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.
No self-respecting Thai would put kale in a curry!
The Thai Red Curry is amazing and bursting with flavor! I doubled the recipe and I added cauliflower, broccoli, purple sweet potato, string beans and mushrooms it was delish and a crowd pleaser with guests going back for seconds. Definitely a keeper
So Delicious! My husband and I are new to Thai cuisine, and plant based eating. We love this recipe.
My daughter turned vegan ( not like zombie, brain not allowed ). Anyways, was looking for cooing ideas and came across this. Comming from a meatatarian ( me ) this is good ( love food with flavor ), followed the recipe to a T and it was great. Maing it again tonight ( one week later )
Just seen my spelling mistakes….. Sorry not too keen on typing and glasses not on. The only excuse I have and am sticking with it.
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD! I substituted bok choy instead of kale and doubled the quantity of sauce (my husband likes it saucy). We also used rice noodles instead of rice! Thank you for such a great recipe!
I am making this as we speak and can’t wait to try it! I am curious, why do you add the rice vinegar and soy sauce after you take it off the heat? Do you have to wait?
It’s generally best to add those ingredients after the dish is done cooking. Heat can compromise their flavor.
Great recipe; only suggestion I would make (having followed the recipe exactly) is not to add any water (the 3/4 cup bit) as it needlessly watered down the sauce. Unless your coconut milk is extremely dry I can’t see why you would ever need to do add additional water, especially as the dish is not simmered for that long. Otherwise really good and (with this adjustment) will definitely make again.
I am just wondering if adding chickpeas to the recipe would be too much? I wanted to add more protein. I am attempting to make this today, it looks delicious. After reading the comments, I am excited for dinner this evening ;)
I think that’s a good idea!
I’ve made this recipe three times already. It is excellent! I add cooked chicken, and follow the rest of the recipe as is.
This recipe is fantastic!! I’ve eaten curry dishes at many great Thai restaurants. This dish rivaled those and was much easier and cheaper than going out.
Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
For those of you who are not vegetarian, or occasionally eat fish, I added filleting scraps from rainbow trout to the curry when the liquid portion is added, and it worked incredibly well. Thanks for the great recipe!
So good! Tastes like my favorite Thai restaurant. Now I can try something different on their menu!
Loved this recipe. Perfect!
Just made this dish. It was wonderful, however I would have liked a little more curry flavor. Should I add more curry paste next time?
My girlfriend and I, have made this curry twice now and onto my third go of it, but am now tripling the recipe to serve it too my whole family 12+ of us.
Can’t wait to see their faces when they try it for the first time.
Thanks heaps this curry has made our day, we LOVE Thai food.
What an array of FOOD???
Just LOVELY!
Thanks! Just made this curry for a coeliac friend and she loved it. Great to find a recipe that suited all of our dietary needs: gluten-free, vegan, and nut free. Plus this is easy to make and really tastey. Lovely meal for a very cold evening in Melbourne – and yes it does get cold in Australia!
This a wonderful recipe. I added chicken by cooking it first in coconut oil then taking it out and adding back in later in the final moments.
I’ve now made this recipe more than 5 times. Its so flexible. Tonight I made it with beet greens.
Delicious and amazing every time.
Best curry I have ever had!
Can you please tell me, which is the best already make Thai red curry brand, to buy
Thank you
Wow, thank you for this amazing recipe! My only complaint is that I didn’t double the quantity so I could have leftovers all week!
We were looking for a recipe because we were trying to duplicate the delicious red curry we’d experience in Thai restaurants.
We had fun following your recipe and the result blew our socks off!
Today will be the fourth time of cooking this dish:)
Thank you!
Made this for lunch today! Used bokchoy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and added some fresh chili. Absolutely delicious! Will be making this again next week. Thanks for sharing!
I had never made a Curry before, so I needed a lot of ingredients. But it turned out wonderfully, and now it’s a staple in our kitchen! Sometimes we’ll add chicken to satisfy the husband’s need for meat, but he’s always game for it! Thank you very much for the recipe.
Decided to give your recipe a whirl and I’m excited about the new addition of kale to my usual recipe for this favorite asian dish in my household! Lived over in Korea for awhile and have also visited Bangkok a few times, so this is a must-have dish in my home :)
Thanks for sharing!
the sauce as listed is absolutely amazing. Great for both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes, I have yet to try a protein or vegetable that doesn’t go with this!
I made this recipe today for my husband, two grown children and myself. My son and I were extremely pleased with the results but my husband and daughter found it a little hot for their tastes. I made it almost exactly as written, just adding a few extra vegetables to suit what I had on hand (2 each red & green peppers, 4 carrots). In order to compensate for the extra, I made Basmati rice using 1.5 cups uncooked. The kids were late arriving, but the food was excellent even at room temperature. Really loved it – looking forward to making your Thai Green Curry in the spring!
This was superb thanks! Made a few alterations to suit us. Dropped the kale, added broccoli and mushrooms, coconut cream instead of milk (150ml), cider vinegar as we didn’t have rice, added some lemon and 3 Thai chillies (a must for us as we love our spice). Also just had it between the two of us in one sitting cos we’re greedy :) Thanks!!
5 stars ;)
I’ve made this curry a few times now and it really is the best red curry I’ve ever made! It’s a real fridge cleaner; I put any veg in my fridge straight into the pot and it always comes out delicious. This one really is a keeper!
This was delicious! I made this for my boyfriend and I last night. It might have been my curry paste, but it was far too spicy for him, but perfect for me. (Although I am a self declared spice queen – I always order extra hot). The veggies I had were potatoes, broccoli, capsicum and tofu.
This sauce recipe is definitely going on the winter dinner rotation.
Amazing curry– I’m never going to pay $14 for a serving at a restaurant again!! Absolutely delicious, even my picky family loved it! The only thing I changed was a full tbs of soya sauce and half a tbs more of red curry paste.
Only bad thing is it was so good there were no leftovers haha :)
This seems delicious. Can I cook my mushrooms separately and get rid of the water so that my curry is not watery?
I made this as the first attempt ever at Thai.I have to say I was quite proud of myself. IT was amazing!!! I added Chicken and Broccoli. This will be a on the menu rotation at my house for years to come.
This dish is delicious! The flavours are amazing! I love Thai food and this is definitely a keeper!
I absolutely love this recipe, it’s become a staple in my kitchen. At the moment I’m staying on the countryside in Norway at my family’s farm, and I really crave this dish after weeks of fish and potatoes. I even have home grown kale! But in the stores here it’s impossible to get thai curry paste, as well as fresh cilantro.
I bought a can of sambal oelek, so tomorrow I’m gonna try to recreate this recipe without the curry paste – very dangerous, I know. Was thinking to add ground cumin, cilantro seeds and curry powder, and to use fresh basil-mint as a substitute for the fresh cilantro. Do you have any other tips as to making this dish in the countryside – or what feels like a depleted food-desert?
Thanks for this fantastic blog!
5/5, would recommend :D I added a lot more spice than the recipe calls for, but that’s just me. Also recommend topping with some fresh sliced lime in addition to the cilantro.
My husband and I just finished this dish for dinner and thought it was delicious! I used the peppers, carrots, and added mushrooms. I also added baked tofu. This will definitely be added to our dinner rotation.
I made this tonight and was delicious! Used your crispy baked tofu recipe to make tofu as well–my first time making tofu and it turned out super crispy and delicious. I added bean sprouts to my veg and it is amazing. A little spicy but so good!
This was absolutely delicious! So impressed with this recipe. Found it via Google, great job!
I’ve made this twice already and I totally love it! I’ve never had Thai curry before (I’m more of a Pad Thai fan) but I think I’ve found a new favourite dish! Thanks Kate
Wow! This was OUTSTANDING! We are Thai “snobs” as we have an excellent family-run Thai restaurant close-by. This is so, so good! I made your perfect oven baked tofu and put that on top too. I’m writing this one into my recipe book. I’m not sure we’ll be frequenting the Thai restaurant as often now :)
My husband and I just sat to eat this and my oh my delicious!! Thank you for creating this dish! In restaurants I always order yellow curry or make my own yellow curry because I don’t like the red. When I was cruising for a curry dish I saw yours. It took about an hour and a half looking at your recipe, pondering if I wanted to make it. I would leave it, come back…the picture was super pretty and the kale kept speaking to me so I gave in. I even made the paste instead of buying it…very proud of myself ❤️. I still won’t order red in a restaurant but I will be making your dish again and again…
Will this taste ok if we use light cocunut milk, thats all i have in my cabinet right now
I just made this for the second time in a few weeks. This time, though, I made it in the crockpot. I added 4 large chicken breasts and a diced sweet potato to the recipe. I cooked it on low for 8 hours in the crockpot. Perfection!
I love this recipe! It is one of my favorites. I am making it for a big group of people and kids this weekend and wanted to make it less spicy. Any adaptations that could cool it down?
Thanks, Kelley! Maybe use half as much ginger, maybe half as much curry paste? It’ll have less flavor that way. And/or, you could load up on sweet veggies like carrots and bell peppers.
This was absolutely devine! I made my own paste with a cowhorn pepper from the garden, only thing I didn’t have was the lemongrass which I’m sure would’ve added a nice flavor but it was great anyway. I had a zucchini and broccoli as my veggies and I didn’t add the sugar. Will totally make this again and again!
Oops, *divine!
Thank you, Bernadette! I bet your fresh-from-the-garden version was extra delicious.
Stumbled on your blog looking for vegetarian meal inspiration and this looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
have tryed fried pineaple rice…this red curry and your luvley lentil soup….glad i stumbled across your website magic food…im from new zealand…
Literally the best Thai red curry recipe ever. Even better than what I’ve eaten at restaurants!