Vegan Thai Coconut Curry – An EASY one pot vegan meal that’s ready in 30 minutes. A healthy, comforting low-cal and low-carb dish with amazing Thai-inspired flavors.
This simple, tasty and easy Thai-inspired vegan curry has been one of my go-to recipes for a long time. It’s creamy, brothy, filling, it’s everything. Loads of vegetables, chickpeas, fresh garlic and ginger and flavorful curry paste create an explosion of flavors. Even carnivores won’t miss the meat! I’m happy to finally be posting this recipe because I can’t wait for you to try it! I promise you’ll be making it again and again.
I do want to say at the outset that this is by no means an authentic Thai curry. Rather, it’s a combination of delicious flavors that I concocted, inspired by my love of Thai food. In this post I include my favorite combination of vegetables, but the best part about this recipe is that you can use whatever veggies you like. It’s all about building the quick, easy and very flavorful base. Packed with sweet potatoes and chickpeas, it’s hearty on it’s own but I love to serve it with some brown rice or quinoa to round out the meal.
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How to make Vegan Thai-inspired Coconut Curry
This recipe is super simple, made in one pot and takes about 30 minutes. All of the work is in the chopping so feel free to take some shortcuts and save even more time by using pre-cut veggies. I definitely recommend using fresh veggies in this recipe as I like the tender-crisp texture, but it will work with frozen as well with a reduced cooking time. Just be sure to taste as you build and add in any frozen veggies last so they don’t get mushy. The ingredients are versatile and simple and no matter what, the flavors will be AMAZING. Don’t like sweet potatoes? Leave them out. Want to add mushrooms? Go for it.
The key to this recipe is cutting all of the vegetables to the same size and timing it right so that they cook evenly. Depending on what you use, you will just add them into the pot according to how long they should cook! Potatoes first, then broccoli and cauliflower, then peppers and wilt in the greens last. So easy and so good!
What do you need to make Vegan Coconut Curry?
Veggies, aromatics and herbs – Fresh garlic, fresh ginger, onion, sweet potato, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, lime, fresh cilantro and basil.
Chickpeas – chickpeas, garbanzo beans, whatever you call them, you definitely want to add them! They really bulk up this dish, making it very filling and full of protein, calcium and iron. Chickpeas are a definite pantry staple for me. I always have them on hand for so many vegetarian and vegan dishes. I use Thrive Market to order all of my favorite organic pantry staples.
Green Curry Paste – I’ve only tried this recipe using Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste. I imagine that whatever kind you like will work just as well. I’ve been using this product for years and always have a few jars in my pantry. I make this dish pretty often and highly recommend this brand.
Coconut Milk – Use a can of full fat coconut milk. Trust me, you won’t regret it. This curry is full of healthy veggies and the full fat coconut milk makes it creamy so that it feels like eating a big bowl of comfort food. Do it. I always have a few cans of organic coconut milk from Thrive Market in my pantry.
Soy Sauce – a little bit of soy sauce adds some umami flavor for depth.
Coconut Sugar – A little bit of coconut sugar adds a touch of sweetness to balance out all of the flavors. If you don’t have coconut sugar, leave it out or use a bit of regular sugar. Coconut sugar is a pantry staple for me!
Coconut or Olive Oil – I love using coconut oil for this recipe for some extra coconut flavor but olive oil will work as well!
Optional – something spicy! Add some kick with a few squirts of Sriracha or a little Sambal Oelek chili garlic paste.
Vegan Thai Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion. diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 inches fresh ginger root peeled and grated
- 1 sweet potato cut into ½ inch cubes
- 2 bell peppers cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 bunch lacinato/dinosaur kale stems removed, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
- 15 ounces can of chickpeas
- 2 tbsp coconut or olive oil
- 3 tbsp green curry paste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 lime juiced
- 15 oz can full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- salt and Sambal Oelek chili garlic paste or Sriracha to taste
- Fresh cilantro and basil leaves for garnish
- Rice or quinoa for serving
Instructions
- Heat coconut or olive oil in a large skillet with high sides or dutch oven on medium heat.
- Add the diced onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and grated ginger and stir continuously for about another minute until very fragrant.
- Add the cubed sweet potato and cook for another 3-5 minutes until they start to soften. Then add the curry paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Pour in coconut milk, water and coconut sugar and stir to combine and bring the pot to a gentle simmer.
- Add in the broccoli and cauliflower florets and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the bell pepper and chickpeas and simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes until veggies are cooked through to your liking.
- Stir in kale and wilt for an additional minute.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in soy sauce or tamari, lime juice and Sriracha or Sambal Oelek. Check for seasoning and add salt if necessary. I usually end up adding just about a ¼ teaspoon.
- Serve over rice or quinoa with cilantro and basil leaves for garnish.
Notes
Nutrition
Jacqueline
This dish is so comforting yet healthy. The herbs are a must! So much freaking flavor!