Mushroom Curry Recipe (Keto/Vegan)

This mushroom curry recipe is quick and easy to prepare either on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. It is healthy, creamy, and very delish, making a hearty weeknight meal, just like our coconut chicken curry and cauliflower curry soup. It’s also keto, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian.

This Easy Mushroom Curry is rich, creamy, and packed with warm curry flavor, tender mushrooms, and coconut milk. Made in the Instant Pot in just 15 minutes, it's a quick vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free dinner that tastes like it simmered for hours. Serve it over rice, cauliflower rice, or naan for a comforting meal that's perfect for busy weeknights.

What’s curry?

Curry is a dish that originated in the Indian subcontinent that uses a blend of herbs and spices such as ground turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, and either fresh or dried chilies. It can vary from one place to another. In southern India, curry leaves are also used in the dish. Although there are dry curries, most are saucy and similar to a stew.

Some confuse curry, the dish, with curry, the blend of spices.

Curry, the blend of spices, may include quite a range of different spices, depending on the location and which animal or plant-based protein is being cooked. Curry powder itself is a Western creation from the 18th century.

Outside of the Indian subcontinent, curry is also used to describe spice pastes or stews prepared with coconut milk, which are often eaten over rice (like the Filipino ginataang and the Thai gaeng).

Types of Curry

There are 2 types of curry:

• Dry – cooked with a small amount of liquid that evaporates, leaving the other ingredients coated with the spice mixture. Japanese dry curry is one of those dishes.
• Wet – the most common type. These are saucy and call for broth, coconut cream or coconut milk, cream or yogurt, and/or tomato purée, just like our mushroom curry.

What type of mushrooms to use

There are basically 2 ways to make a tasty mushroom curry. You can either use a variety of the best mushrooms, such as maitake, porcini, and shitake-- or you use the cheap white button mushroom along with other flavorful ingredients (like I did).

If you are looking for more a meaty texture, Portobello mushrooms make an affordable choice.

Ingredient and Substitutions

• Olive oil – you may use any other type of oil
• Onion – I used white onion but you can use yellow instead.
• Mushrooms – I used white button mushrooms but you may use Portobello, other variety, or a mix of them.
• Garlic – if you don’t have fresh, you may use the paste from a jar.
• Fresh ginger– if you don’t have this at home, you may replace with ginger powder (⅓ of the amount called in the recipe)
• Curry powder – it is essential in this recipe but you may use masala if you prefer to, making a mushroom masala curry.
• Tomato sauce – diced or crushed tomatoes are a suitable substitute
• Tomato purée – although not exactly the same, tomato paste is a good alternative and will make the dish tastier because it is concentrated.
• Coconut milk – you may use coconut cream to keep it vegan or simply use heavy cream, half-and-half, or yogurt instead for a vegetarian Indian mushroom curry.
• Vegetable broth or stock – you may use other types of stock such as chicken.
• Lime juice – if you don't have this on hand, use lemon juice or even red wine vinegar.
• Cilantro – if you hate this herb, use parsley instead.

How to make mushroom curry in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker

1. Press the sauté function and let it heat for about 5 minutes. Pour the oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes, stirring often to keep from browning. Add the mushroom and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring every now and then. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. SEE PIC. 1
2. Then stir in both the curry powder and chili powder, the tomato sauce and puree, coconut milk, and stock. SEE PIC. 2
3. Cancel the sauté function, lock the lid, turn the valve, and set on manual high pressure for 3 minutes. If you have a pressure cooker, you may press the stew button and then manually set for 3 minutes. SEE PIC. 3 Do a quick release.
4. Then stir in the lime juice and serve with the cilantro on top. SEE PIC. 4

How to make mushroom curry on the stovetop

1. Heat a nonstick pot or Dutch pan over medium heat, add the oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes, stirring often to keep from browning. Add the mushroom and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring every  now and then. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
2. Then stir in both the curry powder and chili powder, the tomato sauce and purée, coconut milk, and stock.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice and serve with the cilantro on top.

NOTE: Curious about how does a pressure cooker work? Also print our cooking time charts! 

Cooking Tips

• Make sure to keep the mushroom chunky because if you chop them into small pieces they will get lost in the sauce.
• If you want to add other plant-based protein such as canned chickpeas, drain and add when mixing the tomato sauce.
• Want a spicier curry? Add a hot sauce such as harissa or pepper flakes.
• Add extra flavor by serving the mushroom curry with a few tablespoons of mango chutney.
• You may add other vegetables before cooking (chop them into similar sizes if possible so that  they cook evenly), or you may add 1-2 cups of spinach and let it sit for 2-3 minutes before adding the lime juice.

What to serve it with

You may serve over rice and/or with naan, preferably. Or, if you don’t mind having it with Western sides, mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, or this Irish soda bread pair well with this easy mushroom curry.

Is this mushroom curry recipe healthy?

This is a lean and healthy dish, loaded with low-carb vegetables such as mushrooms which are a good source of fiber and protein, as well as vitamins B and D. Moreover, it contains just 174 calories per portion.

Note that most of those calories come from coconut milk, which makes this curry creamy. But you may replace it with Greek yogurt if you wish.

Storage

Store mushroom curry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You may freeze it for up to 2 months, but be aware that once thawed it becomes a bit watery. One thing that you can do to fix it is to reheat, uncovered, over low heat, and let the sauce reduce a little bit. Then stir in and mix well a few spoonfuls of either coconut cream or yogurt. They have a thick consistency and will make the curry creamy again.

Other Dinner Recipes: 

• Lentil Coconut Curry
• Chicken Satay Curry
• Shrimp in Coconut Sauce
• Chicken in Lime Coconut Sauce

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5 from 4 votes

Mushroom Curry Recipe

This mushroom curry recipe is quick and easy to prepare either on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. It is healthy, creamy, and very delish, making a hearty weeknight meal. It’s also keto, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian.

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:Indian

Prep Time 12 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories174 kcal

Author Valentina Dimitrova

Cost $1.50 per person

Equipment

• pressure cooker

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 lb mushrooms sliced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoon curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 ½ cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoon tomato puree or paste
• ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk
• ¼ cup vegetable stock or broth
• 1 lime juiced
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Press the sauté function and let it heat for about 5 minutes. Pour the oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes, stirring often to keep from browning. Add the mushroom and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring every now and then. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
• Then stir in both the curry powder and chili powder, the tomato sauce and puree, coconut milk, and stock.
• Cancel the sauté function, lock the lid, turn the valve, and set on manual high pressure for 3 minutes. If you have a pressure cooker, you may press the stew button and then manually set for 3 minutes. Do a quick release.
• Then stir in the lime juice and serve with the cilantro on top.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Possible add-ins before cooking in the Instant Pot: chunks of carrots, peas, butternut squash, rinsed canned chickpeas, etc.

How to make mushroom curry on the stovetop

1. Heat a nonstick pot or Dutch pan over medium heat, add the oil and cook the onion for about 3 minutes, stirring often to keep from browning. Add the mushroom and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring every now and then. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
2. Then stir in both the curry powder and chili powder, the tomato sauce and purée, coconut milk, and stock.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice and serve with the cilantro on top.

Cooking Tips

• Make sure to keep the mushroom chunky because if chop them into small pieces they will get lost in the sauce.
• If you want to add other plant-based protein such as canned chickpeas, drain and add once mixing the tomato sauce.
• Want a spicier curry? Add a hot sauce such as harissa or pepper flakes.
• Add extra flavor but serving the mushroom curry with a few tablespoons of mango chutney.
• You may add other vegetables before cooking (chop them into similar size if possible so they cook evenly), or you may add 1-2 cups of spinach and let sit for 2-3 minutes before adding the lime juice.

Storage

Store mushroom curry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You may freeze it for up to 2 months but be aware that once thawed it becomes a bit watery. One thing that you can do to fix it, it is to reheat, uncovered, over low heat, and let the sauce reduce a little bit. Then stir well a few spoonfuls of either coconut cream or yogurt. They have a thick consistency and will make the curry creamy again.

Nutrition

Calories: 174kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 560mg | Potassium: 897mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 563IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 4mg

** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.

Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.

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