Vegan Thai Red Curry

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!