Chicken vindaloo is a popular Indian curry known for its spicy and tangy flavor combination, a quick and easy kitchen staple. My version is wonderfully fiery, though you can easily adjust the heat and spice to your preference.
Chicken Vindaloo Recipe
If you are a spicy food lover like I am, you need to give your taste buds a treat and try this amazing Chicken Vindaloo Recipe. It has everything a fiery food lover could want - Flavor, Heat, Spiciness, Pure Satisfaction.
It is most definitely one of my favorite recipes and it is super easy to whip together in the kitchen with very little effort and cooking time.
That's a HUGE PLUS for a slow cook like me!
What is Vindaloo?
"Vindaloo" is a highly spiced curry dish that originated in the Goa region of India. It is known for its fiery and tangy flavors, and is often made with meat, typically pork, beef, goat, or chicken, marinated in a spiced vinegar-based sauce. You can also make it with potato for a vegetarian version.
The word "vindaloo" comes from the Portuguese dish "carne de vinha d'alhos," a dish of meat marinated in wine vinegar and garlic. Historically, when the Portuguese colonized Goa, they brought this dish with them, which was adapted to local Indian ingredients and flavors to create Goan vindaloo.
The dish is known for its intense heat, which comes from the use of red chilies, and pleasant tanginess from vinegar.
I love it with chicken, particularly chicken thighs, which I've included here for this recipe.
Let's talk about how to make Chicken Vindaloo, shall we?
Chicken Vindaloo Ingredients
The full list of ingredients with measurements and printable cooking instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken. Use chicken thighs or chicken breast, or a combination.
- Olive Oil. For cooking.
- Onion.
- Serrano Peppers. Or use Indian peppers, like Kashmiri chilies.
- Tomato Paste. You can also use fresh tomatoes.
- Salt and Pepper. To taste.
- FOR THE VINDALOO MARINADE
- White Vinegar.
- Garlic and Ginger.
- Spicy Red Chili Flakes. I enjoy using ghost pepper flakes for some extra heat, though you can use dried red chilies or flakes to your heat preference.
- Other Spices. Paprika, coriander, turmeric, mustard powder, cumin cinnamon. Freshly ground coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds make for extra fresh flavor.
- For Serving. Cooked rice, fresh herbs, extra chili flakes.
How to Make Chicken Vindaloo - Recipe Method
Marinate the Chicken. The vindaloo marinade is the most important part of this dish, as it imparts an immense amount of flavor that all of us spicy food lovers crave.
Vinegar is a MUST, as is garlic. From there, we're adding in a number of pungent spices to make this amazing, including paprika, ginger, coriander, turmeric, mustard powder, cumin, cinnamon, and a healthy dose of spicy red chili flakes, and salt and pepper, of course.
Try this Homemade Vindaloo Seasoning Blend.
You can also include a bit of sugar if you'd like, either white or brown sugar. I didn't use them this time.
Whisk all of the seasonings together with the vinegar, then pour it over the skinless chicken in a bowl. Or, use a plastic bag that you can seal. This is your curry paste. The chicken should be cut into bite sized pieces.
Refrigerate the chicken for at least 1 hour, though you'll get better results if you let it marinate overnight.
More marinade time = more flavor.
Cook the Onion and Peppers. Heat the oil in a large skillet to medium heat.
Next, cook your onion and chili pepper a few minutes to soften them up. I used spicy serrano peppers here, though you can use milder peppers for a version with less heat.
Cook the Chicken. Next, add the chicken (along with the marinade) and stir. Cook it for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Next, add in the tomato paste, salt, and pepper, and cook stirring a bit, along with about 1/2 cup of water or chicken broth to form a sauce. Fresh diced tomatoes are also a nice addition here.
Simmer the Vindaloo. Reduce the heat an let the whole pan simmer for 15 minutes to 20 minutes, until the chicken cooks through and the flavors develop. You can let it simmer longer if you'd like.
If the vindaloo sauce becomes too thick, just stir in a bit more water or broth until it reaches the consistency you prefer. It will thicken in the pan. It should be the consistency of a good gravy.
BOOM! DONE! Your chicken vindaloo curry is ready to serve! Better than any Indian restaurant. It's so deliciously fragrant. I love it. Such a great recipe. Indian food is filled with so much amazing spice and flavor.
Recipe Tips & Notes
Marinate Ahead
I like to whip this recipe together the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator until dinner time the next evening. It makes for a super quick and easy meal, though yeah, it does require a little bit of forethought.
Heat and Spice Factor
For the wild chiliheads like ME, you can use ghost pepper chili flakes like I did. If ghost peppers are too hot for you, use the typical red chili flakes or cayenne pepper that you find in the store, which are perfectly GREAT for this recipe.
You'll definitely get plenty of heat with them, and I want this dish to please your personal palate, not mine! So go with a heat level you're comfortable with.
Serving Chicken Vindaloo
Serve chicken vindaloo over steamed rice and garnish with fresh herbs and extra spicy chili flakes. Basmati rice is a nice choice, as is a side of naan bread.
If it is too spicy, serve it alongside this Indian Raita recipe, which is made from spiced yogurt. It has a nice cooling effect.
Storage and Leftovers
Chicken vindaloo will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a sealed container. To enjoy it again, simply warm it in a pot on the stove over gentle heat. Or, warm it in the microwave.
You can also freeze it for 3 months in vacuum sealed bags or freezer containers.
It really is an amazing dish. Give it a try and let me know how you like this curry recipe. How spicy did you make yours? Send pics! I'd love to see them. Till next time!!! -- Mike H.
This Recipe Is In our Cookbook - FLAVOR MADNESS
Did you know that you can find this recipe in our new cookbook FLAVOR MADNESS? It's waiting for you on PAGE 156.
Try Some of My Popular Curry Dish Recipes
- Lamb Vindaloo
- Ghost Pepper Chicken Curry
- Chicken Biryani
- Spicy Thai Curry Chicken Soup
- Homemade Vindaloo Curry Powder
- Khao Soi - Northern Thai Coconut Curry Soup
- Chicken Korma
- Phaal Curry (the Hottest Curry in the World)
- Massaman Curry
- Rogan Josh (Indian Lamb Curry)
- Pav Bhaji (Spicy Vegetable Curry)
Try Some of My Other Popular Chicken Dishes
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations.
Chicken Vindaloo Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 serrano peppers chopped (or use Indian peppers if you can obtain them)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE MARINADE
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon spicy red chili flakes I used ghost pepper flakes for an EXTRA kick
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
FOR SERVING: Cooked rice, fresh herbs, extra chili flakes
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a large bowl.
- Mix your marinade by whisking together the vinegar and all of the seasonings. Pour it over the chicken and rub it into the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Longer is better, such as overnight.
- Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion and peppers and cook about 4-5 minutes, until they soften up.
- Add the chicken along with the marinade and cook another 5 minutes to nicely brown up the pieces.
- Add the tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste. Cook another minute, stirring.
- Add ½ cup of water (or chicken broth for extra flavor) and stir until the mixture thins out and becomes a sauce. You can add more water if needed. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve as is or over rice with fresh herbs and sprinkled chili flakes. Make it rain!
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
This recipe is gluten free.
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 4/21/23 to include new information, photos, and video. It was originally published on 4/20/18.
Melanie Dawson says
Hi what type of mustard powder do you use ??
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Melanie, I used yellow mustard powder for this recipe.
Robert E. Breeding Caramazza says
I live in Costa Rica. I used a Panamanian pepper (only one) to scale back the heat a bit for my wife and daughter. That's about 1/2 of the heat 2 Serranos would give you (Panamanian chilies have about 2-3 times the heat of a jalapeño or about the heat of one serrano ...and have a nice flavor) ...and I ended up adding some more heat with some sriracha sauce late in the game ...and, a bit of (coconut) sugar, and some diced tomatoes (as suggested in the intro to the recipe.) Otherwise ...with the exception of a bit more cooking time ...I closely followed the recipe.
All 3 of us had second helpings! And, this "chicken vindaloo" recipes is on our "make again" list. It's an adventure in taste we will return to again.
5 STARS. Thanks for sharing!!!
We all started off eating a bit confused ...unsure of what this was. But ...the more we ate the more we liked it! And all 3 of use had seconds
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's GREAT, Robert! I'm glad you took a leap and found a new recipe for the house! I hope it makes it into your regular rotation. Enjoy!
Todd W Johnson says
Where are the potatoes?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Todd, you can include potatoes in the recipe. I discuss that in the post. Potatoes are AWESOME here!
Scott says
Great recipe, great flavor! I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts, a little less flavor than thighs but I'm too lazy to deal with bones! Marinade overnight for the best infusion and like many Indian / spicy foods tastes even better the next day after cooking. Fantastic!
Personally I would always use fresh ginger, powered insn't really an ideal substitute. Can't wait to make this again when I will sub half the hot chili flakes with ghost pepper flakes - hmm spicy!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Outstanding, Scott! Thanks! Super happy you enjoyed it!
Gill says
Hi Michael, I'm going to make this today. Do you mean fresh root ginger or ground ginger? Thanks 🙂
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I used dried ginger, Gill, but you can use fresh. I hope you like it!
Terrie says
The description of the recipe says tangy curry... There isn't any curry listed?? did you forget something?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Terrie, the list of spices used in the recipes make up a homemade curry blend, essentially. No need to buy a pre-mixed curry in this recipe.
Mike Wyeth says
When you say "Add the chicken", do you include the marinade or do you take the chicken out of the marinade [And toss all that good marinade flavour?]
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Mike, add the marinade with the chicken as well. Super delicious! Enjoy.
Ksenia @ At the Immigrant's Table says
What a great-looking dish! I am a big lover of spice, though sadly, my husband is not. I'll just have to make two versions of this - one spicy, one mild. Thanks for this!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You'll have to get the man some spice! Enjoy.
Luci says
This looks so good. I haven't made this before, I'll have to give this a try.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I hope you enjoy it! One of my favorites.
Tara says
Yum! This chicken sounds absolutely wonderful with all those spices! Ghost peppers would definitely heat things up!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Ghost peppers for me for sure!
Leslie says
I'll have to tone it down, but the flavors are all there. I'm so glad you included a recipe for the spice mix.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Absolutely! Vindaloo is normally quite hot, but it is very adjustable. I hope you enjoy it!
Eden | Sweet Tea and Thyme says
This is my favorite meal at my fave Indian restaurant, but I never knew how to make it. Thanks for the recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You're very welcome! I love this one, too.
Debbie Lea says
This was delicious! I was concerned with all the spices and the vinegar and the heat but wow it was so flavorful. I followed your recipe exactly and it had the right amount of heat. I will definitely make this again and again. Thank you!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's GREAT, Debbie. Glad you enjoyed it!