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Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

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This easy Thai Red Curry recipe with vegetables is ready in just 30 minutes on the stovetop. Play around with your favorite veggies, and even add tofu if you’d like!

curry vegetable with rice on a tan plate with a from, napkin, and water

One of my favorite restaurants from when I lived in Pennsylvania was a place called Cafe East. They had a huge menu, with all kinds of amazing Asian and Thai dishes.

It’s where I first fell in love with Thai red curry. Up until that point, I probably didn’t even know you could make it at home.

In my early to mid-twenties I was still learning all about cooking from scratch, opening my mind to new flavors, and trying various cuisines for the first time.

Sometimes the biggest thing you can do is open your mind to trying new things.

Homemade Thai Vegetable Curry

plate of vegetable curry with rice

I honestly didn’t even know what curry was until I was studying abroad in Australia, and this small-town girl was introduced to all kinds of cuisine.

Fast forward years later and thank goodness my attitude towards new foods changed – life would be so boring without the wonderful flavors of red curry! Thai food is now easily one of my favorite things.

This Red Curry recipe is so easy and can be easily customized using the vegetables of your liking.

Simplified Thai Curry Ingredients

To make a red curry at home, you don’t need much but red curry paste is a must. I typically use Thai Kitchen brand.

peppers, peas and kale in pan

Vegetables

For this vegan Thai curry recipe you can really use whichever vegetables you have on hand. Just be mindful to cook the veggies in a way that isn’t going to over-cook one vegetable type versus the other.

For example, if you were going to add carrots to this dish, you’d want to cook the carrots down first before the rest of the vegetables get added.

I used onion, garlic, bell peppers, snow peas (or sugar snap peas) and kale.

For Serving

Rice is the traditional way to serve vegetable curry. You can use white rice, brown rice, jasmine rice, etc. But I love using quinoa because it’s super easy and quick to make using an electric pressure cooker.

Feel free to use cauliflower rice for a vegetable boost, or traditional brown or white rice.

I love a little fresh cilantro for garnishing too.

Make it in 30 Minutes

This is such a great dinner to whip up during the week and enjoy a flavorful plant based meal.

It comes together in just a few simple steps.

First prepare the vegetable curry

  1. Chop all the veggies.
  2. In a pot or skillet, add in ghee or coconut oil, minced garlic and diced onion. Stir frequently for about 2 minutes.
  3. Add bell peppers, peas, and sliced kale; stir until mixed then gently pour in canned coconut milk and unsweetened almond or cashew milk. Add in red Thai curry paste, turmeric, salt, and cayenne. Gently stir until evenly combined. Allow mixture to come to a simmer, then simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.

Then make the rice or quinoa

While pot is simmering make rice (or quinoa), according to package instructions.

Once everything is done, add your grains into serving bowls, a heaping spoonful of the Thai red curry and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

This dish is so simple but full of flavor!

veggies and coconut milk in pan for red curry

FAQs about vegetable curry

  • Can I use different vegetables? – YES you can use carrots, cauliflower, pretty much whatever you’d like! The cook time will depend on when the vegetables have softened.
  • Can I use Green Curry paste? – You could, but the flavors of the dishes would change entirely. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it here.
  • Can I add tofu or chicken if not vegetarian? YES. I have a Chicken Curry recipe here you can use. If adding tofu, cook tofu first then add in the last 5 minutes of simmering.
  • Can this be reheated? – YES. Just reheat in microwave or stovetop. This vegetable curry recipe makes great meal prep/leftovers.
  • How long will this recipe keep? – Enjoy within 3-4 days for best flavor and textures.
thai red curry vegetable plate

More Thai Inspired Dishes

Don’t forget to comment and review below! I love hearing from you and it helps others learn more about the recipe too. Xx Ashley

Print

Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

plate of vegetable curry with rice
Print Recipe

A flavorful, easy vegetarian dish everyone will love. This Thai Red Curry with vegetables only takes about 30 minutes on the stovetop.  Serve with brown rice or quinoa for a healthy dinner recipe. Play around with your favorite vegetables. Vegan friendly and gluten-free recipe.

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: entree
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: Thai-Inspired
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 medium orange bell pepper, sliced (about 1 cup)
  • 10 ounce package snow peas (or sugar snap peas)
  • 1 ½ cups thinly sliced lacinato kale 
  • 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk (full-fat is best but lite also works)
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk
  • 3 tablespoons red curry paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

For Serving

  • brown rice, quinoa or your favorite grain or riced vegetable
  • cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  1. Cook down vegetables: In a large pot on medium heat, add in ghee or coconut oil, minced garlic and diced onion. Stir frequently for about 2 minutes. Add bell peppers, peas, and sliced kale; stir until mixed.
  2. Add liquid, seasonings and simmer: Gently pour in canned coconut milk and cashew milk. Then add curry paste, turmeric, salt, and cayenne. Gently stir until evenly combined. Allow mixture to come to a simmer on medium-high heat, then simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
  3. Make grains: While pot is simmering make rice (or quinoa), according to package instructions.
  4. Serve: Transfer rice into serving bowls. Use large serving spoon to serve red curry into bowls, garnish with cilantro if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

Feel free to add cooked tofu to this recipe as well. Make sure the tofu is cooked first, then stir in during the last 5 minutes of simmering.

Full-fat coconut milk will yield the best creamy texture for this recipe.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4th without rice
  • Calories: 99
  • Sugar: 11
  • Sodium: 400mg
  • Fat: 5g
  • Saturated Fat: 3g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 11g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 3g
  • Cholesterol: 1mg

Keywords: vegetable curry, red thai with vegetables, red thai curry recipe

photography by: Roberta Dall’Alba

About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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  1. Cassie Thuvan Tran says

    OMG, I LOVE Thai red curry! Anything with glorious flavors, richness, and a nice palette cleanser with the brown rice, is right up my alley. I have to make red curry again–great job, Ashley!

    Reply