This tasty shrimp curry is blanketed in the most luscious coconut red curry sauce and full of so much flavor! It’s quick, easy, and crazy delicious!
This sassy shrimp curry cooks up super fast but magically tastes like it’s slow simmered for hours.
And the leftovers? OH.MY.GOSH. If you manage to squirrel a little away for the next day you’re in for a treat! It’s fantastic the first day and equally awesome the next.
I kept thing simple with the veggies this time around but we make this curry so often that I will toss in pretty much anything I have on hand.
I’ve added broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and zucchini along with the peppers and onion and have loved it every which way.
side dishes for shrimp curry
When it comes to curry, my side dish game is always the same. I either serve it up on a fluffy bed of jasmine or basmati rice or scoop it up with some warm and toasty naan bread. Or both!
You can choose your favorite long grain rice or choose a low carb option like cauliflower rice as your side. Fluffy quinoa or tender rice noodles would also work great too!
Another tasty option would be to cool things down with a fresh cucumber salad. Yum!
Easy Thai Coconut Shrimp Curry
Ready to faceplant? Let’s get our recipe on!
Easy Thai Coconut Shrimp Curry
This tasty shrimp curry is blanketed in the most luscious coconut red curry sauce and full of so much flavor! It’s quick, easy, and crazy delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw shrimp, cleaned and prepped (thaw if frozen)
- 1-2 TBSP avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 white onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1-2 large jalapeño
- 3 TBSP red curry paste
- 1.5 TBSP fish sauce
- 2 TBSP brown sugar
- 14 oz canned unsweetened coconut milk
- 1.5 TBSP cornstarch dissolved in 1.5 TBSP cold water
- 2-3 TBSP fresh chopped Thai basil for topping
- lime wedges for serving
- crushed red pepper flakes (optional extra for a spicier curry) season to taste
Instructions
-
Prep shrimp as needed. Should be peeled, cleaned, and thawed if frozen. I used extra-large shrimp but medium and large work great too.
-
Dice onion, cut bell pepper into thin strips and chop, and mince or slice your jalapeno. For a spicier curry, include the jalapeño seeds and use two jalapeños. For a more mild curry remove the seeds and only use one jalapeno or skip entirely.
-
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Add onion, jalapeno, and bell pepper and cook until softened, approx 4-5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer veggies to a bowl and set aside.
-
Over medium heat, add the coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Whisk together and bring to a gentle boil. In a small bowl, add 1.5 TBSP cornstarch to 1.5 TBSP cold water and whisk to dissolve. Add to sauce and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally. Approx 5 minutes.
-
Pat shrimp dry and add to the sauce along with your cooked veggies. For more al dente vegetables, you can add them at the end if you prefer. Allow curry to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are cooked through and opaque.
-
At this point you can taste-test the curry and decide if you'd like more heat (cayenne or red pepper flakes may be added to amp up the spiciness) or extra of any of the ingredients. Sometimes I'll stir in extra red curry paste or add a teeny pinch of salt, to taste.
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Top with Thai basil. Serve with jasmine rice or basmati rice or see blog post for more tasty serving suggestions!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts below are estimated using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed and enjoy!
If you get a chance to try this scrumptious shrimp curry, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
looking for more Thai inspired recipes?
One of my all-time most popular recipes is this Thai Salad with Carrot and Cucumber Noodles. It’s studded with cilantro, chickpeas, and the most amazing sweet and sour dressing!
Because I’m clearly obsessed with Thai salads, I also make a mean Thai Chopped Salad with lemongrass ginger shrimp.
On the soup front, I whipped up the most amazing Red Lentil Curry Soup featuring a spicy kick from Thai red curry paste and chili garlic sauce.
I’ve also been working hard at perfecting my Drunken Noodles recipe and *cannot* wait to share it on here very soon – stay tuned!
Karen K
Fantastically delicious and easy! I have made many complicated Thai shrimp curry dishes in the past and this beats them all hands-down. Added extra veg as suggested, yummm!
Jenn
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the shrimp curry, Karen! Thank you!
Aida Parada
Love it!
Tami
This was fantastic!! I had hot green curry paste on hand so I used that. What a great meal! Thanks for posting this.
Jenn
Woooooot! So stoked it worked with green curry paste (I cannot wait to try that out) and I’m glad the recipe was a hit! xoxo
Janet Fitzgerald
I made this tonight!! It was amazing. And hit the spot As I was craving curry. Only took about 25 minutes and I’ll be making often. My kind of dish.
Sam Swerdlen
I rarely leave reviews on recipes because I usually just use them as a starting point and make a lot of changes. Having never eaten, let alone, made Thai Curry Shrimp before and the ingredients sounded so delightful I made this pretty much as stated. It was amazing and to quote my husband, “phenomenal!”. I did reduce the sugar by half (we like spicy over sweet) and couldn’t find Thai Basil, but otherwise it was made as written. Will reduce the sugar further next time and will spice it up some more, but we thank you for this awesome recipe!!
Eddie
Great recipe! Easy to make packed with so much flavor!
Melanie
Super yummy and easy to make! It was fun to try something new in our menu line up!
Dorothy Larson
This recipe calls for some ingrdients that might not be a staple in everyone’s pantry. Try to be more specific of the time it takes to SHOP for fish sauce.
15 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking time is not the case.
It takes time to scour the internet for substitutions for some of the ingredients.
Julie
Very good recipe. Next time, I’ll use two jalapeños for more heat as we like spicy in our house.
Jenn
More jalapeños are always a hit here too! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Julie!
Vera
My first Thai curry, it turned out amazing!! I wasn’t sure about the lime so I juiced it and add it at the end, it worked great. Thank you for this simple and wonderful receipt!
Jenn
Yay!!! So happy to hear it Vera!
Ramya Sundararajan
This was a huge hit at my party. Thank you for a great recipe. Your blog rocks!
Jenn
Thank you Ramya! I’m soiled you enjoyed it as well as your guests! xoxo
Rebecca Carr
Made for a test run. Definitely making this to deliver to some friends.
Jenn
SO SO happy to hear it, Rebecca! Thank you!
MK
Awesome thanks for sharing
Jenn
You’re super welcome! xo
Cindy
Fantastic recipe !!!! Made this with tilapia yesterday and had leftovers today. I wouldn’t change anything except try different proteins and will be making this again with lamb.
Great recipe ..
Thank you
Honey Carter
Made this tonight and it was delicious! We bumped up the red curry paste and the fish sauce as suggested. Also used a couple of unseeded Fresno peppers. We like heat. Added a pinch of brown sugar and some sugar snap peas to bump up the veg. I might suggest cooking the shrimp with the veg: Because of the color of the curry sauce, it is easy to undercook or overcook the shrimp. Our shrimp gave off no water, so we may rethink the corn starch slurry.
Amagi
I just made it. I added mushrooms and rice. Delicious delicious delicious…
Jenn
Mushrooms and rice sound like the perfect pairing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Amagi! Thanks!
Eva
This was soooo good and so easy to make! I added carrots at the beginning and broccoli with the shrimp to get my veggie fix. Thanks for sharing!
Donna
It was amazing!
Jenn
Thanks Donna!
Lou
This was our first curry to make at home and it was absolutely delicious!!!! I wanted to thank you especially for making it to where when we print we can add how many servings we need! That is so very helpful!!! At Christmas we always pick a different ethnic group (or however you say it) for our meals. We dont want the same thing for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have done german, chinese, and thai this time. Next year is Greek! I can also make this Low Carb for this year! Thank you so much!!!!
Jane
This was easy to make and delicious! I used double the amount of peppers and also added zucchini. My family loved it! ❤
Amy
I stumbled upon this easy recipe originally looking for a Thai soup to use up some garden veggies and herbs. Instead of using Thai Basil, Insubstituted lemongrass, cilantro, and African basil . This was better than most creamy coconut shrimp recipes I have had in restaurants and it was so fast and easy! Thankyou!
Caroline
Have made this twice now. SO SO SO good!!
Arienfire
Against my better judgment, I added the shrimp last. Big mistake. I should have cooked the shrimp first. There’s a weird taste to it, either from the packaging or ocean-like unpleasant taste. Next time I will follow my gut. Otherwise this would have been delicious.
Jenn
Hi Arienfire! It sounds like it may have been the shrimp? Were they cleaned (rinse/dried etc…) and have you used that type of shrimp before? They should 100% not have had an ocean-like flavor, I totally agree! Happy to help troubleshoot if you need me! xoxo
Steve
Very simple but incredibly tasty
Jenn
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Steve!
Jane
Restaurant quality delicious! It was a hair spicy for ya, but otherwise a great dish with lots of flavor.
Jane
*us (not ya)!
Jenn
I’m so glad y’all enjoyed the recipe, Jane! If you’d like to reduce the heat/spice next time you can either reduce or skip the crushed red pepper flakes and jalapeño. xo
Laurey
This was so delicious and easy. We had unexpected company arrive for dinner and it was a hit with everyone. I didn’t even have time to take a photo before as it was gone. I will definitely be making this again!!
Jenn
Ahhh yay! So happy to hear it, Laurey!
Richard
I was looking for a Thai shrimp curry recipe and came across yours. I made it and it was great! Thanks so much. Looking now at your web site I’m hungry all over again 🙂 You obviously enjoy not just good, but very colourful dishes.
Jenn
Thank you Richard! I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
Sherine
Tried a Thai curry for the fuest time using your recipe and we loved it!
Jenn
Yay! Thank you, Sherine!
Jessica
I made this tonight and it was a hit. Both my kids loved it as well, this includes my picky 11 year old. Wouldn’t change a thing. So delicious and will be making this again soon.
Tracey
That was so easy and absolutely amazing! What a great find! Thanks
Chris
I wish i had a picture to share, but seriously it looks like the posted recipe picture. We’ve cooked this probably 5 times this month and had friends over every weekend for the past four weeks and EVERYONE loved this dish. So easy to put together, great with shrimp, chicken or both! I’ve been hesitant to try Thai cooking because I thought it’d be complicated or I’d mess it up…. this recipe makes you look like a fabulous cook!! One girlfriend couldn’t stop saying that it was the best food she’s ever had, so flavorful and fresh and delicious! Eat with a good sticky rice, extra lime wedges, and if you have some fresh lovely basil in your garden like I did it’s even better!
Jenn
DAY = MADE!!!! I’m so so glad the shrimp curry was a hit and that it has made repeat status in your kitchen. Thank you!
Biswajit
Nyc recipe
Delilah
Good and easy recipe but next time I’ll leave out the sugar entirely, or else only use half a teaspoon. It’s way too sweet for me.
Jenn
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Delilah! Yes the sugar can be 100% omitted and if you like it spicy, you can even add more heat! xoxo
Samia Taj
Amazing recipe and so easy !
Keya
Definitely making this again…!
I live alone so I’m grateful for the leftover…! I followed the directions exactly and only added a teeny bit more curry paste and red pepper flakes at the end… Would probably cook my vegetables a little shorter and add the seeds from the jalapeño for a little if that heat. But this is so flavorful and not difficult to prepare.
The key is to prep all of the ingredients because the recipe goes fast…! Thanks for sharing…!
Vickie
Hi, could you use scallops instead of shrimp in this recipe?
Jenn
Hi Vickie! Scallops would be glorious here! I’d personally pan sear them in their own skillet (they cook up fast!) then add to the curry just before serving.
Yolandi
Incredible!!!!!!
Jenn
Thank you Yolandi!
ClaraZ
Amazing recipe! Thanks very much! I a beginner in cooking and always kinda intimidated by it but I made this last night and I really really enjoyed it!!
However, I have 2 1/2 suggestions:
1. I wish I could pat and dry the shrimp in advance. I did not dry the shrimp early enough, so I just threw my shrimps in and it kinda diluted the thickened up sauce. And it turnt out to be a bit watery than I expected. So maybe mention dry the shrimps at an early step or maybe I m just really lack of cooking common sense.
2. I think you forgot to mention to add the bell pepper, onions mix which was set aside in a bowl earlier back to the curry. I read the recipe word by word and I didnt know when and which step I should put the veggie mix back to the sauce pan lol. Again, lack of cooking common sense here :p
3. Comparing the dish I made last night by following very strictly step by step per the recipe to the similar dish I had at Thai restaurants, the flavor is not as strong as the restaurant version, I wonder if adding more salt or more red curry paste can strengthen the flavor? Or a way that wont make it saltier? Any insight would be appreciated.
But anyways, thank you very much! You made cooking easy, encouraging and possible for me 🙂
Jenn
So glad you enjoyed the shrimp curry Clara! I will certainly add these little extra details. I make this one so often my brain is often on autopilot and I for sure need to add more tips and steps to help out my beginner chefs! <3 To amp up the flavor, you can add an extra dash of fish sauce (just a little) as well as more red curry paste. You mentioned the shrimp needed patting dry for you so that will also help as to not dilute any yummy flavor! Updating some more details into the post as we speak! xoxo
Jenn
Ooh and for drying the shrimp, you want to pat them dry before tossing them in the pot. If you do it earlier they will just release moisture again while waiting for their turn to get cooked, from my experience. If your curry ever seems to thin you can add a little extra corn starch diluted in cold water. Some restaurants use canned coconut cream instead of just coconut milk to make their curries extra thick, though I try to avoid the extra calories and stick with the coconut milk and cornstarch combo so I can control the thickness to my liking. Hope that info helps!
Mariya M
If you slightly precook th ed shrimp ahead 9f time they wont give 9off so much water in the final cooking. Pat dry and saute them in th ed olive/ avocado oil first for just a minute. Then remove them and throw in your veggies with a bit more oil. Then remove those and set both aside separately till you add them into the sauce. The shrimp will finish cooking in the sauce and won’t water down the curry.
Vicki
Question about your recipe: Step #5 that has a note mentions CHICKEN when this is s shrimp recipe. Did you mean this note for this recipe, and mean to say “SHRIMP” instead of chicken? Thanks!
Jenn
Hi Vicki! Thank you so much for catching that! I have been testing the recipe over the course of the year and originally made it with chicken, then decided I liked the shrimp best and kept testing it that way. When I uploaded my recipe notes over from my app it still that that note in there and I didn’t catch it. So happy you pointed it out! xo
Ashley F
I had no idea this would be so easy to make! So delicious!
Jenn
Thanks Ashley!
Tayler Ross
I made this for dinner last night and it was incredible! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Jenn
Love it! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Tayler!
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