Vegan Instant Pot Curry
This is the most delicious and easy Vegan Instant Pot Curry using lots of sweet potatoes, fresh spinach, red curry paste, curry spices, coconut milk and tomato sauce for the creamiest, most amazing depth of flavor! This vegan curry will become an instant favorite! Only 8 main ingredients needed!
Servings: 4 -5 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup (160g) finely diced red onion + 1/4 cup water
- 2 1/2 teapoons curry powder (I used my homemade blend)
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional, but recommended if you have it)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons (30g) red curry paste (I used the vegan Thai Kitchen brand)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) coconut aminos
- 1/2 cup (120g) tomato sauce/puree (this is just cooked pureed tomatoes also called passata)
- 1/4 cup (60g) water
- 4 heaping cups (480g) peeled & chopped sweet potato 3/4 - 1 inch chunks (make sure they are not larger than 1 inch or they will not soften)
- one 15 oz can chickpeas, drained & rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)
- one 13.6 oz can canned "lite" coconut milk (I use and recommend the Thai Kitchen brand because it's very creamy and not watery)
- 4 large handfuls (90g) fresh spinach leaves (optional)
- Optional garnish Lime wedges and toasted cashews
- I use this scale.
- I use this Instant Pot.
Instructions
- STOVE TOP DIRECTIONS LISTED BELOW UNDER NOTES.Have all the ingredients prepped and measured and ready to go, as this moves quickly. To a bowl, mix the curry powder, garam masala, (if using), salt, curry paste, coconut aminos and tomato sauce until well combined. You will be adding this mixture after the onions are cooked to briefly saute it, as this step will infuse the overall flavor, so don't skip.
- Add the red onion, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water to the instant pot and turn to normal saute setting. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring often until the onions are tender and caramelize (starts to turn brown), stirring a few times during the process for even cooking. Add only tiny amounts of water as needed to keep the onion from sticking/burning. Turn off the saute mode.
- Add the mixed spices and liquid mixture noted from above to the instant pot and stir around for 30 seconds to briefly saute it and release their aromas.
- Add the coconut milk, 1/4 cup water, chopped sweet potatoes and chickpeas. Stir until it is thoroughly mixed. Make sure to press any potato chunks down into the liquid if they are rising above.
- Cook on high pressure by selecting either manual or pressure cook and set the time to 3 minutes. Please note that it takes about 8-10 minutes before the IP will come to pressure and start the actual cooking. It will beep once it begins the 3 minutes. So stay close by. It will beep several times once the 3 minutes is up. Turn off the IP. Do a manual quick release of any remaining pressure, using a pot cover to protect your hand. Make sure to never stand too close to the steam vent. The float valve will drop down once all the pressure is released.
- Remove the lid and stir the mixture around for a minute. If using, stir in the spinach. Let it sit about 5 minutes, as it will cool it down enough to eat and thicken up slightly. Serve as is or over white rice or grain of choice. Garnish with toasted cashews and fresh lime juice and dairy-free yogurt, if desired. For presentation, my little trick if you don't have basil, parsley or cilantro (typical garnish), I get extra spinach leaves, stack them on top of each other, roll them up tightly and slice them horizontally, like you would chiffonade basil. It makes for a gorgeous, inexpensive and convenient garnish!
Notes
- COCONUT MILK: Make sure you are using "lite" coconut milk. Not full fat. Reason being, the instant pot needs the more liquid consistency of the lite coconut milk. Using full fat is way too thick and will cause burn messages on the IP and for the potatoes not to cook fully through. I even tested this with homemade cashew milk and it simply would NOT work. I kept getting burn errors because cashew milk (homemade thickens up way too much while it heats and it burned on the bottom).
- The Thai Kitchen brand is what I always recommend. As you can see from the photos, it turns out incredibly creamy and rich, not watery or too thick. I also like the Sprouts lite coconut milk brand as well. DO NOT use the Polar brand, it is all stabilizers/additives, not pure coconut milk and won't work.
- Follow step 1 first by having ingredients chopped/ready to go. As well, have the tomato, curry mixture premixed as listed.
- Add the red onion, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water to a large deep sauce pan over medium heat. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion caramelizes (starts to turn brown). Add tiny amounts of water only as needed to prevent burning.
- Add the premixed curry paste, spice mixture to the pan and stir constantly for 30 seconds to release their aromas. This gives lots of depth of flavor by cooking this base first.
- Add the coconut milk, 1/4 cup water and sweet potatoes. Stir very well until fully mixed. With the heat at medium, bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes. The potatoes should be almost tender at this point.
- Add the beans and reduce the heat to medium-low, cover again and cook another 5-10 minutes until the potatoes are fully tender and the curry has thickened some and become creamy. It should be nice and saucy, but creamy. You do not want to cook away all that yummy sauce. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach (if using). Follow step 6 above for garnish tips.