Sweet Potato Curry

Rich and creamy Sweet Potato Curry is perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner or weekly meal prep. This curry is simple to make and naturally dairy-free; it can also easily be made vegetarian or vegan!

I love serving Sweet Potato Curry over cooked basmati rice, and alongside naan with a few wedges of lime for serving. This is one of those recipes where leftovers taste even better the next day after the flavors have had a chance to develop and deepen.

How to make Sweet Potato Curry

Pictures from picture collage (below text) correlate to written directions.

1. Sauté the veggies: Cook onion, garlic, ginger, and sweet potato chunks. Note: See how to peel and cut a sweet potato on this Roasted Sweet Potatoes post.
2. Bloom the spices: Frying spices in oil (called blooming) releases more flavor in the spices and also distributes them better.
3. Continue cooking until all the veggies (besides the sweet potato) are quite tender.
4. Add in the coconut milk and fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
5. Stir ingredients to mix well.
6. From here out, it’s just about simmering to get the potatoes tender, reducing the liquid, and intensifing flavors.
7. Once potatoes are fork tender and liquid is reduced, add in fresh spinach.
8. Season to taste and serve.

My favorite way to prepare basmati rice

• Place basmati rice in a fine mesh sieve and rinse in cold water for 2-3 minutes, or until water runs clear. Set aside.
• Bring a very large pot of water to boil over high heat. Once boiling, add in the rinsed basmati rice (do not adjust temperature of the stovetop).
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for exactly 5 minutes.
• Drain the rice thoroughly.
• Serve as the base for Sweet Potato Curry!

Note: This method only works with basmati rice. Other rice varieties will not turn out well with this technique.

Sweet Potato Curry quick tips

• High-quality ingredients: The three vital ingredients in this recipe are a good brand of coconut milk, high-quality fire roasted tomatoes, (I love Muir Glen® or San Marzano® tomatoes; not sponsored) and a good curry paste (or even better, a homemade red curry paste). The better the ingredients, the better the dish!
• Taste and adjust: As with most recipes, taste and adjust the seasonings to your personal preference. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t remove seasoning. If you’re sensitive to spice, I recommend using less curry paste and powder. Remember: the seasonings will intensify as the curry cooks/sits. 
• Cut the sweet potato into small, even pieces. Small, bite-sized pieces will cook quicker and be easier to eat. Aim to cut the sweet potato into even-sized pieces for uniform cooking time (to avoid ending up with some soft potato pieces and some hard pieces).

QUICK TIP

Fish sauce? It’s a fermented condiment, made from salted fish or shrimp. It adds a deep, savory, umami taste to foods and doens’t taste like fish. Soy sauce is often substituted for fish sauce, even though the flavors are very different.

Sweet Potato Curry variations

• More spice: Add up to a teaspoon of sweet paprika and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper. You can also add some red pepper flakes to add some heat to this curry.
• Different greens: Use kale instead of spinach (you’ll need to cook it a bit longer to get it to wilt).
• Vegetarian: Switch to vegetable stock or broth, a vegetarian curry paste (Thai Kitchen is vegetarian) and omit the fish sauce.
• Vegan: Same changes as above!
• Dairy free: This recipe is naturally dairy free.
• Lower calorie: Use lite coconut milk instead of full fat. Note that the curry will be less creamy and thinner.

More plant-based meals

• Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls with a delicious sriracha sauce
• Chickpea Salad Mediterranean inspired
• Healthy Tacos with black beans, corn, and a cilantro sauce
• Roasted Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad reader favorite recipe!
• Quinoa Chili packed with sweet potatoes and beans

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Sweet Potato Curry

5 from 5 votes

- Review this recipe

This rich and creamy Sweet Potato Curry is perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner or weekly meal prep. This curry is simple to make and naturally dairy free; it can also easily be made vegetarian or vegan!

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Sweet Potato Curry

5 from 5 votes

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

This rich and creamy Sweet Potato Curry is perfect for a healthy weeknight dinner or weekly meal prep. This curry is simple to make and naturally dairy free; it can also easily be made vegetarian or vegan!

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Healthy, Indian

Keyword sweet potato curry

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 467kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $7.82

Ingredients

• ▢ ⅓ cup diced shallot (~1 large shallot)
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic (~3 cloves)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger (~from a 1 and 1/2 inch piece)
• ▢ 4½ cups diced sweet potato (~2 medium sweet potatoes; cut into bite-sized pieces)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or ghee)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons red curry paste (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons yellow curry powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ ¾ cup vegetable stock (or broth) (chicken stock or broth works too)
• ▢ 1 can (15 ounces) full-fat coconut milk
• ▢ 1 can (14.5 ounces) good quality fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons white sugar optional
• ▢ 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• ▢ 2 teaspoons fish sauce, optional (if not vegetarian)
• ▢ Serve with: cooked basmati rice, fresh lime, crushed nuts (optional; we like pistachios), and fresh cilantro

US - Metric

USMetric

Instructions

• PREP INGREDIENTS: Dice the shallot, mince the garlic and ginger. (I peel the ginger with a spoon or vegetable peeler and then finely mince it.) Peel and then dice the sweet potatoes to get about 4 ½ cups. Set aside.
• VEGGIES: Heat the coconut oil in a large deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté them for 2-3 minutes, or until they start to turn golden. Add the sweet potato, garlic, and ginger. Stir to coat everything with the oil.
• SEASONINGS: Add the red curry paste, yellow curry powder, and coriander. Stir until all the sweet potato is well coated. Continue to cook the spices and veggies for 3-5 minutes or until everything is fragrant. Pour in the vegetable stock, coconut milk, and entire can of tomatoes. Stir and add in the salt.
• SIMMER: Bring the sauce to a simmer and then lower the heat and cover with a lid. Allow the sweet potatoes to cook all the way through, about 18-25 minutes. (Check tenderness by piercing with a fork; if it pierces easily, it's ready). Remove the lid and continue to simmer for a few minutes to thicken the sauce. Depending on the tomatoes you used, you may need to add 1-2 teaspoons sugar. Taste and add as needed. Remove from heat and let cool for 1-2 minutes before very gently stirring in the baby spinach and allowing it to wilt (~1 minute). If desired, add fish sauce.
• SERVE: Serve Sweet Potato Curry over cooked basmati rice. Squeeze fresh lime over each dish and if desired, top with finely chopped nuts and freshly chopped cilantro.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Curry paste: For vegan version, make sure your red curry paste is vegan; Thai Kitchen® is vegan. If concerned about spice, start with 2 tablespoons.

Nutrition Facts do not include rice or optional toppings

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 467kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 1269mg | Potassium: 970mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 25623IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 149mg | Iron: 6mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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