Vegetable Curry - The Plant Based School (2024)

Table of Contents

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Variations
• Serving suggestions
• Storage
• More curry recipes
• More veggie-packed dinners
• Vegetable Curry Recipe

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.

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.

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.

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.

Serve this vegetable curry in a bowl with apinch of garam masalaon top, a sprinkle ofchopped cilantroor parsley, and asqueeze of lemon or limejuice.

You can serve your curry with:

• White or brown rice, we like basmati rice.
• Store-bought orhomemadeflatbread, pita bread, or naan bread to sop up the curry sauce leftovers.
• A dollop of yogurt, sour cream, or cucumber–yogurt sauce.

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.

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.)

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.