Coronation Chicken is an absolute British classic. This recipe takes a cold sandwich filler and turns it into a dreamy creamy coronation chicken style curry. Super quick and easy, this dish is sure to be on the table for your next family dinner! – Hungry now? Jump to Recipe
Coronation chicken is literally my child hood in a dish. You know those sandwich filler packs you get from the supermarkets? With some thick, chunky tiger bread? Yup, that’s the reason I’ve never had a six pack! But more positively that’s what has inspired this easy coronation chicken recipe I’m sharing will ya’ll today!
For those of you who are thinking ‘what is coronation chicken and why is this boy talking about sandwiches’ I’d be happy to clear things up.
Coronation chicken is traditionally a cold dish, often made with leftover chicken in a mayonnaise based dressing. The most common ingredients in such dressing alongside the mayo, is curry powder and some sort of fruity aspect, such as mango or sultanas.
It’s insanely delicious, trust me.
As you can already tell, I’ve eaten enough coronation chicken to last me a lifetime, so it was time to take things to the next level.
Introducing my take on coronation chicken – the same iconic taste, made into a creamy delicious curry.
I developed this recipe a while back, I vaguely remember having a coronation chicken craving around dinner time, but not wanting a cold sandwich filler kinda deal. You feel me?
I’ve never actually seen a similar recipe to this, so it was a little trial and error, but let me tell you this. It so works.
I’ve kept the same traditional flavours of coronation chicken, just altered the texture into a dish that’s perfect to serve hot over rice for dinner. Before we tuck into the who what when why and how, here’s what you’ll need for the sauce.
Coronation Chicken ingredients
- Cream
- Chicken Stock
- Mango Chutney
- Mild Curry Powder
- Green Onion
- Coriander/Cilantro
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Sultanas
- Lemon Juice
A beautiful and vibrant concoction of flavours, if I do say so myself.
Anywho, let’s check out this simple coronation chicken recipe and see just how easy it is to make!
How to make Coronation Chicken
First things first, like any good curry it’s all about a good marinade. For this recipe I use chicken thigh because they’re generally fattier and packed with a little more flavour than breast, but go ahead and use chicken breast if you fancy!
Mix curry powder, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper in with bite size chunks of chicken, then stir in plain yogurt. This will tenderise the chicken and give it an initial layer of flavour. Cover and pop in the fridge to marinate.
Crack out the frying pan, sear the chicken until it takes on colour then pop to one side. Chuck in your garlic, ginger, green onions, curry powder and sultanas. It’s important to add the curry powder in at this point as frying it will enhance the flavour. It’s also nice to give the sultanas a gentle fry so they soften up a little.
Pour in the chicken stock, then the cream, mango chutney and a sprinkle of coriander/cilantro. Finish by popping back in your chicken to finish cooking through.
And that’s literally it. Simple right?
When it comes to serving, as I mentioned earlier it goes fantastically with rice.
I have addressed this in the recipe notes, but I’ll say it again – don’t forget the toasted flaked almonds. I know, look how pretentious I’ve become! Pre-food blogger Chris wouldn’t even know what an almond was, let alone one that’s been toasted and flaked!
But all jokes aside they compliment this dish beautifully. Not only do they add a nice little crunch, but the flavour blends so well with the other ingredients.
So unless you have an allergy, they’re definitely a must 🙂
Right, I’m getting hungry all over again, let’s get cracking.
All in all this coronation chicken recipe is super easy to make and even more delicious to eat. Enjoy it for dinner and pop the leftovers in a sandwich the day after! Either way, be prepared to get hooked on coronation chicken all over again.
How to make Coronation Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
'Coronation Chicken is an absolute British classic. This recipe takes a cold sandwich filler and turns it into a dreamy creamy coronation chicken style curry. Super quick and easy, this dish is sure to be on the table for your next family dinner!'
- 4-6 Skinless Chicken Thighs, diced in to bite sized chunks
- 1 cup (250ml) Plain Yogurt
- 1 tsp Ginger, minced
- 1 tsp Garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Mild Curry Powder
- pinch of Salt & Black Pepper
- 1 cup (250ml) Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup (125ml) Chicken Stock
- 2 tbsp Mango Chutney
- 2 Green Onions, diced
- 1 heaped tbsp Fresh Coriander/Cilantro, diced (plus extra to serve)
- 1 heaped tsp Mild Curry Powder
- 1 tsp Ginger, minced
- 1 tsp Garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup Sultanas
- squeeze of Lemon Juice, to taste
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
- Oil for frying (vegetable, canola)
- Rice
- Toasted Flaked Almonds
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In a suitably sized bowl, add all your marinading ingredients apart from the yogurt, mix, then combine with the yogurt. Cover and leave in the fridge for 1-12 hours.
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Heat up some oil in a suitably sized pan over high heat. Drain away the marinade in a colander (do not rinse) and fry the chicken each side for a few minutes until browned. Fry in batches if you need to. Take chicken out and place to one side.
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Lower heat to medium, adding more oil as necessary, and chuck in your garlic, ginger, sultanas and green onion. Fry for a few minutes until soft and stir in your curry powder.
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Pour in your chicken stock, then stir in your cream, mango chutney, a squeeze of lemon juice and coriander/cilantro. Bring to a simmer and add your chicken.
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Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the chicken is hot all the way through. Taste test for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.
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Serve over rice with toasted flaked almonds and coriander/cilantro over the top.
a) Marinading - Even if you're in a rush/forgot to set a marinade in the fridge, still do try and marinate the chicken, even if just for 20/30 mins.
b) Chicken Breast - Feel free to sub for chicken breast. I use chicken thighs as they tend to be slightly more tender and have more flavour to them, so if you are using chicken breast I'd definifely recommend marinating.
c) Draining - Just to confirm when I say 'drain away marinade' I just mean shake it about in a colander to get rid of some of the moisture. If you poured the marinade straight into the pan, the chicken is just going to boil and the yogurt will curdle.
d) Frying - It's important to ensure the oil is hot, hence the use of vegetable/canola oil (much higher smoking point than olive oil). You just want the chicken to take on colour, so don't panic if it's not cooked all the way through. It will continue cooking when resting and added back into the sauce. I find it easiest to add and remove with a pair of tongs.
e) Flaked Almonds - Try not to think of these as just garnish, they add a nice crunch to the dish and combine beautifully with the other ingredients. Of course you can leave them out for allergy reasons, it will still be delish!
f) Leftovers - I've just polished some off about 5 minutes ago straight from the fridge between two slices of bread. Also reheats perfectly!
g) Calories - Based on the following: 1 tbsp vegetable oil, without rice and without the yogurt. Marinades are really difficult to calculate as there's no way to tell how much remains on the chicken. However, plain yogurt is relatively low fat/low cal so shouldn't alter the calories too much!
Looking for more easy chicken dinners? Check out my Pistachio Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Cream Sauce!
If you loved this Coronation Chicken Recipe be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a question? Let me know in the comments below!
10 Comments
Lynn | The Road to Honey
April 11, 2018 at 9:30 pmCoronation chicken sounds a bit like a waldorf salad based on your ingredients description (minus the curry, of course). That said, I think your rendition looks way more tasty & sophisticated.
Chris
April 11, 2018 at 9:38 pmThanks so much! You’re so right it is like warldof salad, I never thought of that!!
Sean@Diversivore
April 11, 2018 at 10:23 pmI’m not familiar with coronation chicken (poor deprived Canadian here), but I must say I quite like the sounds of this. It seems like real satisfying, stick-to-your ribs stuff. Anglo-Indian food can be so interesting and when done right (like this!) pretty wonderful.
Chris
April 12, 2018 at 10:40 amIt’s so good Sean, you gotta try it 🙂
Dana
April 11, 2018 at 10:46 pmOh dude, what are you trying to do? Turn me back into a meat eater? This looks heavenly! I can joke about trying to create a pescetarian-friendly version of this all I want, but I can tell the chicken belongs in this dish and damn. I want it. (Worst pescetarian ever. Right here. Hi.) And, gorgeous photos as always!
Chris
April 12, 2018 at 10:41 amHahaha best comment!! Thanks so much Dana 🙂
Heidi Zimmerman
April 11, 2018 at 11:17 pmThis looks amazingly flavorful! I love the toasted almonds as a topping too.
Chris
April 12, 2018 at 10:41 amAlllllll about toasted almonds!!
Dannii
April 11, 2018 at 11:18 pmThis reminded me of being a kid – I used to always have coronation chicken sandwiches. This looks so comforting.
Chris
April 12, 2018 at 10:42 amYep, coronation chicken sandwich kid here too!! Thanks Dannii 🙂