This vegan sweet potato curry is the ultimate comfort food. It’s hearty and satisfying and just insanely good. It’s also really easy to make.
This vegan sweet potato curry has got us pretty excited around these parts. The past week we’ve been testing it and then shooting it so we’ve been eating a lot of curry. And it’s been totally divine!
To say it’s delicious would be a serious understatement. It’s the kind of meal where you just can’t stop exclaiming about how good it is to everyone around you!
And it’s this delicious with remarkably little effort. In fact I’d say it’s downright easy to make this meal.
And if you love hearty and delicious curries, then you’ll also love our vegan massaman curry.
How To Make Vegan Sweet Potato Curry
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add olive oil to a pot along with chopped onion, crushed garlic, minced ginger, red curry paste, cayenne pepper, paprika and turmeric and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add peeled and chopped sweet potatoes and canned lentils and toss to mix in with the spices.
- Add chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Cover the pot and let it simmer until the sweet potatoes are fork tender (around 10-12 minutes).
- Add peanut butter and stir in until melted.
- Add fresh basil and stir in until wilted.
- Add coconut sugar for flavor balance and salt and pepper to taste.
- Your sweet potato curry is ready to serve.
Ingredient Notes
- Red curry paste – if you want your curry to be spicier then feel free to use more red curry paste. As it is this curry is very mild.
- Canned lentils – we used canned lentils in this recipe. If you don’t want to use canned lentils then the amount to use would be 1 and ½ cups of cooked lentils.
- Coconut milk – should be canned, full fat and unsweetened. You could use coconut cream if you wanted to make it even richer, or a light coconut milk if you wanted to make it lighter.
- Peanut butter – may seem a bit unusual, but trust me, it is SO delicious in this recipe! Of course you can omit it though if you prefer.
- Fresh basil – adds a dash of color as well as lovely fresh flavor.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the curry topped with fresh basil and crushed peanuts. It’s great either on its own or over basmati rice, or if you’d like it a little lighter, then serve it over cauliflower rice.
Storing Instructions
Leftovers keep wonderfully well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
More Vegan Curry Recipes
- Vegan Massaman Curry
- Vegan Green Curry
- Vegan Potato Curry
- Vegan Coconut Curry
- Vegan Pumpkin Curry
- Butternut Squash Curry Bowls
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Sweet Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Minced Ginger
- 1 Tablespoon Red Curry Paste
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 4 Large Sweet Potatoes (2.6 pounds / 1200g) Peeled and Chopped
- 15 ounce Can Lentils (1 can) Drained, or 1 and ½ cups Cooked Lentils
- 14 ounces Canned Chopped Tomato (400g)
- ½ cup Vegetable Stock (120ml)
- 14 ounces Canned Coconut Milk (400ml) Full Fat, Unsweetened
- ¼ cup Peanut Butter (63g)
- 2 cups Fresh Basil (40g)
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Sugar or Light Brown Sugar
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper To Taste
For Serving:
- Basmati Rice
- Fresh Basil
- Crushed Peanuts
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a pot along with the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, red curry paste, cayenne pepper, paprika and turmeric and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add in the chopped sweet potatoes and lentils and toss to mix in with the spices.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Cover the pot and let it simmer until the sweet potatoes are fork tender (around 10-12 minutes).
- Add in the peanut butter and stir in until melted.
- Add in the fresh basil and stir in until wilted.
- Add the coconut sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve over basmati rice and top with crushed peanuts and fresh basil.
Video
Notes
- Red curry paste – use more red curry paste if you want a spicier curry.
- Canned lentils – we used canned lentils in this recipe. If you don’t want to use canned lentils then the amount to use would be 1 and ½ cups of cooked lentils.
- Coconut milk – should be canned, full fat and unsweetened. You could use coconut cream if you wanted to make it even richer, or a light coconut milk if you wanted to make it lighter.
- Peanut butter – may seem a bit unusual, but trust me, it is SO delicious in this recipe! Of course you can omit it though if you prefer.
- Storing: Leftovers keep wonderfully well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
- Nutrition information is for curry only excludes rice.
Can’t wait to make this. Do you drain the chopped can tomatoes before adding?
Hi! No don’t drain anything, just use the whole can. 🙂
I just made this for dinner and it was delicious! I started with dry lentils and added extra vegetable broth to compensate. I also left out the basil because I didn’t have any, but it turned out fine without it. This will definitely be a repeat, and I’m looking forward to freezing the leftovers for busy nights.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the great review. xo
delicious!
Is this spicy? If so, could I use another curry paste instead and it still work & be vegan? (New Vegan). Ps. Fiance and I don’t do spicy but I love sweet potatoes.
Hi Savanah, you could leave out the curry paste altogether and this would still be awesome! Or you could use a mild curry powder just to have a hint of spiciness. We definitely lean more towards the mild side of spicy with our recipes so I think you would enjoy it as it is even though you don’t like spicy foods. Some curry pastes are vegan and some are not, so just check the ingredients list. 🙂
I absolutely love sweet potato curries, they are my go-to in the winter months. I’ve never added peanut butter to mine, so I am excited to try this!
Great! Hope you enjoy it Maggie! 🙂
Could I just use basil seasoning or fresh baby spinach? I was unable to get fresh basil. Or should I skip altogether? Thanks
Hi Michelle, baby spinach would be totally fine! You could also just skip it altogether, it’s not a crucial element to the recipe. All the best! 🙂
Easy to make…absolutely delicious!
Awesome! Thanks so much Donna. 🙂
Very nice, pretty easy to make! I’d recommend!
Thanks Tamia! 🙂
Awesome recipe. I am not even vegan but my husband is and I loved it and we will be making this regularly. The addition of peanut butter is very clever. I even added an aubergine to it and garnished with lime and served with brown rice.
So glad you enjoyed it Arti! Added aubergine sounds great! Thanks so much for sharing and the great review. 🙂
Delicious hearty meal. We all loved it! Thank you for posting it.
Wonderful! Thanks Melanie. 🙂
Very tasty!! Glad we have leftovers! Another one for the binder! Thanks
Yes! Leftovers are very welcome with this dish! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for posting! 🙂
So tasty, thanks for posting!
Awesome! Thanks Angela! 🙂
This recipe looks delicious! I can’t eat peanuts so what is your opinion of using almond butter instead?
Almond butter would be great. 🙂
Thank you for such a quick response Allison!
Looks fab..What lentils did u use?
Hi Shoma, just regular canned brown lentils.
A hearty, tasty winter meal