This tofu red curry features tender tofu simmered in a flavorful red curry sauce with lots of tender summer vegetables. Serve it over hot rice with lots of naan for soaking up the sauce!
Veggie-heavy dinners like this are what summer is all about! Bonus points if it’s hearty too, cause even though it’s hot out we still need our comfort food.
This curry just ticks all the summer boxes, y’all. It uses up a ton of glorious garden veggies, we’re keeping it vegan and vegetarian-friendly, and it’s an absolute flavor bomb of a dinner.
Trust me, a big bowl of this curry + rice + naan for soaking up all the sauce is about to be your new mid-summer dinner staple.
This is one of those dinners you can throw together start to finish in under an hour but it definitely tastes like it simmered all day because the flavors are so incredibly complex.
This Tofu Curry features…
- Tender green beans, summer squash, zucchini, and baby spinach
- A flavorful red curry sauce
- Soft tofu cubes that soak up all the curry sauce
- Easy to adapt based on veggies you have and you can adjust the heat to suit your preference
Making the Tofu Curry
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Vegetable oil
- Extra-firm tofu
- Yellow onion
- Green beans
- Zucchini
- Summer squash
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Red curry paste
- Turmeric
- Coriander
- Petite-diced tomatoes
- Coconut milk
- Baby spinach
How To Press Tofu
Prepare the tofu for pressing by cutting the tofu in half width-wise. Lay the two tofu slabs in a single layer on a kitchen towel, place another kitchen towel on top, and arrange on a plate.
Now place something heavy on top of the tofu (like a bowl of fruit or a medium-weight book) and allow to sit for 30-60 minutes. Once the tofu has been pressed, you’re ready to dice it into cubes and proceed with the recipe.
Why press tofu? Even extra-firm tofu is packaged in liquid and removing some of this liquid ensures that the tofu will soak up more of the curry sauce.
Tips for Perfect Curry
- Cut vegetables in uniform sizes – uniformity matters when it comes to cutting your vegetables since you want them to cook evenly in the curry.
- Use fresh garlic and ginger – using these ingredients fresh adds tons of flavor to the sauce.
- Simmer curry – this is where a lot of the flavor is built in the curry plus it cooks the vegetables and soaks the sauce into the tofu. Don’t rush the simmering process.
- Use full-fat coconut milk – this adds an unmatchable richness to the sauce that you can only get from using full-fat coconut milk.
- Add spinach at end of cooking – stir the spinach into the hot curry after simmering and it will wilt in only a minute or two.
- Garnish with fresh lime and cilantro – this gets added once the curry is finished cooking for one last little boost of flavor.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this curry!
- Try different veggies – sweet pepper, squash, sweet potatoes, or mushrooms would all be great extra veggie additions. Be aware you may have to adjust the cook time based on the veggies you use.
- Add meat – try cubed chicken, thinly-sliced steak, or browned sausage.
- Make it spicy – add a minced serrano or a few shakes of cayenne pepper for a spicy curry.
How to Serve Curry
There are a variety of ways you can serve this curry. Traditionally, we like to serve it over steamed basmati or jasmine rice with fresh lime wedges and cilantro for topping and fresh naan on the side.
You can also serve this curry over quinoa, cauliflower rice, brown rice, or farro for a healthier alternative. It’s even hearty enough that you can forgo the grains altogether!
It’s the flavorful coconut red curry sauce that really rules this curry and makes it everything it is. Simmering the vegetables and tofu in the sauce builds so much flavor and you will instantly be hooked!
Those summer vegetables have a new permanent dinner home.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Watch this curry made step-by-step on Google web stories.
More curries to add to your menu!
Tofu Red Curry with Summer Vegetables
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Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 (12 oz) block extra-firm tofu (pressed for 30-60 minutes and cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/2 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-in pieces
- 1 medium zucchini, diced into 1/2-in cubes
- 1 medium summer squash, diced into 1/2-in cubes
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 can (15 oz) petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
- 1 cup firmly-packed baby spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Hot basmati or jasmine rice, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and naan for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once heated, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and swirl to coat pan. Add tofu and sear on all sides, turning occasionally until tofu is golden brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to same pan and set over medium-high heat. Add onion and green beans to pan and cook 5-8 minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and summer squash and cook 4-6 minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Reduce heat to medium and add ginger, garlic, curry paste, turmeric, and coriander. Let cook 2-3 minutes until fragrant and vegetables are evenly coated.
- Add tomatoes, coconut milk, tofu, and onions/green beans to pan. Bring curry to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium low and let simmer 15-20 minutes until vegetables are tender and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Stir spinach into curry until spinach is wilted. Season curry with salt and pepper to taste if needed and serve warm over rice with cilantro, lime wedges, and naan. Enjoy!
Michelle says
Very tasty. Followed recipe as written and it turned out well. Thank you for the recipe.
Sarah says
That’s wonderful to hear, Michelle! 🙂