This coconut cauliflower curry is the perfect healthy, vegan, and gluten-free weeknight meal–with a little bit of spice!

I’m forever on a mission to get Owen to eat new vegetables. We recently added cucumber and peas to the list (yay!), and next up, I wanted him to start eating cauliflower. It’s mild, it’s white–I feel like it has “kid food” written all over it. But for some reason, Owen has never liked it. Even when I’ve drowned the florets in an unspeakable amount of melted butter, he won’t touch it.

So this past week I decided to try a new approach. Maybe, I thought, I just need to rebrand cauliflower. When dinner rolled around on Wednesday night, I told him we were having a new vegetable, “white broccoli”…

Whomp whomp. That went over like a ton of bricks. He didn’t buy it for one second, and the cauliflower remained on his plate, untouched.

But that’s OK, because when life gives you tons of cauliflower, you can make this delicious coconut cauliflower curry!

I’ve been experimenting with making curries for a while, but until now I’ve never been 100% happy with the results. The first one I tried was too fish saucy, the second not nearly spicy enough. But on this, my third go ’round, I nailed it.

This coconut cauliflower curry is spicy and creamy, soul-warming yet light all at the same time.

These photos just don’t do the sauce justice. It sank to the bottom of the bowls as I was taking these shots, but trust me, this dish is a gloriously saucy affair. We ate it over jasmine rice with naan on the side for scooping.

What I love most about this coconut cauliflower curry is how healthy I feel after I eat it. Curries are so delicious, but they often sit in my stomach like a brick and make me feel really weighted down. Not this one! The cauliflower keeps the calories in check, so you can enjoy all that insanely wonderful curry sauce without all the guilt. 

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Coconut Cauliflower Curry

This simple coconut cauliflower curry is perfect as-is, but you could also add peas, sweet potato, tofu, or shredded chicken for even more flavor. Serve it over rice sprinkled with fresh cilantro.

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 jalapeño seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup red curry paste
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk 15-ounce
• 1 can diced tomatoes 15-ounce
• 1 head cauliflower cut into medium florets
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the coconut milk and tomatoes with their juices. Add the cauliflower and 1/2 cup water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the cauliflower is just fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes.