This pineapple curry is sweet, spicy, and so satisfying! Made with juicy pineapple chunks and fresh veggies in creamy coconut milk base, it's absolutely scrumptious and really easy to make.
Thai curries are one of my favorite types of recipes to get creative with! They're generally pretty simple, including veggies, coconut milk, curry paste, and not much more, and they lend themselves to the addition of certain flavors.
A little sweetness in particular goes really well in a curry! I sometimes add a spoonful of brown sugar to the sauce, or some fruit for natural sweetness, like I did with my mango curry. Pineapple curry seemed like something that had to be delicious, and, well — spoiler — it totally was!
This curry has an amazing combination of flavors, and it's really easy to make!
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegetable oil. You can use any type of neutral high-heat oil that you normally like to cook with, such as corn oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil.
- Onion.
- Red bell pepper. You're welcome to substitute a yellow or orange bell pepper if you'd like.
- Vegan curry paste. Be careful here. Many Thai curry paste brands contain non-vegan ingredients like shrimp paste or fish sauce. You can get more details on what to look our for in my guide to vegan Thai cuisine. Maesri is a good brand that's vegan and available in many stores. You can also play around with other varieties of curry paste, like panang, yellow, or massaman, particularly if you'd like a milder curry.
- Coconut milk. The recipe calls for full-fat coconut milk, from a can. You can substitute light coconut milk if you'd like to reduce the fat and calorie content of the recipe. Just don't use the type of coconut milk sold in cartons, for drinking, as it won't have nearly enough richness and flavor for this recipe.
- Fresh pineapple. You could probably get away with substituting canned pineapple in a pinch, but I haven't tried.
- Green beans. Want to substitute another veggie for these? Go for it! Snow peas, broccoli, and cauliflower would all work well. Just keep in mind that softer veggies will cook quicker, so adjust the simmer time as needed.
- Tofu. The recipe calls for super-firm tofu, which is really easy to work with and available at most stores. If you can't find it, use extra-firm tofu, but press it before cooking it.
- Lime juice. Use freshly squeezed lime juice (not bottled) to give your curry the best flavor.
- Salt.
- Fresh basil.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Jasmine rice. This is my favorite variety of rice for serving with Thai curries, but pretty much any type will do.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by cooking diced onion and bell pepper in a bit of oil. The goal is just to soften them up a bit.
Now add the curry paste. Cook it briefly with the veggies, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning.
Stir in the coconut milk, pineapple, and green beans. Raise the heat to high and bring the sauce to a boil.
Now lower the heat so that the curry is cooking at a low simmer. Cover the pot.
While the curry simmers, heat some oil in a skillet and add diced tofu. Cook the tofu cubes for about ten minutes, turning them once or twice and letting them get golden brown and crispy.
After the curry has simmered for about fifteen minutes you can remove the lid. Let it cook a couple minutes more, just to thicken up. Stir in the cooked tofu and take the pot off of heat.
Finish your pineapple curry off by stirring in some lime juice, chopped fresh basil, and cilantro. Add a bit of salt as well, and it's ready to go!
Enjoy your curry with some rice!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover pineapple curry will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about thee days. Heat it up in a saucepan on the stove, or by briefly microwaving.
More Thai Curries
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Pineapple Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup vegan red curry paste, or to taste (Notes 1 and 2)
- 1 (13.5 ounce/400 ml) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 cups diced fresh pineapple (½ to 1 inch pieces)
- 1 cup fresh green beans, chopped (1 inch pieces)
- 8 ounces super-firm tofu, cubed (about ½ inch)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- Salt, to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Cooked jasmine rice
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1 tablespoon of the oil and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion and bell pepper. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften, stirring frequenly.
- Stir in the curry paste and sauté it for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning.
- Stir in the coconut milk, pineapple, and green beans. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat until it's just at a low simmer. Cover the pot and let the curry simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are as tender as you like them. Uncover the pot and give the curry a stir occasionally as it cooks.
- While the curry simmers, coat the bottom of a medium skillet with the remaining tablespoon of oil and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes in an even layer. Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping the pieces once or twice so that they brown on multiple sides. Transfer the tofu to a plate when it's done cooking.
- Uncover the curry and let it simmer for about 2 minutes longer, just to thicken the sauce a bit. Stir in the tofu.
- Remove the pot from heat. Stir in the lime juice and season the curry with salt to taste. Stir in the basil and cilantro.
- Serve the curry over rice.
Notes
- You can use as little as 2 tablespoons for a very mild curry, or up to 6 tablespoons for an intensely flavorful curry.
- Red curry paste is spicy. You can substitute a milder variety like panang or yellow curry paste if you'd like to reduce the heat.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Great recipe! I substituted Abbot's chopped chick'n in place of the tofu, and the texture was amazing!
This was fabulous and so easy!
Very good plus I will be happy to serve it to company.
Hello is there a way to make this without a paste and use curry powder, etc instead and less spicy? What would those spices be and how much? Thank you!
Curry powders a very different flavor profile from curry pastes, so while it's probably possible to make this with powdered spices, I couldn't tell you how without some experimentation and testing. If you'd simply like a milder curry, you could substitute a milder variety of curry paste, such as yellow curry paste. Thai Kitchen also makes a red curry paste that's very mild and available in most supermarkets.