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Next time a craving for takeout hits you, but you want a healthier meal, try this Shrimp Curry Recipe. It combines green curry, tender shrimp, and fresh vegetables in a creamy coconut sauce and takes less than 30 minutes to cook.
Don’t be intimidated by the thought of making curry from scratch; this recipe makes it easy! The only ingredients you need for the sauce are coconut milk, curry paste, and soy sauce, all of which can be found at the grocery store. Then pack in the vegetables, and some shrimp for protein, and you have an easy and nutritious meal that tastes amazing. The whole family will be a fan of this shrimp coconut curry recipe!
If you like easy Thai-inspired dinner recipes, you will love my Thai Chicken Peanut Lettuce Wraps and Thai Asian Salad!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Better Than Takeout: While we all love a good takeout dinner, this simple coconut shrimp curry is just as easy and way better for you.
- Made with Simple Ingredients: In addition to fresh veggies and shrimp, the only ingredients you need for this recipe are curry paste, coconut milk, and soy sauce. It’s not complicated and still tastes delicious.
- Takes Less Than 30 Minutes: The best part of this recipe is that it takes less than 30 minutes and comes together in one pot. That’s less time than it would take you to order and pick up takeout!
- Low-Calorie Meal: This meal is just over 300 calories while being higher protein (40 grams) which is way fewer calories and more protein than you get with takeout.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Shrimp: You can use fresh or frozen shrimp in this curry. Just be sure it is peeled, deveined, and shelled before stirring it in. You’ll also need to thaw frozen shrimp in advance. Grab some extra shrimp and make this hot shrimp dip too!
- Soy Sauce: Enrich the savory flavor of the sauce with a low-sodium soy sauce. You can also use coconut aminos if you want to make this healthy dish gluten-free.
- Green Curry Paste: Curry pastes make cooking curry so simple. They are a blend of chilies, herbs, and spices.
- Coconut Milk: You’ll use a can of light coconut milk in the sauce for this curry to give the dish its signature subtle coconut flavor.
- Broccoli: While you can use frozen broccoli, fresh broccoli is better because it will stay crisp and crunchy in the sauce instead of soft and mushy.
- Baby Carrots: Grab a bag of washed, ready-to-eat carrots to add to your sauce.
- Red Bell Pepper: These red peppers are sweeter than other peppers and help balance the savory flavors in the sauce.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Try It With Chicken: If you aren’t a fan of shrimp or can’t eat shellfish, you can make this curry with chicken instead. Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1” pieces and saute them before making the sauce. You can also use shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- Make It Spicy: Add bird’s eye chilies, jalapenos, or just cayenne pepper to the sauce to make it spicier.
- Add More Vegetables: The vegetable possibilities are endless with curry! You can add fresh spinach, zucchini, peas, or even sweet potatoes.
- Try Red or Yellow Curry: Mix up the flavor of your curry and try it with red or yellow curry paste instead.
- Make It Dairy-Free: If you want a dairy-free curry, skip the half and half and use more coconut milk instead.
How to Make This Shrimp Curry Recipe
This easy coconut milk shrimp recipe is so simple to throw together on a weeknight. It’s ready in less than 30 minutes and only requires a bit of chopping and marinating before you get started!
- Step 1: Marinate the Shrimp. Add your shrimp to a bowl with a tablespoon of low-sodium soy sauce and let it marinate for 15 minutes while you cut up the veggies.
- Step 2: Make Your Curry Sauce. Heat a large skillet or a wok over medium heat and add the curry paste and coconut milk to the pan. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Step 3: Add the Vegetables. Stir in the half and half and add the corn, broccoli florets, bell pepper, and cook them for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften.
- Step 4: Stir in the Shrimp. Drain the liquid from the shrimp and add them to the skillet. Stir the shrimp and let them cook for 3-4 minutes, or until they turn opaque. Add another tablespoon of soy sauce and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, then remove the skillet from the heat. Serve it over jasmine rice, fresh basil, cilantro, and lime wedges.
Expert Tips
- Thaw Frozen Shrimp: This recipe works well with frozen shrimp, but you’ll need to thaw them before you start cooking. You can put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours or place it in a bowl of cold water for 10-15 minutes for a quick thaw.
- Don’t Overcook the Shrimp: Shrimp cook very quickly, as soon as they turn opaque and curl into a C-shape, remove the curry from the heat. Overcooked shrimp turns rubbery and tough.
- Prep Before Cooking: Curry cooks so quickly, it’s best to prep all of the ingredients before you start cooking so you don’t accidentally overcook anything.
- Adjust the Flavor: Curry pastes can vary greatly in flavor and spiciness, so feel free to add more after tasting. For a milder curry, start with a bit less curry paste, and then slowly add more until it reaches the flavor you want.
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3 days. You can freeze this curry, but I recommend removing the shrimp before freezing it because shrimp doesn’t freeze and thaw well after being cooked.
Serving Suggestions
Shrimp curry with coconut milk is best served over a bed of jasmine rice, or any rice you prefer, because it soaks up the sauce so well. You could also enjoy it with a fresh salad side dish or extra roasted veggies. No matter what you serve with this dish, the whole family is going to love it!
- If you’re looking for a low-carb alternative to rice, try serving this over cauliflower rice instead. You could also make healthy fried rice using cauliflower rice!
- Get the most out of your homemade takeout and serve this curry with chicken lettuce wraps.
- Add some more fresh veggies to your dinner and whip up an Asian broccoli salad with mandarin slices, almonds, and crisp broccoli!
Shrimp Curry Recipe FAQs
You can make shrimp curry up in less than 5 minutes using the Instant Pot. First, sauté the veggies and curry paste in the Instant Pot. Then add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and shrimp. Secure the lid and cook under Manual High Pressure for 1 minute. Then do a Quick Release to let out all of the pressure and serve it immediately.
For ease, reheat individual servings in the microwave in 60-second intervals until they’re heated through. You can also reheat them on the stove over medium-low heat. Be sure to thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating them.
When shrimp are overcooked, they turn tough and rubbery. Avoid overcooking them by removing the curry from the heat as soon as the shrimp turn opaque and curve into a C-shape.
The sauce may separate if you add the milk when the curry is too hot. Be sure to use room temperature coconut milk and let the half and half sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before adding it to the curry. Also, be sure the skillet isn’t too hot when you add the milk.
More Healthy Shrimp Recipes
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Coconut Shrimp Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. large Shrimp, peeled, deveined and shelled
- 1 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce , or coconut aminos
- 4 tbsp Green Curry Paste
- 1 can Lite Coconut Milk
- ¼ cup Fat-Free Half & Half
- 1 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce, or coconut aminos
- ½ cup Corn, canned or fresh
- 2 cups Broccoli Florets
- 1 cup Baby Carrots, sliced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
- Fresh Basil, Cilantro and Lime Wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Marinade the shrimp in a bowl with the one tablespoon of low-sodium soy sauce for 15-minutes while you slice the veggies and prepare the first steps of the recipe.
- Heat a large skillet or work over medium heat, add the curry and coconut milk and simmer 5 minutes.
- Add the half and half, corn, broccoli florets, bell pepper and cook another 5 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Drain the liquid from the shrimp, add to the pan, stir and cook 3-4 minutes or until opaque.
- Add the one tablespoon of low-sodium soy sauce then add a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
- Serve with jasmine rice, rice noodles or cauliflower rice garnished with the fresh basil, cilantro leaves and lime wedges.
Video
Notes
- Thaw the shrimp overnight in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes before using them in the curry.
- The shrimp turns opaque and curves into a C-shape when it’s finished cooking. Don’t let it cook too long, or it will turn rubbery.
- Chop up all of the vegetables and prep all of the ingredients before you start cooking, since this recipe comes together quickly.
- This recipe makes 4 servings. One serving equals 1/4 of the recipe or about 1 1/2 cups.
- Rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice is not included in the nutrition calculation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You will love this delicious shrimp curry! It’s packed with flavor and perfect served over rice without while being healthier than takeout.