Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Tofu and Vegetables, a perfect vegan dish. Oh..so aromatic and creamy. I and my husband gobbled it up. And the best part, it can be ready in less than 20 minutes.
A few months back, I shared the Panang Curry with tofu and Panang Curry with Chicken recipe. This time it is Thai Green Curry with Tofu and Vegetables.
This is a quick and delicious one-pot dish. I made it in the instant pot, but you can easily make it on the stove-top as well. Enjoy this Thai Green Curry with Jasmine rice or Coconut Rice.
There was something exciting for me as I created this recipe. I made my first video recipe and I am so proud of doing it. It is in no way perfect, and I can improve many things. But my husband agreed that it is great for a first production. It certainly was an awesome learning experience, and I suggest anyone thinking about creating a video to take the plunge!
Green Curry Paste
The main ingredients in the green curry recipe are – green curry paste, coconut milk, tofu and mixed vegetables. I used the below Maesri green curry paste from the asian market. This one is vegan.
Most of the other thai paste’ contain shrimp, so if you are a vegetarian, I suggest to always check the ingredients.
There are other options available on Amazon. Thai Kitchen is another brand with vegetarian and gluten-free curry pastes.
Ingredients
This recipe has basic ingredients that you will need for most Thai curries. I would suggest to make a trip to the asian grocery store in your area to them.
Green Curry Paste
Coconut Milk: Use a brand with thick coconut milk such as Chakoh.
Brown Sugar: This helps to balance the flavors of this spicy curry.
Soy Sauce or Tamari: This is a replacement for the fish sauce that the authentic recipe calls. Use Tamari to keep the recipe gluten-free.
Kaffir Lime Leaves: These can be hard to find sometimes. I could not find them at the asian store too, so I skipped them when I created the video for this green curry.
Thai Basil Leaves: I love to garnish with curry with lots of Thai Basil Leaves. If you don't have them, use regular basil leaves or cilantro.
Tofu: Use extra firm tofu in this curry. Press the tofu to remove any extra water, then dab with a paper towel and cut into pieces. You can use the tofu as is or lightly saute, bake or air fry it.
Bell Pepper: I love to add colorful bell peppers to this curry. They make it look so pretty.
Broccoli, Zucchini, Carrots, or other veggies: You can add any quick cooking veggies of choice to this curry. I added broccoli, zucchini and carrots. Some other options are - mushrooms, green beans, baby corn, snap peas, bamboo shoots.
Lime: A little lime juice at the end really does wonders to the complex flavors in this curry.
How to make Instant Pot Thai Green Curry?
Once you have the green curry paste, this is a fairly easy dish.
- Start with heating oil in the instant pot (or a saucepan), and add the green curry paste to it.
- Then add the coconut milk and make a smooth mixture with the paste.
- Add veggies of your choice and tofu.
- Pressure cook for 2 minutes on low pressure and quick release the pressure.
Add some garnishing and Thai Green Curry is ready to be enjoyed.
Enjoy Thai Green Curry over jasmine rice or rice noodles.
Pro-Tips
Veggies: If you like your veggies crunchy, then skip the pressure cooking and just cook on saute mode for 5-7 minutes. That is how I made my Vegan Panang Curry with Tofu.
However after playing more with the pressure cooker, I like the hand off experience with pressure cooking. Just 2 minutes on low pressure and then a quick release. Low pressure works great for veggies that cook quickly.
Tofu: I lightly pressed the tofu before using and just cut it into cubes to add to the curry. If you like, you can sauté, bake or air fry it before using.
Vegetables: You can add any vegetables that you have handy in this recipe – bell peppers, beans, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli or baby corn.
Pressure Cooking: Some people mentioned they had trouble with the coconut milk coming out when doing a quick release. If the coconut milk is thin in consistency, then add half of it before pressure cooking. Then add the other half after pressure cooking and bring to a boil on saute mode.
Below is the old pic of this recipe before I reshot it in Feb 2022.
Common Questions
Of course, you can make this Green Curry in a pot on the stovetop. Here is my Vegetarian Thai Green Curry recipe.
You can store this curry in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The curry thickens as it cools. Add a little water, and reheat in the microwave.
Of all the popular Thai curries, green curry is considered to be spicier than yellow and red curry. The color comes from the green chilies that are added to the green curry paste, along with Kaffir Lime Leaves, Thai basil leaves and cilantro.
Check out other Thai recipes you will love:
Vegan Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Tofu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 2-3 tablespoon Green Curry Paste
- 1 can Coconut Milk 14oz
- 1 tablespoon Soy sauce or Tamari for gluten-free
- 5-7 Kaffir Lime Leaves crushed, optional
- 14 ounce Tofu Extra Firm pressed and cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- 10-12 Thai basil leaves
- ¼ cup Roasted Cashews to garnish (optional)
Veggies
- 1 cup Bell Pepper cut into 1" pieces
- 1 cup Carrot sliced
- 1 cup Broccoli cut into pieces
- 1 cup Zucchini slit into half and sliced, optional
- 2 Scallion or Green onion cut into 2" pieces
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and heat oil in it. Add the green curry paste and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add coconut milk. Stir so there are no lumps and the curry paste is mixed well with the coconut milk. (Note: If the coconut milk has a thin consistency, then add half of it before pressure cooking. Add the other half after pressure cooking and bring to a boil on saute mode)
- Add soy sauce, kaffir lime leaves, all veggies and tofu. Press CANCEL and close the pressure cooker lid with vent in sealing position.
- Change the setting to MANUAL or pressure cook mode on LOW pressure for 2 minutes. Close lid with vent in sealing position.
- When the pressure cooker beeps, do a quick pressure release and open the lid.
- Add sugar, lemon juice and half of the basil leaves. Stir the curry.
- Garnish with the remaining basil leaves and cashews. Enjoy over jasmine rice.
Video
Notes
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Becky says
Thank you - this was very tasty! How can we add a bit of heat to it so it is more like a spicy curry? Thanks again!
Piping Pot Curry says
Hey Becky - Glad you enjoyed the Green Curry. You can add thai chillies and/or increase the amount of green chili paste in the curry to increase the spice. Topping with chili sauce is also an option. Thank you for sharing your review!
Kay says
Why would you add sugar?
Piping Pot Curry says
Hey Kay - I think it helps balance the spices in the thai curry. But feel free to skip sugar if you like. Hope you enjoy the curry 🙂
Abby says
Hi this looks really good will this recipe work if I also want to add potatoes?
Piping Pot Curry says
Hey Abby - Thank you! Potatoes take a bit longer to cook, so you will have to cut them in small pieces and cook them a bit on saute mode (~3 minutes), before adding rest of the veggies. Hope that helps!
Joey Siracusa says
If we want to double everything (we are making lunches in bulk for the week), how much should we increase time to cook? Or should we just stick with two minutes.
Piping Pot Curry says
Hey Joey - Just stick with 2 minutes. The instant pot will just take longer to come to pressure. Hope you enjoy it!
Ash says
Could I just replace the green curry paste for red curry?? Also, it says on LOW pressure but my IP only cooks on HIGH. So would I just cook it for half the time= 1 min?
Piping Pot Curry says
Hey Ash - Yes, you can add red curry paste and follow the same recipe. Cooking for 1 minute at high pressure sounds fine. Hope you enjoy it!
Rakefet says
Hi Meeta!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I made a batch of butternut squash curry with coconut milk last night in the pressure cooker and the coconut milk totally separated while cooking. I ended up blending it into a soup and it worked ok, but I was hoping you might have tips on how to keep the coconut milk from separating. Also when I quick released coconut milk came flying out of the steam vent. Lol. Any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Piping Pot Curry says
Hello Rakefet - thanks for stopping by.
I am not sure I can completely diagnose the issue, however here are potential things - I always hear the pot a bit on sauté, add coconut milk, and then pressure cook for not much time (4 mins is the max I have done with coconut milk in there).
Was the coconut milk thin in consistency? Another option could be to add just a little coconut milk initially to the veggies/meat, and add the rest after pressure cooking. That way you might not have the splatter issue with quick release too.
Let me know how it works out ????
Khushboo says
Thank you for the recipe Meeta! Just perfect. It’s important to get off the Indian food loop.. we all enjoyed this awesome recipe..
???????? Keep posting
Piping Pot Curry says
Great to hear, Khushboo!
Karla says
Very tasty vegan recipe! Thanks for sharing. Also the video was awesome and hard to believe it was your first one.
Piping Pot Curry says
Thanks Karla! Glad you enjoyed the green curry 🙂
SR says
Hi, this looks very tasty. How could we substitute chicken for the tofu?
Piping Pot Curry says
Hey...here is the link to the panang curry chicken recipe. You can substitute the green curry paste for the panang paste - https://www.pipingpotcurry.com/panang-curry-chicken-instant-pot/
Nick says
Can you cook eggplant into this? Like just cut up some eggplant and put it in when you throw in the other veggies? Thanks!
Piping Pot Curry says
Sure, absolutely. I believe they will cook in the 2 minutes of low pressure.