicious dish. The same is true of leftovers.
What Goes With Jamaican Curry Chicken
This curry goes great with white rice, but lately, I’ve gotten into serving it with arroz con gandules, making for an interesting (and delicious) cultural mash-up. It also goes great with Caribbean coleslaw and fried sweet plantains.
More Fantastic Curry Recipes to Try
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”lxT72PrU” upload-date=”Tue Aug 07 2018 11:48:32 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Jamaican Curry Chicken” description=”Jamaican Curry Chicken – a one pot meal that is bursting with flavor. The most delicious curry stew, you will want to make this over and over again.”]
This recipe was first published in October 2014, and has been updated with new photos, a video, and additional tips.
Jamaican Curry Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 3½-4 pound (1.5-2kg) whole chicken, cut into pieces
- salt to taste (¾-1 teaspoon per pound of chicken)
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) white pepper (optional)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) cooking oil
- 3-4 tablespoons (18-25g) Jamaican curry powder
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons (10g) minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons (4g) fresh thyme, minced
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) paprika (optional)
- 1 teaspoon (5g) tomato paste (optional)
- 1-2 cups (236-472ml) whole-fat coconut milk (or low-fat if cutting calories)
- 2 cups (470ml) chicken broth, more as needed (or water)
- 1 pound (450g) potatoes, peeled and cut into medium pieces
- 6 ounces (170g) carrots, sliced
- 6 ounces (170g) green bell peppers, sliced
- 6 ounces (170g) red bell peppers, sliced
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons (12-18g) chopped parsley
Instructions
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- In a large, deep pan, heat oil over medium heat until hot, and then add the chicken. Sear for 3-5 minutes or until slightly browned, turning halfway through. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- To the same pan, add the curry powder, onions, minced garlic, thyme, and paprika. Stir for about five minutes, allowing the flavors to bloom.
- Add the tomato paste if using and continue cooking while stirring for about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and coconut milk. Do a taste test and add salt and pepper if desired. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Add the chicken, along with its juices, back to the pot and toss in the potatoes and carrots. Cook until the potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes).
- Add the sliced bell peppers and cook for another two minutes.
- Finally, add the chopped parsley. Adjust the sauce thickness with broth or water and the salt to your preference. Serve and enjoy!
Tips & Notes:
- My original recipe used 2½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized chunks and less liquid. This time, I cut up a whole chicken (hard to find one that’s less than 3½ pounds). So I doubled the ½ cup of coconut milk and the 1½-2 tablespoons of curry powder. Other than that, it’s the same.
- While homemade curry powder is best, feel free to use your favorite store-bought version.
- Fat carries flavor, which is why we toast the spices in oil to develop more flavor.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Hi Imma,
I wanted to thank you for posting a delicious recipe. The house smelled wonderful while the dish cooked. I took a few shortcuts and made some modifications. Because I don’t have much time in the evenings to spend a lot of time preparing dinner for the family, I purchased a rotisserie chicken while getting the vegetables at the grocery store. I deboned the chicken and boiled the skin and bones to make the broth while chopping the veggies. There was a lot of chicken, so I added a large sweet potato, a few more carrots, 2 cans of coconut milk, and 2 more teaspoons of curry. The sweet potato, carrots, and extra coconut milk added a subtle sweetness to the dish that makes it more complex. I added the rotisserie chicken after the veggies cooked most of the way through. We gorged ourselves on the stew with warm crusty french bread. Delicious!
OH BOY! You should see me salivating here. Sounds AH-Mazing!!! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
I made this last night. It was the best curry chicken I ever made. Simply delicious.
AWESOME!!!! Thanks for letting me know.
Made this on Monday. I wanted to try your goat curry recipe but changed my mind since I had chicken already. It was absolutely divine! Had it with steamed basmati rice. My guests couldn’t have enough of it. Thank you!
My Pleasure!!! Glad to hear it was a hit with everyone. Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback.
I tried this recipe last night, of course with some adaptations…but this turned out so delicious!
Thanks for the feedback Shana
You mention bay leaf but it is not listed in the ingredients. How many bay leaves are you suggesting to add? Do you remove them at the end?
1-2 bay leaves. Yes, you do remove them at the end before serving.
My husband is in a bit of a panic. We are doing a mens Jamaican curry night this Saturday (tomorrow) 8, which we want to be as authentic as possible. We found your recipe , which looks amazing. Was going to be Goat but couldn’t get hold of any, so husband ordered mutton from our butchers. It came in all straggly bits so taking it back today. We are now going to do your chicken curry with bonless chicken thighs. My question is would your Jamacian curry mix be good for this as we’ve already made up a batch and it smells delicious. We really want to make something really tasty. Would your rice be good to serve with this. Also would banana cake be a good Jamacian pudding. Sorry for all the questions. Just want it to be a success. Thank you 🙂 x
Hi Trudy! No worries, questions are always welcome.
The Jamaican Curry Mix will work beautifully with this and yes, do pair it with my rice and beans. Banana Cake would good for dessert but not a traditional pudding. Happy Cooking.
You inspired me. I wanted to use my leftover roasting chicken but didn’t want a traditional chicken soup. Curry came to mind and I came across your recipe. I decided to add a kaffir lime leaf and a bit of Harissa. Odd combination I know but it worked for my tastebuds.
Hi Scott! Definitely a combination am willing to try out. It’s really an interesting one. Thanks for sharing!
I see the recipient looks fab but you mention scotch bonnet but it’s not mentioned in the list of ingredients. Please advise how much to use, we love spicy!
Throw in whole scotch bonnet, when you add the coconut milk, pierce if you really want spicy
Yummy yummy! Mmm this dish is delicious but my green beans is not greenish as yours what should I make d green beans in order to maintain d green color?
Thanks for the feedback Juliet! Add the green beans towards the end(5 minutes or less)
Pls auntie I’m so sorry for d stress. Just that I can’t wait to try this dish but I’m still having problem with parsley leaf no where to get. So pls can I substitute it for curry leaf? Its very urgent cos I’m boiling rice already waiting to cook d sauce.
Yes, you can or leave it out completely.
Hi Juliet, you can find parsley in major shops in Nigeria like Shoprite or Spar. It’s quite cheap for a big bunch.
Bay leaf is sold in the market (dry and in packets) most places where you can cooking spices.
Hope that helps
Thanks for sharing Onyi. That will definitely help Juliet and others who are looking.
And also what kind of vegetable is parsley and bay leaf,I’m in Nigeria now. Parsley ur talking about is it curry leaf and bay leaf is it scent leaf?
Hi Juliet! Parsley is use to flavor food- check it out in a major supermarket near you, so too is bay leaf. Google the images and you might know the spices
Hello Immaculate,I so much luv ur recipes. I really wanna try dis one tomorrow but the quantity of d chicken,carrot n green beans is confusing,what do u mean by 3pounds and 12 ounce like how many pieces of carrot can make d 12 ounce. Thanks
Thanks Juliet. 3 pounds chicken is about 1.5 kilogram Chicken. Use about 1-1/2 cup of carrots or green beans or both.
Wow…simple and easy. Thanks so much. Wish I could share pictures
Hi Ade! Would have love to see the pictures! Appreciate the comment!
So delicious!! Thank you
Hi Diana, thanks for the feedback!
This curry chicken is Delicious. Made it and can’t seem to have enough. Thanks
Hi! I just found your site via tastespotting and this recipe looks delicious…but I’m very confused by steps 8, 9, 10, and 11. Are these different options, but the main recipe is just steps 1-7? Thanks! 🙂
Good catch Jessica! Recipe updated! Thanks
I have never tried a Jamaican curry before! How delicious is this..definitely inspired to recreate the recipe, it looks delicious and packed full of yummy flavour!
Interested to see that curry powder is the main flavouring in this! Expected there to be a list of 20 spices like so many other curries 🙂 What brand do you use?
Nagi, It all depends…. I like purchasing curry at Caribbean Markets- which are usually generic – the spice mix in my opinion is one that is fresher and suits my taste buds. However, they sometimes vary in taste. My advise would be to experiment with several brands and find one that you like- if you like really spicy start with Madras curry powder.
Christina, let me know how it works for you!
I’m making this really soon, perfect for these cooler nights!