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This vegan coconut curry is a quick and affordable way to enjoy your favorite takeout flavors at home. I love how you can make it with just a few ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
Vegan Curry with Coconut Milk
The key to the creaminess in this recipe is using coconut milk as the base. I use full-fat canned coconut milk to make it as creamy as possible, but you could use pretty much any type of coconut milk that you like. (Just keep in mind that “light” coconut milk simply has water added to it to reduce the fat– which makes me feel like I’m not getting my money’s worth!)
How to Make Vegan Coconut Curry
Making your own vegan coconut curry at home is as simple as stirring together some coconut milk, spices, and vegetables. You can make it heartier by adding some lentils, like in my Lentil & Sweet Potato Curry recipe, but the recipe below is entirely vegetable based.
I love serving it over cooked quinoa as a complete source of protein for the meal, but you can serve it over white or brown rice, too.
When I’m in a hurry, I’ll use a bag of frozen vegetables instead of chopping fresh ones (frozen tend to cook faster, too!). This recipe is easily adaptable, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 4 teaspoons curry powder (or more, to taste)
- 1 14 oz. can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon tamari , or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or more, to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 sweet potato , chopped
- 1 pound assorted vegetables , chopped
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat, and sauté the onions until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and stir for one more minute.
- Add in the coconut milk, curry powder, tamari, maple syrup and salt and whisk well to combine. (Since curry powders can vary by brand, feel free to start with only 3 teaspoons and add more to your taste.)
- Taste the sauce and adjust any other flavors as needed (keep in mind that the addition of veggies will dilute the saltiness), then bring the sauce to a simmer and add in the chopped sweet potatoes. Cover the pan, and allow the sweet potatoes to steam in the sauce for 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and add the rest of the vegetables, since non-starchy vegetables will cook faster than the sweet potatoes. Stir the vegetables to coat them in the sauce, then cover the pot again. Lower the heat and cook until the sweet potatoes and vegetables are fork-tender, about 8 to 10 more minutes.
- Serve the vegetables and curry sauce over cooked rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice. Leftover curry can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Per serving (not including rice): Calories: 280, Fat: 3g, Carbohydrates: 56, Fiber: 12g, Protein: 10g
Recipe Notes:
- For the vegetables in the photos here, I used a red and yellow bell pepper, plus two large handfuls of chopped kale. I also love this dish with cauliflower florets, or a pound of frozen assorted vegetables.
- I call for curry powder in this recipe because it’s a dry pantry staple that I always have on hand, but you can use curry paste if you would prefer a little more depth of flavor. (It’s usually sold near soy sauce at your grocery store.)
- I use tamari to keep this recipe gluten-free, but you can use soy sauce if you don’t need to be gluten free. For a soy-free recipe, try coconut aminos instead, and add a little extra salt, if needed.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of take-out food? Thai food had been ours up until recently, but now we hardly have the need for it!
I made this for dinner last night. It was so easy and so so so tasty!!! My husband and I slurped it up. The leftovers tasted even better the next day (aka my lunch today).
My husband & I both thought this was delicious! Per your suggestions for additional vegetables I used bell pepper and 2 handfuls of greens (swiss chard fresh from our garden), also broccoli and mushrooms. Thanks for a great quick easy dinner recipe. I can always count on your recipes to be delicious!
I’ve made this recipe countless times, we love it! Tonight I even threw it all in the crock pot and it worked great! I also sub a few russet potatoes for the sweet potato because my husband doesn’t like sweet potatoes. I love this recipe! Thank you!
I’m obsessed with this curry recipe. I’ve made it so many times now. I tend to double the sauce portion and add two blocks of baked cubed tofu to add some protein. The flavor varies a lot based on the curry powder. Super mild, super comforting. Amazing!
Delicious and easy recipe to make!
What a winner! For veggies we did broccoli, carrots and peppers. I added a can of chickpeas to beef it up, just in case anyone is curious, haha. But so delicious and so fast! Most of the time when I find curry recipes it calls for the paste, so I was happy to see just the powder on this one since I didn’t have any of the paste laying around. Seriously so much flavor, will be in the weekly rotation for sure! Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Craveable curry! I use the Balti curry as recommended for the chicken curry stew (most amazing). Cauliflower, red peppers and spinach added near the end were excellent. Used broccoli once but should have added it later as it was too mushy. Can this be done in an instant pot?
Just meal prepped for the week and made this…and ended up eating a bowl at 9:30 p.m. when it was done. So yummy! I added okra, red pepper, broccoli and cauliflower. Looking forward to eating it all week!
I have made this curry at least a dozen times. It’s an easy way to use up veggies! Though I love it (and most of your other recipes too) I’ve always wished the sauce was just a touch thicker. My last batch I added a little bit of creamy peanut butter. So good! Thank you for all the wonderful and simple to follow healthy recipes!
This is my favorite coconut curry recipe!! So yummy! I love to use it as a base and experiment with different vegetables, I also like adding chickpeas for some protein.