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!
Can I omit the peanut butter ? My daughter has a severe nut allergy
Hi Maria,
Yes, you can skip the peanut butter! However, also check the curry paste ingredients carefully. Lots of store-bought curry pastes include nuts and sesame seeds.
So good!! Made it with fresh lime leaves…can it be made with dried Kaffir lime leaves?
I added lemongrass, galangal, palm sugar, dash white pepper. I soaked chicken first with two tablespoons of fish sauce only. I simmered till chicken is tender and sauce creamy. I only used scant two tablespoons of penang paste.
Delish😋
Good but extremely salty.. your nutrition facts are way off, the sodium is well over 90% DV for one single serving
Hey Ashley,
The sodium calculation is tricky, because all curry paste brands include a different amount of sodium. Plus, you have the option here to use more or less curry paste to taste.
Best curry recipe I’ve ever found!!! Better than any restaurant. The whole family loves it.
I add another can of coconut milk to have more sauce and cut down on spiciness.
Thank you for sharing it ❤️
Thank you for the recipe! I made it exactly as posted. The flavor was excellent but there was a nuclear level of spice so will definitely tone down the curry paste next time! It was also quite salty so will reduce the fish sauce too.
Best panang chicken recipe I’ve found to date. This recipe is hands-down a regular favorite in my meal planning.
Great recipe. Instead of sour cream I used Boisin. I also didn’t have ritz crackers but used some graham crackers. Yummy
Didn’t change a thing. I have made curry before and tried a few recipes, but this one is so easy to follow. Ppl can change their veggie or protein if they wish, but the base sauce as it is great and I love it.
Thank you. I hate when somebody posts “but with a few changes”, drives me nuts because that is not rating the recipe as published.
This recipe is ALMOST just as good as our local Thai restaurant.
I think this is personal preference, but here are the changes I would make to make it absolute perfection, and maybe better than our local thai restaurant:
1. Start with just onions and garlic, then follow the recipe. Add the other veggies toward the end (peppers, carrot, broccoli, cabbage) and simmer until just slightly tender (I like my veggies more crisp instead of extra soft).
2. I cook my proteins separate because my partner and I have different preferences. I go for tofu and he likes chicken. So to compensate for the juices the chicken would give off, I add about 0.5-1 cup of water and some bullion (1-2 tsp). I scaled back the fish sauce to 2 TBSP as our better than boullion is decently salty. Then I just cooked the proteins separately and added them at the end to our individual bowls.
Thanks so much for this recipe framework, it was great!
This recipe exceeded our expectations and tasted just like the panang we get from our favorite thai spot in Milwaukee. Delicious!
I do agree with some of the other reviews – I would’ve waited to add the veggies in until later to keep some crunch on them. I also plan on adding some snow peas in next time!
ALSO – we added 2 Tbsp of brown sugar at the end, which was the perfect finish to the dish. It tempered the spice level a bit and evened out the fish sauce (if you’re a little triggered by too much fish sauce!). Either way – this recipe is truly perfect as is and it’s a win either way. Delicious!
I used this recipe for the first time a couple nights ago because my wife LOVES panang curry. I used duck instead of chicken though to take it up a notch. To do this I used 4 small duck breasts (1-1/2 lbs), scored the fat cap and started them in a cold cast iron pan on medium high heat until the fat cap was well rendered, golden and crispy…flipped them over and put the pan into a 350 oven for about 10 minutes while I worked on the rest of the sauce. I removed the duck breasts from the oven and allowed them to rest at least 5 minutes, then sliced thinly and added them to the sauce. I also added a few finely sliced Thai chilis to the sauce because we like it spicy. It was OUTSTANDING.