Vegan Thai Red Curry Recipe

Published: Feb 24, 2020 · Modified: Dec 11, 2023 by Dara · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · Leave a Comment

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Add some kick to your meatless meals with this delicious and veggie-packed Vegan Thai Red Curry! It uses ingredients found in most grocery stores & it's a breeze to make. 189 calories and 6 Weight Watchers SmartPoints

My boys are suckers for any sort of Thai-inspired food and this Vegan Thai Red Curry recipe got rave reviews from all of them! Other favorites are Thai Noodle Soup,Thai Chicken Naan Pizza and Thai Cucumber Salad.

While I chose to include cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, red bell pepper and bamboo shoots, this recipe is certainly versatile enough to accept other combinations of vegetables, such as mushrooms, eggplant, kale and spinach.

If you would like to increase the protein grams, feel free to add some firm tofu. Edamame or chickpeas are also options, though neither of those are traditional Thai ingredients.

Serve this curry with some regular Jasmine rice or brown Jasmine rice, or cauliflower rice for a lower carb version.

WHAT YOU NEED FOR THIS VEGAN THAI RED CURRY RECIPE:

These are the main components need for this recipe (affiliate links included)…

Curry paste: I typically use the Thai Kitchen red curry paste (vegan) because it is available at my local grocery store, but this one (not vegan) is also really good. See more discussion and tips on curry pastes below.
Coconut milk: To lighten things up, I used light coconut milk. This one is widely available at grocery stores and online.
Broth: Use vegetable broth to keep things meatless.
Cauliflower: Cut cauliflower into small florets, removing any green leaves or browned sections.
Bamboo shoots: Sliced bamboo shoots are found in the international aisle of most supermarkets. Drain before adding to the curry.
Other vegetables: Zucchini, red bell pepper and carrots round out the veggies.
Aromatics: Sautéed onion, carrots, ginger and garlic add extra flavor to the base of this curry.
Herbs: Stir in minced cilantro and thinly sliced basil just before serving. If you can find Thai basil, opt for that, but regular basil works well, too.
Lime juice: Squeeze half a lime into the curry for added brightness.

Can Thai curry paste be frozen?

If you don't make curry or Thai coconut soup often, freeze the extra curry paste in small batches for up to 3 months and defrost as needed. There are a couple of ways to do this.

For the first method, dollop the curry paste in one or two tablespoon portions onto a baking sheet line with wax paper or parchment paper. Pop it into the freezer. Once the curry paste portions are frozen, peel them off of the paper and store in a resealable freezer bag.

In the second method, the curry paste can be portioned into an ice cube tray. Freeze and store in the tray or pop out the curry paste and store the portions in a resealable freezer bag. One word of warning - the curry paste will likely stain the ice cube tray.

Is Thai curry paste vegetarian?

That depends. Some Thai curry pastes contain shrimp paste and others don't contain any animal products. My best advice is to read the labels. Both Thai Kitchen and Taste of Thai (affiliate links) make vegan curry pastes (again, always check the labels).

Tips for making this Vegan Thai Red Curry:

After sautéing the onions and carrots, push the vegetables to the perimeter of the skillet. This will give you some room to melt the second portion of coconut oil and to start cooking the curry paste, ginger and garlic directly in the oil before combining them with the onions and carrots.

The cauliflower and bell pepper simmers in the coconut milk and vegetable broth for about 7 or 8 minutes before adding the zucchini and bamboo shoots. The cauliflower should still be tender crisp when those vegetables are added so that it doesn't overcook.

Cook the zucchini until it is just cooked through. It will continue to cook in the hot liquid once the heat is turned off and you do not want overcooked zucchini as its texture becomes less appealing the more that it cooks.

A squeeze of lime juice, and a dose of minced cilantro and sliced basil add a wonderful freshness and brightness to the final product. Don't skip these ingredients!

Other vegan dinner recipes:

Vegan Lentil Chili Recipe {Cookin' Canuck}
{Cookin' Canuck}
Eggplant Stew Recipe {Healthier Steps}
Vegan Chicken Meatless Tacos {Vegan in the Freezer}

Printable Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Ingredients

4 teaspoons coconut oil divided
½ yellow onion chopped
1 carrot (large) cut into thin half-circles
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (see Note below)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 ½ cups small cauliflower florets
1 red bell pepper cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 (14 oz) can lite coconut milk
⅔ cup vegetable broth
1 cup chopped zucchini (quartered & cut into ½-inch thick pieces)
4 ounces canned bamboo shoots drained
Juice of ½ lime
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
4 basil leaves (Thai basil if available), thinly sliced

Instructions

Melt 2 teaspoons coconut oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick or ceramic, set over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and carrot. Saute, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
Push the onions and carrots to the perimeter of the skillet and melt the remaining 2 teaspoons coconut oil in the middle of the skillet. Add the curry paste, garlic and ginger to the oil. Saute, stirring the mixture with the onions and carrots for about 3 minutes.
Stir in the cauliflower florets, red bell pepper, coconut milk and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a lively simmer. Partially cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is almost tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the zucchini and bamboo shoots. Simmer until the zucchini is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Take care not to overcook the zucchini.
Stir in the lime juice, cilantro and basil. Serve with jasmine rice.

Notes

Note: Some Thai red curry pastes contain shrimp paste, which is not vegetarian, so be sure to read the ingredients list. The curry pastes from Thai Kitchen or Taste of Thai do NOT contain shrimp paste. If you are not concerned about the shrimp paste, the red curry paste by XX is also very good.

Weight Watchers Points: 6 (Blue - Freestyle), 6 (Green), 6 (Purple)

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?If you make this recipe, I'd love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I'll be sure to find it.

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.