This Thai spinach and satay mushroom curry with coconut milk curry is a delicious quick weeknight meal. It’s mild and family friendly in a tasty curried coconut sauce with large chunks of mushrooms for a vegan, low carb and keto diet!
Whether you follow a plant-based food diet or not, this vegan mushroom curry in creamy coconut milk sauce is so good, you won’t miss the meat!
Inspired by my love of Thai curry flavours, it’s full of meatier mushrooms as they’re cut into large chunks, cooked in curry spices, then a tomato and creamy sauce.
It’s a comforting easy mushroom curry with spinach, that’s perfect with fresh salad or a bowl of cauliflower rice on a cold day. And great for adding extra of your favourite veggies.
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✔️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Here are just a handful of reasons why we think you’ll enjoy this delicious curry!
- Quick in less than 20 minutes
- An easy curry that requires no skills
- Can be served as a main or side dish
- Made with cheap, simple ingredients
- A great option for meat free meals
- Gluten-free, low-carb, and keto-friendly
- Perfect for bulking up with other vegetables
- These curried mushrooms are made in one pot
🛒 Ingredient Notes
Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities, preparation instructions, and nutritional information at the bottom of this post.
- Coconut oil – for flavour while sauteeing onions, or use olive oil, vegetable oil, etc
- Garlic clove – minced, or you could use 2 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
- Spices – freshly grated ginger or powder, mild red chili powder, hot curry powder
- Red onion – I use half, then finely sliced to keep the carbs low
- White mushrooms – these are button mushrooms quartered, or sliced mushrooms. I clean mushrooms after chopping to remove any dirt easier. For an extra cost, you can use other types of mushrooms such as portobello mushrooms, wild mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, etc
- Canned chopped tomatoes – or 6 fresh tomatoes. You could also add tomato puree (tomato paste), but I don’t think it needs it
- Vegan stock – you can use any meat-free stock cubes for extra flavour
- Peanut butter – I use smooth, which thickens it into a creamy sauce, but you can use crunchy peannut butter too
- Balsamic vinegar – for sweetness as an alternative to brown sugar
- Sea salt and black pepper – this is a pinch of salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh spinach – these are baby spinach leaves for easy wilting
- Full-fat coconut milk – I prefer to use thick coconut milk, but a great alternative is making up coconut milk powder with a cup of water following the manufacturer’s instructions
- Lime juice – or lemon juice to add acidity to the dish, or you could use apple cider vinegar along with some coriander leaves to tickle your taste buds!
- Sesame seed oil – all you need is a little bit to stir in for a delicious nutty flavour
📋 Instructions
1. Saute the onions, garlic, and ginger in coconut oil over medium-high heat until softened.
This should only take a couple of minutes.
2. Now dry fry with the herbs and spice powder for 1 minute while stirring continuously.
This should release the flavours from the spice mix
3. Add the mushrooms and fry over medium heat while stirring for 5 minutes.
They should all be coated in the spices, golden brown, and softened.
4. Now add the tomatoes, stock cubes, and balsamic vinegar.
Then stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the peanut butter until melted.
This should now look like a thick gravy.
6. Now stir in the coconut milk and spinach, then warm up over low heat until the leaves have wilted.
To finish, stir in the lime juice, sesame seed oil and garnish with coriander before serving.
Tip: if wanting a thicker curry sauce, only add ½ a can of coconut milk. Or see the FAQs section more tips and tricks.
👩🍳 Substitutions
Here are some possible substitutions you can use and still make a Thai or Indian recipe:
- Mushrooms – you can use any kind of mushrooms you like in place of meat, or try shiitake, oyster mushrooms, etc. Alternatively, swap or mix with drained canned chickpeas
- Spinach – try adding a cut up nori sheet (dry seaweed), kale, chard, or chopped bok choy for extra vitamins and texture
- Peanut butter – for a healthier fat that’s higher in protein, I recommend almond butter. Or try other nut butters such as cashew butter.
- Coconut milk – you can swap it for vegan cream or light coconut milk. Or, if vegetarian, swap for natural yogurt, creme fraiche or make a sour cream curry
- Curry powder – if you don’t have whole spices, for simplicity, you could use a store bought red curry paste without the need to buy extra ingredients such as turmeric powder, etc
⚖️ Variations
Here are some different ways you can enhance and truly personalise this creamy mushroom curry recipe
- Extra hot – you could add some sliced green chillies for extra heat and yellow mustard seed for more warmth
- Low calorie curry – a good option would be to saute the onions and garlic in cooking oil spray, then stir in low-fat coconut milk and PB2 powder (powdered peanut butter) for a low fat curry
- Deluxe – try adding some lemongrass paste, fresh curry leaves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod seeds
- Sweet and sour – for restaurant-style Indian cuisine, try it as a mushroom pathia curry by adding a little bit (¼ tsp) of crushed fenugreek seeds or fenugreek leaves, and 1 & ⅔ teaspoon tamarind paste
- Vegetable curry – bulk it up with extra veggies, such as chopped green beans, bell peppers, grated carrot or sweet potatoes, etc
- Mushroom masala curry – use garam masala powder along with your favourite Indian spices and crushed black mustard seeds
- Kid friendly – make it a mild curry by not adding a green chili pepper and only using mild red chilli powder
Looking for a meat version? You might want to check out this coconut chicken curry with basmati rice.
🔪 Equipment
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❄️ Storage
Storing – we prefer eating this mushroom creamy curry freshly cookd, but it can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing – cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Reheating – If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or on the hob or stove.
💡Pro Tips
- Try to use the best quality mushrooms you can as it is the key ingredient
- Avoid boiling the coconut milk as it can split and destroy its properties, making it no longer taste creamy
- For a thicker curry, use half the amount of coconut milk, or see FAQs for more ideas on how to thicken a curry sauce
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
❓ FAQ
You can use any kind of mushrooms you like or have on hand, such as button, portobello, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms.
Make sure you use gluten free stock and use balsamic vinegar instead of Worcestershire sauce.
This is a mild spicy curry that can be adjusted by using hot curry powder, red or green chilies, etc. If you find it too hot, you can balance the heat by stirring in some yogurt.
As this is a Thai curry, it is more on the watery side which I find perfect for soaking into rice. If you want to thicken a curry sauce, then you could:
1. Stir in a cornflour slurry
2. Stir in a Xantham gum slurry
3. Add more peanut butter
4. Add red lentils to soak up the juices
Yes, this vegetarian mushroom curry cooks perfectly in an Instant Pot on pressure cooker mode. However, I think it is just as quick on the stove as you don’t need to wait for the machine to heat up and build pressure.
➕ More Vegan Recipes
Looking for more Thai vegan curry recipes? Why not try one of these?
🍽️More Mushroom Recipes
These are my favorite dishes:
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📖 Recipe
Easy Mushroom Curry with Coconut Milk Recipe {Vegan}
This Thai spinach and satay mushroom curry with coconut milk curry is a delicious quick weeknight meal. It’s mild and family friendly in a tasty curried coconut sauce with large chunks of mushrooms for a vegan, low carb and keto diet!
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Saute the onions, garlic, and fresh ginger in coconut oil over medium-high heat until softened.This should only take a couple of minutes.
- Now dry fry with the herbs and spice powder for 1 minute while stirring continuously.This should release the flavours from the spice mix
- Add the mushrooms and fry over medium heat while stirring for 5 minutes.They should all be coated in the spices, golden brown, and softened.
- Now add the tomatoes, stock cubes, and balsamic vinegar.Then stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the peanut butter until melted.This should now look like a thick gravy.
- Now stir in the coconut milk and spinach, then warm up over low heat until the leaves have wilted.To finish, stir in the lime juice, sesame seed oil and garnish with coriander before serving.
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World’s website can be found at Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Notes
- Try to use the best quality mushrooms you can as it is the key ingredient
- Avoid boiling the coconut milk as it can split and destroy its properties, making it no longer taste creamy
- For a thicker curry, use half the amount of coconut milk, or see FAQs on more ideas on how to thicken a curry sauce
Nutrition
Calories: 464kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 14gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gSodium: 754mgPotassium: 1326mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 4811IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 120mgIron: 7mg
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