Vegan Thai Red Curry Recipe (2024)

byBeth Le Manach

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This Vegan Thai Red Curry is one of my favorite Vegetarian Recipes because you can make the whole thing ahead of time. All you have to do is reheat it. In fact, I think it’s even better when made the day before because the flavors become even more pronounced.

It also makes for a wonderful vegan holiday meal too, and I often serve it as an option for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner if I have vegan friends or family attending.

For a lighter, low-carb curry try my Shrimp Curry Recipe with Cauliflower Rice which is equally delicious and comes together in 15-minutes or less!

Vegan Thai Red Curry Recipe (1)

Why You’ll Love This:

  • When it’s cold outside and you want something comforting and warming, you can’t beat a curry dish. The sweet potatoes, kale, and cauliflower also pack a nutritional punch!
  • It’s also a quick dinner recipe for a weeknight, thanks to the store-bought, jarred curry paste. Of course, you could make your own Thai Red Curry paste, but I find you can’t beat the convenience of the jarred paste. Just look for a quality brand, and refrigerate it after opening.
  • This recipe is very similar to my Vegetarian Pot Pie with Root Vegetables Recipe, but I think it’s even easier since there’s no pastry to fuss over!

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Watch a Video Demo of this Recipe Below!

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Saute the Onions, Garlic, and Ginger

You’ll first begin by sauteing the aromatics this will help deepen the flavor of this dish, by giving the onions, ginger, and garlic a head start. It also sweetens up the onions.

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Add the Red Curry Paste And Coconut Milk

  • I begin with 4 tablespoons of the red curry paste, but keep the jar standing by in case you want to add more heat or prefer a bolder flavor.
  • You will be able to add more after you add the coconut milk and adjust the seasonings.
  • Stir the curry paste in with the onions until combined and then you’ll add the coconut milk.

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What’s The Difference Between All The Coconut Milk Choices?

  • When you get to the market you’ll likely see 3 types of coconut milk. This can be completely confusing and leave you wondering what’s the difference?! Here’s the cheat sheet.
  • Classic or “full-fat” coconut milk. Thick consistency. Great for curries or my Coconut Cream Pie!
  • Coconut Cream. Very thick coconut milk. Great for making whipped coconut cream or to thicken light coconut milk
  • Light Coconut Milk. Great for lighter soups, chia puddings, or smoothies.

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The Best Coconut Milk For Curries

  • For this recipe, I prefer the “Classic, Full-Fat” Coconut Milk.
  • The thickness is best for a hearty dish like this curry.
  • If you can’t find it you can always use Light Coconut Milk and add a can of coconut cream to get the same consistency.

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Add the Vegetables

  • I think vegetables that have a combination of starchiness and texture go best with Thai red curry.
  • For this curry, I add a combination of sweet potatoes and kale, for a fall twist.
  • Then add a few garbanzo beans and cauliflower for some additional protein and texture.

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Cook According to Density

  • The vegetables in this recipe cook at different rates. It’s best to not add them all at once, but add them in stages.
  • Add the sweet potatoes first since they’ll take the most time to become tender, then the cauliflower, garbanzo beans, and then the kale.

Use Red Kale for a Pretty Color

  • If you can find the Red Kale it will add wonderful color to your curry, but really any type of kale will be tasty.
  • Just be sure to remove the stem and only use the leaves, since the stems can be tough to eat.
  • You could also use fresh spinach instead of kale if you prefer.

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Garnish and Serve!

Once the vegetables are cooked through, the final step is to garnish with red pepper flakes and fresh cilantro. If you need to reduce the heat, you can add a squeeze of lime!

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What to Serve with Red Thai Curry?

  • This dish pairs beautifully with brown rice or quinoa or cauliflower rice is a wonderful option too!
  • If you go the route of cauliflower rice, you could omit the whole cauliflower in the curry itself and add some broccoli florets instead.

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Make-Ahead Tips:

  • The whole thing could be made the day before and just reheated the day you plan to serve it. How’s that for easy!
  • Just add the kale on the day of serving to prevent it from getting too wilted.

More Warming Recipes!

  • Curried Roasted Vegetables with Quinoa
  • Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
  • Gardner’s Pie
  • White Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale

Please let me know if you make this recipe

by leaving a rating and review below

Vegan Thai Red Curry Recipe (11)

Vegan Thai Red Curry

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Vegan Thai Red Curry Recipe is a great vegetarian and vegan Thanksgiving Dinner Idea. You can also make the whole thing ahead of time. Includes recipe video too.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) unflavored cooking oil
  • 2 cups (475 ml) white onion, sliced into half moons
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tsp (10 ml) grated ginger
  • 4 tbsp (60 ml) red curry paste
  • 3 (15-oz) cans full fat coconut milk (3 (398ml) cans)
  • 2 tsp (10 ml) brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt (5 ml)
  • 2 cups (475 ml) sweet potatoes cut into bite-sized half moons or chunks
  • 1 cup (240 ml) cauliflower florets
  • 1 (15-0z) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (1- 425g can)
  • 1 cup kale (240 ml)

Garnish:

  • Red pepper flakes
  • Fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large stock pot. Cook onions until fragrant, then add garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant then add curry paste, cook stirring paste with the vegetables for 1 minute.
  2. Whisk in coconut milk. The full fat variety will have the cream risen to the top, no worries it will melt and combined once heated and stirred.
  3. Add the brown sugar and salt. Then add the sweet potatoes. Allow to cook in the curry for 5-8 mins until tender. Then add the cauliflower, garbanzo beans and kale. Cook until heated through and tender about 5 mins more.
  4. Transfer to a large serving tureen. Garnish with red pepper flakes and fresh cilantro.
  5. Serve along side of brown rice. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 206Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 869mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 6gSugar: 11gProtein: 6g

Vegan Thai Red Curry Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is Thai red curry usually vegan? ›

Red curry (Thai: แกงเผ็ด, RTGS: kaeng phet, pronounced [kɛːŋ pʰèt], lit.: 'spicy curry') is a Thai dish consisting of red curry paste cooked in coconut milk with meat added, such as chicken, beef, pork, duck or shrimp, or vegetarian protein source such as tofu.

What gives red curry its flavor? ›

Red Curry. This type of curry is moderately spiced and one of the most versatile. Red curry is made with several red chilies, which gives it a bold and spicy flavor. Ingredients for the curry base include coriander, cumin, red bell pepper, red chile, lemongrass, and ginger.

How do you make Thai red curry thicker? ›

How can I thicken up a Thai red curry sauce? Make a slurry of cornflour and water, say a teaspoon of flour to a tablespoon of cold water, mix it well and drizzle it into the curry sauce, drizzle half in and stir to thicken and if not thick enough add more and so on.

Can vegans eat Thai curry? ›

Thai food can sometimes be ordered vegan if — that's a big IF — the cook has access to tofu or other plant-based proteins AND has curry paste that does not contain fish sauce or shrimp paste (not to mention MSG).

Which Thai curry is vegan? ›

Some usually vegan friendly dishes are Red Curry, Pad Thai ordered without egg, and Massaman Curry. But as previously stated, don't be afraid to ask if they can make a certain dish vegan without fish sauce.

What Thai curry paste is vegan? ›

The best vegan-friendly store-bought curry paste I've tried is from Maesri, which is much more flavorful (and spicier) than grocery store brands (e.g., Thai Kitchen). Aroy-D also makes a good vegan one, but they sell versions with shrimp paste as well so read labels.

Which Thai curry is healthiest? ›

People love green curry because of the gentle balance of heat, sweet, and acid from the chiles, lime, and fresh herbs. Green curry is great with chicken and shrimp because it offers a punch of seasoning to the protein. The long list of herbs also makes green curry one of the healthiest Thai cuisine dishes.

How do you make Thai red curry taste better? ›

Thai Red Curry Tips

Choose full-fat coconut milk for its richness (you won't regret it!). Stirring in just a little bit of rice vinegar and sugar adds tons of complexity. Readily available store-bought Thai red curry paste adds characteristic Thai flavor and, bonus, the Thai Kitchen brand is vegetarian.

What's the difference between red curry and Thai curry? ›

Traditionally, all Thai curries were made with the same ingredients except for one thing: the chillies. Red curry was made with several red chillies for a fiery hot dish, while green curry was made with green chillies, and yellow curry was made with yellow chillies.

Can you use yogurt instead of coconut milk in Thai curry? ›

Although Greek yogurt may not immediately come to mind, it's a creative substitute for coconut milk because of its thick consistency. To replace 1 cup (240 ml) of coconut milk, mix 1 cup (240 ml) of Greek yogurt with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of water.

Why is my Thai curry not red? ›

Traditionally, all Thai curries were made with the same ingredients except for one thing: the chilies. Red curry was made with several red chilies for a fiery hot dish, while green curry was made with green chilies and yellow curry was made with yellow chilies.

What to serve with red Thai curry? ›

This simple Thai Curry Sauce is extremely versatile. Serve it with rice, noodles, meat, veggies, or as a base for soups, marinades, and more.

Why is pad thai not vegan? ›

Traditionally, pad thai isn't vegan, as it uses fish sauce and eggs (and sometimes dried shrimp). It is easy to make vegan, however, and there are many variations on the traditional recipe.

What percent of Thailand is vegan? ›

Share of plant-based food consumers Thailand 2019-2025

In 2019, around eight percent of the total population in Thailand did not eat meat. This percentage was forecasted to increase in the coming years, reaching 15 percent in 2025.

Why is curry sauce not vegan? ›

Curry sauces can vary widely, and some may contain animal-derived ingredients such as dairy or fish sauce. Double-check the ingredients to make sure they're vegan.

What Thai dishes are usually vegan? ›

Here are some of the best vegan Thai dishes worth trying.
  • Yellow Thai Curry With Mixed Vegetables. ...
  • Thai-Style Spring Rolls. ...
  • Thai Tom Kha. ...
  • Thai Sticky Rice (Khao Niaow Ma Muang) ...
  • Experience Vegan Thai Food with Thai Ginger.
Jul 3, 2023

Is Thai food traditionally vegan? ›

On the other hand, traditionally vegan savory Thai dishes are nearly impossible to find. Nearly every dish incorporates shrimp paste, fish sauce, or chicken stock in some shape or form.

What is Thai red curry made of? ›

The base Thai red curry paste is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle that grinds dried red chile peppers, garlic, shallots, galangal, shrimp paste, salt, Makrut lime leaves, coriander, cumin, peppercorns and lemongrass.

Is Thai gold red curry paste vegan? ›

This curry paste is suitable for vegetarians. Ingredients: Red chilli, Garlic, Lemongrass, Galangal & Galingale, Salt pepper, Kaffir Lime, Coriander seed, Coriander Root an Onion. Nutritional Information per 100g: Energy 100 kcal, Protein 0, Carbohydrate 20g, Fibre 7.0g and Sodium 2.3mg.

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