This healthy coconut curry sauce with peppers is made in just 20 minutes! It’s creamy, dairy-free, and full of warm spices, and it’s perfect with your favorite protein over rice (or zoodles if you’re keeping it low-carb).
It’s one of those easy recipes you can throw together on a busy night and still feel like you made something really special. Pair it with a protein and a base, and you’ve got a complete meal that satisfies ALL your takeout cravings for WAY fewer calories. Same idea as my spaghetti squash pad Thai. And the flavors keep developing as it sits, so I love it for leftovers the next day!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Coconut Curry with Peppers
- Ready In: 20 minutes
- Serves: 6 servings
- Calories: 124 cal
- Protein: 2.1g
- Fat: 6.8g
- Carbs: 11.4g
- Why You'll Love It: This creamy, flavorful Coconut Curry with Peppers is made in just 20 minutes! It’s a quick, dairy-free dinner packed with warm spices and perfect with your favorite protein and rice (or zoodles for a lower-carb option).
Can Coconut Curry Be Healthy?
YES. A lot of curry sauces use full-fat coconut milk, cream, or lots of oil. This one uses lite canned coconut milk and a jar of marinara, plus lots of onion and red bell pepper. A 190g serving of the sauce is 124 calories with 6.8g fat. It’s a light sauce, so it’s not high in protein on its own (2.1g). Pair it with chicken, shrimp, or meatballs to make it a high-protein dinner.
Is Coconut Curry Dairy-Free?
This one is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. It’s easy to make vegetarian or vegan too: serve it with chickpeas, lentils, tofu, or extra veggies instead of meat. For low-carb, pour it over cauliflower rice, zoodles, or roasted or steamed vegetables.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Lite coconut milk: make sure to use the canned kind (one 13.5 oz can). Full-fat coconut milk makes a richer, thicker curry. Just note the macros will change.
- Jarred marinara: 12 oz of your favorite. Together with the tomato paste, it’s a shortcut to a spiced tomato base without a bunch of extra ingredients. If you always have a jar around, my healthy chicken marinara and cottage cheese spaghetti squash marinara are two more easy ones.
- Garam masala, mild curry powder, and turmeric: this trio creates the warm, layered flavor. Adjust to taste, or add a pinch of cayenne if you want more heat.
- Frozen garlic and ginger cubes: a great shortcut that works perfectly here. Fresh minced works too.
- Red bell pepper: swap in orange or yellow peppers, or toss in a mix if you have them.
Before You Start Cooking
- Plan your protein and base first. The sauce takes 20 minutes total (5 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking), so start your rice or cook your protein before or alongside it.
- Use a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. I use this one.
- Have the spices measured. The garlic, ginger, spices, and tomato paste only cook for one minute before the marinara and coconut milk go in.
- Tracking macros? Search “Lillie Eats and Tells Coconut Curry with Peppers” in MyFitnessPal and log your protein and base separately. Here’s how to create a recipe in MyFitnessPal. If you like mixing and matching proteins like this, my macro-friendly meal plans give you a new menu every Thursday with complete macros on every recipe and meal prep tips.
How to Make Healthy Coconut Curry Sauce
- Cook the onion. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat with a spritz of oil. Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, until fragrant and tender.
- Add the peppers. Add the bell pepper, salt, and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Bloom the spices. Add the garlic, ginger, spices, and tomato paste and stir for one minute to wake up the spices.
- Simmer the sauce. Add the marinara and coconut milk and combine well. Bring it to a low boil and let it cook for a couple of minutes, then turn it down to a simmer.
- Serve. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve with your protein over rice, cauliflower rice, noodles, or zoodles.
What to Serve with Coconut Curry
We love it with meatballs! My cottage cheese meatballs are a great match. Chicken, shrimp, or turkey meatballs all work too. Serve it over rice, cauliflower rice, noodles, or zoodles. I even love it over a bed of steamed broccoli or basil roasted veggies. If you’re not keeping it dairy-free, Parmesan smashed broccoli is great on the side.
For more takeout-style dinners, try my pineapple chicken stir fry, Thai basil turkey veggie skillet, or soy ginger salmon and Asian slaw.
How to Store and Freeze Coconut Curry
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of water or broth if needed to loosen the sauce. It’s also one of my macro-friendly freezer meals.
- To freeze, store the curry in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months.
- Freeze the sauce on its own, and make your rice or protein fresh.
- Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Want a protein to keep in the freezer next to it? My Instant Pot smoky honey cilantro chicken is an easy one.
Coconut Curry Calories and Macros
One 190g serving of this healthy coconut curry sauce has 124 calories, 2.1g protein, 6.8g fat, and 11.4g carbs. That’s just the sauce, so log your protein and base separately. The full nutrition is in the recipe card below.
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Coconut Curry with Peppers
Ingredients
- 10 oz onion diced (284g)
- 1 red bell pepper sliced (250g)
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 5 cloves minced garlic or frozen cubes
- 5 tsp minced ginger or frozen cubes
- 1 Tbsp. garam masala
- 1 Tbsp. mild curry powder
- 2 tsp. turmeric
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste 30g
- 12 oz jarred marinara 336g
- 13.5 oz can lite coconut milk 378g
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat with a spritz of oil. Add diced onion and cook for five minutes until fragrant and tender. Add bell peppers, salt, and pepper, and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add garlic, ginger, spices, and tomato paste and stir for one minute to wake up the spices. Add marinara and coconut milk and combine well. Bring to a low boil and let it cook for a couple of minutes before turning down to a simmer.
- Enjoy with your protein of choice (we love meatballs!) over rice, cauliflower rice, noodles.. Or zoodles! I even love it over a bed of steamed broccoli.
Notes
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