Easy Vegan Curry
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Easy Vegan Curry comes together in less than 30 minutes, including prep time! Fresh vegetables, sweet potatoes and curry spices are simmered in coconut milk. Totally customizable: Switch things up by using a variety of vegetables you have on hand, or adding chickpeas or tofu.
Today I’m sharing an everyday, easy, simple recipe for vegan curry that is totally customizable and versatile. A great meal for using up vegetables that would otherwise go to waste in your refrigerator. I’ve broken it down into easy, do-able steps that will have dinner on the table in 30 minutes, including prep time!
Here’s why your going to love this vegan curry as much as I do! It’s:
- Full of vegetables, simmered in a delicious coconut creamy curry sauce.
- Got a very short list of spices (curry powder + optional red curry paste)
- VERSATILE – use veggies/potatoes/chickpeas/tofu or whatever you have
- Ready in less than 30 minutes!
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How to make Easy Vegan Curry:
First, start your rice cooking. I used white rice here, to keep the time under 30 minutes. You can use brown rice, but it takes closer to 40 minutes to cook.
Once the rice is cooking, prep all your vegetables/potatoes.
TIP: Make it even easier by purchasing minced garlic, grated ginger in a tube, and pre-chopped broccoli and cauliflower.
Heat the oil in a large pot/pan, then add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger. Cook 1 minute more, then add the curry powder and stir.
Now add all the vegetables (except the spinach and cilantro), then pour the coconut milk on top. Add the red curry paste (if using), salt and enough water to just nearly cover the vegetables. Mix it all together well. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.
Once the vegetables are tender, stir in the maple syrup, lime juice and the spinach until it wilts. Season with more salt to taste, if needed, and serve with fresh cilantro, cooked rice, hot sauce and maybe Easy Vegan Naan.
Make it your own!
- Other vegetables to use: frozen peas, brussels sprouts, asparagus, kale, zucchini, bok choy, white potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, tomatoes…. The possibilities are endless. Just keep the overall amounts basically the same.
- Add chickpeas or tofu for extra protein!
- Use light coconut milk to make it lighter, or coconut cream for a richer sauce.
- Serve with brown rice instead of white, or quinoa.
- Spice it up with cayenne, or spicy curry powder.
If you enjoyed this Easy Vegan Curry, you might love these recipes:
Easy Vegan Curry
Ingredients
The rice:
- 1 cup white rice, uncooked
- 1 3/4 cups water
The vegetables:
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 2-3 cups cauliflower florets
- 2-3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 medium sized carrots
- 1 red bell pepper
The rest:
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- (1) 15-ounce can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste, ,optional but good
- 1-2 cups water, as needed to nearly cover the vegetables
- 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 lime, juice squeezed
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- fresh chopped cilantro, optional
Instructions
- Start the rice cooking: In a medium sized pot, add the 1 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then pour in the rice. Simmer for 18 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Once the rice is cooking, prepare your vegetables: Chop the onion, mince the garlic, grate the ginger, peel and dice the sweet potato small, chop the cauliflower/broccoli, peel and slice the carrots and dice/slice the red pepper.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Now add the garlic and ginger, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the curry powder and saute 1-2 minutes more, until fragrant.
- To the pot, add the sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and red pepper. Pour in the coconut milk, red curry paste (if using) and enough water to just nearly cover the vegetables. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir it all together. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sweet potato and other vegetables are tender.
- Now stir in the maple syrup, lime juice and the spinach until it wilts. Taste; season with more salt if desired. Serve hot with rice, fresh cilantro, hot sauce and maybe Easy Vegan Naan.
Notes
- This curry freezes quite well. I like to freeze leftovers in individual containers for easy future lunches.
- Use any vegetables you have on hand, just keep the overall amounts basically the same.
- Add some chickpeas or tofu if desired for extra protein!
- May sub brown rice, but it will take longer to cook (40 minutes).
- Calorie calculation is for curry only, it does not include rice.
Nutrition
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13 Comments on “Easy Vegan Curry”
Will this work in a slow cooker?
I chose this recipe because it says it can be prepared in under 30 minutes. That may be true if you buy bags of prepared vegetables, pre-chopped garlic and ginger, or have a sous-chef helping. It took me a little more than a hour to prepare. Also, I think I would leave out the water and use only coconut milk. Just purchased a new jar of curry powder. I used about six tablespoons and still felt it was not flavorful enough. That is probably the fault of the spice I purchased. I used the same combination of vegetables as listed in the recipe and they all taste very good together. We have left-overs so I will try adding some peanut butter to make the sauce a little richer.
I wish I had read your note prior to making this recipe. I have it on the stove now-the water just makes it soupy even. I’m going to have to remove liquid, possibly adjust/add seasoning to make up for the removed liquid. Next time I’ll just use coconut milk and possibly cashew crema and or puréed cannellini beans to provide appropriate thickness to the sauce.
So agree about the prep time. To say you can do this i 10 mins is ludicrous. But pretty much like many internet recipes. However, the result was pretty damn good. I used corn starch to thicken the liquid but still was pretty soupy.
So delicious! This was my first try at a vegan curry, and will be using it again! I added pepitas and raisins and substituted the spinach for kale (which I highly recommend!)
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s highly versatile and I love your substitutions.
Tasty recipe but it was very watery so I added cornstarch to thicken up. (FYI: I use less than 2 cups of water and all the veggies were fresh- not frozen). I’ll make it again.
Glad you enjoyed the curry!
Delicious! I took the suggestions of the previous comments with the starch and peanut butter. Tastes great. I think I will skip the starch next time. If it’s watery it is more delicious with there rice I think. Sort of like Vietnamese foods where it’s half soup half rice. Great recipe! Thanksn
Really enjoyed this. Lots of flavour. Recipe had good instructions. Substituted with potatoes, mushrooms instead of broccoli. Roasted potatoes first and then added them. I might add a tablespoon or two of peanut butter next time but its good as is also. Thank you
Ridiculously good!! I subbed peas and mushrooms for the cauliflower and pepper and removed the cilantro. I also didn’t have coconut milk but had condensed so I just added it to water to thin it out and it worked fine. So, SO good! I could barely stop myself from eating all of it, but I’m anticipating gobbling it up for my lunch today instead! Hubby loved it too so we will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation according to what we have on-hand.
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed the curry, it’s so flexible and yummy!
Wonderful recipe! Thank you for all the tips, variations, and clear instructions!!