Easy Thai Shrimp Curry
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Craving a warm, creamy curry that’s packed with flavor—but short on time? This Thai shrimp curry recipe is a weeknight hero. It’s rich, comforting, and ready in just 25 minutes with pantry-friendly staples like coconut milk, green curry paste, and frozen shrimp.
This is the best Thai shrimp curry—a fast, flavorful dish that brings the taste of your favorite takeout right into your own kitchen. Tender shrimp simmer in a rich, coconut-based green curry sauce that’s loaded with bold flavor from classic Thai ingredients.
There’s plenty of sauce if you want to add vegetables to round out the meal; carrots, bell peppers, or snap peas are all great options (just cook them separately and stir them in at the end). Serve the curry with jasmine rice to soak up all that flavorful sauce—and be sure to start the rice first so everything’s ready at the same time.
If you love the sweet, spicy, and fragrant flavors of Thai food, try my easy pad Thai, chicken satay or pork fried rice next.
“This is a restaurant-quality dish that can be served to company or family. I added carrots and red and green peppers…Delicious!”
shrimp thai curry ingredients
- Onion, Scallions and Garlic: These aromatics form the flavor foundation for the sauce.
- Thai Green Curry Paste: This common Thai ingredient is made from a blend of lemongrass, galangal (a cousin of ginger), cumin, coriander root, Kaffir lime, and hot green chilies to name just a few. I use the Thai Kitchen brand which is available in most large grocery stores. Note that different brands will have different levels of heat, so you may need more or less depending on the kind you use.
- Coconut Milk: A staple in many curry dishes, it brings a sweet and creamy flavor which balances the spicy flavors of the curry paste. Use full-fat coconut milk for rich texture and taste. You can use any brand, but I’ve found that the milk’s consistency and fat content can vary depending on the brand. I’ve consistently had great results with the Thai Kitchen brand. Don’t worry if the coconut milk looks solidified or separated when you open the can; it can be added to the recipe “broken” and then whisked back together into a creamy emulsion.
- Fish Sauce: This dark, pungent liquid used in Southeast Asia cooking doesn’t have a “fishy” taste, but rather a salty, savory flavor. If possible, buy a brand imported from Thailand or Vietnam, and don’t worry about buying a large bottle it keeps forever.
- Lime Juice: Brightens up the sauce with citrusy freshness.
- Shrimp: Frozen shrimp are a freezer-friendly staple easy to keep on hand for quick meals. Buy them peeled and deveined so all you need to do is thaw them out and they’re ready to cook in all your favorite quick shrimp recipes, like this one.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to make Thai shrimp curry
Step 1: Cook the onions. Heat your oil in a skillet and add the onions. Cook about three minutes or until slightly soft.
Step 2: Add the other aromatics. Add the scallions, garlic and green curry paste and cook a few minutes more to release the fragrance and aromatics from each ingredient.
Step 3: Finish the sauce. Add the coconut milk, water, fish sauce and brown sugar to the cooked vegetables. Bring to a gentle boil.
Step 4: Add the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through.
Step 5: Finish and serve. Stir in the lime juice and sprinkle with the fresh chopped cilantro. Serve it up over jasmine rice with lime wedges on the side and enjoy!
Jenn’s Pro tips & thai coconut curry shrimp variations
- Adding vegetables. Feel free to add vegetables to the dish for color and to bulk it up. I recommend cooking them separately and adding them right at the end to heat them up. Carrots, green beans, snow peas, and broccoli are some simple options that work well.
- Swap the meat. Chicken, like in this red curry chicken, will work equally well with the flavors of the green curry.
- Adjusting the spiciness. You can add more curry paste or even some sliced fresh green chilies if you want more spice in your curry. For a milder flavor, choose a mild curry paste and use less of it if needed for less heat.
- Thawing shrimp: Thaw them out in the fridge overnight, or if you happen to forget or need them quickly defrosted, place them in a bowl under cool running water. They will thaw out in about 15 minutes.
More best Thai recipes to try
Thai Shrimp Curry
This Thai shrimp curry is fast, flavorful, and easy. Juicy shrimp simmer in a creamy coconut curry sauce, and the whole dish comes together in just 25 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts, from 4-5 scallions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2½ tablespoons Thai green curry paste
- 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark or light brown sugar
- 2 pounds large, extra large (26-30 per lb) or jumbo (21-25 per lb) shrimp, peeled and deveined (see note), thawed if frozen
- Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons), plus more lime wedges for serving
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, Thai basil, or Italian basil (or a combination)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 3 minutes. If the onions start to brown, reduce the heat to medium. Add the scallions, garlic, and green curry paste, and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes more.
- Add the coconut milk, water, fish sauce, and sugar and bring to a gentle boil. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and sprinkle with the cilantro (or basil). Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve with jasmine rice.
- Note: For the shrimp, I recommend buying frozen shrimp labeled “shell split and deveined.” Most shrimp are cleaned and flash frozen shortly after being caught, so the “fresh” shrimp you see in the seafood case at the supermarket are typically thawed frozen shrimp. Who knows how long they've been sitting there, so you’re better off buying frozen shrimp and defrosting it yourself. Come dinnertime, all you have to do is run the shrimp under water to defrost, and then peel.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 299
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 13 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Sodium: 1372 mg
- Cholesterol: 191 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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OMG! This was awesome. So easy, so tasty. I used to make a Thai curry soup that had me running all over town looking for galangla and those ever-elusive kaffir lime leaves. No more! Thanks for another amazing recipe!
This is my second review in less than a week, previously I made your Thai Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs and Lime and I left a rave review……I was HOOKED!! I also made the Baja Fish Tacos last night and today I picked up the ingredients for this Thai Shrimp Curry. I must admit it was my first time dealing with coconut milk and green curry paste etc…..your pictures and simple instructions made my meal so flawless. Ive been taking pictures of my results and my family and friends are so envious! I have two young girls and Im always on the hunt for simplicity but elegant and healthy meals….the Thai Shrimp Curry blew us away….the look on my husbands face was PRICELESS! THANK YOU!!! Also….again….ANOTHER recipe I never felt needed altering!! Wow!
This dish has become a family favorite thank you
Could I substitute green curry paste with something else? I can’t get my tongue around it.
Hi Mary, If you like red curry paste, that will work well.
What is the difference from red and green? The store I went to only carried the red. Thanks!
Hi Abbie, Sorry for the late reply! The main difference is red vs green chiles.
I do not like spicy food. Is this recipe spicy? Can it be made less spicy?
Hi Nancy, The dish isn’t spicy. The heat comes from the curry paste, but it’s muted by the richness of the coconut milk.
So good! This is the fourth recipe I have tried from your blog and they have all been excellent. Thought I had 2 pounds of shrimp in the freezer but sadly I didn’t so went with 1 pound of shrimp and lots of diced sweet red pepper. Definitely a hit. I may add a few mushrooms next time.
I made this last night and my husband declared it’s the best curry he has had (and we eat thai food fairly often). I want to try it with some veggies and tofu, that sauce is so good. I buy the Mae Pluy brand of curry pastes, so that is what I had on hand. The green has a very nice heat level to it that we like. I have not tried Thai kitchen curry paste yet. If you are ever in Seattle for a visit check out the Uwajimaya grocery store in the International district. Fantastic selection of products.
I made this last night… my wife and I loved it! The only difference I did was the onions were finely chopped instead of sliced. We’ll definitely have it again!
Jenn, hello just finished the easy Thai shrimp curry, it was fantastic!!!! I love your web site it has become my go to!!! I have not opened another food channel site since. So easy love pictures, and always comes out great. Thank you rhonda
Awesome recipe, super quick and easy! Prepared exactly as directed, left out the brown sugar, still delicious. This is the third dish I’ve made using your recipes, and they’ve all been great. Thank you so much for sharing. I always look forward to your recipes via email.