Curry Yogurt Chicken Marinade (5 Ingredients)

This simple curry yogurt chicken marinade tenderizes the chicken and infuses it with delicious Indian curry flavor. A delicious recipe to serve with potatoes, naan bread of cauliflower rice.

Simple is often best when it comes to chicken marinades! Like my favorite cilantro lime and honey garlic chicken marinades, this curry yogurt marinade is simple to prep and delivers big flavors.

This yogurt curry chicken marinade is not spicy at all, but rather is tangy from the yogurt and lime juice, with a delicious blend of flavors from curry powder. It pairs perfectly with coconut rice (or coconut cauliflower rice), grilled broccoli, or toasted naan bread.

It's versatile and can be cooked on the grill, in the oven, or even in the air fryer!

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Simple ingredients for great flavor

Yogurt is the perfect base for this marinade and serves two purposes: to diffuse the spice flavors, and to tenderize the chicken. Since yogurt is acidic, it helps break down structural proteins within the chicken breast, helping it absorb more liquid.

In addition to yogurt, we are adding curry powder to add flavor depth and dimension, lime juice for extra tangy flavor, brown sugar to balance the acidity, and salt to enhance all the flavors.

The best yogurt to use

You can use any plain yogurt for this recipe. Stay away from flavored yogurts as they will have added sugar and other flavors that will likely not mesh with the curry flavor.

We have used all types of yogurt from light/fat-free to greek, and all yogurts work well to tenderize the chicken. I do prefer a thicker yogurt when available as this helps the spices stick to the surface of the chicken and not run off once removed from the bag.

Get creative with the curry powder

This recipe was tested with mild curry powder found in the spice aisle of my grocery store. This is a blend of various spices including turmeric, cumin, coriander and more.

You can put your own spin on this recipe by using different curry powders:

• use a medium or hot curry powder to add some spiciness to your chicken
• try using madras curry powder for a sweet/hot touch
• try a Jamaican curry powder for hints of allspice
• try Ras El Hanout for a Moroccan twist (caution- this can be quite spicy!)

How to marinate your chicken

The best way to get complete coverage of your chicken with the marinade is to use a bag; meal prep containers or bowls just done have the same surface coverage.

Over the years, I've phased out plastic bags in favor of reusable silicone bags. Here are my faves:

• use the sandwich Stasher bags for 1 lb (2 chicken breasts)
• use the ½ gallon Stasher bags for 2 lbs (4 chicken breasts)

*even after freezing this yogurt curry chicken marinade, the stasher bags washed clean and did not stain with the marinade!

Plan for at least 2 hours

My research tells me that yogurt can have a tenderizing effect on chicken in as little as 15 minutes, but for the full flavor effect, I recommend marinating for at least 2 hours.

On the other hand, I do not recommend marinating chicken breast for longer than 24 hours as marinade ingredients can sometimes make the chicken mealy in texture.

A note about freezing

Yogurt maintain it's creamy texture after freezing and will break into small flakes. With that being said, the yogurt still does an amazing job at tenderizing the chicken and infusing the marinade flavors into it, so we simply scrape the flakes off and enjoy.

Coconut yogurt freeze/thaws great, and may work in place of the dairy yogurt, however I have not tested this yet.

Works with other proteins

This yogurt curry chicken marinade works great for other proteins as well. While written for a pound of chicken breasts, you could use this marinade on:

• boneless chicken thighs- 2-24 hours marinating time
• shrimp or fish- 30 minutes marinating time
• pork tenderloin- at least 24 hours to marinate
• tofu- press first, then marinate for 2-24 hours

Cooking your chicken

This recipe is written to bake in the oven, however you can cook it using any number or methods:

• oven- Cook uncovered in a baking dish at 425°F for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through
• grill- I recommend pounding the chicken flat before marinating to ensure it cooks through evenly. See my perfect grilled chicken breast recipe for full details.
• frying pan- here's a good tutorial
• air fryer- again I do recommend pounding the chicken before marinating. We cook 4 minutes + 2 minutes (flipping half way). Full details here.

For pounded chicken, I make sure it cooks to 155°F before allowing to rest (carryover cooking helps it reach 165°F). For un-pounded chicken, cook to 165°F. Always allow chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing into it.

This is my favorite digital thermometer!

More tasty chicken marinades

• 7 Freezer Chicken Marinades
• 7 More Freezer Chicken Breast Marinades
• Greek Chicken Marinade
• Jamaican Jerk Marinade (shortcut)
• Lemon Ginger Chicken Marinade

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Curry Yogurt Chicken Marinade

5 from 12 votes

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

marinating time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs 35 mins

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This simple curry yogurt chicken marinade tenderizes the chicken and infuses it with delicious Indian curry flavor. A delicious recipe to serve with potatoes, naan bread of cauliflower rice.

4

Ingredients

• ▢ ¼ cup plain yogurt (see * notes)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lime juice
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons mild curry powder (see ** notes)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ▢ 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (roughly 2 breasts)

Instructions 

• Combine yogurt, lime juice, salt, curry powder and brown sugar in a plastic or reusable silicone bag. Squish the bag around until all ingredient are evenly mixed. Add chicken breasts and turn to coat in marinade.
• Marinate the chicken in the fridge for 2-24 hours.
• Heat oven to 425°F. Bake chicken in a shallow baking dish for 10 minutes, flip over, then bake for another 12-17 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
• For 5-7 oz chicken breasts, bake for 20 minutes total. For 10 oz and larger chicken breasts, bake for at least 25 minutes.
• Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Freezer

• If freezing, place in the freezer immediately. Thaw in the fridge overnight, or by immersing the bag in a bowl of cold water for a couple of hours.

Tips:

* any plain (unflavoured) yogurt can be used in this recipe, though I recommend a thicker one (like Greek yogurt) if it's available.

** as written, this is not a spicy chicken marinade. You could swap the mild curry powder for a spicy one, or add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne to the marinade to increase the spice.

Storage

Marinade may be mixed up 3 days before adding chicken.

Cooked chicken may be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Alternative cooking methods:

• grill- I recommend pounding the chicken flat before marinating to ensure it cooks through evenly. Cook over high heat 2 minutes per side until it reaches an internal temp of 155°F
• frying pan- cook in olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet for 5-7 minutes per side
• air fryer- I recommend pounding the chicken before marinating. Cook at 390°F/ 200°C for 4 minutes + 2 minutes (flipping half way).

Marinating time for other proteins:

• boneless chicken thighs- 2-24 hours marinating time
• shrimp or fish- 30 minutes marinating time
• pork tenderloin- at least 24 hours to marinate
• tofu- press first, then marinate for 2-24 hours

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/2 chicken breast (3.5 oz), Calories: 117kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 65mg, Sodium: 53mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

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