When we traveled to Japan, we found this amazing restaurant called Mr. Farmer (recommended by my pal, Erin). It was a hidden gem that had tons of juices, smoothies, salads, and vegan fare, and I was in absolute heaven.
One of the dishes I enjoyed there no less than three times was a green curry so vibrant in color I was instantly obsessed. It was perfectly seasoned, creamy, and super comforting when we were thousands of miles from home.
You know the rest of the story. Once we got home, I got straight into the kitchen to try my hand at recreating this dish. The results? Kind of amazing.
This recipe requires just 9 ingredients and comes together in roughly 30 minutes (without sides).
The green color in this dish comes from greens! I went with spinach, but I’m guessing you could easily opt for kale or even collard greens – whatever you have on hand.
And for the intense curry flavor I went with my DIY Curry Powder* (that I’m putting on everything these days), which gets diffused and slightly sweetened with light coconut milk. Swoon.
*Note: you can learn more about curry powder and its origin here.
Once the flavors simmer together for a while, transfer to a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Then place back on the stove to warm until thickened and bubbly.
This curry was always destined to be paired with brown rice, my Coconut Curried Greens, and my Crispy Tofu seasoned with DIY Curry Powder. How could I resist? The pairing is absolutely phenomenal. I ate the leftovers three nights in a row and was sad for the last bite to come.
If you’d rather, you could also add green lentils to the sauce for protein, vegetables of choice like mushrooms or bell peppers, or even eggplant. The sauce is so flavorful and creamy it would pair well with just about anything you can dream up.
I hope you all LOVE this curry! It’s:
Creamy
Vibrant in color
Loaded with greens
Insanely flavorful
Versatile
Comforting
Healthy
& Delicious
This would make the perfect weeknight meal for hosting or when you and your family are craving something a little more substantial yet still incredibly healthy. I highly, highly recommend pairing it with the sides I recommended, but it would also pair well with these Thai Spring Rolls with Cashew Dipping Sauce.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
Vibrant Coconut Green Curry
Ingredients
CURRY
- 2 Tbsp coconut, avocado, or grape seed oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (yields ~2 Tbsp per 4 cloves)
- 2 medium shallot (diced)
- 1 Tbsp minced ginger
- 1 Tbsp curry powder (plus more to taste)
- 8 ounces frozen spinach (~1 1/2 cups as original recipe is written // slightly thawed // can try fresh, but I didn’t test it that way)
- 2 2/3 cups light coconut milk* (~1.5 14-ounce (414 ml) cans as original recipe is written)
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar (plus more to taste // or sub stevia or maple syrup to taste)
- Sea salt (to taste // ~1/2 tsp as original recipe is written)
- 2-3 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch (optional // to thicken)
FOR SERVING optional
- 2-3 cups cooked white or brown rice (see this method for brown rice)
- Coconut Curried Greens
- Quick + Easy Crispy Tofu
- Fresh Cilantro, toasted coconut, red onion
Instructions
- Heat a large, rimmed skillet or pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, garlic, shallot, and ginger. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, or until softened and slightly browned.
- Add curry powder and frozen spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add coconut milk, coconut sugar, and sea salt (about 1/4 tsp to start).
- Heat over medium-high heat until simmering – about 4 minutes. Then remove from heat and carefully transfer the curry to a high-speed blender (or use an immersion blender). Blend on high, covering with a towel to prevent any leaks. At this time you can add some cornstarch or arrowroot starch to thicken and blend once more to fully combine. This is optional but does provide the sauce with more thickness/body.
- While still in the blender. taste and adjust flavors as needed, adding more curry powder for intense curry flavor, sea salt for overall flavor, or coconut sugar for sweetness.
- Transfer curry back to the skillet or pot and heat over medium heat until bubbling. Then reduce heat to low and cook until slightly thickened – about 5-10 minutes.
- While the curry cooks, you can throw in vegetables of choice (i.e. red pepper, cubed sweet potatoes or squash, additional greens such as kale, etc.). But because I was serving mine with my Coconut Curried Kale and Crispy Tofu, I kept it more as a sauce than a stew.
- Serve curry with brown rice and desired sides/add-ins. Best when fresh, though leftovers store well in the refrigerator up to 4 days. I have not tried freezing this recipe, but I presume the sauce would freeze well up to 1 month.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without sides (rice, tofu, greens, etc.).
*Inspired by the green curry at Mr. Farmer in Tokyo, Japan.
Lynne says
O. M. G. Minimalist baker has hands down been my go-to since I started eating vegan, and I am remiss in submitting any reviews. Most of the dishes I’ve made from Dana’s recipes have been amazing – no exaggeration- and this one, which received hearty approval from the carnivores I served it to last night, is no exception, and possibly one of the best I’ve made. I served it with Coconut Curried Greens, brown rice and crispy tofu, with toasted coconut and cilantro garnishes. Leftovers today were soooo good! Dana, I’ve been saying this for awhile, but I think your recipes are truly inspired. Thank you for making this new way of eating so unbelievably scrumptious! Oh, I did add more curry and salt, and a bit of cayenne and smoked paprika, but that’s also one of the things I love about these recipes, is that there are always suggestions for how to promote the various flavors. ❤️
xoxo!
agos marchi says
i LOVE this curry. only thing i change is to go double (ok or maybe triple 🙄🙈) on the DIY curry powder (i love it too!!), skip the starch altogether (i don’t feel there’s any need for it 🙆🏻♀️), and change stuff i don’t have for stuff i do have in the fridge/kitchen: today, for example, it was chard instead of spinach, 1/4 red onion instead of the shallots, and muscovado sugar instead of coconut sugar because coconut sugar down here in argentina is expensive as f*** 😁 —and today, also, this curry developed into the most beautiful quinoa soup cause i craved the green and i craved the coconut but i also craved the protein 😋🍵 (i just threw 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa in my curry bowl hhhahhhaa 😂🤗). dearest dana, i ADORE your blog since before instagram existed, thank you so so much for sharing so precisely and so kindly and so meticulously again and again, i appreciate what you do immensely 😙🤗💓
Aw, thanks so much for your kind words and lovely review, Agos! We’re so glad you enjoy it and we LOVE all your creativity here! xoxo
Cynthia O´Toole says
Love this recipe!!!! I did it today, first day of lock down in Auckland ☺
Lovely! Stay safe, Cynthia!
Tommy says
This is an INCREDIBLE curry (and I have made dozens of different curries over the years)
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Tommy. Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Jeffrey says
I think the base of this recipe is really great, but I felt like it needed some spice. I decided to add about a tablespoon extra of the Curry powder. I also added a tablespoon of Sambal Oelek, a teaspoon of Maras pepper, a pinch of Cayenne pepper, a half teaspoon of black pepper and salted more to taste. For the vegetables I chopped and sautéed 2 zucchini, 1 sweet potato, and one red bell pepper with a tablespoon of grape-seed oil, a tablespoon of samba oelek and salted it to taste. The quick and easy crispy tofu suggestion was perfect. It’s an easy recipe to modify to your own tastes.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Jeffrey!
Colleen says
I was looking for a recipe to use up most of a bag of fresh spinach. This was perfect. I decided to use your suggestion of adding vegetables to make a stew. I had some to use up, so in went a yam, cubed, one bell pepper, half a zucchini, cubed, one very large carrot sliced very thin and a cup of frozen peas. Instead of using cornstarch to thicken, I peeled, boiled and mashed one medium potato and added to the stew. It is absolutely scumptious and I will definitely make again.
Glad you enjoyed it, Colleen!
Hilary says
Love this recipe! As usual, I made modifications: likely more than 8oz spinach, 2 cans of coconut milk (instead of 1.5), an extra heaping tablespoon of curry powder, green curry paste (probably ~ 2 tbsp – leftovers from 1 pot Lentil Dal), and I didn’t blend the sauce. Because I threw in cubed sweet potato (as well as shredded brussels sprouts), I let it simmer on the stove for > 40 mins to make sure the sweet potato cooked through.
Thanks for sharing your modifications, Hilary! Glad you enjoyed it!
Priya says
Dana,
How can I make this spicier?
Priya
Holly says
Delicious!
I made this with only about half a cup of coconut milk, and half a cup of water, as I’m trying to watch my cholesterol. I added sweet potatoes, chickpeas, a little extra spinach, and served with jasmine rice and a little cottage cheese. Using frozen spinach made it so easy!
Will definitely be repeating this recipe. So refreshing to find so many vegetable heavy recipes on Minimalist Baker, this is my new favorite recipe website!
Neela says
What kind of curry powder do you use? Wondering what’s in it? At home we cook with garam masala. I’ve never bought curry powder so I’m not sure what flavors it has.
Thank you! I want to try this recipe soon. I’m a big fan of your recipes and have pinned many!!! So yummy!!!0
Kayla Heuer (healthy.grape) says
i just made this and it’s so delicious!! you’re amazing dana!
Erin says
Thanks for this recipe! It works great with fresh spinach too. When I have too much spinach left and need to use it up, I make a big batch of this and freeze half of it. I love it!
Vanessa says
HOLY MOLY. I made this w brown rice and your curried greens and HOLY MOLY. It was amazing. I served it on Monday for my family of four and everyone really loved it. My mom, aunt , and I aren’t huge meat eaters so this was awesome for us. And it’s always adorable to watch my stepdad BC amazed at the deliciousness of green foods.
My mom created the plate and she set it up so beautifully I’m still kicking myself for not taking a picture to post on IG and tag you in.
Vanessa says
HOLY MOLY. I made this w brown rice and your curried greens and HOLY MOLY. It was amazing. I served it on Monday for my family of four and everyone really loved it.
My mom created the plate and she set it up so beautifully I’m still kicking myself for not taking a picture to post on IG and tag you in.
Dana L says
Made this for dinner and it was simple and delicious! It came out a beautiful vibrant green just like the pictures. I added sweet potato and red pepper and served it over Jasmine rice with dry fried tofu. Would definitely make it again.
Paris says
So easy and delicious! Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Bethany Praska says
This is mind-blowing-ly easy. I could not get over how simple this curry was, making me seem like a real chef whipping this up for friends and family. Favorite curry dish hands down.
Jordan says
This is pretty much spot on my recipe for vegan Palaak Paneer when I substitute the paneer for tofu a
I use a yellow onion instead of the shallots and add a chopped tomato after adding the spices (Turmeric, Coriander, Garam Masala, and cayenne). But everything else is identical!
Cant wait to try this recipe later! Thanks for sharing :)
Maureen says
I am planning on trying this recipe this week and am excited. When I add the cubed sweet potatoes, should they be precooked or raw? Thank you so much!
Pre-cooked!
theveganedit says
Super delicious – made this for my friends, we loved it!! We used Kale rather than Spinach, and also used curry powder. Totally awesome – thanks from @theveganedit
Hannah says
I have to confess I wasn’t totally into this recipe because of the color, but I gave it a chance after seeing your greens post this morning (and you’ve never made a bad recipe!). Oh man, it’s so good! And you totally cracked the code on the perfect tofu. Best I’ve made at home!
Emily says
This was SO good! I made this with brown rice, tofu, and the coconut curried greens. I used fresh collard greens (about 2 cups) instead of frozen spinach because they’re super cheap and accessible in my part of the world. My 8-year-old said it was “a little spicy”, but she licked her bowl clean (literally).
Kerry says
I made this for a small dinner party last night – served with chicken, tofu, roasted yam, and rice. Everyone LOVED the curry!
I ended up doubling the Spinach (love it!), tripling the ginger (you can’t have too much ginger, right?) and using only one can of coconut milk (it’s all I had).
Thanks for making my party such a hit :)
xo
jastej kaur says
Can you please do red curry !
Stacy says
Made this for dinner tonight. Super delicious and comforting with your crispy tofu and curried greens. Felt pretty good about the spinach, collards, and kale trifecta. I only had one can of coconut milk and it worked perfectly. Hardly needed any thickening. Also, immersion blender FTW!
RunningPathES says
I made this last night, almost exactly as written except that I only had regular coconut milk, so I used one can of coconut milk and the rest of the volume veggie broth. It was absolutely delicious! I served it over rice, tofu, and roasted cauliflower. I will absolutely make it again, over and over.
Debra says
I was feeling uncreative for a dinner party and made this with your curried tofu recipe AND your curried greens recipe. Everyone was impressed to have a bonus sauce to go with the greens, rice and tofu! It was delicious, easy, everyone loved it and it is now going to go into my regular dinner rotation. We had a lot leftover and enjoyed the curry on just about everything from rice to leftover pizza!
Evan says
Is this about the same thing as a Saag in Indian cuisine? I’m looking to make a good base for Saag/Palak Paneer (or tofu) but haven’t had much success with others!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I recently made a similar green curry for a tofu bowl I was making. I was lazy though and whizzed up my sauce in my power blender. It tasted fabulous! Great minds obviously think alike.
Andrea says
I have now made this recipe twice in the same week…. anything that can get my husband to eat collared greens is amaze balls in my book. Its been twenty below where I live this week, and knowing I have a recipie for hot greens that are delicious is lovely. I think this will be a regular in our house this winter!
Heather says
Made this last night. I had fresh baby spinach that needed to be used and only one can of coconut milk (just under 2 cups) so I used soy milk for the rest. It still had a great coconut taste. Fresh spinach worked fine, but I’d probably use frozen in the future. I added a little of bit of cayenne because I love heat in food. I paired it with your crispy tofu recipe for lunch. Loved it!
Jeff Stern says
Loved making this, but I like to cook my curry powder a bit before adding in the greens. Tends to mellow it out and get rid of any raw flavors. Thanks for this awesome idea!
Jeff Stern says
Oh, and I love to add potatos to this too.
Nikita says
Would love to try this but I have some questions.
1. Curry powder as in the one used in Indian recipes? Just confirming.
2. I don’t get shallots in my city, can I use regular onions?
Thank you :)
1. Yes. 2. yes!
Tara says
I made this tonight for my family. I renamed it Grinch Curry (hope you don’t mind) in honor of the season. I also made the Curried Greens and Crispy Tofu. It went much quicker than anticipated and the results were supper yummy! I can’t wait to make this again!!
Ali says
Better than the signature green curry from my favorite Thai restaurant in town, and healthier! This paired so well with your crispy tofu. I definitely will be making both again verrry soon.
Thanks Ali! xoxo
Beth Ann says
I am slurping the sauce straight right now out of the pan! Green Perfection!
If I have any appetite later I look forward to ingesting round two poured over roasted squash and broccoli, and of course rice and crispy tofu! ?
Another winner, thank you Dana! Perfect for this snowy day!
Erin says
I made a batch of this last night to freeze for future meals. I used mustard greens (that’s what I had) and because it drives me crazy when recipes call for “1.5 cans” of something (what am I supposed to do with 1/2 a can?), I increased the greens and used 2 full cans of coconut milk. I forgot to add the sugar but didn’t think the sauce needed it. I never would have though to blend in the greens with the coconut milk and the sauce turned out amazing! Really looking forward to eating this with some crispy tofu and brown rice! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Loganayaki says
Absolutely stunning images. Nice recipe. Thanks for sharing…!
Maria says
Oh my word!!! This looks to die for. It also looks like one of those things that I will instantly want to put on top of everything!!! The only curry powder I can find around here tends to technically be the “Yellow curry” variety. Or alternately, should I use green curry paste? I’m sure both would work just fine, I am curious if you have any thoughts with regards to the flavor:)
Both should work! But try the powder first!
Amy says
I love the flavors on this green curry recipe. Can’t wait to give this a try
J says
I don’t know where to email you from so I just picked a comment space.
Please travel to Gainesville FL and try out Krishna Lunch. It has a reputation, a great one. Rotates throughout the week. Would love to see some of that over here on how to make it and variations with your minimalist requirements.
Thanks!
Agness of Run Agness Run says
I am in China. i tried some green curry with potato and beef in a Tai restaurant and i was upset about it. Maybe i am going to do it by myself. Thank you for your amazing recipe.
Alex says
I made this last night, and it is a keeper!! I used fresh spinach as I happened to have a box of baby spinach and it turned out great. I added some red chilli flakes as I like a good kick. The flavors were outstanding. I had it with crispy tofu. Yum!! Thank you for another amazing recipe.
Thanks for sharing!
Bites for Foodies says
This looks divine!! I made coconut curries all the time, but have never thought to change it up by making mine green! Spinach is such a versatile ingredient – and perfect for his because of its mild flavour! Thanks for the idea!
Kirsten says
Just made this, so so good! Served with tofu, cauliflower, and basmati rice
Janet Butters says
Dat rice ball doe.
luv yew
Jenn says
I just made your Sweet Potato & Kale Curry last night (so delicious!), saw this recipe and decided to go on a curry kick all week ???? Thanks for the awesome, yummy goodness ?❤️
Aleksandra says
So much goodness on one plate!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Ooh, I’ve been to Mr Farmer in Japan! It was one of my favourite restaurants, hands down!
Jacqui says
Anyone try it on either almond or soy milk???
Hey! If anything I’d recommend rice milk. Soy and even almond may add too much flavor.
RHONDA @ CHANGE IN SECONDS says
Wow! Loved the recipe. Delicious.
Nikole O'Quinn says
This is one of the best curries that I have ever had. ?? I added cauliflower but definitely will try sweet potato next time. Thank you for this and all of your recipes…they never disappoint! ❤️
Thanks lady!
Daisy says
I am very excited about trying this one! A beautiful curry sauce to spoon over everything!
Jenny says
I just made this sauce with fresh kale and it was SERIOUSLY delicious. We ate it with tofu, carrots and roasted butternut squash. Thank you so much!
Heather says
I’m confused on the nutritional info- the note says it’s for 1/4 of the recipe, but the nutritional info portion says it’s for half.
Good question! I think I had two different figures written. I’ll amend that. The nutrition info listed is for 1/4 the recipe. Thanks!
Lori says
Did anyone try this with fresh greens? Our CSA has brought me a fridge-ful of collards and kale! Thanks!
I think that would work!!
Rachel Wren says
I made this with fresh kale tonight; delicious!
Sara @ Last Night's Feast says
This looks so good!
Shannon says
Can you use curry paste? If so, how much? Thanks!!
Yes! I think it’d be about an equivalent amount to the powder!
Sarah | Well and Full says
Dana, you are the curry queen!! Seriously, you have so many amazing curry recipes on your site and they just keep getting better and better! :)
So kind! Thanks Sarah!
Daniel says
Hi just a question – at which stage do you add the DIY green sauce to the dish? I presume you cook it near the beginning?
You got it, Daniel!