Shrimp Curry with Coconut Rice (One-Pot)
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Shrimp curry with coconut rice, red bell pepper and spinach is what’s for dinner! This delicious Indian inspired recipe is packed full of flavor, but I keep it light with the curry spices. A combination of coconut milk, tomatoes, garlic, onion, red pepper and Indian spices make a delicious sweet broth that is poured over cooked rice and shrimp. This is a wonderful curry dish!
I know…me too. It may seem sort of random that I am sharing a curry recipe on the blog given that I often blog about dessert, Italian food and salad. It’s not that I don’t like curry, I do! I actually really like it but I didn’t grow up eating Indian food (neither did Vin) and we don’t currently indulge in Indian food that often.
With that said, I LOVE CURRY.
Confused?
Well I love this curry recipe, at least. Awhile back I asked my friend if she had any yummy recipes that she’s made lately and she gave me one for Coconut Shrimp Curry – she raved about it so I decided to make it.
She was right…it was very good and pretty easy to make.
So I made it again, and again, and again and tweaked it until I got it just the way I liked it. Since I am not an avid curry eater, I don’t have anything to compare this recipe to.
What I can say is that it’s creamy, light yet flavorful and has great textures going on with the rice, shrimp and red pepper. I always clean my plate when I make it – because each bite just makes me want to have another bite and another…
I think that’s called addicting?
Yes, it’s addicting. Did I mention it’s pretty healthy too? I used full fat coconut milk because it’s absolutely delicious but you could use lite coconut milk if your watching the fat and calories. Other than that, it’s made with vegetables, shrimp and spices.
Go get your curry on.
Shrimp Curry with Coconut Rice (One-Pot)
This One-Pot Shrimp Curry with Coconut Rice is a flavorful family dinner made with tender shrimp, red bell pepper, spinach, coconut milk, petite diced tomatoes, and warm curry spices. The rice cooks directly in the creamy curry sauce, keeping preparation simple and cleanup to a minimum.
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (can you use frozen, just thaw)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, divided
- â…› teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or other cooking oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 1½ teaspoons curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can cup full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup white basmati rice, rinsed well and drained well
- 2 packed cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Season the shrimp. Pat 1 pound shrimp dry with paper towels. Season with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, if using. Set aside.
- Sauté the vegetables. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 diced yellow onion and 1 diced red bell pepper. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the aromatics and spices. Stir in 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger, 1½ teaspoons ground coriander, 1½ teaspoons curry powder, and ½ teaspoon turmeric. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
- Build the curry sauce. Add 1 drained can of petite diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1 can of full-fat coconut milk, 1 cup broth, the remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and the remaining ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Stir well, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the rice. Stir in 1 cup rinsed and well-drained basmati rice. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil (make sure it's a gentle boil), reduce the heat to low to bring the rice to a gentle simmer and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Add the shrimp and spinach. Remove the lid and gently stir the rice, scraping along the bottom of the pot. Arrange the seasoned shrimp in an even layer over the rice and sprinkle the spinach over top. Cover and cook over low heat for more 4 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked through.
- Let it rest: Take the pot off the heat and remove the lid and gently stir the rice again, scraping up any bits from the bottom. Let the dish rest, covered for 3 minutes.
- Finish the curry. Remove the lid and check that the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Gently stir the shrimp and spinach into the curry rice. Add a splash of stock if sauce is too thick. Add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, then taste and adjust the salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed.
- Serve. Spoon the coconut shrimp curry rice into bowls and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
The curry mixture should be at a gentle simmer before covering the pot and beginning the eight-minute cooking time.
Rinsing the basmati rice removes excess starch and helps prevent the finished dish from becoming gummy. Drain the rice thoroughly before adding it to the pot.
Rice brands can cook differently. If the rice is still slightly firm after resting, cover the pot and cook it over low heat for another 1–2 minutes. Add a small splash of broth if the mixture looks dry.
Use full-fat canned coconut milk for the creamiest sauce. Refrigerated coconut milk intended for drinking is too thin for this recipe.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently to prevent the shrimp from becoming tough.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 347Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 240mgSodium: 1659mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 30g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated. Use as an approximation only.
Great sauce, I made double quantity and froze remainder for another night. Tonight we had with prawns, may make with chicken next time. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
thank you! Yes, it would be great with chicken, too!
Fabulous recipe! I actually had every thing in the house and made this for dinner tonight. My husband and I loved it. I made homemade naan to accompany it. I will definitely make this again. Thanks.
you’re welcome!
Loved it! Very good Recipe!
Thank you!
Add me to your list of fans. This shrimp recipe was awesome. My husband and I loved it.
great!! it’s one of our favorites, too!
OH. MY. GOODNESS. This was awesome! Can’t wait to make this again. Thanks for an awesome recipe. The peppers and spinach were so good in this.
You’re welcome!
This was the BEST thing I’ve ever made at home. Seriously the best, I’ve been talking about it for days!
Great! So glad you liked it!
We loved your recipe. Thanks so much!!
You’re welcome!
I doubled the recipe and made a few minor tweaks because my husband loves spicy! Here are the substitutions/tweaks: Instead of lemon in the shrimp marinade, I used the zest and juice of one lime for a double recipe. Once the onion/pepper is softened, add the garlic and ginger (bottled minced ginger works fine too) I added a generous (about 2 tbsp or more) sprinkling of garam masala mix and curry powder (or epicure curry dip mix works well too). Let the spices cook with the softened veg for about 5 min to bring out the flavours of the spice. Instead of sugar, I added honey. I also added a healthy glug of sriracha for heat. You can add it to taste. The last tweak; I made the sauce without the shrimp and spinach about an hour or 2 ahead on a very low simmer to develop the flavours. Add the shrimp/spinach about 10 minutes before serving. Now I didn’t have any on hand last night, but a spectacular finish to this dish is some crushed cashews and freshly chopped cilantro. Other than my tweaks, I followed the recipe, lol. Enjoy!
Love your tweaks! YUM!
Thanks Jessica! But my tweaks only added to an already great recipe!
I’m doing Slimming World here in the UK so to cut down on syns I used light coconut milk rather than full fat, fry light spray oil and sweetner and it was very very tasty, I’ll definitely be doing it again, thanks for sharing the recipe 😊 x
Love the changes you made! glad you liked it!
I loved this recipe i added deep fried slices of hard tofu and twas delicious