This restaurant-quality vegan Thai green curry packs bold flavors and a super creamy and perfectly spiced coconut sauce. It’s a dish that takes about 25 minutes from start to finish to prepare, and that will surely excite your tastebuds!
⭐️ Why You Should Try This Recipe
- Irresistibly tasty. The sauce of this green curry is full of aromatics, and packs plenty of fresh herbs, a hint of spiciness, and a silky smooth texture. It’s rich and absolutely addicting!
- Quick and simple. All it takes is 25 minutes and 10 ingredients! Plus, it’s super easy to make. I have no doubt this curry will quickly take its place in your weeknight dinner rotation.
- Restaurant-quality. This vegan green curry doesn’t just match the ones you can get at Thai restaurants. It exceeds it. After trying many Thai curries from restaurants around, I can safely say that this one takes the first place. Curries at the restaurant can be too watery and/or too spicy. This curry is beyond delicious and perfectly balanced. I highly recommend giving it a try!
📘 What is Green Curry
Green curry (แกงเขียวหวาน) is one of the most popular curries in Thai cuisine. It is prepared with green curry paste, coconut milk, and different add-ins that can be vegetables, meat, fish, or plant-based proteins.
🥦 Ingredient Notes
Here are the ingredients you will need to prepare this curry:
- Green curry paste – Green curry paste is an aromatic paste that is prepared by blending together chilis, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, garlic, and other ingredients. You can find it in most Asian supermarkets or online, just make sure it is vegan and doesn’t contain any shrimp or animal products.
- Coconut milk – Preferably full-fat coconut milk for a rich mouthfeel.
- Fresh herbs – To add freshness and vibrant green color to the curry sauce. I only had Thai basil on hand, but usually, I use half cilantro and half Thai basil. The flavor is amazing both ways, so use whatever you have on hand. A quick tip: add 3-4 leaves of fresh mint as well for another layer of flavor!
- Sugar – To balance saltiness and spiciness, it also helps round up the flavors.
- Soy sauce – Or vegan fish sauce. It brings saltiness and umami.
- Vegetables – When it comes to vegetables, you can use what you have on hand. This recipe is versatile, so it’s a great way to use those leftover veggies that are waiting in your refrigerator. I went with eggplant, carrots, mushrooms, and snow peas, but you could use zucchini, bell peppers, or even broccoli.
🥣 How to Make Vegan Thai Green Curry
Here is the process of making vegan green curry:
- Cook the green curry paste with the coconut milk. Add about 1 cup of the coconut milk to a pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, stir in the green curry paste and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Blend the rest of the coconut milk with the herbs. Add the remaining coconut milk to a blender as well as the fresh cilantro and Thai basil. Blend until smooth.
- Combine. Pour the herby coconut milk into the pot, and add the chopped vegetables and seasonings.
- Let simmer. Finally, let the curry simmer uncovered for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Before serving, top with fresh cilantro and basil, add a squeeze of lime, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes for a nice kick of heat!
🍚 What To Serve With This Curry
You can serve this curry with Jasmine rice, fresh homemade noodles, or crusty bread like banh mi bread! While it’s definitely not the usual way to eat Thai curry, I also love to serve it with Naan bread!
❄️ Freezing
Once cooked and cooled down, you can transfer the curry to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating over medium heat.
📔 Tips
- Use quality full-fat coconut milk. Not all brands of coconut milk are equal, as some are more watery than others. I personally like the Aroy-D brand, but feel free to use your favorite brand. Note: I do not recommend using cans of coconut cream to make this curry, as it would result in a too-rich and oily curry.
- Make sure your green curry paste is vegan. Check the ingredients of green curry pastes, as some may contain shrimp paste.
- Cook the curry paste in the coconut milk. If you sauté the curry paste in oil, the oil will then separate and float on top of the coconut milk, which is not what you want.
- Adjust the spiciness level. Depending on your spiciness tolerance and the type of green curry paste used, you might have to adjust the seasonings to your liking. I recommend starting with 2 tablespoons of green curry paste and garnishing with chopped chili or chili flakes at the end of cooking if it’s not spicy enough for you.
- Add your protein of choice. If you want to make this curry more hearty, you can add fried tofu, vegan chicken, or seitan!
- Do not overcook. Simmering this curry for 10 minutes is usually more than enough to cook the vegetables, assuming you didn’t cut them into very large chunks. Do not overcook, and regularly check the doneness of the veggies with a knife or a fork. It should be fork-tender but not mushy.
- To add a citrusy flavor: Add 2-3 Kaffir lime leaves near the end of cooking.
💬 FAQ
Is this recipe authentic?
While there is not one authentic green curry recipe, this recipe is based on many Thai recipes. Blending fresh herbs into the coconut milk is rarely done, but I believe it yields more complex flavors that make the sauce even more addictive.
What is hotter, green or red curry?
Generally, green curry is hotter than red curry, although it can differ depending on the region and the cook.
What makes green curry green?
In this recipe, the color comes mostly from the fresh herbs blended with the coconut milk.
How long does this curry keep?
You can keep this curry in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
This vegan green curry is simply mind-blowing! It has a fantastic balance of salty, sweet, and spicy flavors, a rich and creamy mouthfeel, and packs enough sauce to allow the rice to soak it up!
🇹🇭 More Thai-Inspired Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Easy Vegan Thai Green Curry
This restaurant-quality vegan Thai green curry packs bold flavors and a super creamy and perfectly spiced coconut sauce. It's a dish that takes about 25 minutes from start to finish to prepare, and that will surely excite your tastebuds!
Ingredients
- 2 13.5 cans full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp green curry paste
- 1/3 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup packed fresh Thai basil
- 2-3 mint leaves optional
- 2 tbsp sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tsp vegan fish sauce or soy sauce
- 1/2 medium eggplant cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 carrots peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces and halved
- 5-6 snow peas
- 4-5 cremini mushrooms quartered
For serving
- lime juice
- fresh Thai basil and/or cilantro
- Jasmine rice or noodles
Instructions
- Fry the curry paste. Add about 1 cup of the coconut milk to a large pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, stir in the green curry paste and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Blend the herbs. Add the remaining coconut milk, fresh cilantro, Thai basil, and mint leaves, if using, to a blender. Blend for 15-30 seconds or until smooth.
- Combine. Pour the herby coconut milk into the pot. Season with sugar and vegan fish sauce. Add the chopped vegetables.
- Let simmer. Bring the curry to a boil over medium heat and let it simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Note: do not overcook, as you want the veggies to remain just slightly firm.
- Taste and adjust the sweetness and saltiness to your liking.
- Serve. Finally, divide the curry between serving bowls, garnish with fresh cilantro and/or Thai basil, and add a squeeze of lime. Serve with Jasmine rice, noodles, or baguette!
Notes
- Use quality full-fat coconut milk. Not all brands of coconut milk are equal, as some are more watery than others. I personally like the Aroy-D brand, but feel free to use your favorite brand. Note: I do not recommend using cans of coconut cream to make this curry, as it would result in a too-rich and oily curry.
- Make sure your green curry paste is vegan. Check the ingredients of green curry pastes, as some may contain shrimp paste.
- Adjust the spiciness level. Depending on your spiciness tolerance and the type of green curry paste used, you might have to adjust the seasonings to your liking. I recommend starting with 2 tablespoons of green curry paste and garnishing with chopped chili or chili flakes at the end of cooking if it’s not spicy enough for you.
- Add your protein of choice. If you want to make this curry more hearty, you can add fried tofu, vegan chicken, or seitan!
- Do not overcook. Simmering this curry for 10 minutes is usually more than enough to cook the vegetables, assuming you didn’t cut them into very large chunks. Do not overcook, and regularly check the doneness of the veggies with a knife or a fork. It should be fork-tender but not mushy.
- To add a citrusy flavor: Add 2-3 Kaffir lime leaves near the end of cooking.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 362 kcal | Carbohydrates: 43.7 g | Protein: 6.8 g | Fat: 19 g | Fiber: 6.6 g | Sugar: 9 g
Did you make this recipe? Tag @fullofplants on Instagram and hashtag it #fullofplants
Your food always looks so fresh and delicious. I have been craving green curry, so I’ll be making this over the weekend! Thank you!!
Stopping by to say good morning and happy Saturday 🙂
Hi Thomas, I fell on your blog by pure coincidence! Am happy that I landed here, your recipes and photos are just mouth watering. I pinned most of your posts and sure will be coming back. I will try some of your recipes too….great work
Thanks so much for your kinds words 🙂
Let me know if you try some recipes!
Hello
I like a thicker sauce as appose to a watery one. Is this sauce thick enough to coat the veggies instead of being a thin broth type sauce??
Hello Debra,
Yes this curry is quite thick! 🙂
do you have recipe for red, indeed green, cyrry paste
the commercial jars often hace non vegan things in them 🙁
otherwise
the sweet black sesame soup was delicious
Sorry I don’t have a recipe for green curry paste yet. Check the Aroy-D brand, they have vegan curry pastes.
Yay! I have been waiting for this…perhaps a homemade curry paste as well in the future 😉
Amazing recipe. I always loved curry. Thank you for sharing!
You are welcome Emy!
Hello Thomas, I found the photos of this recipe tempting. That’s why I decided to give it a shot. After following your instructions, the curry was way so good. It tasted much better than I expected.
Thank you. One more excellent recipe!!!!!
Hi Marie,
I’m happy to hear you liked this curry! Thanks for your feedback 😉