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.
So delicious!! I made it tonight and everyone loved it. I’m already dreaming about tomorrow’s leftover lunch (maybe brunch) ;)
Thank you for the wonderful vegetarian friendly recipe!
My first vegan dish ever and what a good one it turned out to be. I messed up the rice by putting in too little water and had to substitute rice vinegar for Apple cider but it gets a 10/10 from me. I even feel like I’m more alert for some reason but that could just be from happiness this turned out so well! lol This leaves me very excited to continue on this path. Thanks for the recipe.
Thai red curry paste is not vegetarian as it contains fish stock
Hey Amber, I use Thai Kitchen brand and it does not contain any fish products.
Before you negatively review something, please do your research. There are at least two brands of red curry paste I know which contain no animal products whatsoever; not to mention you can make your own red curry paste at home. Do your research before commenting please.
Just made this for the second time. Absolutely delicious. Any vegetable will work with this. Very flavorful but not heavy. Thank you!
This was amazing! My boyfriend said “This is better than any takeout I have ever had”. And we live in NYC, the land of takeout everything!
I was looking for a Thai red curry recipe and it looks like I only need this one! Thank you – I made it with sweet potato, peppers, Tuscan kale, and mushrooms, and the flavors in your recipe were perfect.
This is my second recipe from you… the first being the Perfect Skinny Margarita (which we enjoyed all summer). This is an excellent dish and so healthy. Thank you!
This was so delicious! I love Thai food but can never make it as good as it tastes in restaurants, especially if I’m trying to keep it healthy. This was fantastic and totally satisfied my tastebuds! Thank you for the recipe :)
Oh, FYI I’ve also tried your skinny margarita recipe, and it was my favorite drink this summer! It’s also surprisingly good with bourbon :)
Thank you, Denise! So glad you loved this one, and the margarita, too. I’ll have to try your bourbon version, stat!
Hi Kate! This is the second recipe from you that I’ve tried. A few weekends ago, my boyfriend and I made your sweet potato chili recipe – delicious. Last night we made this one and wow, we were both head over heels for it! We went a dash or two heavier on the rice vinegar and soy sauce, and my bf added some cayenne and red pepper, but it was delicious. We can’t wait to try another one of your recipes this weekend. Thanks for sharing your meals with us!
Thank you, Logan! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes. Your version sounds awesome.
Fantastic base recipe to go off of!
I made the curry according to the recipe (omitting the kale) and then ended up fiddling with it until it was perfect. Another clove of garlic, a good bit more curry paste and plenty of salt took it to a different level. Oh, and an abundance of chili flakes and a bit of Sriracha
Thanks, Kate!
Cannot wait to try this tonight! I’ve been following your blog for a while now and heading into my second trimester of pregnancy, I’m finally feeling that I have a bit more energy and enough to start cooking again (my favorite past-time)! Your recipes inspire me and I can’t wait to try them! My husband and I are both vegetarians (and wannabe vegans but can’t quite snip the dairy habit) and my 14 month old is allergic to eggs and has a dairy intolerance. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for doing what you do. I now have recipes I can make my daughter with your provided vegan substitutions without worry. I can’t tell you how lovely that is. Bless you!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Jessy. They are much appreciated. I’m glad you are feeling up for cooking again! All my best to you and your growing family.
I threw in all the veggies from the back of the fridge and topped with cilantro and siracha. The sauce is GREAT. The regular coconut milk makes a huge difference.
Thank you, Jen!
Made it tonight as I bought coconut milk on a whim and Googled red curry paste and coconut milk to find a good recipe. It was so easy and delicious!! Added zucchini, mushrooms and chicken to make sure there was enough food for lunch tomorrow. Have never been this excited about lunch! Was well received by my partner as well who almost ate so much that there was no lunch. Will definitely be a dinner I’ll make again.
Thank you, Maria! I’m so glad you found my recipe and enjoyed it. :)
Yummy, I used veggies I had in the frige, steamed some potatoes and orange cauliflower, generous amount of celery, very smooth and satisfying. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks, Margie!
So yummy. I added eggplant (roasted in the oven first with olive oil and red pepper flake) and leeks…omitted the carrots. I will make this again and keep playing with the veggies I have on hand. Perfect! The lite cocount milk did just fine too.
That’s great. Thanks, Christie!
So delish! I’ve been searching for the perfect red curry recipe after several half-successes, and was slurping spoonful after spoonful out of the pan before even serving.
I added chicken and replaced the water with chicken broth and the kale with baby bok choy. Thanks for the amaze recipe! This one’s getting copied into my recipe box.
Great! I’m glad you enjoyed this one, Rachel!
Woah! I just did this curry and it was perfect <3 I'm definitely going to cook it again. :)
This recipe was awweeesome. The rice vinegar garnish was the perfect touch, and the red thai paste recipe was amazing.
The best curry ever!
Fabulous and so quick and easy to make.
I’m in LOVE, this was SO good! You’re my hero. I’ve had Thai curry with a couple tablespoons of pumpkin, might try a variation of this amazing dish this fall like that.
Loved this dish! Made it tonight with a few changes to veggies, used bok choy instead of kale (not a fan) and it turned out great. I also used cauliflower rice before I saw in the comments you recommended it and that worked out well for us. My first time cooking with red curry. Thanks!
Thank you, Maria! So glad you loved the curry. Your version sounds awesome.
i added eggplant, subtracted soy sauce and still the curry was amazing. thank you.
Thank you, Sonal!
This recipe looks delicious! My husband and I love curry/coconut milk dishes. I want to try making it with chicken too. Do you have any suggestions about which point I should add that? Maybe in Step 4 like you suggested with the tofu? And probably cook the chicken first?
Hi Larissa, I’m sorry, I’ve been a vegetarian for as long as I’ve been cooking, so I really can’t say. I think cooking it first would be a safer way to go about it, then you could add it near the end.
Okay no problem, thanks so much! :-)
Made this curry and it was absolutely fabulous! Didn’t have kale but used other veggie I had. It was so tasteful and absolutely delicious. Thank you!
Thank you, Jamila! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Kate,
yes I made this and my daughters are making it, too. It is delicious and a family fave. Thanks for the great recipes and keep on making that mess! Tastes great!
Kim
Thank you, Kim! Thank you for sharing this recipe with your family, too.
I made this tonight exactly as written, and it was a very satisfying meal. When I make this again (which I certainly will), I will probably add more of the curry paste, since both my husband and I found it to be a little on the bland side.
Thanks, Malorie! Different curry brands vary in flavor, so adding more to taste next time should do the trick. That, and/or adding a little extra salt.
i tried it and added tofu…i think i was expecting a little more in depth flavor- so i added a little more spices here and there…thinking it will be even better tomorrow! thank you for sharing :)
This was a good recipe — I browned chicken thighs in butter and added them in (diced) right before serving along with some almonds; it came out great. My only issue was that it was quite watery; in the future I will cut down the recipes 3/4c water to maybe 1/4c or less. Thanks!
Thank you, James! Cutting down on the water should do the trick.
This is a delicious recipe! I loved it and have a bunch in the freezer saved for later in the week (along with your spicy lentil soup, also beautiful!!!) The only problem I had is that my bell peppers were very soft and had lost their vivid color and crunch by the time the kale had cooked. Maybe the kale I have takes longer to cook. Could you stir-fry the bell peppers only very briefly and add the coconut milk and kale well before they soften so they retain some crunch? Or would you recommend cooking my kale separately and adding at the end once the peppers have reached their desired texture?
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes, so glad I found this site!
Hey Brian! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes. I bet you could add the bell peppers and kale at the same time. If the bell peppers are still overdone at that point, then I’d add them a few minutes after adding the kale.
You had me as soon as I read your note about having the leftovers for breakfast. That’s so me, too! My husband thinks I’m pretty strange when he sees me eating last night’s dinner at 10 am, but we loved this curry so much, perhaps he’ll understand this time.
I’ve made a lot of curries using prepared pastes, adding a bit of brown sugar, fish sauce, most often following the simple recipe on the label. Your recipe is a bit more involved, but I suspected adding fresh onion, garlic and ginger would take it to the next level, and I was right! Oh, and full-fat coconut milk too? You were right! What a difference from the Trader Joe’s light version I have been using for the past 10 years. Now that I know that coconut fat is a healthy fat, the splurge seemed not such a big deal. You must try kabocha squash in this recipe, aka Japanese Pumpkin. It’s rich and creamy and sweet and so yummy. I had a gorgeous red one from the farmer’s market and didn’t need to peel it. Stayed pretty true to your recipe, only I subbed chicken stock for the water, added a bit of fish sauce, and didn’t bother sauteing the peppers, just cooked all the vegetables in the curry liquid, adding them in order off what would need the longest time to cook — first squash, then peppers, next julienne-cut carrots, and finally ribbons of rainbow chard (had no kale) and half a can of garbanzo beans. Garnished with cilantro and Thai basil from my garden. While preparing the ingredients, my husband remarked on the wide range of bright, colorful veggies, and I replied that my hope was for this meal to be “where comfort food meets health food.” It really was just that, so filling, warming, absolutely delicious and satisfying. Thank you for this terrific recipe!
Stasia, thank you for your note! I appreciate it. So glad you enjoyed this one (full fat does help, doesn’t it?). I’ll try to cook some curry with kabocha soon. Sounds so good!
I tried your recipe and it is good. I was really expecting it was better than the local restaurant because that is you said – I’m afraid not, the local Thai place has a red curry and it is about twice as good. …wish you would not exaggerate cuz I took the time to make it expecting it to be fantastic and it’s just OK.
I’m sorry you didn’t absolutely love the curry, William.
Just because you made it and didn’t like it doesn’t mean others didn’t. Mabye the red curry paste you use is not great. In fact, I used the Thai Kitchen brand of red curry paste and it is way too mild for me so I switched to another brand (comes in individual portion cans, forget the brand but it’s vegetarian and sooo good). Also started making my own curry paste at home and it makes a good difference. You don’t have to like a recipe but don’t be rude just because it didn’t meet your criteria.
Made this Red Curry recipe and its amazing! My roommates love it!
Hooray! Thanks, Madison!
Delicious Thai recipe, thank you.
Thank you, Vish!
Just made this tonight for my family. They loved it! It wasn’t a perfect thing, and I think I need to prep a little bit sooner, but it was fantastic. Thank you!
It came out amazingly well! Thanks so much for the recipe
This was one of the easiest-to-follow Thai curry recipes I’ve found! I added a bit of fish sauce & thought it was a home run! :)
Thanks, Jessie-Leigh!
This recipe was pretty good, and it made quite a bit of leftovers, so I was able to freeze some and eat for a few lunches over some warm rice.
Tried this today with the veggies I had on hand. Carrots, mushrooms, onion, garlic. I used coconut aminos in lieu of soy sauce and added precooked grilled organic chicken strips. This was so good. So so good. Can’t wait to make it again. Thanks!
Sooooo probably a silly question to a lot of home cooks…..but which type of rice vinegar is considered “regular” rice vinegar—seasoned or unseasoned? This recipe just calls for rice vinegar, but I have both. Thanks!
I don’t normally go back to comment on recipes, but this is hands-down the best recipe I’ve come across all year. I’ve made it three times in the last two weeks and I’m still not sick of it. Awesome job!
Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out delicious!
Such a great recipe!! Just made it tonight and all my housemates loved it. I made it with broccoli and mushrooms as well. I also added a bit of curry power and cumin for a little more spice and flavor. I think the regular coconut milk truly makes the difference. Thank you!!
Made this recipe tonight for hubby and me. Turned out great! Sorry we ate it before I took a pix. Will make this again!
This looks amazing! I could eat red curry every day.
Made this for dinner tonight and cheated with a bag of frozen veggie medley that I added in for the last 5 minutes of cooking and it was awesome!! So easy and so delicious! Red curry is one of my favorite things to order out and this recipe is the closest I’ve come to that authentic Thai curry flavor. So yummy!
My first experience with curry and it turned out perfectly! I added broccoli and mushrooms and increased the sauce. Delicious! Thank you!
Hey Kate if I wanted to make this with chicken when would I add it ?
Alex, I made this last night with whole chicken thighs. I browned them first for about 5 minutes, transferred to a plate and then added them after the coconut milk, put a lid on and let everything simmer for about 15 minutes. The veggies will get a little softer because of the additional time but it made the chicken juicy so I don’t mind, if you do I would cut the thighs/breast into smaller pieces to reduce the simmer time :) really a great recipe with tons of options!
Amazing and so flavorful! I was making a red chicken curry but loved this recipe, so I added some browned chicken thighs after the coconut milk and let everything simmer for 10-15 minutes. It turned out great! I know this is a vegetarian recipe and I’m sure it is just as amazing without the meat, but my boyfriend likes the protein. I also used shallots, and lemon as the acid because I didn’t have rice vinegar – but I think you can experiment a lot with different veggies in this dish which I will. Thank you, excited to try more recipes from here! :)
Hi! I recently made this dish and it turned out amazing. I especially thought it went great paired with the Korean beef bowl dish from the damndelicious blog !
Yum!
Just made this! Husband goes “girrrrlll you can cook!!! I can’t stop eating!” Lol, I literally neve cook and tell him I can’t. Thanks for this and making my husband think I’m a kitchen goddess. Ha!