Best Thai Panang Chicken Curry
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 14, 2025 
The Best Thai Panang Curry we’ve ever made! It’s an authentic curry recipe, straight from our Thailand travels. Cancel your takeout order and give it a try!
Our Favorite Panang Curry Recipe
Thai Panang Curry is a dish I swoon over. It’s rich and spicy with a distinctly unique flavor from the addition of kaffir lime leaves and panang curry paste. I could eat this every day of the week and never get tired of it!
To top it off, the fragrance of a good Panang curry is so intoxicating, it should be bottled in my humble opinion.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
I have ordered Panang chicken curry numerous times at Thai restaurants, and experimented with homemade versions nearly as many times.
After much testing, I have finally come up with a recipe I feel is The Best Thai Panang Curry I’ve ever made, and possibly the best we’ve ever eaten.
I know that sounds braggy, and I do apologize, but this recipe is flipping amazing! Just taste it and you’ll forgive me.
Find a Local Asian Market
Our Best Thai Panang Chicken Curry is extremely simple to make. The catch is, that you will most likely have to go to an Asian market to gather the ingredients. But trust me, this Panang Curry recipe is worth the trip!
If you live in a large multicultural city, your standard grocery stores may have everything you need. If not, map-search Asian markets… Even small towns usually have one.
Once there, hand your grocery list over and ask the clerk to help you find the best brand of panang red curry paste, thick coconut milk, and fish sauce. Be sure to also pick up Thai basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves.
You can substitute other types of basil; however, the kaffir lime leaves cannot be replaced. The flavor is too unique to swap another ingredient or to leave it out. The Panang curry paste has some kaffir lime leaf in it, but it’s not enough.
Fresh kaffir lime leaves can be frozen for longevity. They do turn dark in the freezer, but retain their vibrant flavor, so you can use it again.
Panang Curry Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs (or chicken breast)
- Sweet onion
- Red bell pepper
- Orange bell pepper
- Garlic cloves
- Coconut oil
- Panang red curry paste – made with lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, coriander seeds, lime zest, cumin seeds, and chilies
- Peanut butter
- Kaffir lime leaves
- Thick coconut milk (or coconut cream)
- Fish sauce
- Thai basil leaves or sweet basil
How To Make Panang Curry
Ready to make The Best Thai Chicken Curry you’ve ever tasted?
- Chop – Start by cutting chicken thighs, onions, and bell peppers into bite-size pieces.
- Smash – Then crush the kaffir lime leaves to help release their oils. They are tough little leaves so smash and twist away, until they smell very strong.
- Sauté – Sauté the onions, peppers, and garlic in a large skillet. Then add the panang curry paste and a spoonful of peanut butter to the center of the pan. Sauté the curry for a couple of minutes to intensify the flavor.
- Simmer – Then add the kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, fish sauce, and chicken to the pan. Simmer the curry until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Stir in Thai basil leaves and you have a dish worth drooling over.
Bold, fragrant, and oh-so delicious! Your local takeout joint has nothing on our Panang Curry recipe.
Find the full Chicken Panang Curry recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this fabulous curry with jasmine rice, sticky rice, or even Thai Fried Rice!
Or serve alongside other Thai Recipes like…
- Thai Pad Kee Mao
- Chicken Satay
- Thai Pumpkin Curry (Vegan!)
- Nam Sod Lettuce Wraps (or Salad)
- Easy Chicken Pad Thai
- Tom Yum Soup
- Thai Larb Rolls (Keto)
- Thai Baked Turkey Meatballs
- Thai Mango Sticky Rice Recipe
- Thai Crab Fried Rice
- Spicy Thai Chicken Soup
- Thai Shrimp Curry Noodle Bowls
- Thai Quinoa Salad Recipe
- We also love Vietnamese Bun Cha Gio Bowls and Korean Bulgogi!
Thai Chicken Panang Curry Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 ounces Panang red curry paste (1 can)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 12 kaffir lime leaves, crushed
- 13.5 ounces thick coconut milk, unsweetened (1 can)
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves or sweet basil
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Chop the onions and peppers into rough 1-inch pieces. Mince the garlic. Then crush the kaffir lime leaves to help release their oils.
- Place a 14-inch skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Add the coconut oil. Once the oil melts, add the onions. Sauté for 1 minute, then add the peppers and garlic. Sauté another 2-3 minutes.
- Move the veggies to the sides of the skillet and add the panang red curry paste and peanut butter to the center of the pan. Sauté the curry for 2-3 minutes to intensify the flavor, moving around the pan. Then add the kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Stir to blend.
- Stir in the chopped chicken and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the basil leaves. Serve with rice, quinoa, or noodles.
Notes
Nutrition
Panang Chicken Curry FAQ
Panang curry paste is a type of red curry specific to Thailand and Laos.
It is less spicy and more aromatic than standard red curry paste. In a pinch you could substitute red curry paste, but the flavor will not be quite the same.
As mentioned above, you will need to make a stop at a local Asian market. However, this recipe is worth the trip… And Asian markets are tons of fun to explore!
Yes! As long as the curry paste and fish sauce you buy are gluten-free, the entire recipe is as well. Most are, but be sure to check the ingredients. P.S. This recipe is dairy-free as well!
This recipe will keep well for 5-7 days in the refrigerator. Keep in an airtight container. That makes this a fabulous MEAL PREP dish!
The flavour was beautiful and loved the addition of thai basil! Just be warned re the kind of paste used; I used panang paste from sainsburys and had to use an extra tin of coconut milk and it was still crazy spicy. I would keep adding small amounts until you get a temperature that suits – or any tips on how to cool down would be great!!
This was amazing and so easy to make. I added some carrots, green beans and pea pods for more veggies.
I cut back on the fish sauce and curry paste and found it spicy. Had to add in some brown sugar and cream to cut the bitterness otherwise it was great!
First, I can’t imagine ‘left overs’ that will last 5-7 days. It was gone the first day. This recipe is amazing and has become part of our ‘routine’. I love anything with curry, coconut milk and chicken. I will make again and again and again. Thank you for sharing!
This was sooooo dang delicious! I’ve been ordering this from restaurants for years and wanting to make it on my own. I made it for my boyfriend and he said it was better than anything we have ever ordered! The only thing I did different was add some Serrano peppers for some extra spice. If I could give it 10 stars!
Excellent recipe…delicious taste! Followed the recipe except I only used 2 Tbls fish sauce and added sliced zucchini for the last 10 minutes like my local Thai restaurant. A tiny bit spicy for my taste (I’m a lightweight) so I might cut back on the panang curry next time. Will definitely make this again.
Made it, liked it. Was certainly easy! I only had dried kaffir lime leaves so I ground them in my mortar and pestle before adding them as powder. I could have added them while then fished them out but I find the flavour more intense when they’re ground. I also added some slightly ground peanuts to add extra crunch and texture.
This was very good. I didn’t have the lime leaves but will get them next time.
This recipe is amazing!!! I made it with the dry kefir limes leaves the first time and it wasn’t the same so go with fresh! You can buy in bulk and they freeze beautifully so they are therrr when you need them. I no longer feel like I need Thai takeout when I can make this. It’s now a staple in my home. So so yummy!!
So im the guy who never writes reviews but I had to for this one. This is an AMAZING Panang recipe, tastes just like our local restaurant and doable by someone who isn’t a great cook. After reading 100 or so reviews, here are my edits to the recipe:
Reduce the Panang Curry Paste by 1/2. Add 2 tbsp of Palm Sugar with the chicken. Reduce the Fish Sauce by 1/2. Add an extra 1/2 of a clove. Add a carrot sliced thin when you add the chicken. Add an extra 1/2 TBSP of Peanut Butter.
This was the first time I tried my hand at making panang chicken curry after trying it at a Thai restaurant and this turned out spot-on perfect! The spices and flavors were delectable and we’re exactly as I had remembered from the restaurant. As with any recipe, the amounts are just guidelines to go by and you should adjust the amounts to your preference. My family and I very much enjoyed this dish. Thanks for a simple yet delicious recipe!
Very good flavor, but I felt it was missing a few things and way too spicy for my family, even after I only used 1/4 of the spice (red curry paste) it called for. Too much bell pepper, and was lacking other veggies (could have called for cauliflower and snap peas, etc). For the party, the ones who could take the heat, they enjoyed it.