Green Curry in a Hurry

    Green Curry

    Easy Thai Chickpea Curry with sweet potato, kale, and coconut milk. Not too spicy, healthy, and made with easy to find ingredients! Super tasty and ready in 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for fast weeknight dinners. Vegan and gluten-free friendly recipes that's great leftover too!

    Today’s easy Green Curry recipe is my lightened-up version of the coconut milk curry we love ordering from our local Thai restaurant. With fresh ginger, sweet potato, and kale in a warm (but not too spicy!) coconut green curry sauce, its flavor reminds me of the curries I cooked in Thailand.

    Green chickpea curry in a pot with lime wedges

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    You really only need one ingredient to make authentic-tasting Thai green curry at home: Thai green curry paste.

    Green curry paste is a blend of fresh spices, herbs, and aromatics like green chiles, shrimp paste, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, peppercorns, kefir limes, and cumin.

    It tastes herbal, citrusy, and warm.

    It’s thick like a paste, and a few spoonfuls will allow you to create authentic-tasting Thai recipes in your own kitchen.

    Curry pastes are a quite labor intensive to make from scratch; fortunately, they are now widely available in the Asian section of almost any grocery store!

    A Bit About Curry

    “Curry” is a loose term for vegetables and sometimes meat, tofu, or seafood cooked in a richly spiced sauce. The sauce is often coconut-milk or tomato-based.

    For foundational flavor, curry pastes are used most often in Thai curries, like Coconut Curry. Indian curries, such as Potato Curry, use dry spices such as curry powder and garam masala.

    Authentic chickpea curry with vegetables and rice

    Red vs. Green Curry

    While in Thailand, curry paste comes in several colors, here in the U.S. the two easiest to find are red curry paste and green curry paste.

    Red and green curry pastes are used similarly in cooking but have very different flavor profiles.

    • The red is more chile-forward, making it strong and spicy (perfect for Massaman Curry).
    • The green has more nuanced citrusy, herbal notes.
    • As you might expect, the two varieties create two differently colored curries: red for red curry paste-based sauces like Thai Chicken Curry, and green for a green curry coconut milk sauce like the one in this recipe (isn’t the color pretty?). In Thailand, you’ll also find yellow curry.

    This curry uses green curry paste, but you can swap for the red if you prefer more heat.

    A Thai-inspired dish in a pot

    5 Star Review

    “This is the best curry I have ever had. I can’t believe I made it! It is so flavorful and warm and comforting. I just want to sit on the couch with a bowl and good movie. Also perfect quick delicious dinner for a Monday.”

    — Alexis —

    How to Make Green Curry

    My favorite nickname for this recipe is “green curry in a hurry” because it comes together in less than 30 minutes.

    You can swap the chickpeas for just about any protein and use almost any vegetable in your produce drawer.

    The Ingredients

    • Green Curry Paste. Green curry paste helps give this authentic green curry flavor. It adds citrus and herb flavors with a little sweetness and spice. Store-bought paste is just fine! You can find it any well-stocked grocery store: Kroger, Target, Walmart, Trader Joe’s…or find it online here.
    • Fresh Ginger. A fresh, zesty addition and key ingredient to curry recipes like this one.
    • Light Coconut Milk. Helps give the curry richness and liquid without watering down the flavors. Using light coconut milk helps add less fat to the dish.
    • Chickpeas. You can make a delicious, satisfying curry with lots of chickpeas. Protein-wise, I love making this green curry with chickpeas because they take exactly zero minutes to prep.

    To Use Meat Instead

    If you’d like to make your green curry with meat, you can swap sautéed pieces of chicken breast or chicken thigh for Thai green curry chicken, or use pork. Shrimp would also be a good protein addition.

    • Sweet Potato. Sweet potato pieces add wonderful sweetness, texture, and healthy benefits to the green curry.
    • Kale. Chopped kale blends seamlessly into the green curry and brings oodles of fiber and vitamins. You could make this into a spinach green curry if you prefer a more mild-tasting green.
    • Broccoli. Another delicious and nutritious green veggie addition.

    Vegetable Substitutions

    The vegetables used in this green curry are flexible. Feel free to swap in your favorites or others you have on hand. Red bell peppers, eggplant, and potatoes are some of our other go-tos.

    • Onion. The second of the aromatics along with the fresh ginger.
    • Lime Juice. Adds brightness and acidity. Squeeze a lime wedge at the end for a finish fling.
    • Fish Sauce. A little fish sauce gives the curry an addictive note of umami and is key to its authentic taste. (It will not make the curry taste like fish!)
    • Coconut Sugar. To balance the curry spice. Brown sugar works too.
    • Greek Yogurt. Helps make this a super creamy green curry without any extra fat.
    • Fresh Herbs. Serve topped with fresh basil leaves.

    Dietary Note

    If you need to make this a vegan green curry, swap the fish sauce for soy sauce or coconut aminos and use a dairy-free Greek yogurt. You can also omit the yogurt and use full-fat coconut milk.

    The Directions

    sauteeing onions in skillet for green curry with chickpeas
    1. Sauté the garlic, ginger, and onion in a large skillet over medium heat.
    mizing green curry paste and sauteed onions in skillet for healthy green curry
    1. Stir in the green curry paste.
    pouring coconut milk into skillet to make green curry
    1. Add the coconut milk.
    green curry full of vegetables cooking in large skillet
    1. Add sweet potato, kale, and chickpeas. Let simmer until the tender.
    mixing vegetables into vegan green curry with chickpeas
    1. Add broccoli.
    greek yogurt added to green curry with chickpeas, vegetables, and cocount milk
    1. Stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Let cool for a few minutes, then add the Greek yogurt. ENJOY!

    Storage Tips

    • To Store. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
    • To Reheat. Reheat curry in a Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-low heat. 
    • To Freeze. Freeze leftovers in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

    Meal Plan Tip

    Chop the vegetables up to 1 day in advance, refrigerating them in separate airtight storage containers.

    A bowl of creamy curry with rice

    What to Serve with Green Curry