Make your own Thai green curry paste from scratch with this easy recipe. The vibrant green color alone is enough to make you smile, but just wait until you take a bite!
This green curry paste is perfect for Thai green curry, but it also adds a herby spicy note to fish, chicken, and veggies. It’s bright and super herby thanks to mint and basil, and you can easily control the spice level. Thai green curry is usually pretty hot, but if that’s not your style, you can easily tone things down with our recipe. You’ll never go back to store-bought!
We love Thai curries, but store-bought curry pastes can vary a lot in flavor. That’s why we jumped at the chance to learn how to make our own, and now, after sharing three versions (red curry paste, yellow curry paste, and this green one), we’re so excited for you to join us!
Key Ingredients
- Peppers: All of the curry pastes on Inspired Taste are intended to be as close to authentic as possible while using ingredients that are typically available. For this green curry paste, which is traditionally hot and spicy, we’re using jalapeño. You can swap it for serrano or use Thai green chilies (which really pack a punch), but I find the jalapeño does the trick nicely. For a milder curry, remove all the seeds and membranes from the pepper before processing. In addition to the jalapeño, we use a mild Anaheim pepper, which adds even more fresh green flavor.
- Coriander Seeds, Garlic, Green Onion, and Ginger: These aromatics form the foundation of our curry paste, guaranteeing an absolutely irresistible flavor. For the green onions, look for ones with more green than white.
- Lemongrass Paste: Thai green curry paste is not complete without lemongrass! I love the convenience of lemongrass paste (sold in tubes), but if you’re working with fresh, check out the tips below the recipe. I also use lemongrass paste to make our sweet and sour meatballs.
- Fish Sauce and Lime: These bring everything together, adding brightness, umami, and a touch of saltiness. While many curry paste recipes use dried shrimp or shrimp paste, fish sauce is a great alternative that’s much easier to find (if vegetarian, omit the fish sauce). I have Red Boat and Three Crabs fish sauce in my pantry.
- Brown Sugar and Sesame Oil: We don’t use a lot, but a little bit of sugar and sesame oil balances the brighter, spicier ingredients like lime and peppers.
- Green Herbs: We use a powerful trio of fresh mint, basil (Thai basil is best, but Italian basil works), and cilantro. For the mint and basil, use the leaves. For the cilantro, use the stems. They add texture to the paste and a rich cilantro flavor.
How We Make Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
Our recipe stays as authentic as possible while using ingredients you can find easily. Here are a few tips for making it the best:
Tip 1: Adjust the heat to your taste. We swap traditional Thai chilies for more common jalapeños. You can, of course, use Thai chilies if you have them, but our recipe guarantees a delicious green curry no matter what.
- For a milder curry, remove the seeds and white membrane.
- For a spicy curry paste, use one jalapeño with the seeds left in.
- For an authentic and very hot curry, increase to two jalapeños or add one to two Thai green chilies (those little green chilies really pack a punch!).
Tip 2: Blend until almost smooth. I use my food processor and let it run, scraping down the sides every so often, until I have an almost smooth paste. A blender works really well, too (and might even get you an even smoother paste). Just keep blending until it looks similar to our photos.
Tip 3: Using your homemade green curry paste. The most common use for this is with coconut milk to make a classic green curry. I use 4 to 6 tablespoons for one 13.5-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk, but you can adjust this to your liking. Whatever you do, make sure you quickly cook the curry paste in a bit of oil before adding the coconut milk. This quick step “blooms” the spices and aromatics, releasing their full flavor. If you don’t use it for curries, get creative! It adds a fresh, spicy flavor to mayonnaise, meatballs, butter, fish, chicken, and more.
Homemade Green Curry Paste
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I crave curry made with this homemade green curry paste. Use 4 to 6 tablespoons of the paste for one 13.5-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk. Then, you can adjust from there. Before adding your coconut milk, cook the curry paste in a little oil to bring out all the flavors (trust me, this makes a big difference). For red curry, use our homemade red curry paste or for a mild curry, see this yellow curry paste.
Adjusting the heat level: For a milder curry, remove the seeds and white membrane of the jalapeño; for a spicy curry paste, use 1 jalapeño with the seeds left in. For an authentic and very hot curry, increase to 2 jalapeños or add 2 to 3 Thai green chilies (they really pack a punch!).
Makes 1 cup
You Will Need
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
5 black peppercorns
1 jalapeño, or more for extra spicy
1 Anaheim pepper, seeds removed and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (1 ½ tablespoons, about 10g)
4 green onions, the greener the better, roughly chopped
4 teaspoons lemongrass paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 cup (5g) packed mint leaves
1/2 cup (10g) packed basil leaves, preferably Thai basil
1/2 cup (30g) cilantro stems
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
1Grind the spices: In a mortar and pestle, grind the coriander seeds and peppercorns. Transfer the ground spices to a food processor bowl. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can crush them with the back of a heavy pan or the bottom of a can.)
2Prepare the peppers: For a spicy paste, cut the jalapeño in half and add to the food processor. For a milder paste, cut the jalapeño in half and remove all the seeds and the white membrane before adding it.
3Make the curry paste base: Add the Anaheim pepper, garlic, ginger, green onions, lemongrass paste, brown sugar, and lime zest to the food processor with the ground spices and jalapeño. Pulse until a rough paste forms.
4Finish the paste: Add the fish sauce, mint leaves, basil leaves, cilantro stems, sesame oil, salt, and lime juice. Continue pulsing until the mixture becomes a smooth, mostly uniform paste.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Storing in the fridge: Add your homemade curry paste to a clean glass jar, add a thin layer of avocado oil on top, and then store it in the fridge for up to 1 week, possibly longer. The green color may dull slightly.
- Storing in the freezer: You can freeze this for up to 3 months. Portion the paste into small freezer-safe containers or ice cube trays. If using ice cube trays, freeze until frozen, pop them out, and store them in a freezer-safe airtight container.
- Lemongrass paste: I buy the refrigerated lemongrass paste in a squeezable tube sold near the fresh herbs.
- Using fresh lemongrass: Cut away the top and bottom of the stalk. Then, peel away the tough outer layers until you reach the tender, pale yellow core. Finally, thinly slice the stalk, then chop it as finely as possible or use a food processor to mince it. If you make a larger batch of homemade lemongrass paste, store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days or freeze in ice cube trays, transfer to freezer bags, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- For curries: Start with 3 to 4 tablespoons of curry paste per cup of coconut milk. You can always add more later!
- For marinades/other dishes: Begin with 1 tablespoon of curry paste per pound of meat.
- The nutrition facts provided are estimates.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 tablespoon
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Calories
15
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Total Fat
0.2g
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Saturated Fat
0g
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Cholesterol
0mg
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Sodium
167.9mg
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Carbohydrate
2g
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Dietary Fiber
0.4g
/
Total Sugars
1g
/
Protein
0.3g
We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? To inspire you to get in the kitchen and confidently cook fresh and flavorful meals.More About Us
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