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Red Coconut Curry Pulled Chicken, a creamy and red thai curry flavored pulled chicken recipe that is paleo, Gluten-Free, dairy-free, slow cooker recipe.
My favorite meal-prep meals to make are Paleo slow cooker recipes because they are an easy way to ensure that you have protein-rich meals throughout the week. Lately, pulled chicken has been my protein of choice because it’s light and it pairs well with everything from salads to veggies.
I usually stick to a few of my go-to recipes (like Key Lime Pie Pulled Chicken), but recently this Slow Cooker Basil Chicken and Coconut Curry recipe popped up on my newsfeed and inspired me to come up with this Red Coconut Curry Pulled Chicken recipe.
This Red Coconut Curry Pulled Chicken recipe is better than I could have ever imagined!
The sauce here is a delicious Thai red curry sauce. It cooks for hours, infusing all of the delicious flavors of coconut milk, basil, red curry paste, garlic, onion, lime, pineapple and ginger together.
The chicken cooks in this sauce until it just melts into creamy deliciousness.
The shredded chicken absorbs the seasoning and sauce so well too; it is just too delicious!
And there is even extra sauce to spare… which I highly recommend using to top on top of any side of your choice. AND this sauce becomes creamier with time, which makes leftovers delightful. 🙂
I personally love soaking roasted cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper, and carrots in the red coconut curry sauce from this recipe… it is just too good!
My husband prefers roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus. But I imagine any veggie would taste great here.
I also imagine brown rice or quinoa would soak up this sauce nicely as well.
Because… creamy red coconut curry sauce tastes good on pretty much anything!
And what could be better than when a delicious recipe cooks itself in the slow cooker? Especially when it is full of protein!
One thing that I feel like I should note is that this recipe would work well with canned coconut cream, but then you would need less coconut flour to thicken up the sauce.
Just make sure that the coconut cream or milk that you use comes from a can and has NO preservatives in it. Not even guar gum. It just tastes funky and I’ve found that this really affects how good the recipe turns out.
As I recently found out the hard way, not many stores carry coconut milk or cream without preservatives in it, but it exists. Golden Star and Savoy have been my go-to, and my recipes always taste so much better when I use either one of those brands.
Also, the photos may look different because I took some right after cooking the Red Coconut Curry Pulled Chicken and some 12 hours later… which shows how much creamier this recipe gets overnight!
Red Coconut Curry Pulled Chicken (Paleo, GF)
Ingredients
- 2 cans coconut milk, (make sure there are no preservatives inside, my favorite is Golden Star or Savoy)
- 3 Tbs coconut flour, (divided)
- 1 Tbs maple syrup
- 2 Tbs dried basil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 5 Tbs red curry paste, (the Thai Kitchen brand is Paleo)
- 2.5 pounds chicken breast
- 1/4 cup diced garlic, ( 1 small head)
- 1/2 cup diced shallots
- 3/4 cup diced red pepper
- 2 Tbs lime juice
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 5 leaves of fresh Thai basil
Instructions
- Put 2 cans of coconut milk, 1 Tbs of coconut flour, 1 Tbs of maple syrup, 2 Tbs of dried basil, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, and 5 Tbs red curry paste into a slow cooker and mix with a spoon.
- Add 2.5 pounds of chicken breast to the slow cooker. Top with 1/4 cup diced garlic, 1/2 cup diced shallots, 3/4 cup diced red peppers, 2 Tbs lime juice, and 1 cup of diced pineapple and mix everything together in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high heat for 3.5-4 hours. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred, then put the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker. Add 1/2 tsp of ground ginger and 5 leaves of fresh Thai basil to the slow cooker. At this point, add another 2 Tbs of coconut flour to the slow cooker. (This is based on how much you want the sauce to be thickened at this point. This will depend on how thick the coconut milk/cream you used was. I used 2 Tbs, but you can use less or more). Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Mix and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have you tried this in an instant pot? I had plans on making this for dinner and somehow forgot that it was a slow cooker kinda meal. Whoops! I’ll have to alter it for tonight, but wondering if you’ve tried the whole IP thing with this recipe. I’m new to the IP game and still afraid it’s going to blow up in my face if I just play around without any formal instructions. This looks delicious, can’t wait to try it another night. Thanks for sharing.
I’m embarrassed to say it but I don’t own an instant pot! haha I really do want to get one because it seems to cut the time of so many recipes by so much!! Let me know if you try it later!
I agree with you on the advantages of slow cooker cooking 100%, but my usual go-tos are heavier – this looks like a great way to change things up for me! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thanks Monica! Let me know if you try it! 🙂
Definitely making this one this weekend!
Let me know how it turns out! 🙂