This cauliflower and mushroom curry is an easy, make-ahead dinner that’s full of richness and flavor! The magic happens when you make this, and then allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a day or two before eating. During this time, the flavors have a chance to mingle and deepen. Then, when you are ready to enjoy it, it just requires a quick reheat on the stovetop. It really is a quick and easy dinner that’s perfect for busy weeknights!
Some dishes taste better the next day … this cauliflower and mushroom curry is one of them! The advantage of prepping this is beforehand allows you to cook at your own pace. No worries about getting dinner on the table in time. Once this curry is made, place it into the refrigerator and serve within the next day or two for a delicious reheat-and-eat dinner.
How to make this recipe
1. Roast the cauliflower and mushrooms (see subs in notes below)
2. Grind the onion, garlic and ginger into a fine paste. Sauté and cook down.
3. Add in spices and throw in the roasted vegetables.
4. Add tomato paste and coconut milk. Stir, then simmer.
Refrigerate the cauliflower and mushroom curry, which allows the sauce to thicken up and the flavors to deepen for a day or two. This allows you to prep most everything in advance AND it tastes sooooo much better that way. Enjoy this in the fall or winter for a truly comforting dish!
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Here are more Indian-inspired dishes!
Cauliflower and Mushroom Curry
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
An easy, make-ahead cauliflower and mushroom curry that’s full of richness and flavor! I strongly recommend making this and allowing it to sit in the refrigerator for a day or two before eating. It allows the flavors to mingle and allows you to prep almost everything in advance, making this a quick and easy dinner!
Ingredients
for the vegetables (see notes)
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets
- 4–5 cups large brown mushrooms, quartered
- olive oil
- salt
for the sauce
- 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
- 4–6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- thumb-sized piece of ginger, roughly chopped
- 2 TB coconut oil (refined or unrefined)
- 1 TB garam masala
- 1 TB curry powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1, 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 2 cans (13.5 oz.) full-fat coconut milk
to serve
- cooked rice
- vegan naan, prepared (or make your own)
- chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
Instructions
to prepare the vegetables
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Oil a baking sheet and place cauliflower onto sheet in an even layer. Drizzle a little more oil over the top and season with some salt.
- Oil a cast iron pan and place the mushrooms in a single layer. Drizzle a little more oil over the top and season with salt.
- Place both into the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes, giving them a stir halfway through to ensure even cooking.
to prepare the sauce
- Place the onion into a food processor and grind into a paste. Add in the garlic and ginger and process until completely smooth.
- Melt the coconut oil in a heavy dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion mixture and saute for about 20 minutes, stirring every now and then, reducing the heat a bit if needed. Keep a close watch to ensure the mixture does not burn. Add generous splashes of water here and there once the mixture starts to stick.
- The paste is done when it’s thick and fragrant and has very little moisture left.
- Add in the garam masala, curry powder, turmeric and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add in the roasted cauliflower and mushrooms and stir to combine.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir.
- Add the coconut milk and stir again. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the lid to the pot, tilting it to allow steam to escape.
- Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often to ensure the bottom doesn’t burn. You want the mixture to slightly bubble.
to serve
- You can serve right away or cool and refrigerate for later. I think this tastes better the next day or two and makes for an easier dinner prep.
- Serve with cooked rice, naan, chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
- You can also use 4-5 cups canned and rinsed chickpeas or cubed and sauteed firm tofu in place of mushrooms.
- The curry will thicken up as it cools down. Recommend serving the following day!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Baked, Blended, Sautéed
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: cauliflower and mushroom curry, vegan curry
Ilana says
My absolute favorite vegetable curry! I make this at least every few months. Kids love it too, which makes it worth a try for anyone with picky eaters.
I do not deviate from the recipe when it comes to ingredients and stove top cooking time. I do find that 450 for both mushrooms and cauliflower for 25-30 min – in my oven there won’t much left of the food. I typically cook both for 30 min at 400- comes out perfect.
Regardless, the technique of making this curry and the spice level is so good, I am thinking I will try making this curry with some type of protein. Not sure yet, but I am open for suggestions. 🙂
★★★★★
erin wysocarski says
Ilana, I’m so happy that you love the recipe. Thanks for your very kind feedback! Tofu and chickpeas would also work well here as an alternate protein.
Deb Z says
Deb Z here again. If a recipe calls for one can of coconut milk, how much cashew cream would I have to make to make that an equal swap?
erinwyso says
Deb, I would try blending equal parts cashew cream and cashew or oat milk together. Start with a cup, taste, and add more to the pot if you’d like a creamier sauce … I hope you enjoy!
Deb Z says
Hi Erin. I love your blog. Can I sub cashew cream for coconut cream and if so, what would be the weight, cup? I really try not to eat coconut cream.
Thank you for all you share!
erinwyso says
Thanks Deb! I would guess you could swap out a blend of cashew cream, cashew milk or a mixture of the two. I would start with a cup, taste, and add more to your liking. Oat Milk is another option. I hope your experimentation yields great results!
John Lewis says
I can’t wait to give it a go. Roasting the vegetables to concentrate the taste before cooking the curry is a brilliant idea!
Cynthia says
This is the best curry recipe I’ve ever tried. Tons of rich flavor, hearty, and just delicious. THANK YOU!
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Cynthia,
So happy you liked the curry! Thanks for your kind feedback.
Keeley says
I made this tonight and it was so delicious. I didn’t have any garam masala, but added 1/2 T extra curry powder and about 1/2 T cumin (+ a little allspice at the recommendation of another reviewer who didn’t have garam masala on hand). I love meals that allow me to get prep done early and then just throw everything into one pot. I made white rice with 1/2 water and 1/2 coconut milk to pair with this and it was delectable. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
Michelle says
Hands down the best homemade curry I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a lot!). Restaurant quality and easily served four with a bit of leftovers. Thank you so much for this! I’m sure it will be a staple in our house for years to come.
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Michelle, I love to hear that, thanks for your kind feedback!
Michael Walker says
Brilliant recipe. Trying to meal prep for the week, curries are one of my go-to’s for a big batch of something to sit in the fridge and warm up during work. I just go heavier on the chillies, and an extra can of chopped tomatoes for extra zing.
★★★★★
Michele says
Looks delicious! I try to make vegan or vegetarian meals at least once, if not twice a week. Just one quick question. Like another reviewer said, I only have one can of coconut milk. Could I sub the same amount of water for the missing milk? Our family loves sauces and would probably be bummed if there wasn’t enough extra for dipping the naan😋
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Hi Michele, I haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure, but I suspect it would reduce the richness and thickness of the sauce. But if you try with good results, I’d love to know!
diana d says
yum! my mushroom lover partner approves this recipe. what a great combo of flavors!
★★★★★
Erin says
Made this for my vegetarian family members as a no-meat option for Christmas. Was a perfect dish to make the day before, refrigerate, and place in crock-pot on warm for serving at a Christmas buffet-style dinner. I only made a few changes due to preferences and ingredients I had on hand. Turned out excellent and will make this again.
-Shallots instead of red onion
-Used Coconut Cream instead of Coconut milk; which made it super creamy & decadent
-Before roasting the baby bella mushrooms I sautéed them a little in cast iron pan with ghee & salt
-Added ~2 small eggplants, sliced and not roasted, at the stage when you add the roasted Cauliflower & mushrooms. Note: small eggplants best as less bitter/thinner skins
-added some extra cumin and fenugreek powder
-7 oz jar of tomato paste
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Erin, I am so happy that this was a part of your family Christmas dinner and was enjoyed! And so happy you were able to tweak and adjust as you liked.
Marcus says
Wow, who knew I was such a good cook? This sauce is amazing, an incredible mixture of flavors, can’t wait to try it tomorrow. Still cooking at the moment and my kitchen smells SO good. I could not find garam masala at the grocery, so went with a sub I found one the World Wide Web: 4 parts cumin, 1 part allspice. I’m making this again.
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Marcus, so happy to hear this! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Tina Davis says
Made this tonight with tofu instead of mushrooms because that is what I had in the house. Excellent flavor. Will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Ilana says
I just made the dish today and I must say that I learned some unknown cooking techniques such as grinding up onion, garlic and ginger into a paste and using that as a base or roasting mushrooms along with califlower. Amazing! I followed it to the t and was worried with the recipe asked for a whole tablespoon of garām masala and curry. Some curries are spier than others, so I used the tamer one. Nevertheless, the flavors were excellent and the heat was mild….anything spicier would have covered us the finesse of this spice and vegetable blend. Thank you. This is now my new go to recipe.
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Ilana, thanks for your kind feedback, I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Beth Johnson says
Can I just paste what I emailed to a friend?
But what I want to talk about is what I made for dinner last night. I had cauliflower. I had mushrooms. I had no inspiration. I googled “cauliflower mushroom recipes” and looked around and ended up making Roasted cauliflower and mushroom curry and lemme tell you, friends, it was fantastic. If you’re looking for something new in the vegetarian — nay, vegan! — line, let me recommend it. The recipe calls for 2 cans of coconut milk; I had only one, and it worked just fine. Do not neglect serving lime on the side; the lime juice complemented the sweetness of the coconut beautifully.
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Beth, I love this! Thanks so much for sharing and your kind feedback! 🙂
Bobby says
This recipe was a huge hit with my family. My vegan daughter said this was the best homemade curry dish ever. Everyone had multiple helpings. I added the cauliflower with 10 minutes left when reducing the sauce because we tend to like our vegetables a little more firm. Thank you for sharing this recipe! It will become a regular in our vegan rotation. 😛
★★★★★
erinwyso says
I am so happy it was a hit, Bobby … thanks for your kind feedback and it makes me so happy to hear that this will be enjoyed again!
Gary says
Beautifully balanced flavor. Best curry I have ever made at home.
★★★★★
erinwyso says
So happy you enjoyed, Gary!
Jeremiah Say says
Love this mushroom curry! Made it during the lockdown period 3 days ago. Absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Jeremiah, so happy you were able to make and enjoyed it! Thanks for your kind feedback.
Deb says
Erin, again a great recipe! I had to improvise with a an ingredient and cookware but it turned out lovely. Don’t you hate it when a recipe doesn’t budge (especially during a pandemic!) and there goes your cooking plans until you can get to the store?
No cast iron skillet large enough to hold mushrooms in a single layer to roast. No problem! Place on a cookie sheet and just keep an extra watchful eye on them! No olive oil ( I know, I just ran out!)? , Use cooking spray for both cauliflower & mushrooms. No plain curry? I only had Penzeys The Now Curry blend but rolled the dice and again, it worked fine.
Very minor tweaks in the scheme of things, but when talented chefs such as Erin create and develop their recipes they are deliberate to ensure its success each and every time we cook it.
Thanks again Erin for a delicious recipe!
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Deb, I’m so happy you were able to tweak with what you had with great results! Thanks for your kind words.
Angelica Oung says
Can’t wait to try this. Such a good idea roasting the veggies to concentrate the flavor before cooking the curry!
Vince Snyder says
Just discovered your blog and it looks incredible. Just wondering about the amount of tomato paste in this recipe. I want to try the recipe but at a glance it seems like 6 oz is quite a bit.
Thank-you,
Vince
erinwyso says
Vince, thanks for your kind words. Feel free to half the tomato paste and adjust if needed. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Christiane says
This recipe dropped in at the right moment and 5 minutes later I was cooking… SO GOOD, everyone loved it. Thank you also for your precious advice: I prepared the curry for the next day so the taste was even better!!
Thank you Erin for sharing this wonderful, simple and efficient recipe!😍
★★★★★
erinwyso says
Christiane, I love to hear that … thank you for your kind feedback!
mary says
Wow this looks so good. Tons of flavor:) I’m always looking for great cauliflower recipes, looking forward to trying this:)