This authentic Vegan Green Curry with Tofu and Vegetables is rich, creamy and luscious with bold spicy flavors, and so easy to make in under 30 minutes. This vegetarian and gluten-free Thai green curry served with jasmine rice is a wonderful restaurant quality meal.
If you love Thai food like me, this Vegan Thai Green Curry will be an instant favorite. It is bursting with fresh, bold Thai flavors.
After some years of eating Thai food only in restaurants, I discovered how quick and easy they were to make at home. Using store-bought curry paste, it is basically a quick one-pot meal.
My version of Thai Green Curry is vegetarian. It is healthy, as it is loaded with veggies & tofu.
This is a satisfying, easy weeknight meal. And the best part it takes less than 30 minutes to make this curry and have a delicious meal at home.
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What is Green Curry?
Thai Green Curry is one of the most popular curries in Thailand. This curry has wonderful, bold, spicy flavors that tickle your taste buds. Green Curry is spicier than other Thai curries – red and yellow curry.
Typically Green curry is made with meat – pork, beef, or chicken – cooked with curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, and basil leaves.
However,, I am sharing a vegan version made with firm tofu and many colorful vegetables. Use a vegan curry paste, along with soy sauce (Tamari for gluten-free).
Green Curry Paste
I used the below Maesri paste from the Asian market. You can also order it on Amazon. I find this one to have the wonderful authentic flavors you get at Thai restaurants.
This paste is vegan and gluten-free. Most of the other Thai curry pastes contain shrimp. So, if you are a vegetarian, I suggest always checking the ingredients. Another vegetarian is Thai Kitchen brand curry paste.
To amp up the flavor even more when using store-bought curry paste, you can sauté some ginger and garlic in oil along with the paste.
Maesri Thai curry paste is a bit spicier, so make sure to start with less and add more to taste. For a milder taste, use Thai Kitchen green curry paste.
Of course, if you like, you can make curry paste at home too. It has lots of wonderful ingredients such as galangal, lemongrass, Kaffir Lime Leaves, shallots, cilantro, cumin, chilies, Thai Basil Leaves, and more.
Ingredients
This recipe has basic ingredients that you will need for most Thai curries. I would suggest making 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 for. 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 ordered dried lime leaves from Amazon. If you ever find fresh leaves, get them and freeze them (they retain the flavor even if they turn darker in color).
Crush the leaves a little to release their juices. These leaves have a hard membrane, so you can remove them after cooking or eating around them. If you can’t find kaffir lime leaves, use extra lime zest and juice.
Thai Basil Leaves: I love to garnish the 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, or other quick-cooking veggies: You can add any quick-cooking veggies of choice to this curry. I added broccoli and zucchini. Some other options are – mushrooms, green beans, baby corn, and snap peas. If you add carrots, cook them a little before adding other veggies.
Lime: A little lime juice at the end really does wonders for the complex flavors in this curry.
How to Make?
- Press the tofu to remove excess water. Cut it into pieces and keep it aside. If you prefer, you can sauté, bake or air fry it.
- Heat pot in sauté mode. Add oil, and then add the green curry paste. Mix well.
- Add ½ a can of coconut milk. Stir well so the paste is completely mixed with the coconut milk. Then add the remaining coconut milk, crushed Kaffir Lime Leaves, brown sugar, and soy sauce and stir well.
- Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, broccoli, and zucchini. Bring to a complete boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are slightly tender.
- Add the tofu pieces and half of the Thai Basil leaves and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add lime juice. Taste and add salt if needed. Garnish with the remaining basil leaves. Vegan Green Curry is ready to be enjoyed over jasmine rice.
Serve this delicious green curry with jasmine rice or with rice noodles. I like to make jasmine rice in the instant pot.
Can I make Green Curry in the Instant Pot?
You can make this Green Curry in the instant pot too. Here is my Instant Pot Green Curry recipe.
Pro-Tips
Spicy? Start with lesser green curry paste, 2-3 tablespoons, and add more based on your spice preference.
Vegetables: I used zucchini, broccoli, and bell peppers in this green curry. You can use other vegetables of your choice, such as eggplant, bok choy, bamboo shoots, carrots, baby corn, and mushrooms.
Rice: While you are cooking the curry, don’t forget to first also put the jasmine rice to cook. You can also serve Thai tofu curry with quinoa, brown rice, or vermicelli noodles.
Basil: Garnish with lots of Thai Basil Leaves.
Consistency: This curry gets thicker as it cools. Add ½ to 1 cup water or broth to get a thinner consistency.
How to store?
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.
Check out other Thai recipes you will love:
- Vegan Panang Curry
- Panang Curry with Chicken
- Thai Pumpkin Red Curry
- Garlic Noodles
- Coconut Rice
- Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry
Vegan Thai Green Curry with Tofu & Vegetables
Ingredients
- 14 ounces Tofu Extra Firm
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 2-4 tablespoon Green Curry Paste, adjust amount based on spice preference
- 1 can Coconut Milk, 14oz
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce , or Tamari for gluten-free
- 8-10 Kaffir Lime leaves, crush to release oil
- 1 cup Green Bell Pepper, seeds removed and cut into 1 inch squares
- 1 cup Red Bell Pepper , seeds removed and cut into 1 inch squares
- 1 cup Broccoli , cut into florets
- 1 cup Zucchini, slit in half and sliced, optional
- 12-15 Thai Basil Leaves
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
Instructions
- Press the tofu to remove excess water. Cut it into pieces and keep aside. If you prefer, you can sauté, bake or air fryer it.
- Heat a medium pot on medium-high heat. Add oil and then add the green curry paste. Stir it.
- Add 1/2 can of coconut milk. Stir well, so that the paste is completely mixed with the coconut milk. Then add the remaining coconut milk, brown sugar, soy sauce and Kaffir Lime leaves. Stir well.
- Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, broccoli and zucchini. Bring to a complete boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are slightly tender.
- Add the tofu pieces, and half of the Thai Basil leaves and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add lime juice. Taste and add salt if needed. Garnish with the remaining basil leaves. Thai Green Curry is ready to be enjoyed over jasmine rice.
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