Green Vegan Thai Curry Paste

I can't believe we waited so long to make our own Green Vegan Thai Curry Paste! It seemed so daunting while it was shrouded in mystery. It really is simple to make. Roast spices. Chop ingredients. Blend.  That's it!

What got us motivated to face our fears :-) and develop this recipe is a gift from a friend. They were three wrinkly little green nuggets in a bag and we didn't know what they were! Too embarrassed to ask her, we turned to Google to learn that they were Kaffir Limes, the source of the sour flavor in Thai curry paste. We also learned that you can use common limes to make your delicious vegan green curry too.

We've loved eating authentic Thai food in Chiang Mai, on the beach on Ko Samui, and along Khaosan Road in Bangkok. We appreciated the complex balance of sour, fragrant, spicy hot, pungent, and sweet flavors.  Sadly, we were not successful recreating these beloved flavors at home when using the pre-packaged green curry paste we've purchased in stores. 

While making a Green Coconut Curry with pre-bottled green curry paste I would try to increase the depth of flavor by adding more, but it became too spicy hot and remained boring in its flavor spectrum. Markus and I like the spicy foods, but our 6-year-old didn't have a chance with the heat, so I would make a special serving for him. This was just too complicated and unsatisfying. 

The beauty of this vegan Thai curry paste recipe is that YOU control the balance of flavor. It's a balance of heat, sour, salty, umami, sweet, and pungent. Because you're mixing it all up together in the blender, you can taste-test it as you blend the curry and adjust the flavors until its perfect for you.

In this tasty green curry, we erred on the side of rich, complex curry flavor and went lighter on the heat. Our whole family, including our 6-year-old, love it! Markus and I can always add extra heat to ours at the table. 

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Jump to Vegan Thai Green Curry Paste Grocery List

Although we usually include a  Nutritional Analysis of each recipe, we don't with spice blends such as this. The overall impact on nutrition is nominal when used to flavor a big pot of Green Vegan Coconut Thai Curry. 

Vegan Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe

Prep

• 30 minutes prep
• Serves 24 at 1.5 Tbsp of curry paste per serving
• Suggested equipment: small saucepan, electric spice grinder or mortar and pestle,  Vitamix blender. (See our reviews of these items HERE)

Ingredients

• 5 Tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
  
  
• 1 ½” thumb-sized ginger root, sliced
• 10 garlic cloves
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 3 lemongrass stalks, bulbous parts sliced
• 6 purple salad onions (or green onions) chopped to make about 2 cups, loosely packed
• 3 kaffir limes or 1 large lime, zested and juiced
• 5 green Thai chili peppers
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce or salt
• 1 Tbsp Yondu Umami Sauce (optional)
• ½ cup vegetable oil, we use Canola Oil
• Maple syrup or sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Lightly toast the coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds and black peppercorns in a pan over medium heat until fragrant, 3-5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat. Grind until smooth in an electric grinder, with a mortar and pestle , or in the blender, you're going to use to blend the paste. 
3. Chop and measure all other ingredients.
4. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust flavors to suit your taste. It's a thick paste. If your blender can't handle blending thick substances, blend this in 2 separate batches to make it easier on the motor. 
5. Place in a jar and store in the refrigerator. We find ours easily keeps 2 weeks. 

Green Vegan Coconut Thai Curry dinner simple recipe:

1-2 cans full fat coconut milk

1 cup chopped onions

3 cloves chopped garlic

3 cups mixed vegetables

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

Garnish with fresh basil

Serve with rice. 

Pour 1/3 can of full fat coconut milk in a large pan. Warm until fragrant over medium heat. Stir in 1/4 cup of Green Vegan Thai Curry Paste. 

Cook onions and garlic for 5 minutes. 

Add the remaining coconut milk.

Add 3 cups chopped vegetables of your choice. Add hard vegetables like carrots or sweet potatoes first because they need to cook longer. Add 1 cup of vegetable broth, or equivalent bouillon and water.

Next add firm vegetables like broccoli, green beans, cauliflower. Last add tender vegetables like kale, spinach, and swiss chard. 

 Add sugar. Add salt and curry paste to taste. 

Just before serving, stir in citrus juice and basil. 

Pour over rice and enjoy! 

Chef's Notes 

If you don't have a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder (we dedicate a small coffee grinder for this purpose and like this one best: Shardor Spice Grinder), use your blender, or you can place your roasted spices in a thick plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or another flat implement. The fresh ground spices are worth the effort, but if you only have pre-ground spices, toast them up and use them! 

We get our Indian spices from this fabulous, small, family-wowed business: Pure Indian Foods. They're fresh and mostly organic. Use our link to send us a small commission so we can keep doing what we do best: supporting you to be a thriving vegan! 

Makes 2 cups of moderately spicy vegan Thai green curry paste.

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Written by Your Vegan Family 

Stacy and Markus live an adventurous vegan lifestyle and write articles about their experiences cooking global vegan cuisine, creating businesses, raising vegan kids, and traveling through more than 65 countries. They earned degrees in molecular biology and acupuncture, consulted over decades for healthcare companies and individuals, created businesses in Asian medicine, eco-tourism, cultural immersion, and taught yoga in myriad venues.

We’ve learned a lot from eating a plant-based diet for 25 years and are eager to share more with you. Learn more on our About Us page.

Green Vegan Thai Curry Paste Recipe Grocery List: 

• ginger root
• garlic cloves
• lemongrass stalks
• purple salad onions or green onions
• 3 kefir limes or 1 large lime
• green Thai chili peppers
• fresh jalapeño pepper
• fresh cilantro
• coriander seeds
• cumin seeds
• black peppercorns
• fennel seeds
• nutmeg
• Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
• Yondu Umami Sauce
• vegetable oil
• maple syrup or sugar (optional)

 * Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. If you use them and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment. You will not be charged extra for this. Thank you for your support!