Vegan Yellow Thai Curry With Mixed Vegetables

By
Jolinda Hackett
Jolinda Hackett
Jolinda Hackett has written five books about plant-based cooking and has developed hundreds of vegan and vegetarian recipes.
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Updated on 03/8/21
Vegan Yellow Thai Curry With Mixed Vegetables

The Spruce / Ali Redmond
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
222 Calories
13g Fat
25g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 222
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 11g 54%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 572mg 25%
Total Carbohydrate 25g 9%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 65mg 327%
Calcium 69mg 5%
Iron 4mg 20%
Potassium 745mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

If you like exploring different vegetarian and vegan Thai food recipes at home, you'll definitely want to give this simple and easy yellow Thai curry recipe a shot. Made with coconut milk, potatoes, broccoli, fresh ginger, and plenty of spices, this aromatic dish brings a load of nutrition in one bowl thanks to the plentiful vitamins and antioxidants in cruciferous vegetables, but also the anti-inflammatory qualities in turmeric. Our dish is very low in fat; besides the naturally occurring fats in coconut milk there is no added oil.

If you're new to vegetarian or Thai cooking, this is a simple recipe to start out with. What makes this simple homemade vegan curry recipe so effortless to prepare is that there is no need to use a store-bought or pre-made curry paste. Instead, the recipe is seasoned and colored with curry powder, turmeric, and chili sauce. Our version simplifies the making of the paste using powder to create a wonderfully flavorful and filling dish. By using already cooked vegetables, we cut the active cooking time to barely 15 minutes. Serve it with Jasmine rice or quinoa.

If you are a fan of curries and are keeping a vegan approach to eating, ask first before ordering at a restaurant as many curries have oil but some use ghee instead.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut milk

  • 1 cup vegetable broth

  • 1 cooked medium potato, chopped

  • 2 cooked medium carrots, sliced

  • 1 cup cooked broccoli florets

  • 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets, cooked

  • 1 tablespoon grated or minced fresh ginger

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

  • 2 teaspoons curry powder

  • 3 tablespoons chili sauce

  • 1/3 teaspoon salt, sea salt or kosher

  • 1 lime, juiced, optional

  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Vegan Yellow Thai Curry With Mixed Vegetables ingredients

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  2. Place the coconut milk and vegetable broth in a large pot and give it a quick stir. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer.

    coconut milk and vegetable broth in a large pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  3. Add in the cooked potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower and allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes, stirring once or twice.

    add vegetables to the broth mixture in the pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  4. Add in the ginger, sugar, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, chili sauce, and salt and stir to combine well.

    add spices to the vegetables in the pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  5. Allow your yellow curry to continue to cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 more minutes, or until the vegetables are all tender.

    soup boiling in a pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  6. Taste, and adjust the seasonings as desired. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and top it all off with the optional fresh cilantro.

    Vegan Yellow Thai Curry With Mixed Vegetables in a pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

What Is the Difference Between Curry Paste and Curry Powder?

The difference is substantial, even if both products are delicious: curry paste is moist and made out of wet ingredients like galangal, lemongrass, and chilies, whereas curry powder is a mixture of dried spices that aim to imitate the flavors present in Indian curries. Traditional Thai curries use curry paste. Western takes on Indian curries use curry powder, while true Indian cuisine doesn't.

But more and more, the use of curry powder and its many variations to imitate Indian and Thai flavors has become a shortcut to inject dishes with wonderful aromatic flavors—without the added time of grinding and chopping several ingredients.

Other Flavorful and Nutritious Additions

This vegetable curry is loaded with flavors and textures, but there's room in our recipe to make it even more delicious:

  • Add protein with tofu: Press and cube one pack of extra firm tofu, and quickly pan fry it on a non-stick pan for a few minutes. Added it to the curry before serving.
  • Add fiber and color with other vegetables: pretty much any vegetable has room in the curry. Think red, green, or yellow peppers, snap peas, green beans, zucchinis, turnips, parsnips, or purple cauliflower. Just be sure they are cooked before adding them into the curry.
  • Add fresh herbs: besides the optional cilantro, add other fresh herbs like Thai basil (milder in flavor than Italian basil) or parsley.
  • Add coconut cream for a thicker curry: use coconut cream instead of coconut milk for a richer curry. Note that the cream will greatly thicken the dish, so add water or vegetable broth to taste until you achieve the preferred consistency.
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