Thai Red Curry with Vegetables
This Thai red curry recipe is so easy to make at home! It's much tastier than takeout and healthier, too. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
You know dinner was good when you want to eat it for breakfast. Speaking of, itโs 10 am and Iโm writing with a happy belly.
This Thai red curry made a fantastic meal last night and perhaps an even better breakfast this morning. Itโs warm, comforting, and perfect for cool days. Itโs a little rich, too, but so full of vegetables that it doesnโt feel too indulgent.
Iโve been meaning to try a red Thai curry based on my green curry for a while now, and Iโm so glad I finally did. Itโs the best curry Iโve ever had, restaurant versions included! Yeah, I said it.
Bonus? You should be able to find everything you need for this simple curry at a well-stocked grocery store.
Watch How to Make Thai Red Curry
Thai Red Curry Tips
- The secret to making amazing Thai curries is to use plenty of aromatics, like onion, ginger and garlic.
- Choose full-fat coconut milk for its richness (you wonโt 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. You can make your own if youโre so inclined, though.
- Feel free to change up the vegetables, as long as you slice them so theyโre all pretty small and about the same size. You could try broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, diced butternut or sweet potato (which will probably require a longer cooking time), sliced zucchini and/or yellow squash.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments. I love to hear from you.
If you enjoy this hearty dinner recipe, be sure to check out my cookbook for more!
Thai Red Curry with Vegetables
This Thai red curry recipe is so easy to make at home! Itโs much tastier than takeout and healthier, too. Feel free to change up the vegetables (youโll need about 3 cups total) and skip the kale if you want a more traditional Thai curry. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free for all to enjoy. Recipe yields 4 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 ยผย cups brown jasmine rice or long-grain brown rice, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 small white onion,ย chopped (about 1 cup)
- Pinch of salt, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (about a 1-inch nub of ginger)
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin 2-inch long strips
- 1 yellow, orange or green bell pepper, sliced into thin 2-inch long strips
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into ยผ-inch thick rounds (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste*
- 1 can (14 ounces) regular coconut milk**
- ยฝ cup water
- 1 ยฝ cups packed thinly sliced kale (tough ribs removed first), preferably the Tuscan/lacinato/dinosaur variety
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons coconut sugar or turbinado (raw) sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce***
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
- Garnishes/sides: handful of chopped fresh basil or cilantro, optional red pepper flakes, optional sriracha or chili garlic sauce
Instructions
- To cook the rice, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rinsed rice and continue boiling for 30 minutes, reducing heat as necessary to prevent overflow. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to pot. Cover and let the rice rest for 10 minutes or longer, until youโre ready to serve. Just before serving, season the rice to taste with salt and fluff it with a fork.
- To make the curry, warm a large skillet with deep sides over medium heat. Once itโs hot, add the oil. Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, while stirring continuously.
- Add the bell peppers and carrots. Cook until the bell peppers are fork-tender, 3 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the curry paste and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk, water, kale and sugar, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the peppers, carrots and kale have softened to your liking, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the pot from the heat and season with tamari and rice vinegar. Add salt (I added ยผ teaspoon for optimal flavor), to taste. If the curry needs a little more punch, add ยฝ teaspoon more tamari, or for more acidity, add ยฝ teaspoon more rice vinegar. Divide rice and curry into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if youโd like. If you love spicy curries, serve with sriracha or chili garlic sauce on the side.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my Thai green curry recipe.
*Red Thai curry paste: Look for it in the Asian section of the grocery store. I like Thai Kitchen brand, which is vegetarian. Not all brands are (they can contain fish sauce and/or shrimp paste).
**Coconut milk: For rich and creamy curry, you need to use regular (not light/reduced fat) coconut milk that contains guar gum. My favorite is Native Forest Classic. The varieties without guar gum (which are becoming more widely available) arenโt nearly as creamy, even though their fat content is the same.
***Make it gluten free: Be sure to use gluten-free tamari instead of regular soy sauce.
If you want to add tofu: Iโd suggest baking it first and adding it with the coconut milk in step 4. If you add raw tofu, it will soak up too much of the liquid, and baking it greatly improves the texture, anyway.
Update 8/10/2016: I tweaked this recipe a tiny bit to make it richer and more flavorful (decreased water from ยพ cup to ยฝ cup, and increased tamari to 1 tablespoon and vinegar to 2 teaspoons). I also updated the post with better photos!
If you love this recipe: Be sure to check out my other Thai-inspired recipes here! Donโt miss the Thai pineapple fried rice.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Pretty easy to make and was greatly enjoyed by my partner who doesnโt mind spicy food. I, however, underestimated the spice level and overestimate my tolerance. Thatโs on me though, not the recipe :)
I have already made this recipe twice. Love it! Also love itโs made in one pot. Great flavors and easy!!
I know this recipe is meant to be vegetarian, but if I wanted to add some beef slices, how would you recommend I included to the recipe? Thanks so much!!!
This is absolutely DELICIOUS! I added some baby bella mushrooms, otherwise followed the recipe as written. Itโs going to be saved in my top-rated file!
I made this super yummy red curry recipe, added several veggies in addition to recipe (celery, mushrooms, broccoli, jalapeรฑo) and grilled chicken. I omitted rice vinegar and soy sauce. The flavor was amazing and Iโll be making again in the future!
Awesome curry and my go to for weeknight dinners. Add a table spoon of miso at the same time as the curry paste, makes the umami flavor pop!
Outstanding recipe- thank you! We used Mekhala red curry paste brand which added great complexity and spice.
We hope that you will develop a yellow curry recipe soon:)
My husband and I both loved this! I took your suggestion of modifying the veggies if needed as we had so much that needed to be eaten. We used sweet potato, broccoli, peppers, onion, asparagus and mushrooms. I also added chickpeas for some extra protein and added chicken to my husbandโs (Iโm vegetarian and he isnโt). Again, we both loved this and canโt wait to try it again!
3 Stars. Doubled the spices and still tasted bland. Missed the fish sauce, my bad for not reading to the end.
Will try again with modifications. It was too bland for us. We drizzled sriracha on it.
Just delicious!! Made it along with the crispy baked tofu. Great combination. Definitely a keeper. Lime juice really made it sing.
My issue or rather question is this: earlier attempts were tasty, creamy and smooth on completion, unless served immediately, the creaminess went away leaving a very liquid and watery sauce. I subsequently reduced the water and added a tin of coconut cream in addition to the coconut milk. Again I achieved a thick creamy sauce which, upon warming up 90 minutes l later, became a watery sauce yet again.
How do I rectify this?
Your recipes look delicious! I am making your red curry with veggies tonight. I went to Amazon to look at your cookbook and ended up buying it! Canโt wait to receive and make some more of your healthy meals.
Amazing! I had some snap peas on hand so added those instead of kale. I love this addition and will definitely add it in the future!
Wonderful food, thank you ! so tasty !
Can this be prepped for a week of lunches? Meaning does it reheat well?
Yes, i have reheated and it is as tasty as ever.
I normally love your recipes but even with doubling the Ginger and Garlic and curry paste, find this quite bland.
Im going to remake it with more lime juice and fish sauce and hope it can be improved.
Kate โ Can you make this in an insta-pot for after work simplicity? If so, how?
Love your recipes!
-a fellow KC lover
Hi Susie, I donโt use my insta pot often so I havenโt tested for this recipe. Itโs bulky and annoying to clean, and I think theyโre better suited for meat recipes that typically require long cooking times. Moisture doesnโt evaporate out of an Instant Pot like it does in a cooking pot, so I find that the flavors arenโt as developed.
all looks good but really need to stress that olive oil does not belong anywhere in thai cooking.
This is so delicious and seasoned perfectly. Instead of the second bell pepper and kale I used broccoli and a par boiled Yukon gold potato. And threw in some chickpeas for protein. I like making curry this way, with the paste. You can add more for more heat or less for milder.
Easy to make without having to go to specialty stores! I was looking for more flavor and spice.
I have made this recipe twice and it is fabulous. I get requests for it. Itโs easy to make and itโs better the next day. I make many of Kates recipes and they are all I have tried absolutely great!
Smells delicious! I made it with sugar snap peas, thin beans and beef cubes (goulash) added to the original recipe.
Very saucy, will add less water next or a little Corn Starch.
Perfect and best curry Iโve ever made !
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it!
I enjoyed making this receipe. I added a lots of fresh garlic and young Thai ginger. I added zucchini, carrots, red and yellow peppers. I pan fried tofu with lil sesame oil, soya sauce for umami. I added with the coconut milk. I like it creamy so I added a can of coconut milk and the Thai red curry I bought. I ended up using the whole bottle which was 100gm. I made lil extra as an attempt to meal prep. the did not have tamari so I added soy sauce. Thanks for the tip to add some vinegar. I understand the complexity it adds. It warm and rich and quite simple to make!
Hi,
I love your book! Can you please tell me of a good substitute for coconut milk?
Hello, you could try almond or soy milk. The texture will be similar though the flavor will be different.
This is one of my familyโs favourite meals โ I donโt know how many times Iโve made it at this point! I add chicken every time though because weโre a meat-loving fam ;)
Iโm seeing comments about fish sauce but I donโt see fish sauce in the recipe. Am I missing something?
I didnt see fish sauce in her recipe, I guess add it to taste if you like it. I may purchase a bottle and see if it complements her recipe.
This was excellent! Didnโt feel like making rice, so I made it with brown rice pad Thai noodles, which I stirred into the whole dish before serving. I also added chunks of cod and shrimp. The three of us thought it was delicious.
This recipe is delicious.
We are having friends for lunch in a few days.
Could I make this recipe the night before and just reheat for lunch?
I do not like Kale so I use spinach instead.
Thank you
Hi Jill, yes the leftovers will reheat well.
I made this recipe last night and it was delish. I used cauliflower, bell peppers, zucchini, onions, carrots and tofu. I cooked the tofu first in an air fryer and then sprinkled on top. I put in a ton of veggies and did 3 tblsp of the curry paste โฆ yikes. DH and I loved it but mother-in-law had to douse it in yogurt.
People found this bland? In comparison to what, LOL? It was delicious. My sole reason for looking this up was I had a jar on hand of the same red curry paste that was recommended to use. I loved this recipe. Brown Texmati rice soaked up all the delicious curry coconut sauce. I did add the tofu โ was going to just throw it in so Iโm glad I saw your recipe for baking it first. I skipped the sugar, not sure why itโs there. We used kale and it tasted and looked great with the rest of the vegโs (needs a green!) My coconut milk had no guar gum, it was fine. Also, used powdered ginger as my gingerroot had gone bad, that didnโt seem to matter. So good. Thank you!
LOVELY
My husband and I love this recipe thank you
Would Thai Basil work well in this recipe?
Hi Ingrid, yes, that would complement the flavors well.
Can spinach be used instead of kale?
Hi Cindy, yes you can use spinach, just adjust the cooking time as it is more delicate.
Many thanks for your reply. Made it for family and company and very much enjoyed it. Will definitely make again.
I always come back to this recipe! Itโs fantastic! Greetings from South Africa.
Can I substitute fresh spinach for kale?
Hi Debra, yes, you may just want to add it a bit later, as they are more delicate and cook faster than the kale.
Amazing! I made this today and added thin chicken breast. Tasty and pretty.
Iโve made it twice, the recipe is okay I guess. It come out pretty bland. I added extra red curry paste the second time around and it still was kind of underwhelming.
Thank you very much for sharing this vegetarian coconut thai curry which I make about once a month. I appreciate your update on the coconut milks that contain guar gum because my only marginal disappointment with this recipe is that it could be better being a little creamier. Can you share a good brand with the full fat non guar gum ?
I am looking forward to trying more of your lovely vegetarian recipes!
Pardeep
Hi,
Great recipe. One quick question, earlier the page also had the recipe for red Thai curry paste which is not available at my current location now itโs an Amazon links. Can you please upload that recipe also. Thanks!
I love this recipe. I have used it many times. I often just use up any leftover veggies in my fridge and still tastes great.
Hi Kathryne. Can the Thai Red Curry with Vegetables be frozen? I would like to freeze it and prepare the rice separately. Thank you.
Hi Lynda, yes this recipe is great for freezing.
I wasnโt sure with the make, but, wow, this was delicious!
This was so delicious and flavorful. My husband and I both loved it. Weโre not vegetarians, so I paired it with a roasted pork tenderloin and that was perfect.
I loved the sound of this curry, but it was a bit bland. Lots of good veggies though and I added chickpeas for protein. Next time I wouldnโt add the water (as the sauce was a bit thin) and I would look for Arroy-D coconut milk, as it is much creamier. Also, I would add more spice.
I have made this recipe 10+ times now and I always love it!
On the days that I donโt have kale, I add baby spinach and hold off on the water. Often add chicken, and have also added green beans or zucchini if I have it.
This recipe is wonderful and easy to adapt. My picky eaters even asked for seconds. Quick question โ does this freeze well?
Hi Lara, yes this should freeze well like any saucy dish or stew.
This recipe is really easy to make and turned out delicious, itโs now a staple in our household โบ๏ธ
I made your Thai Red Curry recipe for dinner last night with a few changes and both my husband and I loved the flavor. I added 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes for spice. I had spinach on hand so I used it in place of kale. I also added 1 pound large peeled shrimp when the curry paste was added. I will be making this again!
we have been making this recipe regularly for over 4 years now. It is hands down one of our favorites.
This is so good!! I ended up making it with yellow curry paste and it was delicious. Made it twice in one week! Perfect for an easy, nutritious lunch.
This Thai red curry looks absolutely delicious and full of vibrant vegetables! The balance of aromatics, coconut milk, and perfectly cut veggies makes it a wholesome, comforting dish.