This is a truly delicious vegan Thai green curry using butternut squash as its focal point. Green chillies, lemongrass, ginger, lime leaves and coriander make up the green paste that gives this iconic dish its name. Making your own from scratch is a straightforward process, but you will need to have access to a blender to make the paste.
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I use oil to make the paste, but you can switch to water if you prefer to lower your fat intake. It’s better to make the paste in advance, so that it is ready to pour straight into the dish as it is cooking. Alternatively, you can make it the day before if you’d like to save time on the night.
This vegan Thai green curry makes great use of butternut squash and woodland mushrooms, both of which you can get from the supermarket. Any mushrooms are a suitable alternative, but if mushrooms are not your thing then something like tenderstem broccoli would be perfect.
Vegan Thai fish sauce is a crucial element in this Thai green curry to give it that authentic flavour. I buy mine in multi packs from Amazon, but you can also buy individual bottles from Ocado. They have a shelf life of six months, so you’ll have plenty of time to use a bottle in a variety of dishes.
I have made a video of this dish (posted below), so that you can see it being made
For similar-themed dishes, why not try my Vegan Braised Tofu Thai Cakes, or my 15-minute Thai Lentils with Green beans and Coconut Rice.

Vegan Thai Green Curry with Butternut Squash
Ingredients
Gluten-Free
For the Curry Paste:
- 3 green chillies deseeded and roughly chopped
- 4 cloves fresh garlic peeled and bashed with the side of a knife
- A 1-inch piece of ginger peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 stalks of lemongrass trimmed, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 shallots peeled and roughly sliced
- A large handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped
- A smaller handful of basil leaves roughly chopped
- 5 lime leaves sliced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 75 ml vegetable oil use water if you’d prefer
For the Curry:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ large butternut squash peeled and diced
- 3 shallots peeled and sliced
- 150 g woodland mushrooms roughly sliced
- 150 g baby corn cut in half lengthways
- 1 can coconut milk
- 200 ml vegetable stock make sure it’s vegan
- 2 lime leaves sliced
- 2 tbsp vegan Thai fish sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup golden syrup or other substitute is fine
- A small handful chopped coriander leaves
- A small handful chopped basil leaves
- A little Sriracha sauce optional
- Some chopped coriander leaves and sliced red chillies to garnish
Instructions
- First make the curry paste. Put all of the paste ingredients, apart from the oil (or water if using), into a blender. Pour in the oil and blitz for about a minute, or until completely smooth. You may have to stop blending to stir it in order to blend everything. Once done, scoop the blended paste into a dish and set aside until needed.
- To make the curry, heat the 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan or wok and cook the butternut squash, on a medium-high heat, for a few minutes to soften the edges. Place a lid on the pan and cook for another 5 minutes or so, stirring often, to cook the squash mostly through. Add the shallots, mushrooms and baby corn and cook for about another 8 minutes, stirring often.
- Pour in the vegan Thai green curry paste you made earlier and stir in until the vegetables are fully coated. Cook for a few more minutes to activate the flavours. Now pour in the coconut milk and the vegetable stock. Add the lime leaves, vegan Thai fish sauce, maple syrup, fresh herbs and sriracha, if using. Stir in and then simmer for 15 minutes to allow it to cook through.
- Serve with plain rice and top with the coriander leaves and sliced red chillies.


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