The Best Vegan Vegetable Curry
Vegan Vegetable Curry is so easy and simple to cook! Yet tastes amazing and is my family’s favourite curry to date. We have it at least once a week and never get tired of it.
My vegan Vegetable Curry is adapted from Gregg Wallace and Chris Bavin’s ‘Cheats Chicken Katsu Curry‘ recipe that features in their BBC TV series ‘Eat Well for Less’.
All you have to do is prepare the curry sauce. The ingredients are peanut butter, onion, garlic, carrot, curry powder, garam masala, and vegetable stock. That’s it!
Vegan Vegetable Curry Sauce is much more nutritious and yummy than ready made curry sauce mixes.
If your allergic to nuts or just don’t like peanut butter (though its not that noticeable flavour in the curry) you could sub out the peanut butter for a wedge from a coconut creamed block. A block of creamed coconut is much cheaper than a can of coconut milk as the block should last for at least 4 curries.
Or even use both peanut butter and coconut for an extra creamy sauce sensation!
Its highly recommend to use the peanut butter, if its safe and possible to do so, as it does add so much to the flavour.
I often add creamed coconut as well as the peanut butter as my kids prefer it.
I have even used a 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut, whizzed to a fine powder, in my little coffee bean/nut grinder attachment (that came with my Aldi blender) as a replacement for creamed coconut when I had none to add. Though I expect you could just add the desiccated coconut, as is, to the curry.
Once the curry sauce is cooked it can be left chunky or whizzed up smooth in a blender. I have tried both ways and love both!
Next mix in your favourite cooked vegetables, potatoes and chickpeas or other favourite bean.
Vegan Vegetable Curry is the perfect dish for using up leftover cooked vegetables. And frozen vegetables work well, just simmer them in the curry sauce till soft.
The following is a list of vegetables that I have added to my previous curries.
Albeit in varying quantities depending on what I have in my refrigerator. Also look out for yellow-sticker reduced vegetables as these are perfect to use up in a tasty Vegan Vegetable Curry.
- a packet of Brussel sprouts, cook in the curry sauce
- an extra chopped carrot, parboiled
- a stick or 2 of chopped celery, parboiled
- a cup or two of potatoes, par boiled
- a cup or two of chopped pumpkin, marrow, courgette or aubergine, these can be cooked in the curry sauce or roasted in the oven and then added to the curry sauce
- a few chopped spring onions, leeks, cooked in the curry sauce
- chopped mushrooms, cooked in the curry sauce
- chopped green beans, mange tout, chopped string/French/runner beans, cooked in the curry sauce
- a cup of frozen peas, add to curry sauce and cook
- a tin of sweetcorn or a cup of frozen sweetcorn, cooked in the curry sauce
- baby sweetcorn, cooked in the curry sauce
-
cauliflower, I pre-roast chopped cauliflower that has been mixed with a tsp or 2 of garam masala. Roast at 180 Fan/200 Celsius/ Fahrenheit 400/ Gas 6 for about 20-25 minutes till soft. This addition is really delicious! Just mix the cauliflower through the curry at the end of cooking to heat it through.
- sweet potato chunks, microwaved or baked till soft. Then chop. I usually leave the skins on.
- chopped turnip, swedes, parsnips, roast as per the cauliflower, steam or cook in the curry sauce until soft which will likely take longer than softer vegetables. I prefer the taste of parsnips that have been cooked in curry sauce or roasted rather than boiled in water.
- broccoli florets, or tender stem/purple sprouting broccoli. Add to curry sauce to cook.
- chopped asparagus. Although generally I only have asparagus whenever I find it in the reduced section in my local supermarket as it is so expensive. I usually bake until soft or chop into bitesize pieces and simmer in the curry sauce until soft.
- spinach can be added just before serving as the spinach will wilt and cook in seconds!
- kale, spring greens, turnip greens, collard greens, etc. These will take longer than spinach so allow to cook for at least 8-10 minutes in the sauce.
- red, savoy, white, sweetheart cabbage, as above for the greens.
Other yummy additions:
- a tin of chickpeas , butterbeans or other white bean
- some chopped, cubed tofu
- a handful of vegan Quorn chunks or other ‘chicken’ vegan replacement
- a handful of Seitan chopped into chunks
Serving suggestions for Vegan Vegetable Curry:
- Your favourite rice. I have used basmati both white and brown, jasmine, long grain rice and red rice.
- broccoli or cauliflower rice. The recipe link to BBC good food uses a microwave to cook the cauliflower rice however it can always just be spread out on a baking tray and roasted at 180Fan/200 Celsius/400 Fahrenheit/Gas 6 for 25-30 minutes until it looks nice and roasted. Also if you don’t have a food processor to chop the cauliflower into rice try using a cheese grater or a sharp knife! Broccoli rice can be cooked using these same methods.
- homemade chips or wedges because who doesn’t love chips and curry sauce?
- To prepare oil-less wedges simply chop your potatoes and add some seasoning, such as garlic powder, paprika, potato seasoning blend, etc.. Roast on a baking tray at 180 Fan/200 Celsius/400 Fahrenheit/Gas 6. For about 25 plus minutes until brown, crispy and soft. Its that easy! I have often made a batch of this curry sauce, blended it up, and just plonked it on to homemade chips! Its so good!
- easy homemade chapati bread, or a shop bought vegan friendly one
- slices of toasted vegan-friendly naan bread.
Vegan Vegetable Curry
Vegan Vegetable Curry is my family's favourite staple curry. Its packed full of vegetables, flavour and goodness.
Equipment
- Saucepan/Sauté pan/large deep frying pan
- baking tray, optional for cooking vegetables in oven
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, fine chopped
- 1 medium carrot, fine chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, fine chopped Add a few more cloves if liked, I generally do!
- 1 tablespoon curry powder I use a mild curry powder. If you prefer a hotter curry used medium or hot curry powder. My kids would never forgive me if I used anything other than mild!
- 60 grams or about a 1/4 cup peanut butter I use a crunchy variety that just contains peanuts and no other ingredient.. However, any variety you have is fine. Also you could try a cashew nut butter or an almond butter.
- 500 ml or 1 pint or 4 cups/ or just over 1/2 a quart US vegetable stock make this up with 1 vegetable stock cube. Plus extra water or stock for sautéing the curry sauce onions, carrots and garlic. Honestly you won't tell the difference by not using oil and you will save lots of calories. The peanut butter provides healthy fats.
- 1 teaspoon garam masala if you like the flavour chuck in another teaspoon as I often do!
- 500 grams Your choice of cooked vegetables .Softer, quicker cooking vegetables can be cooked in the sauce. If you boil your vegetables keep the cooking water as this can be the liquid for the vegetable stock. Although I would still use the stock cube.
- 300 grams potatoes, cooked or use tinned potatoes, which my daughter particularly enjoys
- 1 tin chickpeas or butterbeans, optional if not using just add an extra 200 grams or so of cooked potatoes or other vegetables. Baby corn cobs are particularly tasty and require only a few minutes simmering in the sauce.
- 1/4 of a block of creamed coconut, optional
Instructions
- Precook any vegetables that need cooked, while preparing your sauce.Sauté the fine chopped onion, garlic and carrot in 1/2 cup/125ml of water for about 10 minutes. Add extra splashes of water whenever it looks like it going to dry up.
- Add the curry powder, peanut butter and vegetable stock and mix well.If using creamed coconut add now. It will melt and break up as it simmers in the sauce.
- Simmer gently for around 5 minutes. Make sure the carrot is soft.
- At this stage you can either blend your curry sauce or leave as is.Start preparing any accompaniments such as rice and cook according to the packet.
- Any uncooked vegetables can now be cooked in the sauce. If using Quorn Vegan chunks add these now. A lid on your pan will help cook the vegetables faster and keep the sauce from evaporating too much liquid. Simmer for around 15-20 minutes.(If you are just using cooked vegetables and potatoes, then just add to the curry sauce and simmer gently for around 10 minutes to thicken the sauce and heat through the vegetables)When the vegetables are nearly soft add the cooked vegetables, potatoes, chickpeas, tofu etc.
- Simmer and stir for a few minutes until everything is heated through.Add a little more vegetable stock or vegetable water (kept from previous vegetable cooking) or just water if needed to loosen your sauce up.
- Stir through the garam masala. Add a teaspoon, mix, and taste. Add more if required. Also add salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve with your accompaniments, and topped with any favourite garnishes. Enjoy!
Optional garnishes for Vegan Vegetable Curry:
- red chillies, fine sliced and seeds removed, my kids would run away if I did this to their curry!
- a grinding of red chilli flakes for those who love more heat in their curry!
- a grinding of cracked black pepper. I always add this as studies have shown that the benefits of turmeric (its in the curry powder) are more easily absorbed by our body if it is accompanied by black pepper.
- spring onions, fine sliced diagonally
- small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped and sprinkled on top or mixed through
- my kids favourite is a scattering of chopped cashew nuts
- a dollop of mango chutney, my personal favourite!
- Or even some plant-based mayonnaise for the rice.
Have some leftover Vegan Vegetable Curry?
I often have leftovers on toast for lunch the next day, or even use leftovers as a toastie filling. My son loves curry toasties or wraps with some plant-based vegan cheese.
Looking for more yummy quick, dinner ideas?
Check out my Vegan Lentil recipe with Quick Dinner Rolls:
Or my recipe for Easy Vegan Macaroni Cheese:
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