Thai Green Curry with Spring Vegetables
This healthy, vegetarian Thai green curry recipe is full of asparagus, carrots and spinach! It's full of flavor and simple enough for weeknight dinners.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
I’ve been on a vegetable-packed coconut curry kick lately—they’re just the perfect transition food for this time of year. This vegetarian Thai green curry recipe features fresh asparagus, carrots and spinach in a delicious green coconut sauce. It’s full of flavor and simple enough for weeknight dinners.
I used store-bought Thai curry paste instead of raw ingredients, because some (like galangal) are difficult to find and time-consuming to prepare. I’ve watched a chef prepare curry paste in Thailand, and he really worked up a sweat! So while this recipe is not perfectly authentic, it’s a lot easier to make.
This curry is based on an older Thai green curry recipe, which I’ve since deleted. I loved the base recipe for that dish (I learned how to make it at a fun cooking class), but I was never quite satisfied by my choice of mix-ins.
So here we are, three years later, with an improved, extra-green version. This time, I opted for asparagus (snow peas would also work), carrots and wilted spinach. I love it, and I think you will, too!
How to Serve Thai Green Curry
I skipped the tofu altogether and found the dish to be plenty hearty without it. If you want to add tofu, though, I’d suggest baking it first and adding it with the coconut milk.
I served my curry over rice (again), but I bet quinoa would be an interesting alternative.
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! If you want to change it up, don’t miss my Thai red curry recipe.
Watch How to Make Thai Green Curry
Thai Green Curry with Spring Vegetables
This healthy, vegetarian Thai green curry features fresh asparagus, carrots and spinach! It’s full of flavor and simple enough for weeknight dinners. Feel free to substitute sliced snow peas for the asparagus if it’s not in season where you live. Recipe yields two large servings (as shown) or four small servings.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger (about a 1-inch nub of ginger, peeled and chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Pinch of salt
- ½ bunch asparagus, tough ends removed and sliced into 2-inch long pieces (to yield about 2 cups prepared asparagus)
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into ¼-inch wide rounds (to yield about 1 cup sliced carrots)
- 2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste*
- 1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk (I used full-fat coconut milk for a richer curry)
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ teaspoons coconut sugar or turbinado (raw) sugar or brown sugar
- 2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce** (I used reduced-sodium tamari)
- Garnishes: handful of chopped fresh cilantro and red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
- To cook the rice, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rinsed rice and continue boiling for 30 minutes, reducing heat as necessary to prevent overflow. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to pot. Cover and let the rice rest for 10 minutes or longer, until you’re ready to serve.
- Warm a large skillet with deep sides over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add a couple teaspoons of oil. Cook the onion, ginger and garlic with a sprinkle of salt for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the asparagus and carrots and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the curry paste and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Pour the coconut milk into the pan, along with ½ cup water and 1 ½ teaspoons sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the carrots and asparagus are tender and cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are done cooking, stir the spinach into the mixture and cook until the spinach has wilted, about 30 seconds. Remove the curry from heat and season with rice vinegar and soy sauce. Add salt and red pepper flakes (optional), to taste. Divide rice and curry into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if you’d like.
Notes
*Green curry paste: Look for it in the Asian section of the grocery store. I like Thai Kitchen brand. Not all Thai curry pastes are vegetarian, but this one is.
**Make it gluten free: Be sure to use gluten-free tamari instead of regular soy sauce.
If you love this recipe: Be sure to check out my other Thai-inspired recipes here!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
this looks so gorgeous and fresh, Kate! Can’t wait to make the best of the seasons produce and give it a try!
Any this green curry paste has fish paste in it…do you have a brand that is suitable for vegetarians?
I used Thai Kitchen brand and it doesn’t have any fish/meat products in it.
there are few things i love more than green curry. is thai kitchen green curry paste your go to?
Yep, that’s the brand I always buy! I’ve never seen another one, but I think Thai Kitchen’s is really good!
i make very similar version with tofu and whatever veggies i have on hand. this one looks wonderful…
I’ve been loving curries lately! I sometimes just love the veggies too, no tofu necessary : )
green curry is my favorite. I love checking out others curry recipe to get ideas to spice mine up. I think I’ll add asparagus next time! I didn’t drink any Guinness last night either…I had salmon, asparagus, and white potatoes…realizing after that it mimicked the Irish flag. Close enough to celebrating?
Ha, yep, definitely close enough! Love that.
Such a beautiful curry to transition to Spring! So vibrant, healthy, and nourishing. Your photos always inspire. :)
Glad I’m not the only one who sat out the St. Patty’s Day festivities. This very green curry is plenty by itself for celebrating!
I love Thai red curries, but I’m not sure I’ve ever tried green before. I’ll have to give this a whirl! I love how simple you’ve made this, too. Love this!
I adore green curry, and adding in all the extra veg makes it delicious too!
Definitely perfect for Spring! And I’ve made your other recipe for green curry and loved it…definitely need to try this one too :)
Thanks, Katrina! Glad to hear it.
I’m super pumped about this recipe! I was literally thinking how much I want to learn to cook curry…I’ve been craving it lately. This will definitely be on the menu for next week, thank you for sharing:)!
Thanks, Melissa! Please let me know how it turns out for you!
I love Thai food but I’ve always been intimated to cook it myself at home. You’ve got me yearning to give it a go with this recipe but it looks incredibly fresh and flavorful! I agree that it sounds perfect for this time of year too.
Thai curries are really easy! I’ve found that a little bit of sugar and vinegar add a ton of complexity. Hope you’ll give this one a shot!
This looks great! I have a bunch of leftover homemade green curry paste (seriously, it’s a game changer and not that hard to throw together) so I think I’ll have to give this a shot some time soon.
I love the vegetables you chose, and not only because you made it so visually appealing :) I could really go for some thai green curry right now!
I love curry, this looks so good with those fresh spring greens!
This curry looks fantastic!!!
Oh this is gorgeous, Kate! I can never get enough curry, green is my favorite, and this version looks top notch. Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks, Alanna! Hope you love it!
This looks so delicious and creamy! I’ve been on a curry kick too lately …I’m definitely going to try this one!!
Thai curry is one of the favourite dishes of my bf and I! We cook some so often, and I love it with almost every vegetable in it. Never tried asparagus though, I hope they star popping up on the farmers market soon! Can’t wait for asparagus season! Also, I usually use red curry paste as the green one I once bought was WAY too spicy, but maybe I should try another brand or make it myself!
I love curry! This looks delicious!
Hooray for coconut milk curries! This is such a great way to eat as much fresh new-season asparagus as possible. :)
Yum! Thai green curry is my favourite curry along with gobi! Looks wonderful!
This was one of the most delicious curry dishes I’ve had, and I don’t usually care for green curry too much! Excellent choice of veggies!
Thanks, Nate! So glad you enjoyed this curry!
looks absolutely delicious :)
Thank you so much for this recipe!! This is absolutely delicious! I’m a new vegetarian ( and in lack of inspiration for healthy & hearty meals) and you’re really inspiring!
P.s Sorry for the english, i’m from Québec!
Merci beaucoup, Kim!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Seriously rivals a curry from my favorite Thai restaurant. Thanks for the recipe!
Hooray! So glad to hear you say that, Heather!
This looks amazing Kate! Your recipes are always full of good veggies and fresh, clean flavors. Can’t wait to try this one!
Thanks, Jenny! Hope you enjoy it!
I am in a curry mood at the moment too! I just made a big batch of my Mum’s curried pumpkin soup for dinners this week. When that runs out I am going to move on to this delicious dish!
With cooler nights approaching I am looking for something to warm us up – and this is a perfect dish for our vegetarian/omnivore household :)
Thanks Kate!
I’ve been craving ALL THE THAI FOOD lately and happen to have some green curry paste in my fridge! Such perfect timing.
Ah…just waiting the five or ten minutes to add the spinach (which sadly is frozen and as we just realized from China for Pete sake but alas we live in Labrador so are lucky to get anything!) I planned to make this this weekend along with a weeks worth from Oh My Veggies and very satisfying it is to come home and know what you are making for dinner. Thank you! I truly appreciate your non-judgmental veggie heart. Now to add evil spinach and eat.
Thanks, Jan! Your Chinese spinach made me giggle. Hope you loved this one.
Yum!! I love all things curry :)
Looks wonderful. I once made Red Curry but I used the entire jar of red curry, I was so disappointed with the results, I need to follow the instructions next time.
This was great!! Super easy and yet it also had depth of flavor. I enjoyed it very much. Served it with quinoa instead of rice!
Awesome!!! Thanks, Sara. Happy to hear it.
Curry is the perfect spring food. Not super heavy like most soups and stews, but it has just the right amount of body to make it comforting for these chilly nights.
I just made this and I have to say, this meal gives your spicy broccoli pasta a run for it’s money. That’s been a favorite of my fiance’s and mine for awhile, but this is some pretty strong competition!
Thank you, Natasha! Delighted to hear it.
This was so fantastic! And, even better for lunch the next day.
Thanks so much Kate!
Awesome! Thanks you, Mariah!
This is so delicious. I just made it today. Inexpensive, too, since aspargus is now in season.
Thank you, Mona! :)
This was super delicious and came together in a snap! I subbed snow peas for the asparagus and lime leaves instead of cilantro and added tofu.
Thanks, Erika! So glad you enjoyed it. Your version sounds delicious.
So this was awesome and so easy to follow I loved it; I’ve never in my life made thai food before, so I was a bit out of my comfort zone. But, IT WAS A HIT! The family loved it, as did I. We like things a bit spicier than most so I added a couple thai red chilli peppers with the garlic and ginger, and I also added basil in with the spinach at the end. You’re a genius!
Thank you so much, Jasleen! You sound like a Thai food natural to me. Great idea to add basil and Thai chili peppers!
This was fabulous!!! Definitely a keeper!! Tastes just like it did at the Thai restaurant!!
Hooray, thank you, Sally!
This looks so delicious and fresh. Love the idea of incorporating spring veg into this Thai classic crowd pleaser.
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I had some cauliflower on hand that needed to be used, so I added that, as well. I love your recipes-they are easy to follow and the ingredients are easily accessible. Also, I am the only vegetarian in my family of six, so I like that usually the portions are smaller.
Thank you and keep ’em coming:)
Hooray! Thank you, Tara! Really happy to hear that.
haven’t tried this version yet but i’ve been making green curry using thai kitchen’s paste for at least 10 years. i’m annoyed because it used to be quite hot, but in the last 4-5 years it seems the paste just doesn’t have the same heat that it used to. anyone else have this experience?
when i have made this in the past (usually with chicken) i tend to add peas but i’ve also used water chestnuts and even bamboo shoots. can’t wait to try this with tofu, asparagus & spinach!
That’s an interesting observation, Lisa! I don’t doubt you’re right. Hope you enjoy this version with tofu!
Hi!
This looks delicious. Could I make this ahead in full or part (Spinach would be added last minute)and freeze it?
Hi Inga! I haven’t tried freezing the curry, but yes, I think you could!
this tastes so delicious! love it. perfect base recipe for all kinds of veggies.
Made it for dinner tonight and this was my first ever green curry! Yum, yum, yum! I added shrimp and edamame just because I had some sitting around and got an extra protein boost. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Thank you, Paige! Glad you enjoyed it!
This is SO delicious! I didn’t have spinach or asparagus, so I used sliced zucchini and broccoli instead and it turned out great! Added some chicken to up the protein count and am currently enjoying a bowl for lunch. GREAT recipe!
Thank you, Katie! So glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this for dinner and I’ll quote my husband, “I’ve never been a big fan of curry, but this is delicious!”. Thanks for the recipe, it was delicious. I traded the asparagus for broccoli and added peppers.
Victory! Thank you, Cathi! :)
I was thinking of adding chickpeas for protein. When would you recommend adding it
Good idea! You’ll want to use cooked/canned chickpeas and add them along with the carrot and asparagus. You basically just want them to be warmed through before serving.
Tried this tonight with the chickpeas. It was delicious!!!
Awesome! Thanks, Alex!
This curry was fast, simple and delicious. I used a pre-made green curry paste from a can (can’t remember which-but the can is green and small…and have seen it in many grocery stores). I used coconut cream mixed with water, about a 70:30 ratio of coconut to water for the coconut milk. I also added 2 stalks of chopped-up dried lemon grass, steeped them in the coconut milk and strained the contents before adding them to the curry. Wonderful recipe!
Thank you, Annaliese! So glad you enjoyed it!