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.
This was excellent. I added snow peas and baked crispy tofu, but I made the remainder of the recipe as you wrote it. I’ll be making this again for company next weekend.
Just made it, great recipe! Thank you!
this recipe sounds amazing and I love all the recipes I’ve tried from your site. Is there a way to make it without the red curry paste? I can’t handle spicy food and when I’ve cooked with that paste in the past it has been too spicy for me and my kids.
Hi Z, I find that brands do vary on how spicy they are and you can decrease how much you use. I do recommend using some otherwise it will be lacking in flavor.
This curry was so cozy and warming! Really hits the spot of what I needed! I can’t tell you how GOOD this was and I definitely recommend this delicious curry recipe!
Ditto!
This was so easy, and delicious! I didn’t use carrots, but other than that I made it exactly as you wrote it. Will definitely keep this in my dinner rotation!
That’s great to hear, TP!
Very tasty! I made the recipe as written, with the exception of a change to the red curry amount. I used the Thai Kitchen brand red curry, and used the entire 4 oz jar. For me, the curry flavors were too weak and the heat too mild if only 2 tablespoons were used.
Great to hear, PGN! Thank you for your review.
The curry ended up really watery and bland.. had to add loads of seasoning and spice
I’m sorry to hear that, Gavin. Which curry brand did you use?
Will these be good slow cooked?
Hi Kate,
Thank you for this recipe, I’m made it at least 20 times and it never gets old and never disappoints!!
Also love your Thai Spiced Rice Bowls recipe – the broth is so moreish :)
It was so good and I am making this this weekend for my whole family!I loved the great taste and it was so flavorful and wanted more of it but it was gone before I could go for a second dish. Thank you for this and I am sure that I will be making more of it and with different kinds of fresh veggies from my garden will be great as well.
This is on weekly rotation at my house. So easy and delicious! I buy frozen Asian vegetables from Costco along with microwaveable brown rice and the meal comes together in no time and is far more affordable and healthier than takeout.
Great to hear, Ann! Thank you for your review.
So good! I make this all the time.
Question: can I sub the kale for bok choy?
Sure, if you prefer. Let me know what you think!
Question, Can you make this recipe a day ahead?
Sure! I prefer to store the curry and rice separately.
I made this recipe as is. Wish I had skipped the water. The sauce isn’t as thick or rich as I’d like. May also add more paste next time to enhance the flavor.
Excellent!
Adding a couple spoons of fish sauce, half a spoon of miso paste, and a pinch of cinnamon took it from delicious to wow :)
I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before but this was so tasty and nourishing I have to! Absolutely delicious and so easy to prepare!
Can I use spinach instead of kale?
Sure, I know others have and didn’t mind the results.
Can I use another type f spinach instead f kale?
Sure, if you prefer. Thank you for your review!
could you sub low fat coconut milk too? Also, great recipe!!!
You could try it. I prefer this best as written.
I added chick peas and peas for added protein and I may have used a little more curry paste that 2 Tbsp but my husband and I loved it!
Thank you for sharing, Liz!
I love this recipe and I add fresh ahi or mahi-mahi. I’m thinking about adding fresh corn from the cob next time. So good! Thank you!
Recipe is perfect! There’s one doubt – if using button mushrooms, when do I add them to the recipe since they need to cook for a while and release a lot of water?
Yes, mushrooms need to be cooked down. Let me know what you think!
Easy recipe and very tasty too
I swapped the veg for courgette, sweet potato and green beens. Par boiled to speed up the process.
Amazing! Even the kids and the (only vegan) father in law!
Will be doing this again.
I made this for dinner, my husband and I agree, it was absolutely fantastic! Definitely will be making this again.
Great to hear, Linda!
This recipe was very easy and flavorful. I don’t like a lot of spice and it had just the right amount using yellow curry paste. I did not see any notes regarding storing leftovers and I live alone. Can it be frozen and if not, how long will it keep stored in the refrigerator? Thank you’
This is best for roughly 4 days, but as always use your best judgement.
Made this tonight not even realizing it was vegan – it was amazing!! I just added some chicken. As good as you’d get in a restaurant!
Really loved it!
Great to hear, Katie! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate, I have been following you for a few years now and I can say hands down that your recipes never disappoint. Last night I made your Thai red curry with vegetables for my husband and I and it was amazing. My husband is a really incredible chef and loves Thai food so for him to say that this was a keeper means a lot. I used carrots, red peppers and butternut squash from our garden and spinach (also from the garden) instead of kale as I had it on hand. It was amazing. I also saw your Swiss chard recipe and it is exactly as my husband prepares it and we just love it. It’s just as easy if not easier to grow than Kale in our garden here on the west coast. Anyhow, just saying hi and thank you for all your amazing recipes. Michela
This is an AMAZING recipe! Ive made it over 10 times and its a family fav!
That’s great to hear, Jade.
Easy to make and delicious.
This was incredible! In the UK, I made sure to use 2 pots of Blue Dragon Red Thai Curry paste as that’s vegan.
I also added some chopped pineapple and grapes to it which adds a wonderful tangy sweetness.
Thank you! I served it with cauliflower rice and it made me several more portions that I ate throughout the week.
Sadly extremely bland
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe, Jake. I recommend adding more curry paste or you can try a different curry paste brand.
Hi, Can I freeze this dish? It looks incredible!
so, for some god forsaken reason none of the stores by me had red thai paste. they all had green, which is a different flavor profile but worked really well nonetheless!
also, since i like things really spicy, i added like 10 dried up peppers.
all things considered, really easy recipe. one thing i might do is get more coconut milk and make coconut jasmine rice to go with this instead cause i really like coconut.
fairly easy recipe, friends and roommates were pleased.
I made the curry following the recipe almost exactly. The only thing I changed is that I used less curry paste (1 tablespoon). I used lime juice and soy sauce as the options. It came out amazing. Everyone loved it.
One of my favorite no stress meals. I’ve made it several times for company. I can make it ahead, it’s always a big hit and they usually ask me to share the recipe!
This was the most delicious curry recipe I have ever had! It will definitely be in our weekly rotation now. It was so easy to make and so delicious. We made it on Christmas Eve and everyone loved it! Thank you, Kate, for all of your delicious recipes! This is the first time I have commented but I have always enjoyed making your recipes ever since my best friend gave me your cookbook:)
I’m assuming with the carb count being that high it is including the rice. It’s too bad. I’d love the info for the curry since I won’t be eating it with rice. Any recipe could just say ‘serve over rice, if desired.’ So many people are following low carb or keto diets these days. It seems a shame to have them pass on a recipe just because rice was unnecessarily included in the nutrition. I would eat this with fried cabbage or cauliflower rice or plain.
Just wanted to say I’ve been making this recipe for years and it is a family favorite! My young kids actually ate it last night, which is the highest praise I can give.
My family said this is in their top three favorite things I’ve ever made, and I have to agree! It has the most wonderful flavor! I bought your cookbook many years ago and have bought it as gifts and share mine with friends, I tell them you don’t have to be a vegetarian, you can add whatever protein you want to any of Kate’s dishes, she is just the most amazing cook I’ve ever found! It’s my go to for every meal, appetizer or snack!
Hi,love your recipes,soups are great,
Thankyou
I will keep on trying,
I don’t add to much spice ingredients,
Awesome recipe, so full of flavor! Thank you cookie and Kate!
Wowowow! This was absolutely delicious and so easy to put together with staples we always have in our kitchen. Another fabulous Cookie and Kate recipe!
I made this recipe yesterday and it was to die for. My very picky son had a third helping. It was a huge hit.
I used veggie stock in place of water and topped with roasted cashews. Delicious! I love all the recipes of yours that I have tried. Thank you!
Pretty easy to make and was greatly enjoyed by my partner who doesn’t mind spicy food. I, however, underestimated the spice level and overestimate my tolerance. That’s on me though, not the recipe :)
I have already made this recipe twice. Love it! Also love it’s made in one pot. Great flavors and easy!!
This is absolutely DELICIOUS! I added some baby bella mushrooms, otherwise followed the recipe as written. It’s going to be saved in my top-rated file!
I made this super yummy red curry recipe, added several veggies in addition to recipe (celery, mushrooms, broccoli, jalapeño) and grilled chicken. I omitted rice vinegar and soy sauce. The flavor was amazing and I’ll be making again in the future!
Awesome curry and my go to for weeknight dinners. Add a table spoon of miso at the same time as the curry paste, makes the umami flavor pop!
Outstanding recipe- thank you! We used Mekhala red curry paste brand which added great complexity and spice.
We hope that you will develop a yellow curry recipe soon:)