Slow Cooker Coconut Fish Curry

Name: Slow Cooker Coconut Fish Curry
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 185 min
Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped); 3 cm piece of fresh ginger (peeled and finely chopped); 1 red chilli (deseeded and finely chopped); 1½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 stick lemongrass (bashed with a wooden spoon to release the flavour); 400 ml coconut milk; 300 g skinless and boneless cod loin (cut into 2 cm cubes); 100 g mange tout ((snow peas) sliced); 150 g broccoli florets; To serve: fresh coriander and red chilli (sliced)

Modified: Apr 24, 2026 · Published: Jul 11, 2016 by bakingqueen74 · This post may contain affiliate links · 44 Comments

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You’ll love my slow cooker fish curry recipe, it is easy to make and doesn’t take long (in slow cooking terms), and you’ll end up with a tasty dish full of fresh flavours, a creamy coconut milk sauce and tender flakes of fish.

Grey bowl of vibrant fish curry garnished with fresh coriander and sliced red chilli.

Look at these vibrant colours, you’d probably not imagine you could make this in a slow cooker!

Indian fish curry is typical of the areas of Goa and Kerala. This fish curry takes Indian and Thai flavours and pairs them with simple cod loin for a curry that is full of flavour.

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Cooking fish in the slow cooker
Ingredients needed
Step by step instructions
Variations
Storage
More healthy slow cooker recipes
More fish recipes to try
Recipe
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Cooking fish in the slow cooker

Before I created this recipe, my own spin on a fish curry with coconut milk, I’d never cooked fish in my slow cooker before.

Visions of a house reeking all day and fish disintegrated into tiny pieces really did put me off.

But I realised that even though it is a slow cooker it doesn’t need to be on ALL day for fish.

A few hours on low would be sufficient to ensure the fish is cooked through (look for it flaking easily and turning from translucent to opaque) and the vegetables are gently cooked without losing their colour and nutrients.

I was quite surprised to find that the slow cooker could produce a dish full of colour and flavour without the delicate fish falling to pieces.

Fish curry with coriander, red chilli and lemon grass, in the slow cooker pot.

As it doesn’t take long to cook, this is the kind of slow cooked dish I could put in the pot when I get home from work, and once the kids are bathed and in bed it would be ready for me to serve.

So no need to get prepared first thing in the morning for this one.

In summer I like a big bowl of my slow cooker coconut fish curry with plenty of vegetables and no other accompaniment, whereas in winter it will be served with steamed rice, using a spoon to finish every last bit of the coconut milk sauce.

Top view of slow cooker pot with yellow fish curry inside, chopped herbs to the side on a board.

Ingredients needed

Here is what you will need. For the exact recipe quantities see the full details in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Ingredients for fish curry laid out on white wooden table, with labels.

garlic – feel free to use garlic puree in a tube for an easy replacement for fresh garlic.
fresh ginger – again, you can use ginger puree in a tube in place of fresh ginger if you wish – much easier!
lemongrass – lemongrass paste or puree is available in a tube or jar too, and makes a great swap for fresh lemongrass which can be tricky to get hold of.
fresh coriander
red chilli
turmeric – this spice gives the fish that delicate yellow colour and adds flavour too of course.
cod loin – I prefer cod loin as it is thicker and more succulent, but you can use cod fillets instead (also usually cheaper!).
broccoli, mange tout – you can swap the vegetables out to suit your preferences or what you have in the fridge. Peas, baby corn, aubergine, cauliflower also work well.
coconut milk – this creates the sauce of the curry, with the spices.

Step by step instructions

For the full details see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Chopped mange tout, brocoli, garlic, ginger, red chilli and a stick of lemongrass on a board.

Step 1. Prepare the aromatics and vegetables by peeling, chopping, dicing or slicing.

Step 2. Put the garlic, ginger, red chilli, turmeric, lemongrass in the slow cooker and add the coconut milk and mix well.

Cubed fish with veggies in slow cooker pot with coconut milk sauce.

Step 3. Cube the cod and add the cod, mange tout and broccoli to the slow cooker pot.

Fish curry ready to cook, in slow cooker pot.

Step 4. Mix then put on the lid and cook on low for 2-3 hours, or until the cod is cooked through (to check this, check that the fish flakes easily and has turned from translucent to opaque).

Step 5. Once cooked, garnish with chopped fresh coriander and sliced red chilli if desired, and serve with rice.

Slow cooker fish curry with fresh herbs and chilli as garnish, in pot.

Variations

Try a different kind of fish such as pollock, haddock, trout, according to your taste.

Add a few defrosted raw king or normal prawns in the last hour of cooking.

Add more chilli to add more fire to your curry!

Storage

I find that coconut milk curries don’t freeze that well as the sauce can split after you defrost it. Also the texture of the fish may change after freezing. For that reason I recommend against freezing this recipe.

You can keep the leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days after cooking.

More healthy slow cooker recipes

For more healthy slow cooker recipes and slow cooker recipes for the whole family, make sure you check out my slow cooker archives.

You might also like to check out all my Curries.

Fish curry ready to serve, in slow cooker pot.

More fish recipes to try

For more fish stews or fish curry recipes, check these out:

Brazilian fish stew from Recipes from a Pantry
Feel-good fish curry from Family Friends Food
Hot prawn madras curry from The Hedge Combers
Prawn, mushroom and spinach curry from Fab Food 4 All
Thai yellow curry with fish from Nicky’s Kitchen Sanctuary

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