This isn’t just another keto chicken curry recipe. It’s the ultimate guide to crafting a dish bursting with authentic flavors while staying perfectly aligned with your low-carb and gluten-free goals.
If you love this chicken recipe, you’ll love my keto butter chicken. For something quick and easy, try my juicy keto grilled chicken thighs.
We’re talking tender chicken thighs bathed in a rich, creamy sauce infused with aromatic spices – all without sacrificing taste or exceeding your carb limit.
Why This Keto Chicken Curry Stands Out
- Authentic Flavors: We’ve meticulously balanced the spices to create a deeply satisfying curry reminiscent of your favorite takeout.
- Keto-Friendly & Gluten-Free: This recipe boasts a mere 3g net carbs per serving and is naturally gluten-free, making it a guilt-free indulgence for those on a ketogenic or gluten-free diet.
- Easy to Make: This recipe does not use complicated techniques or hard-to-find ingredients. It is straightforward enough for weeknight cooking yet impressive enough for entertaining.
- Nutrient-Dense: Packed with healthy fats and protein from the chicken thighs and heavy cream, this curry will keep you full and energized.
Ingredients
- Aromatic Base: Fresh onion, green chili, ginger, garlic, and cilantro create a fragrant foundation for the curry.
- Warm Spices: Turmeric, cumin, and coriander lend their signature earthy notes to the dish.
- Richness and Depth: Tomato paste adds a touch of sweetness and umami, while ghee provides a luxurious texture and nutty flavor.
- Succulent Chicken: We recommend using boneless, skinless chicken thighs for their superior flavor and moisture retention.
- Creamy Finish: Heavy cream creates a luscious sauce that perfectly coats the chicken and cauliflower rice.
How to Make Keto Chicken Curry
- Prepare the Aromatic Base: Blend the onion, green chili, ginger, garlic, and cilantro into a smooth paste.
- Sauté the Aromatics: Gently sauté the paste in ghee until fragrant and softened.
- Add the Spices: Stir in the turmeric, cumin, and coriander, allowing them to bloom and release their full aroma.
- Incorporate Tomato Paste: Cook the tomato paste briefly to deepen its flavor and enhance the curry’s richness.
- Cook the Chicken: Add the diced chicken thighs and cook until they’re browned and coated in the spice mixture.
- Simmer to Perfection: Pour in the heavy cream and salt, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the curry to thicken and the flavors to meld.
- Serve and Enjoy: Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve alongside a generous portion of cauliflower rice.
Serving Suggestions
- Cauliflower Rice: Cauliflower rice is a classic low-carb option that perfectly soaks up the flavorful sauce.
- Keto Bread: Enjoy the curry with fluffy, keto-friendly bread.
- Broccoli Mash: A creamy and comforting alternative to traditional mashed potatoes.
- Zucchini Noodles: A light and refreshing option, serve with zucchini noodles for a summery twist.
- Roasted Vegetables: Add various colorful vegetables for extra nutrients and texture.
Tips & Tricks
- Spice it Up: Adjust the amount of green chili to control the heat level. Add an extra chili or a pinch of cayenne pepper for a fiery curry.
- Make it Your Own: Experiment with different spices or squeeze lime juice for a touch of brightness.
- Storage and Reheating: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months (perfect for meal prep). They can be gently reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken breast instead of thighs for chicken curry?
While you can use chicken breast, we highly recommend chicken thighs for their tender juiciness and flavor.
What can I serve with keto chicken curry besides cauliflower rice?
You can also serve it with keto bread or roasted vegetables.
Can I make chicken curry ahead of time?
Yes. Chicken curry tastes even better the next day, as the flavors have had time to meld into the meat. Chicken curry is also perfect for meal prep.
The Best Keto Chicken Curry (3g Carbs)
This Fragrant & Tasty Keto Chicken Curry recipe is Delicious & Mildly Spicy with Low-Carb Ingredients. Lots of Healthy fats & Easy to make.
Rate it
Print Pin Share EmailServings: 8 serves
Calories: 414kcal
Unit Conversion
Ingredients
- 1 small Onion roughly chopped
- 1 large Green Chili roughly chopped
- 1 inch Ginger roughly chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 cup Cilantro leaves and stems
- 3 tablespoons Ghee
- 2 teaspoons Turmeric ground
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon Coriander ground
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 2 pounds Chicken Thighs
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- In your food processor, add the onion, green chili, ginger, garlic, and fresh coriander. Blend until all ingredients are finely chopped. If your food processor is struggling, add a tablespoon of water to help the ingredients move around.1 small Onion, 1 large Green Chili, 1 inch Ginger, 3 cloves Garlic, 1/2 cup Cilantro
- Scrape the mixture out of the food processor and into a large saucepan over low heat, add the ghee and gently saute for 10 minutes.3 tablespoons Ghee
- Add the turmeric, cumin and ground coriander and continue to gently saute for another 5 minutes.2 teaspoons Turmeric, 1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin, 1 teaspoon Coriander
- Add the tomato paste and stir well to combine with the other ingredients, continue to cook for another 2 minutes before adding the diced chicken.2 tablespoons Tomato Paste, 2 pounds Chicken Thighs
- Increase the heat to medium and cook the chicken in the spices for 10 minutes.
- Add the cream and salt, and reduce the heat until the curry is simmering. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.1 cup Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Serve the Chicken Curry immediately with a side of Cauliflower Rice.
Notes
STORING: Chicken curry can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 150g | Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 442mg | Potassium: 337mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 654IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
Made this recipe?Tag me at @myketokitchen
More keto curry recipes:
To make the keto chicken curry recipe in a larger batch, adjust the serving amounts in the recipe card above.
Loved it 10
Its one of my favorites to Bern. Thanks for the rating.
Fabulous, thank you for that. Really enjoyed it
Thanks again Bern. Glad you enjoyed it.
i’ve just made this and it’s really nice. I omitted the green chilli and put half a teaspoon of kashmire chilli powder in because i don’t like hot curry. I will definitely be making this again. it’s pretty lush if you like a mild creamy but tasty curry whilst doing keto.
Hello Hillary, so glad you enjoyed it. I’ll give the kashmir powder a try next I make it.
OMG This is the best recipe ever!!!! I didn’t have fresh coriander so I used cilantro. Was awesome. I love this recipe and I’m the most picky eater ever so with Keto sometimes it’s hard to find yummy food. I would make this again and again does not matter if I’m on the keto diet or not.
Hey Pam, the chicken curry is one of our favorites too! So glad you liked it.
Just so you know for the future, cilantro IS fresh coriander. It is just rarely called that in N.Am. grocers. Generally here the seeds are called coriander and the leaves are called cilantro
My husband & I just made this for our meal prep. We could not find fresh coriander so we omitted that, used a can of diced green chilies, and cheated with a rotisserie chicken we bought at Sam’s. AMAZING! & so easy! This recipe is definitely going into our recipe rotation for meal prep!
Thank you for your feedback Melanie, so glad you and your husband enjoyed the curry. It one of my favorites too.
Absolutely delicious, satisfying and filling! So easy to make with readily available ingredients.
Definitely a favourite in our house!
So glad you enjoyed the chicken curry, Felicity. Thank you for your kind words.
Hi. My keto daughter has also recently become dairy free. Can full fat coconut milk be substituted 1 for one with heavy cream?
Thanks.
Generally, you can’t replace heavy cream for coconut curry, but with this recipe, I think it will be fine, it will just taste more like a Thai curry. I hope that helps Stephanie.
This recipe was outstanding.
Little effort for enormous taste.
I think I could have eaten all the servers by myself.
Absolutely lovely and thank you so much for the recipe.
This one I will certainly make again and again.
Thank you for the positive feedback, Julie. We love this chicken curry too.
Hi, could I substitute ghee with butter or olive oil?
Will this be ok for leftover chicken?
Many thanks, Looks great!
Best Wishes,
Alison
Hi ALison,
Sorry, but olive oil or butter wouldn’t work for this recipe.
Hope that helps.
Hi, the recipe says to serve immediately. Will the cream separate if I make it in advance and heat it up later? Thanks!
Hi Justine,
No, the cream won’t separate if cooled then reheated. The immediately part refers to eating it hot 😉
That’s so amazing, it’s a traditional Indian dish and famous worldwide and can be had at any meal. I have to shred many kadi recipes with folks, now I’m gonna try it your way. Thanks a lot.
I usually make curries with so many ingredients and it’s delicious but takes hours…This one is going to be my favorite ones from now on! I just added a red pepper and 2 tomatoes, and I blitzed the mix in my nutri bullet instead of the food processor! But it was insanely good anyway
The best curry ever, the whole family loved it. The only thing I did different was I added a can of chopped tomatoes
So glad you liked it, Kim. Thank you for your kind words. I’ll pass them on to Gerri (she’s away at the moment)
I love this recipe. I’ve made it numerous times and it’s always a hit with my whole family.
Sometimes I am unable to get green chillies, so I use a green capsicum and some cayenne pepper to taste instead. Delicious.
Thank you, I adore curry and this makes my keto journey much more doable!
Hi, I love Indian food with curry and tumeric. I want to cook the Keto chicken curry and trying to watch the video for it and can’t get the video. Also do all the recipes have a video.
Hi Rosemary,
We don’t yet have a video of this recipe. About a third of the recipes on our website have a video, we are working on updating all the recipes to include a video but it will take some time.
How on Earth is this regarded as being good for you? It’s so easy to make, and tastes superb. Similar to butter chicken which is a firm favourite in our household. We’ve really got on board with Keto and this is great. We didn’t have it with any rice yet found it equally as good to eat. I found this a mild curry so will increase the amount of chilli next time. Thank you!
Hi Tom,
I wasn’t sure if you loved it or hated it to start with! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Fantastic! Just made this recipe and served it over cauliflower rice. After trying many chicken curry recipes to replicate an authentic Indian restaurant taste, I finally found this . Thank you! And it’s keto!!! This is a new favorite!
This recipe is a game changer. I look forward to eating this and never miss any “bad” foods. It is sooo delicious and satisfying that I have made a double batch, each week, for the last 4 weeks and my entire family gobbles it up without complaints! They even request more on my meal prep days! A million thanks to you and a request for any other easy, Indian inspired keto recipes would be very welcomed.
Best curry I have ever eaten, made tonight for probably the 10th time. Thank you for this recipe
Thank you for your kind words, Jade!!
This was excellent!! Thanks!
The nicest curry I have ever made.
Easy to prepare. My husband has a sweet tooth so I added a tablespoon of Splenda and he was in heaven. Cut the recipe in half as there are only 2 of us, and it still came out tasty. By the end of the evening, nothing left.
DELICIOUS!
I was looking for something to make for dinner and came across this recipe. It looked interesting so I decided to give it a try. We were surprised at how delicious it is and yet so easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Wow great recipe. I put half cream, half coconut milk wow. I thought afterwards to add some spinach next time. Thank you.
I am a terrible cook and this came out amazing!!
Easy and simple
Thank you
This was absolutely fabulous and restaurant quality. Thank you so much for sharing. I used a bit less cream and added some water instead to make it less rich. I also added cumin seeds to the cauliflower rice. I also used chicken breasts instead of thighs (as it was all I had to hand) and just reduced the cooking time. This is a 5-star recipe and it will be a firm favourite in our house.
Can you tell me how you calculated the nutrition info?
I use MyFitnessPal to log my meals and upon importing this recipe the Amount Per Serving is VERY different than yours, and i am hesitant to try this on the Keto diet. This is a dish my husband and I would love to try but our macros limit us to 25 or less grams of carbs/day.
Here are the results from the import:
Servings 10.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 370 % Daily Value *
Total Fat 18 g 27 %
Saturated Fat 9 g 46 %
Monounsaturated Fat 3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 117 mg 39 %
Sodium 340 mg 14 %
Potassium 450 mg 13 %
Total Carbohydrate 32 g 11 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g 9 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 24 g 49 %
Vitamin A 14 %
Vitamin C 67 %
Calcium 20 %
Iron 15 %
Hi Victoria,
Both Matt and I eat Keto, we know all about keeping carbs low! You just have to look at the ingredients to see that there are not many carbs in the recipe.
I am very confused as to how you got the carbs so high in your calculations – there are only about 30g of carbs in the entire recipe. That being said; My Fitness Pal is notorious for having incorrect food data, I suggest that you go back and double check each of the ingredients that you have added. It can be helpful to do a google search of each of the ingredients to get an understanding of how many carbs different ingredients have.
I hope that helps!
Hello,
I made your keto chicken curry and it was amazing! I wasn’t sure what green chili to use though. I used Anaheim chilies, but what kind of green chili was I supposed to use?
Hi Nancy,
We get chili’s at the supermarket here in Australia that are just called “green chilies” though any green colored chili will do 🙂
Hi, I really want to make this, are the ingredients accurate for 2 Servings?
I use Metric and 0.24 teaspoons Cumin ground is a bit odd?
Many Thanks
Hi Matt,
The conversion is basically dividing the recipe by the number of serves that you put in. 0.24 teaspoons is just 1/4 of a teaspoon. I hope that helps.
Amazing! Accidentally used pepperoncini instead of green chili but still tasted great! Subbed olive oil for ghee.
Better than the local Thai and Indian restaurants! Went perfectly with the cauliflower rice!
Thank you for your kind words, Jenn!
Hi Gerri
I just made this and subsequently ate it and I have to say it was delicious. Thank you
Hi Graham,
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Making for second time!!! Best curry ever! My husband wanted a non traditional Xmas meal so we are making your recipe!! Thank you again!!
Thank you for your kind words Jean!
Hi this sounds so yum but I was wondering if I could use parsley instead of coriander as we don’t like that I will use the powder but not the herb thanks.
Hi Nathalie,
Parsley has a very different flavor to coriander and will change the taste of the curry. I don’t recommend it, but you’re more than welcome to try it.
What to do with cilantro? Is It just a garnish? Didnt but fresh coriander. Don’t know if my store even carries
Hi Jean,
Cilantro is fresh coriander, it’s just another name for it 🙂 The cilantro/coriander is used in the curry paste.
This recipe is amazing! Even better the day after!! Thanks for delivering a fantastic recipe. One question, I’m hoping to remake for a good friend who’s dairy intolerant. Could this be made on coconut milk?
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for your kind words, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it can, though I would recommend using coconut cream for the added fat content. I’d love to hear how it goes 🙂
Wow. There are no words to explain how I felt about this recipe. It was better than any Indian restaurant I’ve ever been tooand bonus… it’s keto! Thank you so much!
Thank you for your kind words, Natalie!
I’m so glad you loved it 🙂
Can you sub butter for the ghee?
Hi Amanda,
You can definitely use butter instead of ghee.
i have always made curry dishes from the jar. Never again! this recipe was easy and so delicious! thanks
Hi Shan,
Thank you for your kind words 🙂
I’m on keto, and I had a severe craving for Indian food. This recipe hit the spot! I dare say it was better than my local Indian restaurant. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Josh,
Thank you for your kind words! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Gerri
So good! The only thing I did differently from the recipe was added a half of a jalapeño pepper. Incredible!
I have got to say that this is the yummiest chicken curry I have ever eaten! The whole family loved it and I’ve had the left overs for breakfast! Will definitely be making this again! It was a winner!
Thank you for your kind words Emma!
I wanted to try making a curry from scratch and this turned out delicious. I am now keen to try your other curry recipes.
Thank you for your kind words Sue!
You weren’t kidding, this is both easy and delicious! Thank you for creating an amazing recipe that is a keto comfort food. This will be a regular meal in our home.