Creamy sweet potato curry with spinach! This is a healthy curry recipe that is vegan (dairy-free), and easy to make in one pot on the stove top OR in an Instant Pot (pressure cooker). I have included the instructions for both! It’s a wonderful comfort meal for dinner which is also great for meal prep.
Coconut Sweet Potato Curry
Hey friends, I have another sweet potato recipe for you. Since you guys loved my Sweet Potato Muffins and also the Sweet Potato Pizza Crust recipe, I thought you would also like a creamy Sweet Potato Curry. This delicious curry with spinach is currently my favorite vegan dinner meal because:
- It’s so comforting, flavorful, and delicious.
- This vegan dinner is healthy, rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- It’s quick and easy and can be made in an Instant Pot (pressure cooker) or on the stove top.
How To Make Sweet Potato Curry?
There are less than 10 steps involved to make this creamy curry. If you want to serve the curry with rice, cook the rice first. Then chop the sweet potatoes, the onion, mince the garlic cloves, and the fresh ginger. Prepare all your spices and the remaining ingredients. It’s important to have everything readily available if you want to make the curry in the Instant Pot.
Then you’ll need to cook everything for about 15 minutes in one pot (check the recipe notes for the Instant Pot instructions). It’s really easy and doesn’t take too long.
Healthy Ingredients
This coconut sweet potato curry contains simple and healthy ingredients that you probably already have at home. I chose to add spinach for extra nutrients. You could also use kale instead of spinach. Most of the ingredients are spices that will turn your kitchen into an Indian restaurant.
There is also passata and coconut milk in this recipe. Coconut milk is a must in curries, in my opinion. If you are allergic to coconut or don’t like the taste, you could use cashew milk instead. However, the curry will turn out less creamy (except if you use cashew cream).
You can also add cooked chickpeas or lentils to make the curry even more delicious and protein-rich. Serve this delicious coconut curry with rice or naan bread.
Instant Pot Curry
This recipe can be made in ONE pot on the stove top OR in an Instant Pot. Both work fine, and I have included instructions for both methods in the recipe notes. It’s even easier in an Instant Pot because you can simply leave it alone for a while. Set and forget.
Does it keep?
Yes, it keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat curry leftovers in a pot on the stove top the next day. This recipe is also freezer friendly (freezes well for up to 3 months). The sweet potato curry is also a wonderful recipe for meal prep.
You will love the curry recipe because it is:
- Vegan (dairy-free)
- Healthy
- Creamy
- Rich
- Satisfying
- Comforting
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Can be made in one pot on the stove top or in the Instant Pot
Tips For This Sweet Potato Curry Recipe
- Serve it with Jasmine rice, Basmati rice, quinoa or naan.
- Double the batch and store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days (or freeze for up to 3 months).
- Use kale instead of spinach for a delicious variation.
- Add cooked chickpeas (cooked from dry or canned) or lentils for extra protein.
Should you recreate this tasty creamy curry recipe, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your remakes! Also, if you love curry recipes, make sure to check out my Chickpea Eggplant Curry and my Vegetable Curry with Pineapple.

Sweet Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 g) sweet potatoes (about 2 medium) peeled and chopped into 3 cm pieces
- 2 cups (60 g) fresh spinach
- 1/2 tbsp oil or water (if oil-free)
- 1 medium (100 g) onion chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2- inch (5 cm) fresh ginger minced
- 1/2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp salt or less/more to taste
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes use less if you don't like it too spicy
- 1/4 tsp black pepper or less/more to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/3 cup (320 ml) coconut milk canned
- 1 cup (250 g) passata (tomato sauce)
- One 15 oz can of chickpeas rinsed and drained (optional)
- Fresh herbs to garnish e.g. parsley, cilantro
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions:
- Check the recipe notes for the Instant Pot instructions and to watch the video!
- If you want to serve this sweet potato curry with rice, cook the rice first as per the instructions on the package.
- Heat oil in a pot over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté for about 3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and fresh ginger and sauté for a further 1 minute. Add all spices and stir again.
- Next, add the passata, the sweet potato chunks, and the coconut milk.
- Give it another stir, and bring to a boil. Let simmer on low heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the sweet potato chunks are fork tender and the curry thickened. Optional: You can now add cooked chickpeas for additional protein.
- Finally, stir in the spinach and let simmer until wilted.
- Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more salt/pepper/red pepper flakes, etc. to taste.
- Serve over rice of choice or with naan bread. Enjoy warm!
Notes
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Add the oil to the Instant Pot and press the "SAUTE" button.
- Add the onion and sauté for about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and fresh ginger and sauté for a further 1 minute. Add all spices and stir again.
- Next, add the passata, the sweet potato chunks, and the coconut milk.
- Close and seal the Instant Pot. Cook on "MANUAL" for 2 minutes. Once the time is up, quick release.
- Carefully open the lid. Optional: You can now add cooked chickpeas for additional protein.
- Stir in the spinach and let simmer until wilted.
- Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more salt/pepper/red pepper flakes, etc. to taste.
- Serve with rice or naan and garnish with fresh herbs (cilantro or parsley for example). Enjoy!
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving (without rice and chickpeas).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
This just might be my new favourite curry recipe. I added a bit extra salt and some lemon juice and I made it in the instant pot (minus spinach because I didn’t have any) and my partner and I absolutely loved it 😍
I am so glad you both loved it. 🙂
Great recipe. I diced a large tomato and used it in place of the passata and added 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, 2 TBSP Soy Sauce and 1/4 cup of maple syrup to add some depth to the flavor. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you so much 🙂
You are very welcome, WarrenG. 🙂
My wife and I really enjoyed this dish. Very nice flavor and texture. We’re WFPB. I didn’t use oil to sauté, only water.. I needed to scrap the bottom of the Instant Pot twice because it was a bit burned. Not too badly I just needed to stir it up completely and it all incorporated. The pressure cooked time was so short I was apprehensive about the sweet potatoes being fully cooked even though they were small chunks. So I added one minute and cooked for 3 minutes then quick release. The texture of the sweet potato was perfect, fully cooked yet firm enough to survive my second aggressive scraping of the pot. We cook with those spices often so our spices are pretty fresh. That led to a very delectable flavor. We added chick peas. We put it over short grain brown rice.
This will be added to my heavy rotation.
Thank you for this recipe.
Thanks so much for your thorough feedback, Randy! 🙂
Really delicious, though it showed the burn notice twice and I needed to stir it to get it going again – it didn’t really do the full pressure cooking time because it burned before it finished. But got it to cook till the sweet potatoes were tender despite that. Made a few minor changes to the recipe – added soy sauce instead of salt for umami flavour, and used a tin of chopped tomatoes instead of passata, and frozen spinach. Also served doused in an inordinate amount of tastebud dissolving lemon juice.
Recently with making curries I’m always getting the burn notice, despite adding more water to counteract that. Wonder what I’m doing wrong. Thanks for the delicious recipe 🙂
Thanks for your great feedback! So glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
Am I the only one to find this recipe a little bland? I am not vegan, so ended up adding chicken broth and tripled the spices to make up for it. Any tips on what I may have done wrong to make mine so bland?
Sorry to hear you didn’t like it, Jamie. To me, and many others, this dish is really flavorful. Maybe you could add a little more salt next time. 🙂