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, it’s 10 am and I’m writing with a happy belly.
This Thai red curry made a fantastic meal last night and perhaps an even better breakfast this morning. It’s warm, comforting, and perfect for cool days. It’s a little rich, too, but so full of vegetables that it doesn’t feel too indulgent.
I’ve been meaning to try a red Thai curry based on my green curry for a while now, and I’m so glad I finally did. It’s the best curry I’ve 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 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. You can make your own if you’re so inclined, though.
- Feel free to change up the vegetables, as long as you slice them so they’re 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! It’s much tastier than takeout and healthier, too. Feel free to change up the vegetables (you’ll 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 ¼ cups brown jasmine rice or long-grain brown rice, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 small white onion, 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 ¼-inch thick rounds (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste*
- 1 can (14 ounces) regular coconut milk**
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups packed thinly sliced kale (tough ribs removed first), preferably the Tuscan/lacinato/dinosaur variety
- 1 ½ 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 you’re 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 it’s 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 ¼ teaspoon for optimal flavor), to taste. If the curry needs a little more punch, add ½ teaspoon more tamari, or for more acidity, add ½ teaspoon more rice vinegar. Divide rice and curry into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if you’d 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) aren’t 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: I’d 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 ¾ cup to ½ 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! Don’t 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 nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Such a beautiful and vibrant dish. I love curry during this time of year, especially Thai Red Curry. Just perfect.
Wow – talk about a happy belly! This is so gorgeous how could you not have the leftovers for breakfast. Too good!
This curry sounds wonderful. I could live on Thai food with ease. Just wish my husband liked it as much as I do. He’s been doing well with different foods, but prior to when we got married he had totally American taste buds.
Thank you, Susan! Sounds like you are working some magic on your husband. Maybe he’d like this one?
Yum!! I’ve only ever cooked a simple curry from yellow curry powder, but I’m excited to try red curry paste. Maybe I’ll eat it for breakfast too :)
Can’t wait to try this! I’ve made your curries before and they’re great. I would love for you to make some more Indian curry dishes, maybe Tikka Masala or Korma. Mmmmmmmm
Those are great ideas. I’ll see what I can do! :)
I love the beautiful fall colors from the peppers and the curry. I miss curry and don’t make it enough. Looks delicious!
I made your thai green curry last night! I made it a bunch last year, and busted it out for the first time this year for dinner. It was stellar as usual, finished with a whole lime squeezed in! This curry is on deck fo sho
Awesome!!!
Oh I have been LOVING curry lately, especially homemade. I am saving this for later. Thanks so much for sharing!
I love your recipes! However, the coconut milk trend (I can’t wait until it’s over!) and myself don’t mesh – is there a substitute?? I’d like to make this healthier.
Hey Erika! I hear you on the coconut milk. However, coconut milk is traditional in Thai curries and provides a richness that I don’t know how to achieve without it. (I mean, heavy cream or half and half would work, but that wouldn’t make it any lighter.) For what it’s worth, this curry is loaded with veggies. Also, the fat in coconut milks/oil offers some unique health benefits, which you can read about here.
this might be a silly question – but what do you use for coconut milk in this situation…where it needs to be “full-fat” Is there some sort of indication on the can that its full fat?
Hi Jenna, that’s a good question! If the can doesn’t say light, it is probably full fat. “Regular” is another good indication that it’s full fat.
You might (if you really wanted to) be able to substitute an aqua faba/ cashew milk mix assuming you make the cashew milk with raw soaked cashews and don’t add too much water. I agree with Kate though that coconut milk is pretty much a must in Thai food.
Coconut milk isn’t a trend first of all. I think you are mistaking that with coconut oil. Secondly, you’re asking if you can make Thai curry without coconut milk? Good grief.
Was thinking the same thing…. it’s like saying,”can I get one pizza with no dough, cheese, or sauce?”.
Or you could be like me an allergic to coconut to the point where you stop breathing. My love of curry doesn’t take over my desire to breathe, so yeah, sometimes substitutions are necessary. Get off your high horse.
Erika – coconut milk a ‘trend’? Believe it or not, some cultures, ideas and methods of cooking DO exist outside of North America.
Coconut milk is the basis of much – if not most – eating & drinking across much of Asia and South America, and has been since…forever.
Sorry, comments like that just really make me bananas.
I’m glad others feel the way I do about Erika’s comment. Coconut milk is definitely not a trend, and the basis of Thai curry is coconut milk. Perhaps stick to eating raw veggies if you’re not a fan?
Personally, I love Thai food (it’s quite commonplace here in Vancouver), and this recipe rocks!
I know this comment is late but a substitute would be a milk of your choice with a tiny splash of coconut extract. It’s a solution although it’s hard to beat the real thing!
I just sent a link to his recipe to my mom–she’s OBSESSED with Thai red curry and will be so excited to have a recipe. Thank you!
Awesome! I hope she loves this one!
We make red curry a lot in my house! I’ve never added soy sauce to it before! Sounds great :)
I actually came to your website to write down the recipe again for your green curry! It’s one of my favorite dishes! However, I saw this on the front page of your website and know I have to try it! :) Thanks Kate.
Woohoo, hope you love this one just as much!
Looks delicious. I love curries!
Full-fat coconut milk is the best, isn’t it? :) Thanks for this — excited to try it soon! I feel like curries in restaurants are often heavier on the rice/sauce and lighter on the veggies than I would like, so making curry at home seem like a much better option.
Sounds like we share the same curry preferences. :) Hope you love this one!
This looks incredible!!! So rich and full of flavour! I love a good curry.
This popped up on my FB feed as I was contemplating what I could scrounge up for dinner. It was so quick to prepare-I got it all prepped before my 16 month old could have a meltdown and it was so delicious! Perfect for a cool, fall night with the balance of the sweet coconut milk and the spice. Love these delicious restaurant like dishes that are healthy and easy to make! Thanks so much!
Yay, thanks Meagan! :)
Looks so yummy! I usually use lime as the “sour” in my Thai curries. I think I’ll try out your version next time with the vinegar to change it up a little.
Lime sounds like a great idea to me! I’ll try that next time.
YES, dinner for breakfast is the best sign that it was a winner! Love how colourful it is, and so easy to throw together too – and coconut milk is such a good match for spicy curry paste <3
I was so excited by this recipe that we made it last night for dinner — it did not disappoint! The curry was absolutely delicious and I’m already anticipating a fight over the leftovers. Another winner, Kate! (Not that I am surprised — I’ve loved every recipe I’ve made from your site.)
Hooray! Delighted to hear it, Alexa. :)
I’m pretty sure that coconut-curry is my favorite combo of flavors!!! Beautiful dish!! Can’t wait to make this!!
Oh yum! This looks like the most perfect dinner for a cool Fall night.
There’s something so beautiful about Thai Red Curry, you just wanna dive right in! I’m also trying to imagine how epic your breakfast was, turning leftovers into something even more incredible
Oh my… where was this recipe over the weekend?! I attempted to make a red curry with veggies and pumpkin following a Williams Sonoma recipe last Saturday, and it was inedible! I can’t wait to try this :)
Uh oh! Hope you love this one, Sara!
I looove Thai curry! It’s one of my favourites and I always order it if it’s on a menu. Homemade is just as good, luckily – those store-bought curry pastes are SO good!
I love a good curry, can’t wait to try this out – it looks amazing! :)
After making this I am back to review. So goooooooood! Definitely restaurant good. Thanks Kate.
Yay! Thank you, Mariah!
Hi Kate, approx how many cups does one bell pepper yield when sliced? I am wondering whether our bell peppers here are the same size as yours.
Hi Sylvia! About one cup.
Thank you Kate!
This was so incredibly good, especially with the last of our kale from the garden, which I otherwise never would have thought to use in a curry. Topped with tofu cubes pan fried in coconut oi. My only regret is that there aren’t more leftovers! So so good!
Hooray! Thank you, Paula!
What other vegetables can be used in this curry, Kate?
Sliced mushrooms, diced butternut or sweet potato (which will require a longer cooking time), sliced zucchini/yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower… the sky’s the limit! :)
Thanks Kate. Now that I’ve read your reply, I’m smacking myself in the head for not having thought of such obvious options myself! Thanks again.
You’re welcome!
I know this is an old post but I love Thai curries with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and even book chop. Just a few suggestions
I actually made this last night! One tweak I made was to add fresh lemongrass and I added some kabocha squash. It got super creamy with the coconut milk and the curry paste. So delicious!
Yay, thanks Sarah! Your version sounds epic!
I’ve never thought to make thai curry, and now I’m wondering what’s wrong with me. This looks divine.
Wow! This looks amazing! I can see myself eating a bowl of this very soon especially with the cool weather arriving. My kinda comfort food!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
I am so excited to make this, as your green curry with spring veg is one of my favourite recipes EVER – I made it so many times this past spring and would eat it every day happily. So glad to have an “autumn” version!
Oh yay!!! Hope you love this one just as much, Kate!
What a gorgeous dish, love all the color. I always want to make Thai curry at home then shy away. Love your recipe!
Thanks, Aggie! Hope you give this one a try. So nice to meet you at Chopped Con, finally!
I made this for dinner last night. Used a red and a yellow pepper to add more color. Had leftover chicken thighs in the fridge & added them towards the end for the meat lovers in the house.
This dish was a huge hit for supper. Everyone gave it thumbs up and wants it again next week…
Thank you, John! Happy to hear it!
Yummy! I made it for dinner – and it was perfect food for stormy and cool evening. I put a little less curry paste, so that it wouldn’t be too hot for my 8-year old. It was so good that I almost over ate – I just couldn’t stop .
So glad you enjoyed this one, Eija!
So yummy. I Everything I have made from your site is delicious. Thank you for sharing.
B
Hooray! Thank you, Beth.
I just made this tonight – but haven’t dug in yet because it’s for dinner tomorrow. What torture! It looks and smells beautiful. I threw in a few extra things I had around: potatoes, fish sauce and oyster sauce instead of soy, and a stick of lemongrass. Looking forward to tomorrow!
You are better at delayed gratification than I am! Hope you loved your dinner.
This is wonderful! My kids ate kale! My whole family went to bed with full bellies. Thank you.
Success!!! Thanks, Amy!
Wow, the colours on this are amazing!
Made this for dinner tonight — so delicious! I added in lentils for extra protein, which worked nicely. I know I’ll be making this again (and again)!
Thanks, Lauren!
A great Halloween dinner. I love dishes where you can just keep adding vegetables and it only gets better. May add some chickpeas next time, or small broccoli florets. The sauce would make any vegetable taste good. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe!
Thank you very much, Vivian!
Thanks for this fabulous recipe! Made it today and cleaned out fridge and added portobello mushrooms and summer squash and I served it with quinoa and topped with pepitas:)
Thanks, Abby! So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi- Just wanted to say I’m new to your blog and loving it. Made this curry last night it was amazing. Can’t wait to make it again.
Kelly, thank you for saying hello! So glad you enjoyed this one!
Thank you Cookie and Kate!
OK, so this recipe is beautiful and extremely delicious. That’s a given.
Even better, it helped me physically feel better!
I have some genetics issues with methylation and detox and histamine, and all the lovely anti-inflammatory ingredients helped me in a dramatic way. I had been carrying a lot of extra water weight (I’m normally not thin or fat), had low energy, stiff joints, increasingly bad vision and neuropathy (non-diabetic) in both hand and one foot. I do eat a healthy home-made organic diet and I’m not sedentary so I should not be experiencing all these problems.
I made this for dinner last night. I woke up with energy, better vision, reduced neuropathy and I lost 2 pounds overnight!
I had been trying Paleo even though I don’t like meat for many reasons but that wasn’t helping and I didn’t even enjoy what I was making.
Thank you Cookie and Kate! Awesome recipe!
Please keep the gluten-free anti-inflammatory recipes coming.
Bernadette
Hi Bernadette, I’m happy and amazed, really, to hear that this dish helped you feel so much better! Thank you for letting me know. I have a lot of veggie-packed gluten-free recipes here, and some more Thai recipes here (I just glanced at them and I think they’re all gluten free, too!).
This dish was delicious!!! I have been craving Thai food, and after making this dish, my craving was satisfied. The kids loved it too!! I always enjoy making your dishes. Can’t wait till 2017 for the cookbook!!
Thank you, Reese! So glad it did the trick for you. Can’t wait to share my cookbook recipes with you!
Another delicious success! I am a plant-based athlete and always appreciate and devour your healthy and hearty recipes, Kate!
Thank you, Sophia! Glad my recipes are keeping you fueled up!
This is so, so, SO good! Even my meat-loving boyfriend loves it :) In fact, this was the first vegetarian recipe to make him say “oh my god, this is amazing”, instead of “it’s okay, but I can’t say it’s GOOD, since it’s vegetarian” ;)
Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Success!!! Thanks, Candy!
Hi Kate,
I’m a long time reader, and must say this recipe is so AWESOME I was finally compelled to comment. Your recipes are always just what I am looking for, and this one is perfect. Seriously. Good job! I’m about to make this for maybe the 4th time…
Thank you for saying hello, Elizabeth! Really glad to hear you’re loving this curry so much.
This was really yummy. I changed it up a it (no kale, extra bell peppers, I forgot vinegar). It is a keeper! I added a few dried pepper flakes — I think next time, I will add more. Thanks!
Thank you, Laurie!
Pretty funny. I made it again tonight and as I was following the recipe, I realized that the first time I made it, I didn’t read far enough in the recipe and missed the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. What a goofball!
We sure like this recipe. I think it would be good with some strips of leftover chicken or steak.
Oh well, glad it turned out well anyway! :)