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.
Wow! That was really, really good. I was exhausted when I got home, but I was making dinner. While I was cooking, I was thinking my heart isn’t into this. And then I had my first bite. Sooooo good and healthy. Thank you! Loved mine with LOTS of basil and a little salt when plating.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Erika!
Hi! Is the 340 calories with the rice included ? If so, how much rice per serving? Looks awesome ! Going to make this on Sunday.
Hi Michelle! Yes, rice is included. It would estimate roughly 1.5-2 cups
I have never left a recipe review before but I have to as this recipe is FANTASTIC!! I just made it for dinner tonight and my husband, who hates even the smell of curry, LOVED it! I did double up on the amount of vegetables also adding mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower, in addition to the ones called for. I used shoyu as I didn’t have tamari, and I used lime juice in place of the vinegar. My husband couldn’t believe it was curryI’m happy cause now I have something we both love! Thank you… I’m excited to try another recipe as we’re new to the vegan world and want to make sure we have a great variety not just salad.
Great recipe, and you popped up at the top of my search. Just what I was looking for…I’ve cooked for years and love curries here in Seattle. But today we’re in between rainstorms and I’m in the mood for great tastes sans dead animals.
I’ll make enough to have for breakfast tamari ;)
Great dish! Didn’t quite stretch to four portions though! Otherwise great flavors, very healthy, very photogenic and so easy to make. Thank you!
Kate! This recipe was incredible. Both my kids not only ate and devoured the dish but said it should go in a regular rotation of dishes I can confidently make and know the entire family will enjoy. I added two cans of chickpeas and think next time I’ll do tofu. Thx for the idea and for those of you with kids (mine are 9&6), I didn’t add any extra spices. The red curry paste/ginger was enough. Looking forward to trying more of your gorgeous recipes. Thx again.
Hello! I have made this recipe a few times over the past couple years. Last night’s version was exceptional. The only modifications I made to the recipe were to add 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes while sauteeing the pepper and a couple extra splashes of the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Oh, and I added a couple handfuls of zucchini because it was on hand. I generally don’t eat seconds when cooking dinner but had a pretty big second helping of this curry:) Wholeheartedly recommend this recipe!!
Thanks for sharing your changes, Robyn! I’m happy you are still enjoying this recipe.
Thank you! That sounds great! I will do the same.
Made this last night and it was honestly the best curry dish I’ve ever had! So flavorful and simple to make! This will be something I make often. Thank you for the amazing recipe, Kate!!
This was really good! Also quick question: is this recipe freezable?
Hi Becca! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Yes, this recipe (like all stew-y dishes) will freeze well.
Wonderful recipe!Made it last night and it came out so good.I have tried several red Thai curry recipes in the past and this is by far the best. Thank you Kate!
Just thought I’d let you know that this dish quickly became a staple in our house! We absolutely love it. It was actually my daughters first “real” meal at 6.5 months old and is still her favourite a year later !
Looks great, will try this tonight. But, one question: You said BOIL the rice for 30 min.? Isn’t rice just supposed to simmer once the water is brought to a boil? Won’t the rice come out too mushy?
Thanks,
Linda
Hey Linda, as long as you’re using brown rice (not white rice or a quick-cooking variety), the rice will turn out perfectly as written. You can read more about my brown rice cooking method here.
I thought it was a good recipe, although l didn’t have Thai red curry paste (dried spice only) or the rice vinegar. My son (an adult – meat eater) thought it was great. I am trying to eat and move toward a vegetarian way. Thank you for your good details and tips. I always want to read tips for short cuts or more flavor.
I used green string beans bc I had a lot and frozen baby kale bc again, what we have, yum I can’t imagine using olive oil in a Thai dish, we had coconut oil, but if I didn’t I’d probably just use vegetable oil, just saying. Thanks the recipe was better than my takeaway place.
I made this three times and it was SO delicious. Being vegetarian and married to a carnivore can be difficult when it comes to dinner and meals in general (I am the cook). I thought googling a recipe that both of us could enjoy would be hard but I then stumbled onto your page and I AM IN LOVE. I added this to my favorites and bookmarked it onto my computer so I can try all the other recipes. I think I am going to make the pinto pozole or the tacos tonight!
Is this best made right before eating or maybe also tasty if made the night before?
Hi Amanda! This curry falls under the “stew” category and, like other stews, should taste even better the next day!
Thank you for this nut-free recipe!! Have been wanting to move my family to plant-based meals but with severe nut & shellfish allergies in my house, it’s a real challenge to make delectable meals that won’t send someone to the hospital! I can’t wait to try this!!!
SO GOOD! I usually add a little extra red curry paste along with some broccoli, zucchini, and tofu.
This was delicious! I love curry and the combination was so flavorful. The only thing I did different was substituted vegetable stock for the water.
I just grabbed all leftover veggies in the refrigerator, some frozen green beans, substituted creamy plain oat milk for coconut (I believe coconut milk is an essence of this dish but my husband prefers less fat) and it is still amazing. Love all the veggies in it and aromatics. Added it to our list of quick, easy weeknight meals!
I just grabbed all leftover veggies in the refrigerator, some frozen green beans, substituted creamy plain oat milk for coconut (I believe coconut milk is an essence of this dish but my husband prefers less fat) and it is still amazing. Love all the veggies in it and aromatics. Added it to our list of quick, easy weeknight meals!
This is unreal! Absolutely delicious!
Our first time having Thai and homemade at that. I would rate it higher, if I could. Sensational recipe!
can you freeze this?
Yes, it should freeze very well!
Hey there. I noticed the response to a question on Feb 10 says that this recipe wouldn’t freeze well. Do you mind clarifying please?
Hi Elisabeth, I’m sorry for the confusion. You could consider this recipe a dairy-free stew, and recipes of that nature tend to freeze well. While I have not tried myself, I think this is a safe bet for freezer storage.
Delicious! The recipe was simple to follow and quick to pull together. I used baby bok choy instead of kale, but followed the rest of the recipe.
My only recommendation is adding 2-3 habaneros if you like a spicier red curry. As is, the recipe is good but the extra peppers really helped
Omg!!! Amazing!!! I used eggplant, zucchini, onion, butternut squash, yellow peppers and spinach!!! I’ve sent this to all my friends this morning. Seriously delicious and easy way to clear out the veggie drawer! I used frozen cubed squash and spinach super easy!!!
I made this recipe and it came out great! I feel like it needed just a little bit more of a kick….how would you make this with a little spice? Sautée in some Serrano or jalapeño? Or add cayenne pepper? Not sure what would go best in terms of the flavor for this dish. Would appreciate any recommendations!
Hey Rose! Truly, any of those ideas would be great (or even red pepper flakes). If you can find Thai birds-eye peppers, those would be most authentic (they are really spicy).
Really good recipe. Easy to make and really tasty.
I replaced kale with green beans (because we don’t have kale here), reduced rice vinegar to just 1 tbs (I’m not a fan of vinegar…) and added a little bit of sweet corn water (we just had an open can and I thought it might go well, maybe slightly enhance sweetness?) and it turned out delicious. My husband who’s not vegetarian also loved it. I’m looking forward to trying your other recipes.
Absolutely AMAZING! We just made this for the first time and it did not disappoint. I love the ease of the recipe and the ability to “make it your own” by varying the veggies you add. I added mushrooms and baked tofu and it was incredible-better than takeout! Can’t wait to make this again!
Love this recipe – I have made it many times with a variety of veggies. Have also added cooked chicken breasts on occasion. Always delicious
This recipe was SO good, I’m very happy to have found it. Thank you! Very flavorful and “meaty” with the vegetable choices. Only recommendation is to add a pinch of cayenne for flavor, it was a game changer.
Absolutely perfect. I used sweet potatoes and chick peas instead of carrot. I would also try cauliflower.
I’ve made it once so far, about to make it a second time. I accidentally bought red paste sauce, so I need to add a lot more than the recipe asks for, but that was my own mistake. I found the carrots to be slightly crunchier than I would like, so I think I’ll try to blanch them beforehand. I’m planing on adding both beansprouts and a jalapeno this time.
Incredibly delicious and easy to make! So flavorful! I used spinach instead of kale and it worked out fine.
Can I make this with curry powder instead of paste ?
Hi Anna! Curry powder is Indian, whereas this curry paste is Thai—so it will change the flavor profile, for sure. You might also need less curry powder than paste.
This Thai red curry recipe turned out just wonderful, super easy to make and so very yummy. It will now become a regular in my house
This recipe is so delicious. This will be my third time making it! I also add some baked tofu for extra protein and this has become a family favorite!
Can you substitute red curry powder instead of the paste?
Hey Val, is the red curry powder of a Thai variety? If it’s an Indian curry powder, it will taste quite a bit different from a Thai curry—though it would probably still be quite tasty. Also, depending on the spice level of the powder, you may want to use less (or more) of it.
I have made this dish 3 times already n it’s always delicious! I add in sautéed mushrooms n broccoli n throw in chopped spinach at the end. I also use sesame oil in place of coconut oil. Even my husband who hates anything coconut or curry loves it! It’s a keeper!
I have been making this curry (and variations of this curry) for a while now and it always tastes amazing. Simple, versatile, creamy. Vegan, too. It’s amazing and full proof.
Love it! Thank you for your review, Sophia.
I’m going to make it and I was wondering if I could use froze kale instead of fresh?
Hi Sonia! I haven’t tried it, but I guess you could. Might not need to cook as long and likely train any water that may appear from thawing the kale.
My husband loves curry but I never was a fan because I didn’t like coconut milk that much. Anyway, I had bought Target brand CM for another recipe and loved the milder taste and thought to give this recipe a try. So glad I did – hubby and I totally loved it. We added garbanzo beans for some extra protein, and he added Sriracha for extra heat as suggested. We bookmarked the recipe as keeper and can’t wait to make it for our next family gathering! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!!
Kate, I adore this recipe! I make it all the time. I don’t have a cast iron pan and usually cook it in a nonstick. I’m trying to stop using my nonstick pans and found in a regular skillet that the ginger had a tendency to stick to the pan (and I was worried about burning everything). What do you recommend? Thank you!
Hi Emily! Try to keep your pan seasoned well and not too hot. I hope this helps!
Hi! I tried your recipe with modifications on the veggies I used. And I also made the curry paste from the recipe you suggested. Both were a success. Not sure how Thai they tasted, but definitely met my idea of Thai food.
Thank you!
Hi Kate! Greetings from Indonesia! I’m Andrew, a Brit living in Jakarta, and I just made this Thai red curry for the first time, following your recipe exactly.
It was absolutely delicious — thank you! My wife loved it too, and she’s Indonesian and a lover of Thai food like me!
Keep up the great work! We love your recipes and use them often over here in Jakarta!
I’m happy yo hear that, Andrew! Thanks for sharing you and your wife’s experience.
Yummyyyyy. Made this tonight and it was fantastic. We had cauliflower on hand and my family is full of carnivores, so we added chicken too, and let me tell you, it was a crowd pleaser. Next time, I think I’ll add some cayenne or chili garlic sauce in with the curry paste, because I love spicy, but all in all it was delicious.
Thank you for sharing, Chloe!
This is a delicious! I only had 1 yellow pepper so I used some leftover roasted broccoli and cauliflower in place of the 2nd pepper called for in the recipe. I decreased the amount of brown sugar to 1tsp. Using coconut oil to sauté adds such a nice richness. At the end, I didn’t add the extra salt and decided to use 1 1/2 teaspoons of fish sauce. It’s tastes good without it and I know it isn’t vegan, but it really adds an authentic taste. I may add chick peas to the leftovers or maybe some shrimp to bump up the protein.
The can if curry i bought says to use the entire can, not 2TBLSP. with the 400ML can of coconut milk – do you think it would just add more richness?
Hi Presley! I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand your question. How much curry is in the can or jar you bought?
Made this today! With your baked tofu recipe- perfect comfort meal. Used cauliflower, carrots and kale. Added a little more garlic and ginger and some red pepper flakes and it was perfect. Lots of cilantro, some crushed peanuts on top. Will make again.
Fridge savior recipe! I subbed broccoli (including most of the stem), spinach, a wilted green pepper, and tofu (I cubed and sauteed it in the pan first,) for some of the veggies. It was delicious! Thank you so much for posting this!
So glad to hear it! Thank you, Karen!
This was one of my all time favorite recipes!! Never made curry before. I used yellow pepper, asparagus, snap peas and carrots ♡♡ I’m 75 and I’ve made a couple of meals over the years. This was definitely one of the best! Judy
Amazing, first try at making a thai vegetable curry and followed your recipe. It was magnificent!!
My dear vegan daughter sent me your fantastic recipe! I agree with her-it’s the BEST recipe ever!!! I followed directions as posted.using fresh Spinach. I also added a bit more garlic and as suggested, a bit more soy Tamari sauce. The flavor was amazing. Thank you so much! You’ve added to our lives, such pleasure!!!!
This was amazing! My boyfriend likes chicken in his curry, so I added cooked chicken before i added the curry paste! He says its up there with what he’s had at restaurants if not better! I always wanted to like curry, but I found out I don’t like basil! So when i saw this recipe didn’t have it, I was super excited, and it is really our FAVORITE meal! We crave it all the time haha! Thank you for sharing this recipe! It tastes authentic!