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Vegetarian Pumpkin Curry - this Thai curry is made with chickpeas, black beans, coconut milk, garlic, olive, oil, tomatoes. Spiced with Thai red curry paste and honey. Served over quinoa. Meatless, vegetarian, gluten free, healthy dinner.
I am so excited to add this vegetarian pumpkin coconut curry full of Thai flavors to my regular rotation! Simple, flavorful, healthy, easy to make - this pumpkin curry is a wonderful weeknight meal that I can quickly and easily make right after I come home from work.
I can't even begin to describe how good this Thai coconut curry is! When I made this pumpkin curry I was just curious to see if the Thai flavors worked well with the pumpkin. Well, here I am, making this curry for the second time, and, yes, the pumpkin-Thai combination works amazingly well!
This curry has a touch of coconut milk, red curry paste, a little bit of honey - all the basic ingredients you need to make a simple and flavorful Thai curry. Not only is it amazingly tasty, it is also vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, very low in fat and calories! And full of nutrients, thanks to pumpkin! I'd say it's a pretty good recipe to have in your repertoire!
To make it even healthier, I am serving this vegetarian pumpkin curry over quinoa, which is gluten free and high in protein!
Cooking notes on types of red curry paste:
Keep in mind, that different brands of red curry paste have different levels of spiciness, so start with only 1 tablespoon of red curry paste to see if it's too spicy for you. Then add 1 more if you like. Also, please note that this is a SAVORY recipe, and the honey here is used to balance the flavors and not to sweeten the curry. That's why I add the honey only in the very end, after seasoning the curry with salt. That way you use honey to balance the flavors in the same way you use a touch of sugar to balance the acidity of tomatoes in a homemade tomato sauce. So, start only with 1 tablespoon of honey (after seasoning the curry with salt), and then add another one (or 2) if you like. Enjoy!
Vegetarian Thai Pumpkin Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 cup pumpkin puree , from the can or homemade
- 1 cup tomatoes , from the can
- 1 cup vegetable stock or water
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 15 oz black beans , from the can, rinsed and drained
- 7.5 oz garbanzo beans , from the can, rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste (use less or more of the paste, depending on how spicy it is, and then add more, to taste)
- 3 tablespoons honey or, use agave nectar or maple syrup for vegan version
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
Instructions
- In a large pot or skillet, cook chopped onion and minced garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat until soft.
- Add pumpkin, canned tomatoes (chop them up into smaller chunks), vegetable stock (or water), coconut milk, black beans, and garbanzo beans (both beans should be rinsed and drained). Add 1 tablespoon of red curry paste, stir everything well, and season with salt and pepper. Taste your curry, season with more salt if needed. Add another tablespoon of red curry paste, if desired. (Note: various brands of red curry paste have different degrees of spiciness. Be careful not to add too much of red curry paste if it is of a spicier variety).
- I find it important that you start adding honey only after you’ve seasoned the curry with salt, because we’re using honey here not to really sweeten the curry but to balance the flavors. Add 1 tablespoon of honey (after seasoning with salt), taste your curry. Add another tablespoon (or 2) of honey if it suits your taste.
- Bring to boil, make sure to stir all ingredients well together to combine flavors and spices. Reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes on very low simmer.
- Serve with quinoa, garnished with chopped green onion.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Just made this for dinner and it was so yummy! Going to make it over and over.
Kaileen – I am so glad you liked it! Thank you for stopping by and commenting! It’s one of my most favorite dishes! Healthy, too!
This dish was really good! I added the entire can of full fat coconut milk instead because I love the flavor. Yum!
Thanks, Karen! Yes, adding the entire can of coconut milk is totally a great idea!
Looks amazing. Has definitely given me some inspiration. Just a fyi most vegans won't eat honey.... but there are other sweet substitutes like agave syrup or maple syrup. Love the recipe though! Thanks 🙂
Felicity, thank you for your tips - I will add your suggestions in the ingredient portion of the recipe!
I just made this dish. Omgosh it is amazing! Fabulous recipe! (I added an extra 1/4 cup of coconut milk because I am obsessed with coconut milk right now). Thanks! I will be making this again for sure! 🙂
Alex, so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! It's one of my favorites on this site! And yes, adding more coconut milk never hurts curry recipe! 🙂
Pumpkin is widely used in Thai curries.
Good to know! Didn't know that - but no wonder, pumpkin is a natural ingredient to go in curries!
This recipe looks delicious! I bought the ingredients, and I'm making it in just a few minutes. Your pictures are beautiful. Could you tell me what kind of camera and lens you use?
Thank you, Katie! 🙂 My gear is embarrassingly simple and cheap. 🙂 I have a very old Nikon D80 DSLR camera (camera body) that is not produced any more, but you can buy used ones for about $300! That’s cheap! But the most important part is actually the lense – the lense that I use is a very basic 50mm Nikon lense – Nikon Normal AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D Autofocus Lens. It costs around $100 – I bought it several years ago at B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/). This $100 lense is truly a classic – it will fit just about any Nikon camera body and it’s excellent for food photos or portraits! Canon has a similar $100 lense. I love this lense so much - don't think I will need any camera upgrade any time soon unless my camera breaks of course. 🙂
This looks great - you do have to be careful if you want it to be gluten-free to read the curry paste label. A lot of them have msg. 🙁
Is green curry paste ok?
Hi Jen, I have not tried this recipe with green curry, but if you like green curry flavor, I don't see why not!
I have made this several times now and we love it. Thank you for the recipe! Keep em coming!!
Susie, thank you! 🙂 So glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
Do you drain/rinse your beans before adding?
Yes, I drain them and rinse them! I can't believe I didn't mention this important detail in the recipe - will add it right now!
Sounds great! Canned coconut milk or carton one (Cow milk substitute one)?
I've used canned coconut milk that I buy at Asian stores. I just looked at the ingredient list on the can and it says it's made from the coconut extract.
Is there a difference in curry powder or curry paste.
Yes! Big difference. Red curry paste has a completely different flavor and texture than curry powder. Red curry paste is a blend of different herbs and spices with shrimp paste, with red chili being the dominating flavor. Red curry paste has a paste texture. Curry powder is usually a blend of the following DRY ingredients: turmeric, paprika, coriander, cumin, ginger, cloves, caraway, cayenne, and some other spices.
WOW. Cannot wait to make this. I love finding recipes that prove to me I actually can make things like curry. And that I am not the only one who could live off chickpeas and quinoa!