This vegan Thai red curry is rich and creamy and perfectly spiced. Perfect for a fancy dinner or an easy weeknight meal. Ready in 30 minutes and better than takeout!
A good vegan Thai red curry is one of our all-time favorite things to eat. You just never get tired of it.
One of the reasons is that you can make it quite differently every time.
The sauce and flavorings are quite standard (coconut milk or coconut cream base, red curry paste and spices) but the veggies you put with it can be different every time. Or the same, cos you just like it so much with exactly those veggies.
It’s a versatile gourmet meal. It’s ideal for a fancy dinner party and a regular Tuesday night dinner. It’s quick, easy and the pay-off is big.
And if you love Thai food as much as we do then also check out our vegan pad thai.
How To Make Vegan Thai Red Curry
Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos so you have a visual reference.
- Heat sesame oil in a pot and add garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Cook for a couple of minutes to toast the spices.
- Add coconut milk and cook until the coconut milk is simmering and well blended with the spices.
- Add in chopped vegetables: sliced large brown mushrooms, broccoli florets, baby corn, sliced red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and carrot. Add lime leaves and lemongrass.
- Bring back to a simmer and cook until veggies are soft but firm.
- Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, coconut sugar, chilies and fresh basil and stir in. Cook until the basil is just wilted and then remove from heat.
- You can remove the lime leaves and lemongrass before serving (though it’s not essential to do this).
- Your vegan Thai red curry is ready to serve.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Thai Red Curry Paste: Check the ingredients to ensure vegan friendliness. This is a mild curry, if you prefer your curries more on the spicy side then feel free to increase the amount of red curry paste used.
Coconut Milk: This must be canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk. This ensures the most delicious restaurant-style version of this curry. However, of course if you want to lighten it up, you can also use light coconut milk, but make sure it is canned and unsweetened.
The Veggies: The veggies you use are very flexible and you can adjust this according to what you have on hand. Other veggie options that will also work great here are snow peas, sugar snap peas, regular peas, cauliflower, other mushrooms, zucchini, cabbage etc.
Soy sauce: We use a little soy sauce in this curry so if you want it to be gluten-free then use tamari instead or make sure you’re using a gluten-free soy sauce. Otherwise everything else in this recipe is naturally gluten-free.
Coconut Sugar: This is in a small quantity and works wonderfully to balance the flavors. It does not result in a sweet curry at all! However, you can omit it if you prefer, or you can switch for a different sugar like brown sugar.
Basil Leaves: I love the addition of the fresh basil for this curry, but baby spinach or kale would also work great!
Serving Suggestions
Serve with basmati rice and fresh basil leaves with lemon wedges on the side for a wonderfully gourmet meal.
Of course any rice will do and if you want to serve it with some cauliflower rice that would be great too.
Storing and Freezing
Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 4-5 days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop.
It also freezes well so if you want to freeze it you can go ahead. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as usual.
More Vegan Thai Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Thai Red Curry
Ingredients
For the Thai Red Curry:
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Minced Ginger
- 2 Tablespoons Red Curry Paste
- 28 ounces Canned Coconut Milk (800ml) Full Fat, Unsweetened
- 1 cup Large Brown Mushrooms (70g) Sliced
- 1 cup Broccoli Florets (80g)
- 1 cup Baby Corn (100g) Sliced
- 1 cup Red Bell Pepper (100g) Sliced
- 1 cup Yellow Bell Pepper (100g) Sliced
- 1 cup Carrot (70g) Sliced into matchsticks, about 1 large carrot
- 4 Lime Leaves
- 2 Stalks Lemongrass 3 inches each, lightly crushed with a knife
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar
- 2 Red Chilies Seeds removed, sliced
- 1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves
For Serving:
- Basmati Rice
- Fresh Lime Wedges
- Fresh Basil
Instructions
- Heat the sesame oil in a pot and add the crushed garlic, minced ginger and red curry paste. Cook for a couple of minutes to toast the spices.
- Add the coconut milk and cook until the coconut milk is simmering and well blended with the spices.
- Add in the mushrooms, broccoli florets, baby corn, sliced red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and carrot. Add the lime leaves and lemongrass and bring it back to a simmer. Cook until the veggies are soft but firm.
- Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, coconut sugar, chilies and fresh basil and stir in.
- Cook until the basil is just wilted and then remove from heat.
- Remove the lime leaves and lemongrass before serving (optional).
- Serve with basmati rice, fresh basil leaves and lime wedges.
Notes
- Red curry paste. Check the ingredients of the red curry paste to ensure vegan friendliness as not all brands are vegan.
- Spice level. This is a mild curry so if you prefer your curries more on the spicy side then feel free to increase the amount of red curry paste used.
- Coconut milk. The coconut milk must be canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk. This ensures the most delicious restaurant-style version of this curry. If you want to lighten it up, then you can also use light coconut milk, but make sure it is canned and unsweetened.
- Coconut sugar. Works wonderfully to balance the flavors. It does not cause the end result to be sweet at all. However, you can omit it if you prefer, or you can switch it for a different sugar like brown sugar.
- Gluten free. If you want this to be gluten-free then use tamari instead of soy sauce or make sure you’re using a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Storing: Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 4-5 days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Freezing: It also freezes well so if you want to freeze it you can go ahead. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as usual.
- Nutritional information is for the curry only and does not include rice.
Hi Alison,
I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s been fantastic both times, thanks for the great recipe.
I’ve been vegan over thirty five years and all my kids are life vegans so I am a pretty experienced vegan cook and I like to try out new ideas and your recipes are really lovely 😍
Happy to hear you and your family enjoy the recipes Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!
Love this recipe! I throw in whatever veges I have in the fridge and some vegan chicken pieces. Super easy and delicious 😋
That’s great Alison! Thanks so much for your great review!
Absolutely amazing! Much better than from the local Thai restaurant. 5 stars 🌟 🤩 🌟 🤩
Awesome! Thanks so much! 🙂
I want to make this recipe but have no idea where to find lime leaves. Would lime juice work as a substitute?
Hi Janine! Yes, you can use a tablespoon of fresh lime juice instead. 🙂
This was very delicious! To my surprise I was able to find lemongrass, which I never used before at Whole Foods where I am as well as the red curry paste, but alas, no lime leaves. Other than that I made the recipe exactly as written but using baby kale instead of the basil because I had some already. I served it with Jasmine rice and will definitely make this again. My family loved it! I am a cat mom as well, and have 9 rescues. I have made a few of your recipes since finding your site and all have been yummy!
Thanks Rana, so happy you enjoyed it! And that’s awesome about your rescue cats! We have 4 now and they are such a joy. 🙂
So yummy and easy to make ! I made it simple by using red and yellow bell peppers, spinach and curry tofu, and without lime leaves, lemongrass, basil and chilies.
Thanks for sharing Itzel!
I just made this with broccoli instead of mushrooms and it turned out great! I will definitely be making this again.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing Lauren! 🙂
I made this with different veggies, potatoes, cabbage and edamame as this is what we had in the house and it was great. So flavourful. Next time will try the original recipe 🙂
I have previously eaten a lot of thai curries in the omnivore form but never vegan. It’s great. Textures and tastes go very well together. My 10 year old loved it too. Very inexpensive which is a bonus.
Fantastic Yvette! Thanks for posting! 🙂
This is so good!
Love making this recipe. It’s a favourite in our household now.
Thank you for sharing it with us!
That’s wonderful to hear! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂