Make Ahead

Vegan Kale and White Bean Korma or Curry

Name: Vegan Kale and White Bean Korma or Curry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil; 1 yellow onion, diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon minced ginger; 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (optional); 4 ounces tomato sauce; 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder; 1 13 1/2-ounce can light coconut milk; 2 cups kale, roughly chopped; 15 ounces white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

by: Alexandra Tallulah

December 30, 2013

12 Ratings

Vegan Kale and White Bean Korma or Curry

Photo by James Ransom

Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes
Serves 6

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

This creamy vegetable-, protein-, and fiber-packed recipe only requires about 10 minutes of active cooking time and will simmer to perfection without tying you to the kitchen. Feel free to add any seasonal vegetables you have laying around -- don’t feel constrained by the listed ingredients!

This recipe should make more than enough curry for 6 hungry eaters. I serve mine over quinoa or brown basmati rice with thickly sliced avocado on top.

Nutritional Information [per 1 cup serving]
193 Calories, 27 grams Carbohydrates, 6.8 grams fat, 6.3 grams protein, 6.2 grams fiber, 7.1 grams sugar —Alexandra Tallulah

Test Kitchen Notes

This dish is everything you want it to be: hearty, warming, flavorful, and healthy without feeling too virtuous. It was also just saucy enough that all of the spices soaked into the rice we served it with -- one of the best reasons to make curry in the first place. We added a few pinches of red pepper flakes for heat; if you're a fan of spice, we suggest you do the same. —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (optional)
4 ounces tomato sauce
1 ¹/₂ tablespoons curry powder
1 13 1/2-ounce can light coconut milk
2 cups kale, roughly chopped
15 ounces white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until soft and translucent.
Stir in the garlic and ginger, then continue stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, and curry powder and continue stirring for 10 minutes or until the potatoes begin to soften.
Add the coconut milk, kale, and beans to the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and completely cooked through (if using). Enjoy!

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53 Reviews

Gypsa October 21, 2022

Really easy and delicious! The coconut milk is very forgiving. But am I the only one who had about 3 servings, not 6? I can't figure out what I did wrong. Or maybe my husband and I just have large appetites?

Anne B. December 10, 2020

This was super yummy! I added more tomato sauce. Instead of 4 oz, I added 8 oz.

Margaret R. April 15, 2020

Absolutely love this recipe! It's very forgiving I have made it with garbanzo beans instead of white beans and have swapped spinach in at the very end to wilt in the absence of kale. Recommend adding in the juice of a whole lemon and a 1/4 teaspoon of salt at the very end once the heat is off with a good stir to really bring all the flavors together.

Rachel R. April 4, 2018

Quick note to say that this freezes well, too! We thawed our month-old leftovers and ate them for dinner over rice last night, and it was just as delicious as the day-of.

Adrienne November 15, 2017

With all the glowing reviews, I must have done something wrong. I followed the recipe exactly (plus adding the golden raisins), but mine turned out just okay (edible but bland). Maybe it's my curry powder? Any recommendations?

LindsayD September 6, 2021

I also found it to be edible but bland :(

carrie August 22, 2017

Delicious!! Sweet, salty and savory..my favorites! I used 4 fresh plum tomatoes in place of sauce, 1/2 chicken stock 1/2 coconut milk, lime juice and pumpkin seeds at the end along with salt and pepper to taste.
I also sauteed veg a little longer than stated above to get some color on them. I envision this as a great, quick year round meal!

Chloroph January 29, 2017

Fantastic and healthy. Totally overloaded it by adding my entire, huge bunch of kale - still delish. Took the advice here and added golden raisins, which gave even greater depth of flavor. Drizzled lime juice added a bright note too. Next time, will try browning the sweet potato slightly first. Maybe add toasted nuts at the end. Seems like a very versatile recipe.

WildRiceLLC May 22, 2016

This is just delicious. I took another commenter's suggestion and added raisins for a hint of sweetness. I used 1 Tbsp of curry powder originally but added the rest of it in to deepen the flavor. Such a great taste.

Claire H. April 6, 2016

Made last night, delish! I'm not vegetarian but love veggie meals - anyway explains my adjust,Eng which was to sub in some chicken stock. I only had coconut cream on hand and thought it would be too rich, so did 1/3 - 1/2 stock, the rest coconut cream. I also salted the recipe a bit and found it was a good compliment to the sweet/spice. I also subbed some masala for the curry powder and added it to onions vs later so it would toast. And doubled kale cause I can never get enough. Anyway, point is it's a great, versatile recipe to do as is or to riff off of, making for a good weeknight dinner or special occasion!

Claire H. May 14, 2016

Made again as recipe says and have to say I liked it a tad better last time with the stock/coco cream combo! Great go-do meal though and so easy!

Tinaindenver March 6, 2016

I made this last night, using a slightly modified version from the author's website. I didn't want to go to the store, so I used frozen, cut up butternut squash from Trader Joe's that I had in my freezer. I was also starving, so that made it very fast to put together. It was very good, but I think the sweet potatoes may have been better. What put it over the top was serving it with some wonderful chutney (lime, pineapple and rhubarb) that I had purchased in Cumbria in the UK. Some reviewers thought it was very spicy, but I didn't. Maybe it was my curry powder, but next time I would add more and more red pepper flakes. I like that the recipe did not call for boiling the kale in advance. Many recipes do and I never see the point because it wilts in stews anyway.

paczryk December 5, 2015

Pretty good! I didn't have any beans or other legumes on hand so I made them without. I upped the flavor by throwing a dried chili pepper in with the garlic and ginger , and also thew in some more powdered spices (cumin and cinnamon) a few minutes after I added in the kale. I found that a spoon of sugar rounded out the taste nicely. This recipe provides a great, customizable base for you to make as-is or layer more flavors onto.

Eva October 15, 2015

I made this last night but substituted chickpeas. I also added raisins to add some sweetness. Once I tasted it, I realized how spicy it actually was, so in the hopes to make it palatable for my picky 5 year old, I drizzled some maple syrup over his and he ate the whole thing!

Laura C. June 5, 2015

I made this dish and loved it. However, what if I used whole coconut milk instead of reduced would the taste be even better? Or is whole coconut milk too rich ?

Claire H. April 5, 2016

I used half coconut cream/half chicken stock, worked great!

Sharon March 16, 2015

Made this for a crowd of 18 last night as a vegetarian entree to pair with a Mediterranean chicken recipe I also made. They went together really well and this dish was a hit! I tripled the recipe and did add a little salt and pepper at the end. It was great! Will definitely remake this one.

Carolesue February 18, 2015

I made this tonight, changing only to yellow curry paste (2 tbsp) in lieu of the curry powder (it was all I had). I served it over red quinoa. It was amazing! Some might want to back off some on using 2 tbsp curry paste as it was spicy, but the good kind of spicy (that makes my nose run). I will definitely make this again.

Kate M. January 19, 2015

This recipe was absolutely delicious! I used regular coconut milk since that is what i had on hand. yummmmmmmyyyyyyyyy! Cant wait to make this again. Also great with a drizzle of Sriracha on top!

Araceli November 3, 2014

I have dark red kidney beans as well as great northern beans, would either of those make a decent substitution for the white kidney beans? I've never heard of those.

Josie M. March 18, 2015

White kidney beans are also known as cannellini beans.

Wendy S. October 8, 2014

Thanks Lela this helps immensely!

Wendy S. October 7, 2014

Hi Alexandra - I live in South Africa and have a question about one of the ingredients. By tomato sauce do you mean a passata-type Italian tomato sauce? (In South Africa we refer to ketchup as tomato sauce and I just want to make sure I don't use the incorrect ingredient.)

Lela A. October 7, 2014

Wendy, in the US, tomato sauce refers to the Italian style sauce. It's essentially puréed tomatoes with minimal spices (possibly a little bit of garlic, salt and sugar). Hope this helps!

Heather September 3, 2014

This is so simple and so perfect. I've been making complicated (and tasty)Indian dishes lately, but ironically, I think this awesome little dish is what I'm going to make again (second time in 3 or so weeks). It's so well balanced; it would be pretty sweet without the kale and beans, but they put it in the zone. I put toasted cashews on top and enjoyed it without rice. Thank you for this recipe. It's nice to find an easy favorite.

Alexandra T. September 5, 2014

Heather, I am so flattered you had that experience!! x