Slow-cooker Brazilian-style coconut chicken curry
A creamy, hearty and warming slow cooked one-pot which combines tender chicken breast with sweet potatoes and pinto beans in a warming sauce made with coconut milk, peanut butter and fresh lime.
10 mins
3-5 hours
508 kcals
serves 4
Photo credit: Chris Terry
Brazilian-style coconut chicken curry recipe
This Brazilian-Style Coconut Chicken Curry is a creamy, family-friendly dish that has become a real favourite in my household—especially with my youngest daughter.
The combination of light coconut milk, tender shredded chicken, and soft pinto beans creates a mild yet flavoursome curry that’s perfect for everyone, even those who aren’s always keen on spicier foods. With a hint of peanut butter adding a subtle richness, this dish is satisfying on its own or served with rice for an extra hearty meal. Plus, it’s super easy to prepare in the slow cooker, making it ideal for busy days when you want to come home to a delicious dinner.
Why you’ll love this recipe
This recipe is not only delicious but also incredibly easy to make. Everything gets tossed into the slow cooker, allowing the ingredients to slowly blend together into a rich, delicious sauce while the chicken becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender.
It’s perfect for family dinners or meal prepping, as it’s a complete meal in itself. Plus, it’s versatile—great on its own, or served over rice, and can easily be adapted to include extra veggies.
Tips for making the perfect coconut chicken curry
Adjusting spice: This recipe uses chilli flakes for a mild heat, but if you love spicier food, feel free to add more or use a fresh red chilli for an extra kick.
Peanut butter: Smooth peanut butter adds a subtle nutty flavour, but if you’re allergic or want a different taste, try almond butter or leave it out altogether.
Shredding the chicken: For best results, shred the chicken after cooking to ensure it soaks up all the delicious coconut and peanut sauce.
What to serve with Brazilian coconut chicken curry
This curry is hearty enough to enjoy on its own, but you can serve it with:
- Steamed white or brown rice
- Quinoa for a high-protein, gluten-free option
- Fresh naan bread or warm flatbread/ pitta bread for dipping
- A simple side salad for some freshness and crunch
I don’t have a slow-cooker, where do I start?
You can find out all about slow cookers, why they are so popular, my recommended size, plus how to use them here.
How does Brazilian-style coconut chicken curry work on Slimming World?
Some of the ingredients in this recipe do contain syns. Here is how the following ingredients work if you are following Slimming World:
Light coconut milk: Coconut milk can vary greatly in syns across brands, so you will want to check using your Slimming World resources what syns your coconut milk contains. On average, light coconut milk contrains 3-5 syns per 100ml. Some of the best light coconut milks in terms of syns are the Tesco own brand, and the Blue Dragon brand, which each contain 3 syns per 100ml. Remember that this meal is split between 4 portions.
Peanut butter: Peanut butter has around 4.5 syns per tablespoon, but remember this may vary due to brand.
Cornflour: Cornflour contains 1 syn per tablespoon
Slow-cooker Brazilian-style coconut chicken curry
- Total Time: 3-5 hours
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This Slow Cooker Brazilian Coconut Chicken Curry is a delicious, family-friendly meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights. Tender chicken breasts are slow-cooked with sweet potatoes, pinto beans, and cherry tomatoes in a creamy coconut and peanut butter sauce, spiced with garlic, chilli flakes, and turmeric for a subtle kick. The result is a rich, satisfying curry that’s mild enough for kids but flavoursome enough for everyone to enjoy. Serve it as a complete meal or pair it with rice or bread for an extra filling option.
Syns per portion: See desciption above, it depends on which brand of coconut milk is used, but is around 6 syns per portion
Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lime, plus lime wedges to serve
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 chicken stock cube, crumbled
400ml (14 fl oz) light coconut milk
3 skinless chicken breasts
350g (12oz) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
400g (14oz) can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
250g (9oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper
coriander leaves, to serve
Instructions
1. Put the onion into the slow-cooker pot with the peanut butter, lime zest and juice, chilli flakes, crushed garlic, turmeric, cornflour, crumbled stock cube and coconut milk and stir everything together thoroughly.
2. Add the whole chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, pinto beans and tomatoes, season well and stir again, place the lid on and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 5 hours.
3. When the cooking time is up, use 2 forks to shred the chicken into the sauce. Serve seasoned with pepper, scattered with coriander leaves and with lime wedges on the side.
Notes
To cook this in a regular oven, preheat the oven to 210°C/190° fan (410°F), Gas Mark 6 1/2. Follow steps 1 and 2, but mix the ingredients in a medium or large casserole dish with a lid. Bake with the lid on for 55 minutes. Check that the chicken is tender and pulls apart easily, then shred the chicken and serve as in step 3.
Want to increase the vegetable content in this? Add a few handfuls of chopped spinach at the end of the cooking time, stir it in, and leave for a few minutes to wilt into the hot sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3-5 hours
- Category: Slow-cooker
- Method: Easy
- Cuisine: Brazilian
Everyone in my family gave this a big thumbs up, it’s so easy, and really delicious.