This sweet potato curry is a weeknight saviour. It's all about a quick and easy dinner that only requires basic larder ingredients and some fresh herbs. But don't be fooled by the simplicity of this vegan style curry. It's all about texture and depth of flavour with crunchy chopped cashews, creamy sweet potatoes, spicy Thai red curry paste, sweet coconut milk and bright citrusy lime juice.
This curry! It's definitely shot to the top of my "favourites" list this month. There's just something so surprising and intriguing about this little bowl of curry. It's so simple and has all the healthy labels going for it. It's-
- vegan
- gluten-free
- dairy-free
- sugar-free
- full of veggies and really healthy!
Sweet Potato Curry
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Ingredients
But what you really need to know is what your shopping list of going to look like. So here we go... less than 10 ingredients stand between you and the best vegan sweet potato curry ever! I'm excited for you!
- sweet potatoes
- red onion
- Thai red curry paste- this curry paste has lots of lemongrass and fish sauce in it to bring all those flavour notes that we need, making it easy to use minimal ingredients.
- garlic
- ginger
- lime
- coconut milk
- spinach
- basil & coriander
- cashews
Let me just quickly explain the basil, coriander and cashew situation. It really is all about adding the texture of chopped cashews and that flavour hit of all the fresh chopped herbs that truly elevate this curry. I very... VERY generously load this on top of my curry and maybe definitely add extra as I eat. Please don't skip this step. It truly is worth it.
Instructions (step by step)
- One of the most important steps in making curry is to sweat the onions, garlic and ginger the right way. We're looking for a moderate heat so that the onions start to soften without colour.
- Once the onions, garlic and ginger are soft add in the curry paste and stir it well. Chop the sweet potato and spinach so that they will cook evenly. Then add the sweet potato to the pot and stir well so that the chunks get coated in the curry paste.
- Add in the coconut milk and water. You can always use vegetable stock here if you prefer, but I think this curry has tonnes of flavour already and it doesn't really need it.
- Bring everything to a simmer and let it continue to simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat and add in the chopped spinach to wilt. There will be enough heat in the curry that the spinach will wilt without the heat being on under the pot.
Pro tips
- Cut the sweet potato so that they are all the same size so they cook evenly.
- Use full-fat coconut milk for a super creamy texture. (This recipe still works really well with reduced fat, it's just not quite as creamy).
- Buy already washed spinach so that you can save some time. Chop the spinach so that it wilts better and faster.
Variations
This recipe is the perfect base recipe to add in extra vegetables and some proteins if you like.
- Skip the sweet potato and use butternut squash
- Add chickpeas
- Add in chicken or prawns
- Use peanuts instead of cashews for the topping.
How to freeze curry
This curry is perfect for freezing.
- Let it cool completely to room temperature or in the fridge.
- Divide into containers or freezer bags and label with the date and recipe. (No surprises when you defrost!)
- Place in the freezer (lay the bags flat if you're using freezer bags.)
How to reheat
To reheat the curry, defrost in the fridge overnight or on the worktop for a few hours. Because this curry doesn't have meat in it, it's fine to defrost at room temperature for a few hours.
Reheat stovetop
Remove to curry from the freezer bag or the container and place in a pan. Over low heat, gently reheat the curry and add some water if it's too thick. Once the curry is hot all the way through, serve over a bed of rice or noodles.
Reheat microwave
Place in a container and reheat on medium at 30-second intervals and stirring after every interval.
There is so much love in my heart for a simple curry and some very easy, healthy and freezer/ meal-prep friendly recipes right now that I think I might just burst. And I'm just trying to spread that all that love one easy curry recipe at a time!
More Easy Weeknight Recipes On Savvy Bites
Tools used to make this sweet potato curry
So in this time of uncertainty, we really need lots of simple and healthy comfort food, and this is how we can make that happen. Thinking of you and cooking along right next to you! ♥
The BEST Sweet Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 500 g (3 4/7 cups) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 (1) red onion, finely sliced
- 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) ginger, minced (adjust the amount according to your taste)
- 4 tablespoons (4 tablespoons) Thai red curry paste
- 400 ml (1 ⅗ cups) tin coconut milk, full fat preferably
- 300 ml (1 ⅕ cups) water or broth, I used water
- 300 g (3 ½ cups) spinach, roughly chopped
- Topping, optional but very worth it
- 3 tablespoons (3 tablespoons) cashews, chopped
- ½ (½) bunch basil, chopped
- ½ (½) bunch coriander, chopped
Instructions
- Chop the sweet potatoes into cubes (about 2 bites large) and chop the spinach roughly and set both aside.
- In a medium sauce pan over a medium heat warm the olive oil and add the onions. Sweat the onions for about 1 minute before adding in the ginger and garlic. Once they’ve been added, continue to sweat the onions, ginger and garlic until everything is soft and very fragrant.
- Add the Thai red curry paste to the pan and stir well to get everything coated. Add the sweet potatoes to the pan and stir once more. Pour the coconut milk and the water or stock into the pot so that the potatoes are just covered. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender.
- Once the potatoes are tender, remove the pan from the heat and add in the chopped spinach. Stir the spinach into the curry to wilt it. The residual heat will take care of this.
- While the spinach is wilting, chop the cashews, basil and coriander until it resembles a fine crumb. You can either do this by hand or in a food processor.
- Serve everything over a bed of steaming rice.
Notes
- Let it cool completely to room temperature or in the fridge.
- Divide into containers or freezer bags and label with the date and recipe. (No surprises when you defrost!)
- Place in the freezer (lay the bags flat if you're using freezer bags.)
- To reheat the curry, defrost in the fridge overnight or on the worktop for a few hours. Because this curry doesn't have meat in it, it's fine to defrost at room temperature for a few hours.
- Remove to curry from the freezer bag or the container and place in a pan. Over low heat, gently reheat the curry and add some water if it's too thick. Once the curry is hot all the way through, serve over a bed of rice or noodles.
- Place in a container and reheat on medium at 30-second intervals and stirring after every interval.
- There is so much love in my heart for a simple curry and some very easy, healthy and freezer/ meal-prep friendly recipes right now that I think I might just burst. And I'm just trying to spread that all that love one easy curry recipe at a time!
Nutrition
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
Shane
Just made this recipe for my veganuary and it is incredible! Love it!
Deborah Rainford
So happy you love it!
Charlotte Cook
I love this one. I slightly over did the ginger so I added red lentils to it. I actually split this into 8 small potions to serve alongside a chicken curry. A quick spoon of natural yoghurt when I reheated (to take the edge off my ginger mistake) and it was a really delicious accompaniment.
Deborah Thompson
No such thing as overdoing the ginger in anything!!! But I'm so happy that it fit into your meal planning! That's what it's all about!