Slow cooker beef massaman curry recipe

Last Updated on 10 November 2026 by cooksimply

There’s nothing better than throwing in a few ingredients, leaving it for the whole day, and then dishing up a delicious meal for the whole family in the evening. I really do love slow-cooking.

And one of the best dishes to cook in a slow cooker is this beef massaman curry recipe. It’s fragrant, tasty, and the meat just melts in your mouth. The best thing about it? You really don’t have to do much cooking.

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At a glance

• Hands-on time: 15 minutes
• Slow cooker: eight hours on low, or five hours on high
• Serves: 6
• Heat level: mild, warm rather than hot
• Freezes: yes, up to three months
• Per serving: around 680 calories

What is beef massaman curry?

I remember when I first had a steaming hot bowl of massaman curry in Thailand. Having eaten so many spicy green curries, it was a pleasant change to have a curry with tender meat and potatoes that was rich in flavour but not overly spicy.

Massaman curry is one of the mildest Thai curries. It has a beautiful balance of sweet, salty and sour flavours, with fragrant spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and star anise.

Unlike other Thai curries, it’s not fiery hot. This makes it perfect comfort food for the whole family.

Those spices are the reason it tastes so different from a green or red curry, and there’s a story behind them. The name massaman is a corruption of the Persian and Arabic mosalmân, meaning Muslim. The dish traces back to the Ayutthaya court in 17th-century Siam, when Persian and South Asian Muslim traders settled around the capital and brought their spice cabinet with them. It’s now most strongly associated with southern Thailand, where the Muslim communities that kept it alive still make the most heavily spiced versions, and it’s why pork is rare in it.

Why this slow cooker method works so well

Slow cooking transforms tough cuts of beef into fork tender pieces. The low, gentle heat breaks down the connective tissue while the curry sauce infuses every bite. Massaman was always a slow dish, traditionally braised for hours in spiced coconut milk, so a slow cooker is doing what the recipe wants rather than cutting a corner.

This massaman recipe is extremely versatile. If you don’t have beef, you can also use chicken or even make it vegetarian with sweet potatoes and chickpeas, as long as you swap the fish sauce for a vegan version and check your curry paste, since most contain shrimp paste.

Choosing the best ingredients

Which cut of beef to use

Chuck beef works best for this slow cooker recipe. This cut becomes incredibly tender during the long cooking process.

You can also use stewing beef, braising steak, or any diced beef labelled for slow cooking. Avoid lean cuts – you want some marbling for flavour.

Which potatoes work best

I prefer using waxy potatoes like Charlotte, Anya or new potatoes. They hold their shape during long cooking and won’t turn to mush.

Cut them into large chunks – about 3-4cm pieces. Baby potatoes work brilliantly too if you keep them whole or just halve them.

Store-bought or homemade massaman paste?

There’s no denying that making your own curry paste from scratch offers the freshest and most authentic taste. However, for ease, this recipe uses ready-made massaman curry paste.

You can buy shop-bought curry paste in all good supermarkets. If you can, I would suggest getting the best massaman paste you can afford – I like to use Mae Ploy, which is 22% lemongrass, 19% garlic and 14% dried chilli, with galangal and shrimp paste in there too. Supermarket own-brand pastes tend to be thinner on the aromatics and heavier on salt and sugar, so taste before you add anything else. Worth knowing that Mae Ploy contains shrimp paste, so it isn’t suitable if you’re cooking for vegetarians.

Coconut milk vs coconut cream

This recipe uses coconut milk for the sauce base. It gives a creamy consistency without being too heavy.

You can substitute half the coconut milk with coconut cream for an even richer curry. Just use 200ml of each.

What ingredients are needed

• Stewing beef or chuck beef
• Plain flour
• Massaman curry paste
• Potatoes (waxy varieties)
• Onion
• Lime juice
• Brown sugar
• Fish sauce
• Fresh coriander
• Beef or chicken stock
• Coconut milk (400ml can)

How to make slow cooker beef massaman curry

Coat the beef in flour first and set it aside. Then, after combining the stock, massaman paste, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and coconut milk together, pour over the beef, onions and potatoes.

Cover and cook for eight hours on low, or on high for five hours. Give it a stir halfway through. It’s ready when the beef pulls apart under a fork with no resistance and a potato gives easily all the way through. If the beef still springs back, it needs longer rather than more heat.

Taste it before you serve. Pastes vary a lot in salt and sugar, so it may want more fish sauce, another squeeze of lime or a pinch more sugar.

The beauty of slow cooking is that you can prep everything in the morning and come home to a house filled with the most incredible aroma.

What if the curry is too runny?

Slow cookers hold their liquid, so you can end up looser than you wanted. A traditional massaman is actually fairly rich. The classic method simmers the coconut milk until the oils start to separate out, which is a thickening step a slow cooker can’t do.

If your preference is to have a thicker sauce, then you can thicken the curry using corn flour slurry. Add around 1 tablespoon of cornflour to 2 tablespoons of water and mix.

Then add to the slow cooker around 30 minutes from the end of your cooking time and stir through.

What to serve with beef massaman curry

Serve this massaman curry over jasmine rice with a good sprinkling of fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime. It’s just perfect.

You could also serve it with naan bread for scooping up all that delicious sauce. Roti is the more traditional flatbread for this curry, and a nod to its Muslim roots. A handful of roasted peanuts scattered over at the end is worth doing too, since the original almost always has peanuts or cashews in it.

Storage and reheating

If you have any leftovers, you can put them in a suitable container and refrigerate for up to three days. Reheat them thoroughly until piping hot.

You can freeze for up to three months. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge overnight before heating up again.

The flavours actually deepen and improve after a day or two, making this a brilliant meal prep option.

Making massaman curry paste from scratch

If you would like to make your own paste or make it ahead of time, the thing to know is that massaman paste isn’t like a green or red one. What makes it massaman is a layer of dried spices, and that they get toasted first. Skip the toasting and you have a red curry paste with cinnamon in it.

Toast these in a dry pan over a medium heat until they smell fragrant and just start to smoke, then grind them.

• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Seeds from 6 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon white peppercorns

Then pound or blitz them together with the rest.

• 6 to 8 dried red chillies, soaked and seeded
• 4 shallots
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer layers removed
• 20g galangal, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
• 1 teaspoon of salt

A pestle and mortar gives a better texture than a food processor, though it takes longer. Work from the hardest, driest ingredients up to the softest. If you can’t get galangal, use ginger with a little lime zest. It isn’t the same, galangal is sharper and more resinous, but it’s closer than ginger on its own. For a meat-free paste, leave out the shrimp paste and use a teaspoon of miso instead.

This makes roughly enough for two curries. It keeps in the fridge for a week, or freeze it in tablespoon portions.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use chicken instead of beef?

Yes! Use chicken thighs instead of beef. Reduce the cooking time to 4-5 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high.

Do I need to brown the beef first?

Not for this method. The flour coating and eight hours of gentle cooking do the work. Browning adds a little depth if you have the time and a spare pan, but it isn’t the difference between a good curry and a poor one here.

Why are my potatoes still hard?

Make sure you cut the potatoes into 3-4cm pieces and that they’re fully submerged in the cooking liquid at the bottom of the slow cooker.

Can I make this without a slow cooker?

Yes, you can make this in a large pot on the hob. Brown the coated beef first in a large frying pan, then transfer everything to a pot and simmer gently for 2-3 hours until the beef is tender.

Is massaman curry very spicy?

No, massaman is considered a mild curry compared to other Thai curries. It has warmth from spices rather than chilli heat.

Is massaman curry halal?

The dish comes from Thailand’s Muslim communities, which is why it’s made with beef, chicken or lamb and almost never pork. Whether a particular version is halal depends on the meat and the paste, so check the label if it matters to you.

Where can I buy massaman paste?

Most good supermarkets stock it in the world foods aisle. You can also find it in any Asian supermarket, which will usually have a better selection, or order online.

Can I add vegetables?

Absolutely! Green beans work brilliantly – add them in the last hour of cooking. You can also add sweet potatoes alongside regular potatoes.

Love Thai food or Asian food?

Check out these other recipes including:

• Chicken pad Thai
• Pad see ew
• Pho noodles
• Crispy chilli beef

Did you make this massaman curry recipe?

Please let me know if you have tried this recipe. Leave a comment below and tag @cooksimplyathome on Instagram. You can find other delicious recipes here.