This creamy jackfruit curry is a delightful dish that delivers texture and flavour in abundance. Combining meaty jackfruit pieces with aromatic spices, tomatoes, coconut milk, and fragrant lime, it's a top-drawer vegan recipe that's also gluten-free.
Relying heavily on store cupboard ingredients and dried spices, you can use either tinned or fresh tomatoes and add any extra veg you like. I include a few bird's eye chillies for heat, but you can decrease the amount or omit these altogether if you don't want a kick.
If you've been on the lookout for a new and exciting vegan jackfruit recipe to try, I daresay the search is over. If you want to continue the search, however, I can highly recommend this smoky jackfruit chilli or these jackfruit and black bean tacos.
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What is jackfruit?
Jackfruit is a large fruit found in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. When young, it has a neutral taste and meaty consistency that has seen it become popular in plant-based cooking.
Unless you live in a tropical region, you're most likely to come across jackfruit in some sort of tinned form.
Does jackfruit taste like meat?
I'm not going to pretend that jackfruit actually tastes like meat, but it does have a texture that is surprisingly similar to something like slow-cooked chicken or pulled pork. With its relatively neutral taste, young jackfruit is a great vessel for flavours like the ones in this curry.
For another 'meaty' jackfruit recipe, check out this vegan 'beef' stew.
How to make creamy jackfruit curry
Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper and soften for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly.
Next, add the chopped garlic, ginger, and chilli. Stir well and cook for another couple of minutes.
After a couple of minutes, add the jackfruit pieces, cumin, coriander, garam masala, and turmeric. Lightly crush the cardamom pods with the flat of your knife and add these to the pan.
Stir well for a minute or so, using a wooden spoon to break apart some of the jackfruit for a mix of tender chunks and stringy pieces.
Next, add the tomatoes and break these apart with a spoon. If using tinned tomatoes, fill up a third of the empty can with water and swirl this around before adding to the pan. If using fresh tomatoes, simply add around 150 ml (approx. ½ cup) of water.
Add salt and pepper and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, adding extra water if necessary. Next, add the coconut milk and lime zest.
Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the curry is thick and creamy, being careful not to let the coconut milk boil.
Once thick and creamy, remove the cardamom pods and stir in most of the chopped coriander. Adjust the seasoning and serve.
Serving suggestions
- Boiled basmati/white rice
- Pilau rice
- Brown rice
- Quinoa
- Chopped fresh coriander
- Fresh lime juice
- Fresh chilli
- Sliced spring onions
Recipe FAQ
Here in the UK, I've found tinned jackfruit in several of the larger supermarket stores. It's also often available in international supermarkets, smaller specialist shops, and of course online.
When buying tinned jackfruit, make sure you get a variety labelled as 'young' or 'green'. You'll also want it in water (or brine) as opposed to syrup.
This recipe is 100% gluten-free as it is. To keep it that way, be sure to serve it with GF sides such as rice or quinoa.
Variations and tips
- Jackfruit texture: I cut the tougher core parts into small pieces, then slice up the rest more liberally. If you want more of a shredded texture, you can do this using two forks to pull the pieces apart at the end of cooking.
- Coconut milk: Full-fat coconut milk is best for creaminess and flavour, but you could swap this out for a 'light' variety if you prefer (or use half of the regular version and save the rest for a sweet potato dal).
- Cardamom: This is optional, however it adds a really nice fragrance to the curry.
- Chilli: I used bird's eye chillies (a.k.a. finger chillies), but the level of heat will depend on the type of chilli you use. If you're unsure, start with a small amount and add more during cooking to suit your taste.
- Add protein: If you want extra plant-based protein, you could add a drained can of chickpeas and/or greens such as spinach.
How to store jackfruit curry
Refrigerate: You can store the curry in the fridge for up to four days, before reheating in the microwave or in a pan with a splash of water.
Freeze: Store this curry in the freezer in sealed containers or resealable bags for several months. The coconut milk may sometimes separate after being frozen, but it shouldn't be a problem if you thoroughly defrost and reheat.
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More vegan recipe ideas
If you liked this recipe, you may also enjoy:
- Smoky Jackfruit Chilli
- Aloo Palak (Potato and Spinach Curry)
- Creamy Black Bean Curry
- Healthy Aubergine Curry
- Easy Vegan Chana Masala
- Vegan Rajma Masala
- Spicy Tofu Jalfrezi
- Vegan Lentil Dal
You can also check out my full list of vegan mains.
Creamy Jackfruit Curry with Tomato, Coconut & Lime
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or other cooking oil)
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2-3 fresh chillies, finely sliced (I used bird's eye chillies – see notes)
- 2x 14 oz (400 g) tins young jackfruit, drained and each piece roughly chopped a couple of times
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 cardamom pods (optional)
- 1x 14 oz (400 g) tin plum tomatoes (or 6 fresh medium tomatoes, roughly chopped)
- 1x 14 oz (400 ml) tin coconut milk (full-fat is best)
- Grated zest of 1 lime (save the juice to serve)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Small bunch fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper and soften for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Next, add the chopped garlic, ginger, and chilli. Stir well and cook for another couple of minutes.
- After a couple of minutes, add the jackfruit pieces, cumin, coriander, garam masala, and turmeric. Lightly crush the cardamom pods with the flat of your knife and add these to the pan. Stir well for a minute or so, using a wooden spoon to break apart some of the jackfruit for a mix of tender chunks and stringy pieces.
- Next, add the tomatoes and break these apart with a spoon. If using tinned tomatoes, fill up a third of the empty can with water and swirl this around before adding to the pan. If using fresh tomatoes, simply add around 150 ml (approx. ½ cup) of water. Add salt and pepper and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes, adding extra water if necessary.
- After 10 minutes, add the coconut milk and lime zest. Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the curry is thick and creamy, being careful not to let the coconut milk boil.
- Once thick and creamy, remove the cardamom pods and stir in most of the chopped coriander. Adjust the seasoning and serve with rice, fresh coriander, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Notes
Nutrition
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Toni Baker
making the jackfruit curry tonight for the First time, I've never had jackfruit so it'll be an experience, ill let you know how it goes
The Pesky Vegan
Good stuff, look forward to hearing how you get on!
Toni Baker
well I made it, the jackfruit was certainly different but I liked it, I also put sultanas in it, it really made it! im enjoying doing more n more meat free days. your site is really helpful, thanks.
The Pesky Vegan
Great to hear, glad you enjoyed it and that you're finding the site useful!
Annie
Absolutely top top recipe my tin of jackfruit was at the back of the pantry for 8 months I certainly didn’t want ‘pulled pork’ but this curry is a revelation thank you so much - jackfruit on the shopping list now!!!
The Pesky Vegan
Cheers for the review - glad you enjoyed!
Vicky
Delicious curry - great way to use jackfruit! Thanks 😊
The Pesky Vegan
Thanks for the review!
Dean
Made this for dinner tonight, fantastic recipe!
The Pesky Vegan
Glad you enjoyed, thanks for the review!
Sarah
Made this today for my (fussy) vegetarian teenager. It was delicious! My daughter went back for seconds, so definitely a winner. I added spinach as only had 1 tin of jackfruit. Next time we're going to try it with butternut squash and broccoli. Really , really lovely flavours, thank you 😊
The Pesky Vegan
Glad to hear the family enjoyed it, thanks for letting me know!
Bonnie Calanchini
This is an excellent recipe! I added chickpeas and served with rice. Easy to make and a big hit in our house!
The Pesky Vegan
Sounds great – thanks very much for the review Bonnie!
Jason
This recipe was absolutely phenomenal - one of the best dishes I've made! The flavors were wonderful and the creaminess of the curry was lovely. Will definitely be making this again soon, and it seems like the dish is versatile enough that the jackfruit could be replaced with another protein (e.g., chickpeas, tofu, or maybe lentils) if needed, though I did love the jackfruit in this dish.
The Pesky Vegan
Glad you enjoyed and thanks for leaving a review, much appreciated!
Veronika
Very tasty curry, I love jackfruit recipes. Thanks
The Pesky Vegan
Thanks Veronika, glad you enjoyed!
Wendy Beaman
Really enjoyed and easy to make.
Added some spinach and kale.
The Pesky Vegan
Good stuff, thanks very much for the review!
LBJ
Thanks for the recipe. Is there really no curry powder needed in this recipe? I just wanna make sure.
The Pesky Vegan
Hi there! That's right - the spices in this recipe (ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, turmeric etc.) are essentially the kind of things you would find in a store-bought curry powder blend. If you prefer, you could replace these ground spices with a similar amount of pre-made curry powder. Hope this helps!
Jo
Is it possible to make this curry without using coconut milk?
The Pesky Vegan
Hi there, yes you could replace the coconut milk with another tin of tomatoes and a little water or stock. You could also use something like homemade cashew cream in place of the coconut milk. Hope this helps!
Karen
spot on! - really enoyed this, thank you
The Pesky Vegan
Good stuff, thanks for the review!