One Pot Coconut Curry Pasta

My love for one pot pasta dishes burns ever brighter! Today I’m sharing an Asian fusion version: one pot coconut curry pasta. This is one of my favorite things that I’ve cooked in a while!

From my recent posting history you may notice a lot of Southeast Asian-inspired dishes. I guess I’ve just had that cuisine on the brain: in a few days I’m leaving for the trip of a lifetime to Thailand (plus a couple of days in Malaysia and in Abu Dhabi). Normally I’d make a disclaimer that I’ll be slow to respond to emails and not posting at all for a couple of weeks, but well, that’s not too different from how things have been on the blog lately anyway…

Once I get back from my trip I expect life to settle down a little bit and I hope to get back to posting every week (and yes, the flatbread recipe will finally be posted…). Oh, and I’ll be sure to report my experiences traveling and eating vegan in Southeast Asia! I’ll be taking plenty of pictures too, and hoping to share some. If anyone has recommendations for things to do and eat in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, or Krabi, I’d love to hear them!

I’m so very fond of the flavor of this dish. I generally use whole wheat pasta in my pasta dishes, just to make it healthier, but in this particular case, I think the flavor of the whole wheat really adds something beyond what plain pasta would. The nuttiness plays beautifully with the almond butter and with the bright Thai-inspired flavor.

This one pot coconut curry pasta will work with loads of different vegetables. Most things taste pretty delicious braised in coconut milk :). So feel free to mix and match as fits your pantry. Just be wary of longer-cooking vegetables like sweet potatoes. And for whatever reason I don’t think broccoli tastes very good either in one pot pasta dishes.

By the end of cooking, the coconut milk and the starches from the pasta have thickened to create a luscious, creamy coating to the pasta that I think is just heavenly. My last tip for this recipe is that due to the richness of the coconut milk you may need to add more salt/soy sauce and lime juice than you’re expecting. Hope you enjoy!

(P.S. this makes a huge batch of pasta. Feel free to halve the recipe!)

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5 from 4 votes

One Pot Coconut Curry Pasta

One pot coconut curry pasta, loaded with fresh vegetables and all cooked in one pan with a delectable Thai-inspired sauce.

Course one pot, pasta, Thai

Cuisine vegan, vegetarian

Keyword one pot coconut curry pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 322kcal

Author Yup, it's Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 tsp neutral oil
• 1/2 yellow onion diced (thinly sliced would also work)
• 1 inch ginger peeled and minced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand is vegan)
• 1 and 1/2 cups lite coconut milk (or 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk + 3/4 cup water)
• 1 and 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 12 oz whole wheat pasta (I used fusilli)
• 2 and 1/2 cups diced zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
• 3/4 cup diced carrot (about 1 carrot)
• 1 bell pepper pith removed, cut into thin strips
• 2 tbsp almond butter or peanut butter
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• salt to taste
• 1 lime juiced (plus more for serving)
• sliced green onions or scallions for serving (or cilantro)

Instructions

• Warm the oil in a large pan until shimmering.
• Add the onion and sprinkle with salt, and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes until the onion is slightly softened.
• Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant. Add the red curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for another 30 seconds.
• Add the coconut milk, plus broth or water to make 3 cups of liquid including the coconut milk; pasta; zucchini; carrot; bell pepper; almond butter; soy sauce; rice vinegar; sugar; and pepper. Stir to combine, taking particular care to incorporate the almond butter (especially if it is coming from the fridge)
• Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cover. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for about 10-12 minutes or until the pasta is cooked to your liking. The liquid should thicken into a nice sauce. If there seems to be a bit too much liquid when the pasta is nearly done, cook the dish uncovered for the last minute or two.
• Stir in the lime juice. Season to taste with additional lime juice, soy sauce and/or salt. Serve with green onions and another squeeze of lime if desired.

Notes

I recommend lite coconut milk for this dish because of the added richness from the almond butter and oil. If you only have regular coconut milk I would suggest using only half of the amount and making up the difference with more water.

I haven't tested it with this specific recipe but I imagine that regular white pasta would work with about 1 cup of additional liquid - your mileage may vary.

Some readers have had success using gluten-free pasta in my one pot pasta recipes. I have not tested it. If you experiment, please let me know your results!

Nutrition

Serving: 1sixth recipe | Calories: 322kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 606mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 3050IU | Vitamin C: 9.9mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Enjoy this one pot recipe? Try my other one pot dishes:

One Pot Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca with Chickpeas and Artichoke Hearts

One Pot Pasta with Zucchini and Garlic Scapes in White Wine Lemon Sauce

One Pot Tandoori Quinoa