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Summer Vegetable Curry with Mango-Cilantro Salad comes together in just 30 minutes for a healthy weeknight win. Vegan, gluten free, and the perfect use of summer vegetables. 
The Best Vegetarian Curry
This weeknight curry is hearty, yet light, and makes delicious use of peak summer produce. Summer squash, corn, and bell peppers take center stage, which are all in abundance at farmers markets right now. To finish, a zippy mango-cilantro salad cuts through the richness of the broth to brighten things up.
This curry comes together in right around 30 minutes, making it perfectly suited for streamlined weeknight dinners. It also holds up incredibly well for leftovers, so weekday lunches are a breeze!
What Goes Into Vegetarian Curry?
This curry makes use of a few pantry staples to keep the ingredient list from getting too lofty. Here’s what you need:
- Summer vegetables: A mix of zucchini, yellow squash, fresh (or frozen, thawed) corn, bell peppers, and carrots make a hearty and healthy base. However, you could use just about any vegetable you have on hand, including green peas, snap peas, and cherry tomatoes. The options are endless here, so feel free to mix it up!
- Aromatics: Onion, garlic, and fresh ginger are the trifecta that create a strong base layer of flavor.
- Store-bought green curry paste: Most versions contain ingredients popular at Asian markets like galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime, which can effortlessly elevate homemade curries. One thing to note is that a lot of the spices in curry paste are fat soluble, which should be “bloomed” in hot fat to activate their flavor potential.
- Coconut milk: To achieve quintessential richness, full-fat coconut milk is the way to go. However, not all brands are created equal, and I’ve had the best results with Whole Foods 365 Organic Coconut Milk. Alternatively, Chaokoh coconut milk is available at most Asian markets and is ultra silky.
A quick salad topper of sliced mango, cilantro, mint, and roasted peanuts gets garnished overtop to bring a welcomed brightness to this warming curry.
Is Curry Healthy?
A slew of colorful peak-season vegetables add an array of vitamins and phytonutrients, such as vitamins A, C, and potassium. The spices in curry powder also provide some powerful anti-inflammatory components. Although this recipe boasts heart-healthy fats, especially from nut butter, it’s also high in saturated fat from coconut milk.
As both a dietitian and avid home cook, I believe there’s a place for all types in fat in one’s diet. And even though I place an emphasis on heart-healthy fats, I save the more saturated forms for when it really impacts a dish like curry.
What Should You Serve with Vegetarian Curry?
This curry is best served over rice to soak up all the flavor you build. A warm piece of naan on the side never hurt either. One thing to note, however, is that you should wait to add the mango salad topper until right before serving. 
Lastly, if you give this a try, be sure to tag #dishingouthealth so I can see your beautiful creations!
Other Favorite Vegetarian Recipes:
Mediterranean Eggplant Boats
Creamy Cauliflower Pasta
One Pot Moroccan Quinoa
Summer Vegetable Curry
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
- 2 Tbsp. green curry paste such as Thai Kitchen
- 1 medium zucchini cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
- 1 medium yellow squash cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
- 2 large carrots sliced at a diagonal into 1-inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 1/2 tsp. each salt and black pepper
- 1 13.5 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 Tbsp. peanut or almond butter
- 1 cup fresh or frozen/thawed corn
- 1 cup chopped fresh mango
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 3 Tbsp. roasted peanuts
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp. fish sauce optional
- White rice for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Cook onion 5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic, ginger, and curry paste; cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant. Add remaining 1 Tbsp oil, zucchini, squash, carrots, and bell pepper; cook 5 to 6 minutes, until vegetables develop some color. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add coconut milk, broth, nut butter, and corn; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook 15 minutes, uncovered, until vegetables soften and broth slightly thickens.
- Meanwhile, prepare mango salad by combining mango, herbs, peanuts, lime juice, and fish sauce in a small bowl; gently toss.
- Serve curry over rice and top with mango salad.
This was really fun to make! And so tasty and healthy. The mango I bought remained hard as a rock so I subbed plums.. I didn’t have cilantro, so used mint and Thai basil. And, I accidentally bought “lite” coconut . None of these changes affected the success of this dish.
Keep ‘em coming, Jamie!
When does the corn go in?
printed and trying for dinner tonight! thank you,
Fantastic, I hope you enjoy it!
Tasty! Particularly liked the fresh mango on top.