This slow cooker vegetable curry is loaded with veggies and bursting with flavor. Try this easy, hearty, freezer-friendly comfort meal for your next cozy night in!
Do you ever feel like you’re making the same thing for dinner, over and over again? I know I do!
When I’m in a meal planning rut, sometimes I want to make something that tastes DIFFERENT from everything else I’ve made lately. Something that’s bold with pizzazz.
When a friend shared her recipe for Thai pineapple vegetable curry, I fell in love. THIS is exactly what I’ve been searching for!
Vegetable Curry
This gluten-free vegetable curry recipe has a lot going for it.
- Spicy yet sweet.
- Complex yet easy.
- Weeknight-friendly yet company-ready.
- Bold yet familiar.
It’s also incredibly freezer-friendly. I love to make up a double batch and have an easy vegetable dinner on hand!
I’m also not fond of odd ingredients that you only use a few times, like fish sauce and garam masala sauce. Instead, I picked ordinary ingredients that you most likely have on hand!
Using simple ingredients also means it’s budget-friendly. Purposefully planning a few meatless meals on our meal plan helps keep our budget low!
Vegetarian Curry Recipe Ingredients
This vegetarian curry recipe includes a few fresh produce items, plus some pantry staples that I keep on hand. That means it’s really easy to throw together! Here’s what you need for slow cooker curry:
- Sweet Potatoes
- Pineapple. Fresh is best.
- Bell Peppers. I like red but use whatever kind you have on hand.
- Onions
- Garbanzo Beans (A.K.A Chickpeas)
- Coconut Milk. Canned full-fat coconut milk gives you the best depth of flavor.
- Curry Powder. I prefer a yellow curry, but red curry powder will work too.
- Kosher Salt
- Granulated Garlic
Vegan Curry Ingredient Notes
To make the best slow cooker vegetable curry, skip the canned pineapple – it’s usually full of added sugar. Instead, cut your own using my tutorial. It only takes about 5 minutes, and the flavor is absolutely worth every minute!
I usually cook my own beans from scratch using either my Slow Cooker Beans method or my Instant Pot Beans method. Both are really easy and hands-off, but you can also use canned beans. (Be sure to rinse three times to help de-gas canned beans!) If you don’t have chickpeas, substitute navy beans instead.
Add in extra veggies! Good options include a frozen mixed vegetable bag, kale, spinach, cauliflower, or even green beans!
How to Make Curry Recipe in Slow Cooker
Making this sweet potato curry in the slow cooker couldn’t be easier! The instructions are pretty much load-and-go.
Step 1. Whisk together the coconut milk, curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper, and garlic in a slow cooker (I have and recommend this 6 quart slow cooker).
Step 2. Add the remaining ingredients and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. I like my potatoes fork-tender, but if you want your sweet potatoes to be firmer, aim for a shorter cooking time.
Step 3: Stir and serve over cooked rice or quinoa. Top with peanuts, cashews, fresh cilantro, or green onions.
Note: You can also use your Instant Pot in slow cooker mode. Be sure to use the correct lid for slow cook mode!
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Curry Tips
Serve this vegetable curry on its own, with rice, or with quinoa. We have tried it with brown rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, and white rice. All were delicious!
Naan bread would be very tasty too. You could use this flatbread recipe which is similar!
You can even add meat to bulk it up even more, although it’s delicious as is! Chicken goes great with this easy vegetable curry recipe, and I recommend two options:
- At the Beginning: Add one pound of raw chicken, cut into 1” pieces.
- At the End: Add already cooked diced or shredded chicken.
For an extra bit of crunch, add some cashew pieces when serving. For even more flavor, add some chopped fresh cilantro or green onions to the top of each bowl.
Turn this Thai curry into a freezer meal by adding all the ingredients to a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible, labeling, and freezing. To cook, thaw the freezer meal in the refrigerator overnight and then cook as directed!
I often freeze leftovers in single serve portions so we can have a mix and match soup night.
FAQS for Vegetarian Curry Recipes
What size slow cooker is this suitable for?
I used a 6-Quart slow cooker. If you use a slow cooker that’s 5 quarts or smaller, you may want to halve the recipe.
Could I use my Instant Pot for vegetarian curry recipes or is this best used on slow cook mode?
You can absolutely use your Instant Pot and use the slow cooker mode! Be sure to use the correct lid in slow cooker mode.
Can I substitute sweet potatoes for baby yellow potatoes?
Yes! You can even use purple potatoes or yams or any other potato you want! Butternut squash or cauliflower make a good sub too.
What vegetables are best in curry?
We used sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, and onions, but you could also try carrots, peas, or broccoli. Use what you have on hand and mix and match to find your favorite combination!
Try These Other Vegetarian Dishes
30 Minute Dinners Sample Menu
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Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry
This slow cooker vegetable curry is loaded with veggies and bursting with flavor. Try this easy, hearty, freezer-friendly comfort meal for your next cozy night in!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 3-6 Hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 3 Tbsp curry powder (I used red curry powder)
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 ½ tsp granulated garlic
- 1 fresh pineapple, cut into 1” pieces (how to cut a pineapple)
- 1 pound of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
- 2 green bell peppers, cut into 1” pieces
- 2 onions, cut into 1” pieces
- 2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed three times (or 3–4 cups of homemade beans)
- Cooked white or brown rice, for serving (optional)
- Cashews, for topping (optional)
- Cilantro or green onions, chopped, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together the coconut milk, curry powder, salt, crushed red pepper, and garlic in a slow cooker (like this one).
- Add the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. If you want your sweet potato to be more firm, aim for a shorter cooking time.
Notes
- Turn this into a freezer meal by adding all the ingredients to the freezer bag, removing as much as possible, labeling, and freezing. To cook, thaw the freezer meal in the refrigerator overnight and then cook as directed!
Nutrition
- Calories: 1030
Daughter-in-law made this for us during a recent visit! OUT OF THIS WORLD!! The flavors mesh beautifully!!! and so easy too!!! Will be making this soon in our home; cannot get enough of it! Thank you so much for sharing!
Hello Julie!
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Have you ever used canned pineapple? Do you think it would turn out all right ? I just discovered your website and I’m so excited to make all the things!
HI Mariah! Thank you for sharing! We’re excited that you’ve found us. Of course, you can use whatever works for your family and your schedule. Canned pineapple in it’s own juice is real food, without added preservatives and sugar, so we would used canned if that is what we had on hand at the time. If we had more time to spend in the kitchen, we’d cut fresh. 🙂 Hope this helps.
Any idea on amount if using canned pineapple?
Hi Allison,
I’d use one can – a standard 15 oz. can. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Allison! I use 1-2 20oz cans. It depends on how pineapple-y you like it!
Can I use yellow curry powder?
Hi Ashley,
Yes, of course you can use yellow curry. Enjoy! 🙂 Let us know how it comes out!
This looks really good and I’d like to make it as a postpartum freezer meal for after I have my baby in a few weeks, but the freezer instructions are confusing… what does this mean in the freezer instructions:
**Turn this into a freezer meal by adding all the ingredients to the freezer bag, “REMOVING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE”, labeling and freezing.
…Removing as much what as possible?
Thanks for clarifying!
Hi Chelsea, Thanks for catching our mistake. It’s removing as much AIR as possible. 🙂
can you freeze this after its cooked?
Yes, Michelle.
What size slow cooker is this suitable for?
We use an 6-Quart slow cooker.
This has become a regular crockpot meal in my house. I often add some Thai Kitchen curry paste. Thank you!
This is the most delicious thing I have made in my slow cooker…I will be making this regularly! I’m not a huge fan of sweet potatoes so I substituted small red, purple and fingerlings. I used Lite coconut milk and it was perfect. Served over jasmine rice (also cooked in lite coconut milk). So good!
SO excited to hear you liked the curry!! I have never cooked jasmine rice in coconut milk but I will have to try that.
Can you use Chinese 5 spices as we are allergic to chilli.
Absolutely, Mel, but it will change the taste some compared to the original recipe.
Sweet with just enough spice! I added peanuts on top! Super easy to make! Definitely plan to make this dish again! You can easily substitute potatoes or different veggies based off your personal preference.
I made this the other day and it’s already on top of my go-to list. Sweet, spicy and oh so savory!! Easy peasy, too. Nothing not to like! Thank you for sharing!
Could I use my Instapot/Mealthy pot for this or is this best used on slow cooker mode? If I can pressure cook it, any setting recommendations?
In slow cooker mode, sure! I haven’t tested this in a pressure cooker, but if you wanted to do that, I’d suggest 8 minutes to start with!
Thanks!
Ok. I slow cooked this in my Mealthy pot at varying temps for 6 hours (4 hours low, 1 hour normal, 1 hour high) and the sweet potatoes were still uncooked. So I did 8 minutes on high pressure and normal temp with a quick release and it was perfect! My family all enjoyed it. Thanks for the suggested time!
Yay! I’m so glad it worked out!
This is one of our favorites!
Made it for church potluck. Nothing but the liner left. Thank you.
I love hearing this, Lin! You’re so welcome!!
This looked and smelled really good, but the flavors did not work well together at all for us unfortunately. Had to throw most of it out
I’m sorry you didn’t like it, Nathan.
Have this in the slow cooker now and am worried about the amount of liquid! The recipe calls for one can of coconut milk but I have many different sizes… opted for a 400ml. What size can would you recommend for future reference?
The average can size is about 355 ml so what you used should work well.
Could I substitute sweet potatoes for baby yellow potatoes?
Sure!
How many servings does this have and would you happen to know how many calories per serving?
Hi Kayla! I don’t have nutrition data, but this serves 6-8.
Can you make this without a slow cooker? I may have just realized ours is not functioning. Can this be made over the stove?
I’m sure it can Bene!
Could you use red curry paste in place of the powder?
Sure!
I’m salivating, just looking at it. How many cups of pineapple do you estimate that you used?
I thought you might like this one! 😉 I’d say there’s 3-4 cups, depending on how big you cut your chunks.
I can’t believe that I haven’t made this yet! I saw this through your pumpkin chili post, wanted to comment, and saw that I already commented on it. Ugh! 3-4 cups. I think Costco frozen coconut bag will work. I know, more expensive, but I really don’t like cutting into a pineapple. Not to mention, pineapples behave somewhat like avocados for me. Not ripe, not ripe, not ripe, just righ… uh, oh too squishy.
I mean, frozen pineapple chunks bag. Silly me!