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Saucy, creamy 20 Minute Red Curry Noodles with Fried Coconut Garlic. The best quick and easy spring noodles! Make these saucy noodles with whatever you have on hand, I used a mix of zucchini, then stirred in lots of coconut milk and rice noodles. Add some heat with curry paste, and balance it all out with a squeeze of lime. The best part…all you need for this recipe are pantry ingredients and just about 20 minutes!
These curry noodles couldn’t be easier, AND they ended up being one of my favorite recipes of the week! I’ve been wanting to make Thai red curry noodles for a while but held off until I had just the right idea. I wanted mine to be simple…but just a touch different too!
I was inspired by the Thai basil plants growing in the pantry and my brother’s trip to Thailand. It’s been a while since I did a good saucy curry. So I decided to brainstorm a bit until I finally came up with the perfect saucy noodle!
Here are the details…
As you can imagine, the details are pretty simple, but everything starts with that fried coconut garlic. What is fried coconut garlic you ask? Well, it’s fried garlic with the addition of coconut flakes, so it’s even more delicious.
Most curry noodles come just as is, in their delicious curry, and topped with fresh herbs and lime juice. As I mentioned, I wanted mine to stand out a bit. A nice, salty-sweet garlic crunch sounded just perfect for topping my noodles. And that’s just what the fried coconut garlic adds. It gives a crunch plus a salty-sweet, garlicky bite. Totally delicious and makes the noodles “extra special”.
Once the garlic is fried up, everything comes together extremely quickly. For the noodles, I love using thicker cut linguine style rice noodles or egg noodles, but super-thin vermicelli rice noodles work great too if you prefer thin! Really, use whatever noodle you love or have on hand. Just be sure to find a noodle that will hold up well in a good amount of curry sauce.
Now that sauce! You’ll need three key ingredients: veggies, curry paste, and coconut milk.
For the veggies, again, you can use whatever you have on hand…bell peppers, broccoli zucchini, they all work, so use what you like or what you have. Cook up the veggies, then add the curry paste, coconut milk, and a dash of soy sauce. You could throw in some fish sauce too, which would be delicious. Simmer everything for a minute or two.
Toss the noodles with the sauce, and guys that’s it. SIMPLE is the name of the game here.
Some notes for you!
I love a spicy red Thai curry paste (my favorite is the Thai Kitchen brand) and full-fat canned coconut milk. The curry paste and coconut milk are key to this recipe. They are the flavor and the creaminess to the curry, so don’t skimp on them!
As soon as the curry is done, serve it up with lots of that fried garlic crunch on top. It’s important to eat the curry as soon as you toss it with the noodles. The noodles will soak up all that amazing sauce pretty quickly.
Finish with some spicy chili peppers, lots of fresh Thai basil, and lime juice. Dinner in just about twenty minutes and made using pantry staples…plus whatever vegetable you’ve got on hand!
I love a fancy meal, but there’s really something to be said about a simple dish like this. They’re always so well loved!
Looking for other quick 20 minute recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
20 Minute Honey Garlic Cashew Chicken and Coconut Noodles
20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp in 20 Minutes
Lastly, if you make these 20 Minute Red Curry Noodles with Fried Coconut Garlic, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
20 Minute Red Curry Noodles with Fried Coconut Garlic
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 4 tablespoons sesame oil
- 6-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely shredded coconut
- flaky salt
- 2 zucchini or summer squash diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 2-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 (14 ounce) can full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 teaspoons honey
- juice from 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh basil or cilantro, roughly chopped
- fresno peppers, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Cook rice noodles according to packaged directions. 2. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in the coconut and cook until the garlic is crisp and the coconut is toasted, about 2 minutes. Spoon the mix out of the skillet and drain onto a paper towel, season with salt. 3. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook 2-3 minutes until softened. Stir in the curry paste and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.4. Pour in the coconut milk, 1/3 cup water, soy sauce, and honey. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. If the sauce thickens too much, add additional water to thin. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and basil.5. To serve, divide the noodles and sauce between bowls. Top with peppers, fresh basil, and the fried garlic.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
This was absolutely amazing, I bought rare roast beef and sliced it thinly so put on top. The garlic, coconut topping is amazing. It’s a versatile recipe, you could add any veggie you like and/or a protein for an even more filling meal. My family loved it!
Hey Angela,
Awesome! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
Is it sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
Hi Angela,
I like to use unsweetened coconut in this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Do you use unsweetened coconut?
Hi Terry,
I do! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this recipe turns out well for you! xT
Let me just say… WOW!! I would eat the fried garlic coconut on ANYTHING!
Lol thanks so much Emily!! Love to hear that this recipe was a winner! xT
Not sure what’s happening but every attempt I make at this the ‘sauce’ just ends up liquid and we end up eating curry soup. I need to add a thickener next time I guess? Flavor is OK. I ended up adding a lot more ingredients to give it some depth and round it out/give it some heat.
Hey Ally,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! You’ll notice in my photos that this is a sauce and it’s not meant to be thick, it’s definitely got a curry soup texture:) xx
I didn’t get that hint of coconut sweetness that I was looking for. Has anyone added maybe some sweet condensed coconut milk to this?
Hey William,
So sorry, I’ve not tried this, but I don’t see why you couldn’t add some! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Amazing! Another one knocked out of the park!! Next time I’ll double up on the crispy garlic and toasted coconut topper because that was ?. So delicious!!! ?
Hi Rachel,
Perfect!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and appreciate you giving it a try! xxTieghan
OMG!!!! I made this for my birthday dinner and it’s A-mazing! I’ve been wanting to cook with coconut milk and this was my first time. I used red bell pepper, mushrooms and broccoli. Garlic/coconut crispy topping was genius! Well done Tieghan, I continue to be obsessed with Half Baked Harvest. 🙂
Hi April,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! Happy Birthday! ?xxT
this recipe is one of my favorites!!! i always use it at the end of the week to put any vegetables in my fridge with this amazing sauce it’s my all time favorite that I have kept coming back to again and again. thank you!
Hi Katie,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for making it! xxT
Do you think if this is made ahead you should keep the noodles and the sauce separate, then combine after reheating? I’m nervous the noodles will absorb all the sauce if I make for a work lunch the night before. Thanks!
Hi Katie,
Totally, that will work well for you! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Made this for Christmas Eve dinner with some cauliflower instead of zucchini! We really enjoyed the flavors and the coconut garlic topping. The only issue was that the ratio of sauce to noodles and veggies was not great–next time I would double the amount of sauce.
Hi Christina,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
OMG this is so good. Thankyou
I use chicken thigh and cauliflower in mine or whatever leftover veg I have and it always turns out the best. It is now on rotation ? I also make it with rice sometimes if I feel like a change
Awesome! Thanks a bunch for trying out the recipe, love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
One of our new favorites, thank you!
Thanks so much! So happy to hear this recipe was enjoyed! xTieghan
Delicious and easy to customize!
Thank you! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! xTieghan
I made this for the first time last night and it just might be my favorite recipe yet! I made it according to directions, but added some red bell pepper and additional red pepper flakes for a little extra kick. It had so much flavor and was so easy to make! I absolutely love your recipes…we are a vegan household and have found your recipes are always our favorites!
Hey Courtney,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am delighted to hear that it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend:) xTieghan