Italian and Indian cuisines merge effortlessly in this vegan curried spaghetti recipe. It's the perfect weeknight dinner - all you need is one pot and 30 minutes! The spaghetti soaks in a smooth, creamy coconut sauce spiced with garam masala and ribbons of kale add yummy flavor to every mouthful.
Italian pasta with Indian spices is a delicious fusion I've explored in recipes like my masala pasta. This vegan curried spaghetti with kale is another recipe I cooked up when trying to come up with food that would appeal to my Indian taste buds and my love for Italian food. Over the years it has become one of my favorite weeknight recipes.
This is a no-stress recipe: you throw everything, including the uncooked pasta, in a single pot and let everything cook together. But the ease of preparation doesn't mean there's any compromise in flavor or texture: the spaghetti noodles cook to perfect, al dente tenderness and they are so, so delicious coated with the creamy, smooth, perfectly spiced coconut sauce.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe
There's so much flavor in every mouthful of this spaghetti, and you can tweak it to your liking by adding other greens. You can even add beans for a protein upgrade. But my favorite part, after the flavor, definitely has to be the ease of making this curried spaghetti. You don't need to add another large pasta pot to your sink - the pasta cooks along with everything else in a single pot!
I go back to this recipe often- it's one of my favorites. - Nan
Ingredients
- Coconut oil or olive oil. I never thought I'd offer up those two as interchangeable ingredients in any recipe until I started making this one. 😉 Coconut oil will add more coconut flavor to the recipe, but olive oil is also perfect here - and more Italian!
- Garlic: I like adding up to eight cloves of garlic, but this is your call - use less if you want a less garlicky dish.
- Spices: red pepper flakes, turmeric and garam masala. Tweak the quantity of red pepper and garam masala to your preference for heat.
- Tomato paste: This adds complexity and umami.
- Kale: I like to use lacinato kale or dinosaur kale, but it doesn't really matter what variety of kale you use. For suggestions about other greens you can add, check the FAQs.
- Coconut milk: The coconut milk not only adds tons of flavor, it also keeps leftovers from drying up.
- Spaghetti: Good old regular spaghetti is what you need. I haven't made this recipe with another type of pasta so if you change the type of pasta you use you will need to tweak cooking times up and down. For gluten-free or whole-wheat pasta, see FAQs.
How to make curried one-pot spaghetti
Place oil in pot. Add garlic and turn heat on to medium-low. Saute the garlic until it turns light blonde. Add the spices - red pepper flakes, turmeric and garam masala. Toast the spices for no more than 30 seconds.
Stir the tomato paste into the pot.
Add the kale to the spices and tomato paste in pot and mix well. Add some salt. Saute the kale for a couple of minutes until the kale wilts.
Add the spaghetti to the pot - I break the spaghetti in two to help it fit in - and add water. Press on the spaghetti to make sure it is submerged.
Stir in the coconut milk. Add salt to taste. Bring the spaghetti to a boil, then lower heat to a point where the liquid just simmers. Cover and cook 8 minutes.
Take the lid off and stir the spaghetti. It will still be a bit soupy at this point. Continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until the spaghetti is al dente. Turn off heat and let the pasta stand five minutes before serving.
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Serve
Serve the spaghetti with an Indian-themed salad, like this turmeric and green peas potato salad or smashed potato salad with a curry leaf dressing. For a protein bump, serve with a chickpea avocado salad. Finish up with an Indian fusion dessert, like vegan cucumber cake.
Curried spaghetti FAQs
You can add other greens to this recipe, like spinach, arugula, Swiss chard or watercress. Zucchini and mushrooms would be nice here too.
There are 14 grams of protein in this spaghetti recipe. To bump it up further, add 1 ½ cups - or one 15-oz can - of canned white beans or chickpeas to the pot along with the coconut milk.
I haven't tried this recipe with either. Both whole wheat pasta and gluten-free pasta tend to absorb more liquid, so you might want to add an additional ½ cup of liquid to the pot. For the gluten-free pasta, which is starchier, stir more frequently to ensure the spaghetti strands don't stick to each other.
The spaghetti can be stored in the fridge for up to four days. Freeze for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through before serving.
More one-pot vegan pasta recipes
Vegan Curried Spaghetti with Kale
Equipment
- Large pot or skillet with lid
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 7 cloves garlic (minced or crushed with a garlic press)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (tweak this to your preference for heat)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 heaping tbsp garam masala
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 18-20 leaves kale (tough stems trimmed, then finely shredded. I used lacinato, but curly kale or purple kale would be fine too. So would baby kale.)
- 12 oz spaghetti
- 5 cups water (or vegetable stock)
- ¾ cup canned coconut milk (stir the can after opening with a spoon)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the oil in the pot. Add garlic and turn heat on to medium-low. Saute the garlic until it is a light blonde. Add the spices - red pepper flakes, turmeric and garam masala. Toast the spices for no more than 30 seconds.
- Add tomato paste to the pot and mix it in. Add the kale and mix well. Stir in a bit of salt. Saute the kale for a couple of minutes until the kale wilts.
- Add the spaghetti to the pot - I break the spaghetti in two to help it fit in - and add the 5 cups of water. Press on the spaghetti with a spatula to make sure it is submerged. Stir in the coconut milk. Add salt to taste. Bring the spaghetti to a boil, then lower heat to a point where the liquid just simmers. Cover and cook 8 minutes.
- Take the lid off and stir the spaghetti. It will still be a bit soupy at this point. Continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until the spaghetti is al dente. Turn off heat and let the spaghetti stand for five minutes before serving.
Nutrition
First published on July 17, 2017; updated and re-published on Oct. 9, 2024.
Ms
Can we use ground tomatoes in place of tomato paste?
Liz
Can this be done with gf pasta like Banza?
Vaishali
Yes, but you might have to tweak cooking times and, perhaps, the water content. I'd also saute the kale just a little longer before adding the pasta.
Leslie
Hi, Vaishali. Love the sound of this and just going to make it. Can you clarify whether the coconut milk is full fat or lite, please?
Vaishali
Hi Leslie, I use full fat coconut milk. You can use a lite coconut milk but the result won't be as creamy.
Susanna
This is fabulous!!!
Zelda
This recipe is now a bi-weekly staple! Did up the chili flakes to 2 tsp, increased turmeric to 1 tsp, changed out the tomato paste to 1/2 jar of spicy red pepper pasta sauce, kale can be changed out with whatever young greens I get at half-price (today is spinach and arugula), and changed out the spaghetti with zucchini noodles (also half price). With the "zoodles" not so much of a carb overload! And did learn my lesson to stick with a spaghetti style noodle - the rotini just sucked up too much liquid:(
Anonymous
This came out very good. Filling and quick.
Vaishali
So happy to hear!
Nan
I go back to this recipe often- it's one of my favorites.
Vaishali
So great to hear, Nan! ❤️
Anonymous
Have you tried doubling this recipe?
Vaishali
You can definitely do that!
Rory
Do you think this would work with zucchini noodles and less water?
Vaishali
I don't see why not, but zucchini noodles would likely need less time to cook. And yes, definitely use less water because the zucchini will express a good deal of liquid. Let me know how it turns out, if you try!
Nan
This recipe was delicious, and I was able to make it with what I already had on hand. My favorite part was eating the leftovers cold for lunch for the next two days. Perfect for a hot summer day lunch.
Alexis
I made this according to the instructions but mine never thickened up..:(
Vaishali
Hi Alexis, that is surprising because this proportion always works for me. Did you use regular pasta? Next time try reducing the water by a cup.
Jamie
Thanks, Vaishali! I love the easy one pot weeknight recipes! When do we add the kale to the pot? I think this step is missing in the instructions?
Vaishali
Sorry, Jamie, it's in Step 2. Added now.