This Vegetable Korma recipe is rich and creamy with plenty of spices. Made with cashews and coconut milk and ready to enjoy in about 30 minutes. Dairy free and gluten free!
What is vegetable korma?
Korma is an Indian curry dish, usually mildly spiced with a rich, creamy sauce. It’s often made with yogurt, nuts, coconut, spices, chicken or vegetables and has become wildly popular around the world.
This non-authentic vegan version gets its creaminess from blended cashews and coconut milk. If you want to make a more authentic korma recipe, check out this Veggie Kurma from Vegan Richa.
My recipe makes quite a lot of food, perfect for meal prep or freezing. The leftovers are just as incredible, so enjoy korma all week long!
Don’t forget to make a batch or basmati rice and vegan naan.
How to make vegetable korma
This is an overview with photos of the process. For the complete, printable recipe, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom.
First, get your cashews soaking in hot water so they soften and boil the vegetables in a large pot. While they cook, prepare the curry sauce.
Add the canned tomatoes, onion, ginger and garlic to a blender or food processor. Blend until a smooth puree forms.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and the tomato puree to a large sauté pan and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for a few minutes.
Now add the spices, stir and cook for another few minutes.
Blend the soaked cashews and coconut milk in a blender (no need to even rinse out your blender if you don’t want to). Pour into the pan.
Add the frozen peas and stir.
Once the vegetables are tender and cooked, drain and add to the pan with the korma curry sauce.
Stir and cook on low heat until ready to serve. Serve with chopped fresh cilantro, naan and rice. Enjoy!
How long will leftovers keep?
Leftovers will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, stored in a covered container. Re-warm on the stovetop or the microwave. It makes a great meal prep for the week with a batch of rice.
Can you freeze korma?
Yes, it freezes beautifully! My favorite way to freeze it is in individual small containers that are freezer friendly. That way I can just pull it from the freezer and warm it up whenever I want a delicious, cozy warm curry.
You can freeze larger portions in containers as well.
Want more vegetarian Indian-inspired recipes?
Easy Vegetable Korma
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1 1/2 pounds red or gold potatoes, peeled and chopped in 1 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 1 cup chopped green beans
For the puree
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes, fire roasted preferred
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
The rest
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 13.5 ounces full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon dried coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less depending on spice preference
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1-2 teaspoons salt, to taste
For serving
- 2-3 cups cooked basmati rice
- Vegan Naan
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Soak the cashews: Add 1 cup of raw cashews to a small bowl, and cover with boiling hot water. I use my tea kettle to warm the water up. Let them soak while you get the vegetables boiling.
- Boil the vegetables: Add the carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and green beans to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain and set aside.
- While the vegetables are boiling, make the puree: Add the canned tomatoes, onion, ginger and garlic to a blender (or food processor). Blend until a smooth puree forms.
- Transfer the puree to a large saucepan (big enough to hold all the vegetables when they're done cooking!) with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and bring to a boil. Simmer over low-medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Now add all the spices (garam masala, curry powder, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper) and stir, cooking for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Drain the cashews. Add the cashews and the can of coconut milk to your blender (no need to rinse it out from the tomatoes), and blend until smooth. Pour the cashew/coconut mixture into the pan with the tomato puree.
- Add the frozen peas, stir and cook for a minute. Now add the cooked carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and green beans. Stir until combined and warm, about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Serve with cooked basmati rice, chopped cilantro and vegan naan. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you have a cashew allergy, you can omit the cashews or use almonds/sunflower seeds instead. Or use two cans of coconut milk in place of the nuts.
- This recipe makes quite a lot, but it freezes well! I like to freeze individual portions in small freezer safe containers.
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- Feel free to switch up the vegetables if you’d like. Sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus or chickpeas could all be added with good results.
- Nutrition calculation is only for the korma, and does not include rice or naan.
Nutrition
This recipe has been reposted with new photos and a better recipe, though it was originally published in 2018. I increased the curry powder and added cayenne pepper for more spice. I also added green beans to the vegetable mix. Otherwise, it is unchanged.
This recipe is in regular rotation at my house! It tastes BETTER than any I’ve eaten at Indian restaurants. I’ve made the following adjustments to suit my taste and convenience: I use 1 bag of frozen mixed veggies and 1 bag of frozen California-style veggies in place of the fresh ones. I use ginger from a tube (1 Tbs) for convenience. For the spices, I reduced the garam masala and curry to 1 tsp each, and added 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 2Tbs brown sugar. I also increased the salt to about 1 Tbs. I also didn’t use cayenne. This is one of my FAVORITE recipes! I’ve been making it for over a year now. For those who don’t like the flavor, just play with the spices until it suits you! Try adding some more salt (which enhances all the flavors) and some sugar for some sweetness. Thank you, Nora!
Why isn’t there an ingredient list? I get that you say what to put in in the steps but come on.. it doesn’t make it easy to prep. Going into the next recipe due to this
There is a full, printable recipe near the bottom of the post… There is also a “Jump To Recipe” button at the very top of every post that will take you directly to the full recipe. Hope that helps!
I was really excited to try this recipe and so badly wanted to like it. Unfortunately, my family and I found this very bland. It was a strange experience because the food smelled like it would be delicious and robust, but it tasted like nothing. I was using new jars of spices, so I know it wasn’t that. My husband described it as “unpleasant.”
I’m hoping that it tastes better after sitting for a day, otherwise I’m going to have a ton of wasted food on my hands. I’m really bummed because I made this to bring to a friend who is recovering from surgery and I honestly wouldn’t feel right bringing such bad food.
Sorry it didn’t meet your expectations, Renee. Feel free to add more spices, salt, ginger, or garlic to help enhance the flavor next time. Simmering a bay leaf or two in the puree could help, too.
Girl! Getoutta town! You should rename this! “Finger liking veggie korma!”
This is so much like the chicken korma I used to LOVE back in my meat eating days.
I subbed your veggies for: cauliflower, sweet potato, carrots and chickpeas. Otherwise this was PERFECT!
Thank you! ❤️
I enjoyed your fun feedback, Tamara! Thanks for your awesome review! I’m thrilled you loved the recipe!
i always get vegetable korma at a local indian restaurant so after trying this recipe im guessing they must use cream and ghee to make theirs more richly flavored. In comparison i found this a little bland even after being generous with the garam masala in the recipe. regardless, its healthy and tasty enough that next time Ill have to play with the recipe a bit to see how I can amp the flavor up more for my taste.
This was excellent.
Thanks, Drew, for your fabulous review!
Next time I will cook the onion, ginger, garlic, tomato before blending it as the raw onion leaves a strong after taste which isn’t nice – even though I cooked the paste according to instructions. Otherwise I liked it.
Hi Nora, Any chance I use the slow cooker for this recipe? Also if you have any slow cooker recipes please share away! Thanks!
You might be able to but I haven’t tried it. I haven’t used a slow cooker very much and I don’t have any recipes for it yet. But I am considering doing a series of slow cooker recipes. Thanks!
I make this regularly. Love it.
I love this recipe and have made it several times. I do sauté the onions and when they’ve started to brown add the spices. Then make the sauce. Today I used double the sauce recipe with 3 lbs potatoes, 1 family size frozen mixed vegetables, 1 small package frozen peas, 1/2 head cauliflower and 1 head broccoli. I made the sauce the day before, then cooked the veggies and added them to the heated sauce before serving.
Hi Rosemary. Thank you for sharing your great review, and the way you love to make this recipe! I’m thrilled you are loving it!
so delicious !!!
thanks for sharing it with us !!
I liked this recipe quite a bit. I did find that it made WAY too many vegetables for the amount of sauce. I will have to make double the sauce next time or cut way down on the veggies. I also added curry tofu nuggets to bump up the protein level and make the meal more filling. Finally, it did take me longer for the prep because I chop all the veggies by hand. But I didn’t mind that. Good food often takes time.
Hi Tara. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! Recipes like this are great to customize to your own liking! Thanks for sharing your ideas and feedback!
This is soooo good and fun to make!!! We loved it! Seriously so good!!
Hi Jenn. I love reading that you had ‘fun’ making the recipe! I’m also glad you loved the korma! Thanks or sharing your fantastic (and fun) feedback!
This might be my favorite recipe on this site. It’s easy and super delicious. Even the teenagers like it. I sometimes add chickpeas or baked tofu cubes for a little extra protein.
I’m making this for the third time tonight! Everyone loves it! Thank you so much for such a stellar recipe!!!!
You are welcome, Rachel! Thank you for your fabulous feedback and review!
Could I replace the cashews with cannelini beans? to reduce the fat?
I would simply omit the cashews altogether and rely on one can of coconut milk to give the dish its creaminess.
I had this recipe saved for quite a long time and finally made it. To save time, I used frozen vegetables along with fresh ones. I was able to have this for at least three meals. This recipe is a keeper!
I’m glad you were able to make the recipe, and that you loved it! It is great for leftovers! You gotta love frozen vegetables! They really do save time! Thank you for your great feedback!
I doubled most of the spices and added chickpeas. I didn’t put much potato in it because I don’t think it freezes very well—-doesn’t taste great when defrosting. I will make this recipe again. Delicious.
Hi Karen. Thanks for sharing your great feedback and ideas! I’m glad you loved the korma!
Prep and cooking time took longer for me but well worth the wait. As good as many of the Indian restaurants I have eaten in over the years that were not Vegan. While I was cooking I tasted the the dish before adding the cashews and coconut milk and the taste was great. To reduce fat and calories next time I will leave out the cashews and coconut milk. Try this recipe from Nora, very tasty and deserves 5 stars!!
Hi Bob. Thank you for sharing your great feedback! I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
This was delicious. I have made a few curries and think they key is fresh spices. I was heavy handed with the spices. Added a bit of home made veg stock to add a bit of salt. I used up Veg I already had. Cubed and roasted some sweet potato and eggplant. I cooked the veg in the microwave but don’t over cook. Also added carrot, cauliflower, beans, peas, spinach and some boiled eggs at the end. A vegetarian delight!!
Thank you for sharing your fantastic feedback and review! I’m thrilled you love the recipe! Your ideas a great!
I sadly found this so bland and no one enjoyed either. I have a lot left and hate food waste so will see if I can incorporate it into another curry recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and not a beginner cook either so I aren’t sure why mine wasn’t as delicious as everyone else’s comments. Such a disappointment 🙁
Sorry to hear that, Lucie! If you happen to try it again, feel free to add more spices, ginger, or garlic to help enhance the flavor.
…just add more curry powder? I never go by the measurements for spices in recipes, adjust to your tastes
So good! Unfortunately it took me a little longer since I had to hand-chop my vegetables and I only had one large pot to use for the boiling and the cooking, but it was worth the effort! I love that it has so many healthy vegetables in it but also has protein from the cashews. Very hearty and filling. Thanks for another great recipe!
So glad you loved this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your review and comments!
Delicious! I added a lot more veggies but otherwise followed the recipe. My son even loved it and he’s picky! Thanks for another great recipe, Nora!
Hi Amira. You are welcome! I’m glad you and your family enjoyed the vegetable korma recipe! Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
Do you think it would work to make this with either lite coconut milk or another type of lower-fat milk? I really want to try this recipe but have been trying to cut back on my saturated fat intake lately . . .
Yes, this will work with lite coconut milk! Happy cooking!