This Easy Chicken Curry recipe is a fantastic, one-pot campfire meal. A little prep before the camping trip makes it a FAST dinner to cook!
I’ve already shared a few of the recipes that we shot on that trip - Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies, Dutch Oven Jambalaya, and Sloppy Giuseppes ... today is all about my everyday chicken curry recipe!
This recipe is quicker and easier than most Indian curries - no marinating time, no long simmer times, etc. I designed it to be a quick and easy meal for the campsite, and busy weeknights at home.
Also, the chunks of chicken and veggies in a creamy sauce is a super hearty, satisfying meal when on the road.
The spices for the flavorful sauce get mixed and bagged ahead of time, a game changer for camping food!
This Indian chicken curry requires very little in the way of space when packing, and very little labour when you’re actually cooking it up.
Gotta love a camping meal that fits those parameters, is healthy, AND tastes amazing!
Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need to get your own coconut curry chicken on the go...
Ingredients
While not THE most authentic chicken curry out there, there’s a lot of amazing flavors going on in this quick curry. The ingredients are pretty simple - you should have no trouble finding everything you need in any larger grocery store.
A few ingredient notes for you:
Dried Spices
I like to mix up the perfect blend of spices in convenient little packets, ahead of our camping trips. It’s a great time AND space saver in the RV - always a good thing!
It’s a fairly long ingredient list, but it DOES result in a fairly authentic flavor, especially considering that we’re talking about a quick campfire meal!
My spice blend uses the following ground spices:
Cardamom, Cayenne Powder, Cumin Seeds, Garam Masala, Garlic Powder, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Coriander, Ground Ginger, Turmeric, and Yellow Curry powder (We usually use mild curry powder).
You can adjust the spice level by increasing or reducing the amount of cayenne powder.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Generally speaking, I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts when making this quick chicken curry recipe. I just don’t like the fuss of trimming the boneless chicken thighs, to be honest.
That said, feel free to use whichever you like - I’d go with 4-5 chicken pieces, if using thigh meat.
Coconut Milk
You’re looking to use a can of coconut milk - full-fat coconut milk, ideally - NOT the kind of coconut milk that you find in a carton.
The canned stuff is what you need in order to get a nice creamy chicken curry!
Soy Sauce, etc
You can use soy sauce if that works for you, we use coconut aminos - it’s a gluten free alternative.
Tamari is another great gluten-free option - aside from the soy sauce, the rest of this recipe is naturally gluten free.
Frozen Veggies
This is the big thing that makes the curry a little less authentic... but you can’t beat the convenience.
We usually use either a broccoli and cauliflower mix, or a “California Mix” of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot. Really, use whatever frozen veggie blend you like - stir fry mix, green beans, green peas - it’s all good.
You can thaw them out before using, or just dump them in frozen - frozen will just mean a bit longer of a cooking time.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
A Small Onion
Olive Oil (or Vegetable Oil)
Salt & Ground Black Pepper
Also - optionally - something to serve it with. If you’re someone that needs a starchy carb with a meal, Basmati rice makes a great side.
If you like rice but want to keep it low carb - as I tend to - use cauliflower rice.
When served with some kind of rice, the recipe makes 4 servings.
Honestly, though, we’re usually too lazy to bother with rice, and serve this up as 2 complete servings - there ARE a lot of veggies in there!
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How to Make Campfire Chicken Curry
The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:
Spice Packets
Ahead of time: Mix the spice packet ingredients together, transfer to a small zip top plastic baggie. Push out excess air, seal.
I’ll usually make a bunch of spice mixes at the beginning of the camping season, then also do up a few freezer packs:
Get a medium-hot fire going. You don’t want it roaring, but you do want it to sustain a low boil for 20 minutes or so.
Note: If you’re cooking at home, set your burner to medium-high heat.
In a Dutch oven, saute the onion in the olive oil until the onion is translucent and tender.
Add the chopped chicken breasts, continue cooking until browned on all sides, and almost completely cooked through.
Simmer until it starts to thicken, about 10 minutes. (Cooking time can vary wildly, depending on your setup!)
Add the frozen veggies, mix well to combine.
Serve hot, with rice or cauliflower rice, and/or naan bread if you have some.
Leftovers
Once cooled to room temperature, leftover chicken curry can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 4 day.
Best served reheated.
More One-Pot Camping Recipes
Looking for more easy - but satisfying! - one pot meals to cook over your campfire? Here are some of my favourites!
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Beef & Root Vegetable Stew
Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes
Campfire Chili
Dutch Oven Jambalaya
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Sloppy Giuseppes
Traditional Sloppy Joes
... But wait, there's more! See our main Camping Recipes page for ALL of our camping recipes - snacks, desserts, mixes to make ahead of time, and more!
Easy, One Pot Campfire Chicken Curry
Equipment
- 1 Large Skillet
Ingredients
Spice Mix Packet
- 2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Curry powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom
Curry:
- 1 Small Onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Small Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts Chopped
- 13.5 oz Coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce Coconut Aminos, or Tamari
- 1 lb Frozen Broccoli and Cauliflower or frozen vegetable mix of your choice.
- Salt and pepper
- Rice or Cauliflower Rice for Serving - Optional. We'll do this recipe as 4 servings if we're serving with rice, or just split the batch into 2 servings and have it by itself.
Instructions
Ahead of Time:
- Mix the spice packet ingredients together, transfer to a small zip top plastic baggie. Push out excess air, seal.
To Make the Curry:
- Get a medium-hot fire going. You don’t want it roaring, but you do want it to sustain a low boil for 20 minutes or so.
- Note: If you’re cooking at home, set your burner to medium-high.
- In a Dutch oven, saute the onion in the olive oil until the onion is translucent and tender.
- Add the chopped chicken breasts, continue cooking until browned on all sides, and almost completely cooked through.
- Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and contents of the spice mix baggie, stir well to combine. Simmer until it starts to thicken, about 10 minutes.
- Add the frozen veggies. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the veggies are heated through and cooked to a texture you like.
- Serve hot, with rice or cauliflower rice... or not!
Notes
Nutrition
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Marie & Michael Porter
One of our favourite campfire meals, because it's SO easy to cook up on site. Hope you love it as much as we do!