Vegetable curry is a cozy, easy, and delicious Indian-inspired recipe packed with vegetables, flavorful spices, creamy coconut milk, and a few other simple ingredients.
You can make it in about 30 minutes and serve it as a main dish with a bowl of rice, noodles, or warm naan bread. It’s an excellent weeknight dinner recipe for the whole family.
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Making vegetable curry is easy, and it’s one of our favorite ways of making a veggie-packed dinner with bursting flavor.
You’ll love this recipe because it’s ready in about 30 minutes, you can make it with your favorite fresh or frozen veggies, and leftovers keep well for several days.
Most importantly, vegetable curry tastes delicious because the vegetables simmer with the spices and absorb their bright aromas.
You can make this recipe with most vegetables, so use our recipe as a guideline and customize it to your liking with what you have available.
This vegetable curry recipe is suitable for vegetarians, vegans, and people on a gluten-free diet.
Ingredients
Flavor base
- Olive oil: substitute coconut oil, avocado oil, or another vegetable oil for olive oil.
- Onion: you can use white, red, or yellow onion or shallots.
- Garlic: fresh garlic, grated. Substitute with garlic paste.
- Ginger: fresh ginger, grated. Substitute with ginger paste.
Spices
Remember that spice intensity varies based on the brand of your spices and how long you have kept them in your pantry. I will give you an amount suitable for most people; however, taste and adjust with more spices if you want a stronger curry.
- Curry powder
- Turmeric powder
- Ground coriander
- Ground cumin
- Red pepper flakes
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Garam masala (added at the end, right before serving the curry)
Optionally, you can add cardamom, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and cinnamon.
Vegetables
You can use fresh or frozen vegetables and mix and match them based on your preference. A tip is to cut the veggies into bite-size pieces so they all cook at the same time.
- Sweet potato: substitute potatoes, eggplant, carrots, butternut squash, pumpkin, kabocha squash, or other orange-fleshed squashes.
- Red bell pepper: substitute green and yellow bell peppers or mushrooms.
- Peas: substitute chickpeas, snap peas, green beans, or black beans.
- Broccoli: substitute cauliflower or cabbage.
- Spinach: substitute kale, bok choi, or Swiss chard.
Liquids
- Coconut milk: you can use full-fat or light coconut milk.
- Vegetable broth: you can use reduced-sodium vegetable broth if you like.
- Canned tomatoes: use diced or crushed tomatoes. Substitute with ripe fresh tomatoes.
Serve it with
- Fresh herbs: we recommend fresh coriander or cilantro, or fresh parsley.
- Lemon: squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top before serving. Substitute fresh lime juice.
- Rice: steamed or boiled basmati, jasmine, or whole grain rice. Substitute warm naan bread.
- Yogurt: top with a dollop of plain, greek, or non-dairy yogurt.
Instructions
Warm the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the chopped onion and fry it on medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring often.
Now, add grated garlic and ginger, and fry them for one more minute.
Add the curry powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
Stir and toast the spices for one minute until you smell their fragrant aroma.
Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, canned tomatoes, diced sweet potatoes, frozen peas, chopped bell pepper, and broccoli florets.
Stir, cover with a lid, bring to a boil, crack the top open, lower the heat, and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
Add the spinach, stir, and simmer for a few more minutes until they wilt.
Turn the heat off, and stir in the garam masala.
Taste and adjust for salt and spices, adding more if you want a bolder vegetable curry.
Serve in a bowl with boiled or steamed basmati rice or delicious garlic and oil naan.
Variations
Tofu curry
A delicious vegan curry made with tofu, cauliflower florets, and plenty of delicious and aromatic spices. This recipe will nourish your body and soul; it’s tasty, warming, and packed with plant-based protein.
Go to our tofu curry recipe.
Lentil curry
Lentil curry is probably the creamiest curry in the world because of the red lentils. They add a wonderful earthy flavor and an irresistible creamy texture.
This recipe is inspired by Indian lentil dhal, and it’s lovely for a comforting and nourishing weeknight dinner.
Go to our lentil curry recipe.
Chickpea curry
Chickpea curry is so nourishing, warming, and fulfilling. It’s also extremely easy to make with simple pantry staples.
We blend some of the chickpeas to make it super creamy. It’s a beautiful recipe the whole family will love.
Go to our chickpea curry recipe.
Serving suggestions
Serve this vegetable curry in a bowl with a pinch of garam masala on top, a sprinkle of chopped cilantro or parsley, and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
You can serve your curry with:
- White or brown rice, we like basmati rice.
- Store-bought or homemade flatbread, pita bread, or naan bread to sop up the curry sauce leftovers.
- A dollop of yogurt, sour cream, or cucumber–yogurt sauce.
Storage
Make ahead: this vegetable curry is a wonderful recipe to make ahead and keep in the fridge. It’s perfect for meal prep because its flavor improves one or two days after it’s made. If you plan to use this recipe for meal prep, we advise slightly undercooking the veggies.
Refrigerator: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for four days.
Freezer: let the curry cool down completely, then transfer it to a freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw & reheat: defrost it in the fridge over several hours, or pop it in the microwave for a few minutes. Reheat in the microwave or on a pot on the stove. If too dense, add a dash of water.
More curry recipes
Here are some creamy and easy curry ideas with plenty of wholesome ingredients:
- Aloo gobi (potato, cauliflower, turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander, garlic, ginger, etc.)
- Sweet potato curry (onion, garlic, curry, turmeric, coconut milk, sweet potatoes, etc.)
- Eggplant curry (roasted eggplant, canned tomatoes, coriander, curry, garam masala, etc.)
- Vegan butter chicken (tofu, cumin, coriander, non-dairy yogurt, tomato puree, etc.)
- Thai red curry (bell pepper, tofu, eggplant, peas, coconut milk, red curry paste, etc.)
More veggie-packed dinners
Get more healthy and easy dinner ideas with these vegetable–packed meals:
- Vegetable soup (cauliflower, green beans, potato, white beans, canned tomatoes, etc.)
- Lentil vegetable soup (lentils, carrots, spinach, canned tomatoes, cumin, broth, etc.)
- Vegetable couscous (couscous, zucchini, peas, eggplant, red onion, lemon, olive oil, etc.)
- Roasted vegetables (cauliflower, potato, red onion, Brussels sprouts, carrots, olive oil, etc.)
- Rice salad with vegetables (wholegrain rice, lemon, tomato, olives, cucumber, lemon, etc.)
For many more 30-minute meal ideas, check out our 30-minute meal category page.
Vegetable Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 can (14-oz) coconut milk
- 1 can (15-oz) crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups sweet potatoes diced
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup green peas
- 1 cup bell pepper chopped
- 4 cups spinach
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
SERVE WITH
- lemon wedges squeezed
- fresh cilantro chopped
- basmati rice boiled
- yogurt or non-dairy yogurt
- naan bread
Instructions
- Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot. Add 1 medium onion (chopped) and fry it on medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring often.Add 3 cloves garlic and 1 teaspoon ginger (grated), and fry them for one more minute.
- Add 2 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt.Stir and toast the spices for one minute until you smell their fragrant aroma.
- Add 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 can (14-oz) coconut milk, 1 can (15-oz) crushed tomatoes, 2 cups sweet potatoes (diced), 2 cups broccoli florets, 1 cup green peas, and 1 cup bell pepper (chopped).
- Stir, cover with a lid, bring to a boil, crack the top open, lower the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
- Add 4 cups spinach, stir, and simmer for a few more minutes until they wilt.
- Turn the heat off, and stir in 1 teaspoon garam masala.Taste and adjust for salt and spices, adding more if you want a bolder vegetable curry.
- Serve in a bowl with freshly squeezed lemon juice, fresh coriander, boiled or steamed basmati rice or delicious garlic and oil naan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked this vegetable curry, you might also enjoy:
Its my go-to recipe for meal prep. I just love it!
I boiled brown or red lentils on the side and add them for more proteins. It makes the perfect work lunch 🙂
Hi Cynthia,
That’s fantastic, and a great idea with extra lentils for added protein 🙂
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment here. Best,
Louise
I made this tonight and it was amazing!!! I appreciate the suggestions for other veggies because I didn’t have peas so I substituted string beans. I made your recipe for garlic naan to go with this and was blown away by how easy and delicious it was. P.S. I have never posted a comment, but I love your videos and your recipes so I wanted people to know that this is worth making!!
Danielle, that’s fantastic!
It’s great to hear that you liked the suggestions section AND that you enjoyed the curry with Naan bread. What a glorious combination!
Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it means a lot to us 🙂
Kindest,
Louise