This delicious 20-minute Thai Pineapple Curry is full of healthy vegetables, fresh pineapple, and your choice of Chicken, Shrimp or Tofu and bathed in the most fragrant coconut red curry sauce. Vegan-adaptable.
What is Thai Pineapple Curry?
Thai pineapple curry is a simple yet delicious Thai curry dish, featuring fresh pineapple, vegetables, and protein of choice in a flavorful coconut red curry sauce.
The creamy, subtly spicy, coconut sauce combined with sweet tangy pineapple creates a delightful balance of flavors Thai cuisine is known for.
Thai Pineapple Curry Video
Ingredients in Thai Pineapple Curry
- Pineapple- fresh is best!
- Red curry paste– or try making your own homemade red curry paste!
- Coconut milk
- Chicken Breast or Crispy Tofu (or any protein option of choice -shrimp, beef, tempeh, or vegetables are great for this recipe!)
- Vegetables-Tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, or other quick-cooking veggies like snow peas, asparagus, green beans
- Fish sauce –or try vegan fish sauce!
- Brown Sugar – or coconut sugar, honey, or agave
- Thai basil – or sub-regular basil, but Thai Basil will elevate
How to Make Thai Pineapple Curry
STEP ONE:
Add curry paste and 3/4 can of coconut milk to a medium pot over high heat and stir together until a creamy sauce forms, about 1-2 minutes (or watch for bubbles on the surface of the sauce).
STEP TWO:
Add sugar and fish sauce, stir, and simmer for 1 minute.
STEP THREE:
Add the raw chicken, water, and simmer for 4-6 more minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
(If using crispy tofu, shrimp, or vegetables, cook for only 2-3 minutes.)
STEP FOUR:
Add pineapple and the vegetables and cook until slightly soft, no more than 2 minutes.
STEP FIVE:
Add the rest of the coconut milk and taste- adjust the flavors with more fish sauce, sugar, and extra curry paste at this point. Find the balance.
STEP SIX:
Turn off the heat, add the Thai basil, and stir in one last time. Let cool slightly and serve over jasmine rice and top with more fresh basil and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Pineapple. Fresh pineapple is recommended for this recipe. But frozen will work too. If you must use canned pineapple, drain the liquid before use and beware of the sugar and acidity of the canned pineapple when cooking. Adjust the sugar and fish sauce at the end.
- Red curry paste. You can use homemade red curry paste or store-bought red curry paste. This recipe uses this homemade curry paste. If using store-bought paste, start with less sugar and fish sauce , and add more to taste, to find the right flavor balance.
- If using homemade curry paste, the color of the sauce will be more yellow than red since fewer red chilis are used. But the flavors are still delicious!
- Protein. You can substitute any protein for this Thai pineapple curry! Shrimp and Crispy tofu or all vegetables are great, taking care not to overcook.
- Thai basil. A must. Don’t skip this one. 😉 Sweet basil is a good substitute if you can’t find Thai basil.
Can Thai Pineapple Curry be Made Vegan?
Yes! If you use vegan red curry paste and vegan fish sauce. Play around a bit with the balance of the vegan fish sauce, sugar, and amount of curry paste used. If making your own homemade curry paste, omit the shrimp paste but use more salt or vegan fish sauce for seasoning.
Ways to Elevate
- Add extra curry paste at the end if your curry is not spicy or flavorful enough. You can add up to 2 tablespoons of extra curry paste for the extra kick of heat like you’d see in Thailand. Keep in mind, the rice will mellow out the heat.
- You can add minced kaffir lime leaves at the end with the basil leaves for a more bold Thai curry flavor.
- Vegetables are great for this Thai pineapple curry; sugar snaps pea, broccoli, cauliflower, broccolini, zucchini, tomatoes, banana peppers, and even jalapeños for extra heat!
More Recipes You May Enjoy
- Pineapple Fried Rice
- Thai red curry paste
- Instant pot Thai curry chicken
- Thai fish curry
- Green curry paste
- Green curry noodle soup
- Pad See Ew
- 20 easy Thai recipes
- 30-minute Thai green curry
Thai Pineapple Curry
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner Recipe
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Thai Pineapple Curry is a quick and easy meal to whip up. This delicious, 20-minute version is full of healthy vegetables, fresh pineapple, and your choice of Chicken, Shrimp or Tofu, and bathed in the most fragrant coconut red curry sauce. Vegan-adaptable.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup red curry paste, store-bought or make your own!
- 1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz) full fat is best
- 1 –2 tablespoons brown sugar (adjust as needed) or sub coconut sugar, honey, or alternative sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons fish sauce (and adjust as needed) or vegan fish sauce
- 1 lb chicken, cut into thin, bite-sized slices (or make crispy tofu, or use shrimp)
- 1/4 cup water or broth
- 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces- or use frozen, or canned (drained & rinsed)
- 1 cup tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces ( or sub snow peas, green beans or asparagus)
- 1/2 cup red bell peppers, diced
- 1/2 cup Thai basil (or sub regular basil)
- A squeeze of Lime to taste
- optional: 5-6 Kaffir lime leaves (add to the simmering sauce)
Serve with jasmine rice, garnish with Thai basil and lime wedges
Instructions
- Add curry paste and 3/4 of can the coconut milk to a medium pot over high heat and stir together creamy sauce forms. About 1-2 minutes or watch for bubbles on the sauce.
- Add sugar and fish sauce, stir, and simmer for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken, water, and cook for 4-5 more minutes until the chicken is tender. If using tofu, shrimp, or vegetables, cook for only 2-3 minutes.
- Add pineapple, tomatoes, and the vegetables, cover, and cook until slightly soft, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rest of the coconut milk and adjust the flavors with more fish sauce, salt, sugar, and extra curry paste to find your perfect balance. Add a squeeze of lime if you like. Keep in mind, that serving it over rice will mellow the flavor considerably.
- Turn off the heat, add the Thai basil, and stir in one last time. Let cool slightly and serve over jasmine rice and top with more fresh basil and enjoy!
Notes
- Pineapple- Fresh pineapple is recommended for this recipe. But if you must, use frozen, or use canned pineapple (drain the liquid before use and beware of the sugar and acidity of the canned pineapple when cooking.) Adjust the sugar and fish sauce at the end.
- Red curry paste- You can use homemade red curry paste or store-bought red curry paste. Keep in mind all curry paste brands are different, so if in doubt about spice level, use conservatively and add more to taste.
- Protein- You can substitute any protein for this Thai pineapple curry! Shrimp and tofu or all vegetables are great but be sure to only cook these options in only 1/3 of the time required for cooking the chicken.
- Thai basil- A must. Don’t skip this one. (: Sweet basil is a good substitute if you can’t find Thai basil.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: with chicken breast & without rice.
- Calories: 359
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 599.9 mg
- Fat: 21.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 14.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.3 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 28.1 g
- Cholesterol: 82.7 mg
I had everything in my larder. Used 1 lb medium shrimp, which was perfect. I doubled most of the vegetables. Just delicious. Oh, didn’t have fresh tomatoes but used petite diced tomatoes that had cilantro and chilies. I drained the can and it worked out ok.
Great, love the adaptions!
Yummy
yummy
Thanks Em!
I’ve always been afraid to make THai curries, but this recipe looked so good and thought it was easy enough to try. It was and I LOVED it! This pineappole curry is going to be on my weekly rotation now.Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Great to hear!
I made this pineapple curry and I can’t stop eating it! It’s so delicious. Can’t wait to make it again soon!
I’m so glad you liked it Julie!
This pieapple curry is phenomenal! Full of flavor with each bite & my family can’t get enough! Yum!!
So glad you enjoyed!
Tasty and so versatile. I did my proteins on the side–crispy tofu for my vegan daughter and stir fried pheasant for me and my husband. This way I could customize one dish for the whole family. I didn’t have zucchini but luckily had an eggplant that I cubed and air fried before adding to the curry.
Love it Marie!
This was so good! We made it again the next day since we had all the ingredients. It came together quickly and was eaten by everyone, even my 5 yr old. We’ll definitely be making this again.
Great to hear!
I made it with crispy tofu and it was delicious!! Thank you
Oh Good! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was the most authentic Thai curry I’ve ever made. Hubby and the rest of the family raved about it and we make and eat lots of Thai food. Very easy, too. I buy Thai basil at my local Hawaiian farmers market and used fresh pineapple.Quite spicy so be sure to have lots of jasmine rice with it. I did alter a bit by starting out with 1/2 small onion sautéed before first step and bumped up the amount of veggies. I also used vegan fish sauce and squeezed a lime over it at the end. Outstanding!
Sounds great Cheryl- glad you enjoyed it.
This is an amazing dish! Very easy. I made with shrimp the night and added onion and upped the quantity of Thai Basil. Served over jasmine rice. Quite spicy and had to cut down the amount of curry paste. I use fresh pineapple 🍍 as I live in Hawaii. I’d love to share a photo.
So happy you enjoyed this Cheryl! You can share on instagram and tag us- would love to see it!
Delicious! I think next time I’ll try adding some onion and ginger. I am a big fan of your recipes! Thank you so much!
Love it Bee!
So delicious and easy! I used shrimp as my protein. Perfect quick meal for summer. With all this heat, I don’t want to spend too much at the stove.
Great to hear Dido!
Perfect summery weekday meal! Comes together quick and easy and is bursting with flavor. My two-year old normally doesn’t like Thai food (unfortunately) but she cleaned her plate completely and came back for seconds: going on heavy rotation this summer!
Wow! Love it!
This is absolutely delicious! I don’t normally comment on recipes but this one deserves it. Layers and layers of flavour, spicy but not too much. So good and I wouldn’t change a thing!
We love it too Theresa! So perfect for summer. Did you make your own curry paste?
OMG made this tonight and loved it!!!
We dialed everything back as the Thai chili paste we use is strong. I don’t particularly care for pineapple but loved this dish and it is going into the forever file.
We made it with prawns.
Amazing !!!
Sharing it with friends and family.
So nice to have something fresh and new!
Making the slow roasted lamb this weekend. Can’t wait!
So happy you enjoyed this! Yes, so fresh and tasty, we’ve made it twice this week. 😉
Easy, quick, delicious to throw together after work. Made exactly as specified with shrimp and the max measurement of each ingredient. Rave reviews from every family member! Well balanced flavors.
Great to hear and glad you liked it!
Delicious and so quick! I made a double recipe and used 1 pound of chicken along with ~2 cups cooked chickpeas. A great summer curry with the bell pepper, zucchini and tomato. I didn’t add any extra broth since I wanted it to be thick. Yum!
Awesome Daina! Great to hear and love the addition of chickpeas.
Would the vegetables really cook in 2 mins? I would want them soft, not crunchy. Is the sauce rich and thick or more like a broth?
I guess it depends what you are using and how big they are cut- feel free to cook them longer or to your desired doneness. I will note the recipe. 😉
Sauce is thin like my local Thai restaurant. Serve in a bowl with rice on the side and a big spoon for the delicious sauce..