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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My daughter in law has a milk allergy, could I make this recipe with chicken broth?
We have had your original version many times and love it so I would like them too try it. Love your recipes, thank you
Hi Belva, Is it a coconut milk allergy or a regular milk allergy? Unfortunately, the recipe won’t work well with chicken broth. Sorry!
I made this last night with Jasmine rice and fresh peas, it was easy and very good, but very, very hot! I only used 2 tbsp. of curry paste and it was still burning our lips. Are there different types green curry pastes, maybe some hotter than others? Next time I will half the paste, but will definitely make this again.
Hi Mary, What brand did you use?
Delicious recipe. It was perfect with the Thai Basil Pesto I made recently.
Hi Jenn, I love all of your recipes! I am going to make this Thai Shrimp tonight. At the grocery store I could only find red curry paste, not the green paste. Will that make a big difference? Thanks, Kara
It will be fine, Kara. I’ve made it with both — both delicious 🙂
Went to the market to buy the ingredients and all I found was Thai red curry paste. They did not have the “green” one. I purchased it but wanted to ask you first if the “red” is ok to use? Thanks!
Abbie, The red curry paste will be delicious — either will work, they just have a little different flavor.
Hello, I enjoyed this curry so much,planning on cooking this for my friends and use chicken,but they can’t eat shrimp or fish,so what can I replace the fish sauce with,Thanks
Hi Betty, Glad you enjoyed! There is no great substitute for fish sauce — it has a very distinct flavor — but soy sauce might work. The flavor will be different but still good.
This is a wonderfully delicious recipe! Thank you for providing your talented recipies online for us.
I’m wondering if it is also good with sliced chicken breast when I am out of shrimp?
I suspect it is?
Thank you,
Laurie
Hi Laurie, Yes, I’m sure that would be delicious as well. If you try it, please come back and let me know how it turns out 🙂
Hi Jenn,
It turned out delicious in your curry sauce, but your shrimp is even tastier!
Thank you for your reply,
You’re the very best!
Fantastic recipe! Just a good as authentic Thai restaurant curry.
My husband doesn’t like coconut, does this have a coconut flavor, or could I substitute something else. The big problem is I Love coconut! ! Help
Hi Karen, Unfortunately for your husband, this one is full of coconut flavor, and there’s no good substitute. You’ll enjoy it though 🙂
I’m planning on trying this but I have 1 question. You mention the frozen shrimp in stores as being split and deveined. My local store sells them this way however there appears to be a second vein on the shrimp. They are cut on the outside and deveined there but there is a second dark “vein” on the inside of the shrimp. Shouldn’t that be removed also?
Hi Jim, It’s optional — I remove it if the shrimp are very large and the vein is really noticeable.