Green Curry Paste substitute

Best substitute

Red curry paste

1 tablespoon for 1 tablespoon

Best for green curry with chicken or vegetables

Different taste

Red curry paste is the easiest swap and goes in at the same amount, though your curry will be orange-red, a little sweeter and usually less grassy. Yellow curry paste works if you want it mild. If you have no paste at all, blitz 5 or 6 green chilies with 3 garlic cloves, a stalk of lemongrass, a teaspoon of ground coriander and a teaspoon of fish sauce and you have a workable substitute in about five minutes.

Other green curry paste substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Homemade quick green paste
Close match
This makes about 4 tablespoons, enough to replace 4 tablespoons of jarred paste
A blender version of the real thing using what a supermarket actually stocks.
What changes
Best for
the closest flavour to real green curry paste, cooks who can get fresh chilies and lemongrass, making extra to freeze
Blend 6 green Thai chilies (or 2 jalapenos plus 1 serrano if that is what you have), 3 garlic cloves, 1 shallot, the tender lower half of 1 lemongrass stalk sliced thin, 1 tablespoon grated galangal or ginger, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, half a teaspoon ground cumin, a small handful of cilantro stems, the zest of 1 lime and 1 teaspoon shrimp paste or fish sauce, with 2 tablespoons of water to get the blades moving. It will be looser and brighter green than jarred paste and a little less deep, because commercial pastes are pounded rather than blitzed, but it tastes unmistakably like green curry. Freeze what you do not use in ice cube trays.
3Yellow curry paste
Different taste
1 tablespoon for 1 tablespoon
The mildest Thai paste, heavy on turmeric and dry curry spice.
What changes
Best for
feeding kids or anyone heat-shy, chicken and potato curries, when green paste is too hot for the table
Your curry comes out golden, considerably milder and more turmeric-earthy, closer to a gentle Malaysian curry than to green curry. Add a finely sliced fresh green chili and plenty of Thai basil at the end if you want some of the green paste's bite and freshness back.
4Curry powder plus green chili and fish sauce
Taste and texture differ
For each tablespoon of paste use 2 teaspoons curry powder, 1 minced green chili and 1 teaspoon fish sauce
A pantry approximation using dry spice for the base and a fresh chili for the heat.
What changes
Best for
no Asian grocer nearby, a mild coconut chicken curry, weeknight cooking with what is in the cupboard
This is honestly a mild coconut curry rather than green curry: without lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime it loses the piney, citrus quality that defines the dish. Fry the powder in oil or coconut cream for 45 seconds before adding liquid so it does not taste dusty, and finish with lime juice and basil. Adding a smashed stalk of lemongrass to simmer in the pot, if you can find one, does more for the result than anything else on this list.
5Sambal oelek or chili garlic paste
Different taste
1 tablespoon for 1 tablespoon, plus the additions below
A plain chili paste that brings heat and not much else.
What changes
Best for
when heat is the main thing you are missing, curry noodle soups, last resort in a well-stocked cupboard
On its own this makes a hot, sour, one-note curry, and it is also unsalted where green curry paste is quite salty from shrimp paste. Per tablespoon, add 1 teaspoon fish sauce, half a teaspoon ground coriander, a crushed garlic clove and the zest of half a lime, and you go from unusable to acceptable. It will still taste more Indonesian-hot than Thai-fragrant.

What is Green Curry Paste?

Green Curry Paste is Green curry paste, or prik gaeng khiao wan, is a pounded Thai paste of fresh green bird's eye chilies, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, garlic, shallot, coriander root and shrimp paste that supplies almost all of the heat, aroma and salt in a Thai green curry.

Cooking tips

Fry the paste before any liquid goes in. Spoon the thick cream from the top of a can of coconut milk into a hot pan, add the paste and stir for a minute or two until it smells strongly fragrant and the oil visibly separates. This is the difference between a curry that tastes cooked and one that tastes raw, and it matters even more with a substitute paste.
Green paste is usually the hottest of the four Thai pastes and brands vary enormously. Start with half of what the recipe says, taste after the coconut milk is in, and add more from the jar at the end if you want it.
Green curry paste is salty because of the shrimp paste in it. If you swap in something unsalted like sambal oelek or curry powder, add roughly a teaspoon of fish sauce per tablespoon of paste replaced or the curry will taste oddly flat and sweet.
A curry built on a substitute paste almost always needs balancing at the end: a small pinch of palm or brown sugar, a squeeze of lime off the heat, and torn Thai basil. Taste for salty, sour, sweet and hot in that order.
Most green curry pastes contain shrimp paste, so they are not vegetarian and not safe for a shellfish allergy. Look for jars labelled vegetarian, or make your own and use a teaspoon of white miso in place of the shrimp paste.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use red curry paste instead of green curry paste?

Yes, and it is the most reliable swap. Use the same amount, or two thirds if your red paste is a hot brand. The curry will be orange rather than green and taste deeper and slightly sweeter, with less of the fresh grassy edge. Torn Thai basil and a shredded kaffir lime leaf at the end get you most of the way back.

Can I just leave the green curry paste out?

No, this is one you cannot skip. The paste is essentially the entire seasoning of the dish, so coconut milk and vegetables with no paste is just sweet, bland coconut soup. If you truly have nothing, the least-bad version is coconut milk simmered with 2 teaspoons of curry powder, a chopped green chili, a crushed garlic clove, fish sauce and a squeeze of lime. It is a decent mild coconut curry, and it is not green curry.

How much green curry paste should I use per can of coconut milk?

For a 400 ml can, serving two or three people, 2 to 3 tablespoons is the normal range. If you are new to Thai heat or cooking for children, start at 1 tablespoon. You can always stir more paste through at the end, but you cannot take heat back out once it is in.

Is green curry paste hotter than red curry paste?

Usually yes, which surprises people who expect red to be the hot one. Green paste is made with fresh green bird's eye chilies, which are sharply hot, while red paste uses soaked dried red chilies that are milder and more raisin-like. Brand matters more than colour, though, so taste a dab of whatever jar you have on a spoon before you commit.

What is prik gaeng khiao wan?

It is the Thai name for green curry paste, and you will see it on jars from Thai brands. Khiao wan means sweet green, which describes the colour rather than the taste. Anything sold as Thai green curry paste, gaeng khiao wan paste or prik gaeng khiao wan is the same ingredient.

Related substitutes

More sauces & condiments substitutes

Green Curry Paste substitute

Other green curry paste substitutes

2Homemade quick green paste

3Yellow curry paste

4Curry powder plus green chili and fish sauce

5Sambal oelek or chili garlic paste