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.
Tried the Green Curry. Absolutely delicious. I have always had a mental block against oriental cooking, though I love the food. I think now I will be more open-minded to try cooking more of this cuisine
Great to hear, Arti! Thanks so much for your review.
This was delectable! I added cauliflower because I had it on hand. I’ve made lots of Thai curries but the addition of lime & soy sauce really put this one over the top. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Fiona! Happy to hear that.
This is one of my absolute favorite recipes – I keep coming back to it :) Thanks Kate!
Great to hear, Traci! Thank you for your review.
A favorite recipe. I follow the recipe as written but have substituted fresh green beans for the asparagus. Loved by non vegetarian husband!!
That’s great, Catherine!
this was so good!!! i’ve just made the switch to a vegan diet and this was one of the first recipes i’ve tried. i love red curry but i’ve never tried green so i was excited :) i didn’t have asparagus on hand so i used broccoli and extra kale and spinach and carrots, i also used a different brand of green curry paste and it was still delicious!! i used almost the whole jar of curry paste though lol i love the taste :P i had leftovers for days and was not complaining! i looked forward to eating it every day. it’s a great recipe when you want to use the rest of whatever veggies you have on hand, or when you just want to eat something good haha!!
I’m glad this was so great for you! Thanks for sharing, Maddie.
Hi Kate, I can’t see the nutritional information for this recipe for some reason – could you possibly repeat it here? It looks delicious but I just want to double check that it fits into my current diet :) Thank you!
Hi Heather! It should be working. Make sure you allow pop-ups in your settings as it operates as a plug-in on my blog.
Great, thank you Kate!
Absolutely delicious.. I will definately cook it again.. my daughter Stephanie cooked it last night..
Thanks for the review, Roberta!
I’m assuming the instructions for the rice aren’t exactly as listed (boil for 30 minutes)
I’m sure it’s just a typo, but I’ll boil for 30 seconds, and then simmer.
Hi Elizabeth, it’s actually correct. You want to boil the rice for 30 minutes to get it tender :)
Just slipped this into the weekend rotation (so long tired, old bean soup). Looks amazing. Thanks for the inspiration, Kate!
You’re welcome, Mary!
The Thai green curry with vegetables is delicious. I will keep this to use all year long with different vegetables.
Thanks for sharing, Heidi!
Delicious recipe. Added mushrooms, red peppers and some cayenne pepper. Will make this my go to green curry recipe.
Thank you for sharing, Cal!
I LOVE green curry and will be trying this ASAP.
Please let me know what you think!! :)
OMGosh Kate!! You knocked it outta da park with your Thai Green Curry w/ Spring Veggies! We just made it for dinner and are still savoring & grinning! I added julienned red pepper and sliced mushrooms, just to join the party, and it totally rocked! Thanks for giving us C&K fans such a great start to March!
You’re welcome, Annie! Thank you for the feedback.
very glad I found this. I have been trying to replicate my favorite Thai food, avocado green curry, and this was pretty dang close! Would recommend.
Thank you, Mykelle!
Made this for dinner last night and it was a hit! It’s somehow both fresh and comforting? Those two things don’t usually go hand-in-hand but they do here – yum!
I think that makes sense and can go together. Thanks, Jen! I’m glad you loved it.
This is sooooo good!! I made this x4 and added a few potatos to the recipe and everyone loved it!!
Great to hear, Jinger!
I made this tonight for my sister and it was so delicious! I added broccoli and used Yai Thai’s green curry sauce which is Vegetarian, Paleo, Gluten Free and Whole30 compliant. I will definitely add this to my rotation and make minor tweaks when doing the Whole30. Next time I’ll make a white fish to goveith the veggies and rice. We had fresh pineapple for dessert. What a fantastic, tasty, easy and quick meal. Zero excuses not to try this recipe. Thanks so much!
Thanks for sharing, Amy!
Kate
Made your stuffed acorn squash for dinner last night. My son and I absolutely loved! Was so delicious. Thank you!
I love to hear that, Barb! Thanks so much for your review.
I made this curry yesterday and it was delicious! I’m actually planning a trip to Thailand right now and this recipe started getting me even more excited for it!!
Thanks for sharing, Anna! Enjoy your trip.
Delicious! I added (2) jalapenos because I love spicy and a soft boiled egg. Love the amount of thai recipes that Kate has.
Thank you, Kate! I’m glad you liked this one and were able to add a little touch.
This was OUTSTANDING! the only tweaks I made was I used 1/2 teaspoon sugar and threw the rice in to make a soup. Will definitely make again! Thank you!
Thank you, Erin!
I made it tonight. Fabulous! I used a new to the market curry by a brand called Asian Organics. I also used light coconut milk and it is still fabulous, with less calories. No need for tofu. Perfect for the last night of Winter!
Thanks for sharing, Karen! Sounds like a great find.
Hi! Another 5 Star Recipe!
This was wonderful, everyone loved it! Made exactly as specified. We had it as a main course, and left overs as a side dish. Yummy!
I am so glad a colleague recommended your blog to me. We are vegetarian and recently gluten free so exploring your gluten free delights!!
Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing, Elisa! I’m excited your colleague recommended C+K!
We just made this last night, turned out wonderful! We added green pepper to it as well and used quinoa instead of rice.
Key takeaways: veggies and sauce require that 10+ minutes of simmer for right consistency, we used the Thai Kitchen curry paste (plan to use a little more than the 3 Tbsp next time), and adding something for more of a kick in the sauce.
Just as good if not better than the Thai restaurants down the street we go to.
Oh and we avoided the sugar and it was still very flavorful!
Thank you for the feedback, Christopher!
Thai curry recipe is awesome. The flavors complement each other. I do have one question . Do you have this recipe in metric measurement ?
I’m sorry, I don’t have metric measurements. I recommend using an online calculator. I believe myrecipes has one people have used in the past.
I made this last night and it was delicious!! I topped it with a little chopped up peanuts and that little extra crunch put it over the top. I wish I had a 5 gal bucket of this!
Sounds delicious, Greta! Thanks for sharing.
Simple, versatile and delicious – husband says this Curry is MONEY ;) So easy and better than our fav Thai Restaurant!
Prefer spicy, so upped to 3T Thai Kitchen green curry paste plus 1/4t+ red pepper flakes. No sugar needed in our opinion, but we tend to roll Whole30; subbed chicken stock for water.
Used full fat coco milk, extra ginger and 2T shallots in lieu of garlic and onion (ran out last night), fresh lime juice and coconut aminos.
Opted to oven roast veggies we had on hand (broccoli, red cabbage, asparagus and carrot) with a touch of oil, salt and curry powder for 10 min at 375 in lieu of cooking in pan with curry. Fabuloso! Thank you!
That’s too funny! I’m happy it was a hit.
Would you recommend lime juice or rice vinegar more? I have both :)
Either are really nice! I do lean toward citrus a lot, though. :)
Thanks Kate! I’ll be making this on Saturday :) for a little vegetarian Easter feast.
This was so, so, SO good! Better than my local Thai restaurant. I topped mine with fresh cilantro, salted peanuts and lots of red pepper flakes!
Hooray, Hayley! I love to hear that. Thanks for the review.
Hi Kate, I’ve made your Panang recipe several times with some modifications of course. What home cook doesn’t? I use unsweetened Ripple pea milk instead of coconut milk and it works just great without the calories. It have that thicker consistency. If you haven’t looked at using this in some of your recipes give it whirl.
Dale from Phoenix!
Thanks for sharing, Dale!
This was soooo flavorful! I added tofu which I pan fried till it was crispy. What a great recipe!!!
I like the tofu add! Thanks for sharing, Marg.
Great recipe. I’ve been trying several recipes and this is by far the best one. Absolutely love it!
Great to hear, Carine!
We made this for dinner last night and added some other veggies and some chicken for my meat-loving husband. Words cannot describe how amazing the flavors are!! My daughter declared it to be one of her favorite meals! Love, love , love!!!
Thank you for sharing, Kay!
This turned out sooo good. I used baby broccoli and snap peas in place of the asparagus and it was lovely. Omitted the water and garnished with fresh basil. I also added in a but of turmeric. I served this dish with spiced chickpeas (smoked paprika and cayenne). My partner cleaned his bowl :)
Turmeric sounds like a nice little touch. Thank you for sharing, Laura!
This is by far one of the most delish meals I’ve ever made! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Tiphane!
This is the third recipe of yours that I have tried, thus far. I’m sure that I will try many more. Your recipes have been a hit one after the next. I’ve never cooked brown basmati rice before, so thanks for expanding my horizons. Very nice, complex flavors in an incredibly healthy dish. I used a bit more of all three of the main vegetables (asparagus, carrots and spinach) and used lime juice rather than vinegar. I may use more coconut milk instead of water and cut the sugar to 1 tsp. but those are just my personal preferences. This recipe seems versatile and I’m certain I will try different vegetable combinations in the future. I will also try adding your baked tofu to make it slightly more hearty. Bravo on an amazing recipe and THANK YOU for sharing all of your delicious food with the world.
Thank you, Joshua!
This has been in my regular rotation for a couple of years. Always a family favorite!
I’m happy to hear that, Gina!
Great recipe! I found it slightly watery so next time I will just skip the water. I was skeptical of the brown sugar but it gave it a nice sweet touch. Very hearty and filling and so so satisfying. I’d bet that any veggie could work!! It’s a keeper.
Thank you for your feedback, Sandy! Curry is more soup-like, typically. I appreciate your review.
This is by far my favourite recipe of this kind. I make it all the time and it is very popular also among the non-vegetarians of the family!
Thank you for your review, Nina!
This is delicious! I made mine with tofu so I really went heavy on the curry paste to give it flavor (I think I used 2 tablespoons instead of 2 teaspoons)!
Thanks for sharing, Cristina!
I have made countless cookie and kate recipes from the website and cookbook and I have to say, this is my favorite recipe EVER! I have made it twice now and couldn’t be happier. I accidentally bought light coconut milk this time and I have to say it was even better with the full fat version the first time. Still delicious though. We added crispy baked tofu and garnished with basil and honey roasted peanuts.
Very tasty dish. I did add a few more vegetables as I felt it wouldn’t be enough for 4 people! It’s the first I added sugar to a veg. dish. It probably amplified the flavours. I used Blue Dragon curry paste (suitable for vegetarians). I can’t wait till my family try this dish I made!
Thank you for sharing, Ajay!
This was DELICIOUS! Thank you!
This was delicious! Used green beans instead of asparagus because that’s what I had on hand, and skipped the sugar. Very, very good, and leftovers keep well for a next day lunch. Also appreciate that you put nutritional info after your recipes. Thanks for a recipe that can become part of my normal rotation!
I love how you changed it up, Anna! I appreciate your review.
I love this recipe! I literally use it every time I make Thai food!
I love to hear that! Thanks for sharing, Olivia.
THE BEST! So simple and yet so rich and flavorful! I omit the sugar and use a bit more curry paste to suit my own taste, but the recipe is a huge hit with everyone. I make it at least once a month!
Once a month, that’s great! Thank you for your review, Katie.
This was super tasty and super easy to make. I needed to use up veggies in the fridge so instead of asparagus I substituted broccoli, mushrooms, baby corn, and cherry tomatoes. I kept everything else the same and stirred in chili garlic sauce at the end and it was amazing. My boyfriend loved it as well. Thank you! I will definitely make it again and forward the recipe to my sisters:)
Sounds like a delicious combination, Kate! I appreciate your review.
My daughter served this to us when we visited in November. It was delicious! The taste was perfect, the blend of asparagus, spinach ,carrots was just right. I thought the fresh cilantro and lime juice finished the dish perfectly. I’ll be adding this Cookie and Kate recipe to my collection.
I’m happy you enjoyed this one, Kim! Thanks for your review.
YUM! I’ve been making variations of green curry for years and never felt it was quite right – this is IT! Carrots took a bit longer to soften, but I think that may be stove specific. Thank you so much, Kate!
You’re welcome, Lily! I’m glad it turned out well in the end for you.
My (canned) coconut milk has a thick layer of oil (solidified) – I can’t bring myself to use so much oil in my dish so I removed it and just used the white (still thick) milk. I think it turned out fine like this but would like to read any comments from someone who has done it both ways.
Hi Cindy! Coconut milk tends to do that. You just need to mix it with what has settled out.