Curry Chicken Rice and Peas

Curry Chicken Rice and Peas is a one skillet meal packed with delicious curry flavor, creamy coconut milk, and vibrant peas and carrots. 

Looking for more Indian food and Thai food? Be sure to make my Thai Curry Noodle Soup, Massaman Curry, and Indian Butter Chicken Recipe. Each are incredibly delicious! 

Why This Recipe Works

• One skillet chicken recipe. This easy curry chicken and rice is made in just one skillet! No need to dirty 4-5 bowls and pots. One pot meals make prep time and clean up so much quicker!
• Make a large meal. This curry chicken rice and peas makes 8 servings — perfect for the whole family! It’s the perfect curry recipe to make for large family meals. 
• Uses simple ingredients. This is an easy chicken curry recipe because it only uses curry powder, not curry paste. I feel like curry paste is a specialty item — meaning I don’t usually have it on hand. Using the curry powder is a great way to make curry at home without needing to run to the store for red curry paste or curry sauce. 

Ingredient Notes

• Cardamom: This spice has a warm flavor to it. It has a unique flavor. However, the closest comparison is allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg. 
• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: You can use chicken tenderloins or chicken thighs if you’d like. Since the chicken is cooked in a skillet, I find it easier to only have to watch a few chicken breasts than to watch a lot of chicken tenderloins.
• Rice: I used long grain white rice. Feel free to use basmati rice or jasmine rice. If you use brown rice, you’ll need additional chicken broth and the cook time for the rice will be longer. 
• Curry Powder: A full tablespoon of curry will give this curry chicken rice and peas a bold curry flavor. 
• Chicken Broth: The chicken stock will provide much more flavor than if you were use water. If using brown rice, you’ll need at least an extra cup of chicken broth. 
• Coconut Milk: Just use the full fat coconut milk in a can.
• Frozen Peas: You can use fresh peas if you’d like. I find it more convenient to use frozen. 
• Fresh Cilantro: Finely mince the cilantro so it disperses throughout the curry chicken rice and peas dish better. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken breasts. Pound the chicken breasts so they are all an even thickness. If you need to, cut them in half thickness-wise. Add the flour, cayenne pepper and cardamom to a large and shallow dish. Place the chicken in the dish and cover with the flour mixture. Set aside.
2. Brown chicken. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat until just smoking. Add the chicken and cook each side for about 4 minutes to brown the sides. Remove and set aside.

3. Cook the vegetables. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet. Add the carrots and onion and cook until softened. 
4. Cook the rice. Add the garlic, rice, and curry powder to the skillet. Mix. Add the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then add the chicken. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and has an internal temperature of 160°F. (The rice won’t be fully cooked yet.)

5. Let the chicken rest. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place on a plate. Tent the plate with aluminum foil and let sit for 10 minutes.
6. Add the coconut milk. Add the coconut milk to the skillet. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Add the peas and stir. 
7. Serve! Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Add the chicken and serve. 

Recipe Tips

If your chicken breasts are quite large, pound them to an even thickness and then cut them in half so that each piece equals about 7-8 oz each.

Mince the cilantro so it disperses easier in the curry dish. 

You can use olive oil instead of vegetable oil if you prefer. Just note the difference in flavor since olive oil has a prominent flavor.

Feel free to change up the vegetables if you’d like. Red bell pepper would be a delicious replacement for the carrots. You can also swap out the rice for quinoa (be sure to make adjustments to the cooking time to account for the change). Check out my Chickpea and Spinach Curry recipe for a delicious vegetarian curry! 

Looking for a curry noodles recipe? My Coconut Curry Noodles has a similarly delicious coconut curry sauce made with veggies and rice noodles.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

Reheat in the microwave or return to a skillet and warm. Add a splash of coconut milk to get things creamy again. 

To freeze, cut the chicken into small pieces and then store the chicken curry rice and peas in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for up to 1 month. Remove and let thaw in the fridge overnight. 

Recipe FAQs

More Chicken Recipes

• Greek Chicken Gyros
• Creamy Tuscan Chicken
• Chicken Dijon Recipe
• Roman Chicken Recipe