Healthy vegetarian green bean curry is an easy weeknight meal full of green beans, creamy mushrooms, and aromatic Indian spices. Naturally dairy-free and gluten-free, it comes together in just 30 minutes. Try it over a bed of rice or with a side of naan!
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Make this one-pot dish when you want a flavorful, healthy, and easy meal on the table in 30 minutes.
Green beans, juicy tomatoes, creamy mushrooms, and warm Indian spices combine into a mouth-watering green bean curry that can be served as a main over rice, paired with naan, or as a side dish.
This curry recipe is an excellent option for meal-prep and is freezer-friendly. For more Indian recipes, try my tandoori cauliflower and chickpea curry with spinach.
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⭐️ Why This Curry Is The Best
- Creamy, savory, robust, and aromatic
- Healthy recipe that's full of nutrients like vitamin K and calcium; high in fiber; and naturally vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, & gluten-free
- Quick & easy one-pot dish made with simple whole foods and ready in 30 minutes
- Curried green beans are great for meal-prep
- Freezer-friendly
🍄 Ingredient Notes
- Crimini mushrooms - I love the creaminess of crimini mushrooms but you can use your favorite variety of mushroom(s) here.
- Yellow onion - You can substitute 1 red onion or 3-4 medium shallots for similar flavor.
- Tomato - Use 1 whole tomato or 1 cup of canned (diced) tomatoes
- Green beans - I call for canned green beans out of convenience, but you could also use fresh or frozen green beans. For more green bean recipes, try roasted green beans.
- Curry spice mixture: For our curry spices, we use coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. Make sure you aren't working with spices that are too old. In general, it's recommended to replace ground spices every 12 months.
- Fresh garlic and ginger. These are key flavors in our curry, so using fresh garlic and ginger is highly recommended, but dried will do the trick as well.
📝 Curry Variations & Substitutions
- Add protein. If you want to turn this into a heartier protein-rich meal, add 1 cup of chickpeas or tofu.
- Add yogurt. To ramp up the creaminess, add 2 tablespoons of yogurt (dairy or non-dairy) during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
- Add pickled onions as a crunchy and tangy garnish.
- Green Bean and Potato Curry. Peel and dice 1 cup of potatoes. Add to your skillet when you add the mushrooms, and cook until fork-tender.
- Coconut Green Bean Curry. Add one (13.5 ounce) can of unsweetened coconut milk when you add the beans and spices, and cook as directed.
🔪 Recipe Instructions
* See recipe card below for printable instructions.
Place the oil in a large sauté pan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the onion. Stir and fry until the onion browns, about 8 minutes.
Add the ginger and garlic. Stir until the garlic starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
Put in the mushrooms, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the green beans, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne, salt, and tomato. Lower the heat and let simmer for around 5 minutes. Serve over rice or with a side of naan.
👩🏼🍳 Expert Tips
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- How to freeze: For ease, I portion my leftovers into single-serving freezer bags so that I can pull them out at my convenience. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight.
- How to reheat: Place curry mixture into a medium skillet over medium-low heat, and add 1-2 tablespoons of water (this will help to re-hydrate it). Reheat for 10 minutes, or until heated through.
- Make homemade garam masala. If you can't find it at your local market, it's easy to make at home.
- How to serve: Serve your curry as a main, accompanied with white rice, basmati rice, brown rice, or your favorite grain. It can also be served as a savory and healthy side dish.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Green beans can be flavored multiple ways using spices and herbs. In this Indian recipe, we flavor them with spices like cardamom, cumin, garam masala, and turmeric for a robust meal.
Green beans work beautifully in curry, as they have a firm-tender texture and they add a pop of color.
It's not necessary to boil green beans before sauteing.
🍛 Related Recipes
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Green Bean Curry
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 (1-inch piece) fresh ginger, minced
- 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 8 ounces crimini mushrooms, chopped
- 1 (16-ounce) can green beans, drained (or 2 cups fresh or frozen)
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium tomato, diced
Instructions
- Place the oil in a large sauté pan and set over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, put in the onion. Stir and fry until the onion browns, about 8 minutes.
- Add the ginger and garlic. Stir until the garlic starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Put in the mushrooms, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the green beans, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne, salt, and tomato.
- Lower the heat and let simmer for around 5 minutes (if using fresh or frozen green beans, let it simmer for around 8 minutes total). Serve warm over rice or with a side of naan.
Notes
-
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
-
- How to freeze: For ease, I portion my leftovers into single-serving freezer bags so that I can pull them out at my convenience. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight.
-
- How to reheat: Place curry mixture into a medium skillet over medium-low heat, and add 1-2 tablespoons of water (this will help to re-hydrate it). Reheat for 10 minutes, or until heated through.
-
- How to serve: Serve green bean curry as a main, accompanied with white rice, basmati rice, brown rice, or your favorite grain. It can also be served as a savory and healthy side dish.
- Recipe adapted from Madhur Jaffrey.
Barb Haner
This would be a healthy addition to our eating plan. It looks easy so I am going to try it this week. It doesn’t sound intimidating to try and make it. Thank you for helping our eating plan with tasty dishes that are doable!
Gastronotherapy
You are welcome! Enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Claudia Lamascolo
I really like all the flavors in this and will make this on Sunday with our roast thanks for sharing with us
Gastronotherapy
Wonderful, Claudia!
Alison
This recipe is filled with a rich selection of Indian spices and fresh vegetables! I love that it is vegan! Making it for dinner tonight!
Gastronotherapy
Fantastic, Alison! Yes - so many South Indian dishes are naturally vegan!
Jac
MMMM this sounds so tasty. Never had a green bean curry before and I love Madhur Jaffrey recipes so definitely giving this recipe a try 🙂
Gastronotherapy
If you love her recipes, I think you will really enjoy this one!
Amanda Dixon
This is such a good curry! I've had many curries but never one where green beans and mushrooms were the star, so this was a nice change of pace.
Gastronotherapy
So glad you enjoyed it, Amanda! I really love the creaminess the mushrooms provide in the dish!
Tara
Such a flavor-packed vegan curry! I love how easily it all comes together. Definitely perfect for weeknights!
Gastronotherapy
Yes - it's a weeknight staple in my house! 🙂
Judy Hess
Mushroom & green bean masala was easy to prepare & medium heat. I liked it.
MaryAnne
So happy you enjoyed it, Judy!