This easy, one-dish Thai Coconut Curry White Fish recipe is fool-proof to prepare and full of fresh, bright flavors: basil, lime, coconut milk, and curry.
When I eat at Thai restaurants, I’m always so impressed with the beautiful presentation, the enticing aromas, and all of the complex flavors of the dishes.
Thai dishes often feature a wide variety of different veggies, greens, and fresh herbs, so I know that there’s a ton of nutrition involved in this type of cuisine too.
So I definitely wanted to start experimenting with some Thai-inspired dishes at home, but I did want to start with ingredients that feel familiar and approachable…
A simple one-dish dinner that’s easy to cook on a weeknight and fool-proof to prepare.
I ended up with this easy Thai coconut curry white fish that’s made with fresh, crisp veggies like bell pepper, carrots, and green onions.
And topped with a curry sauce that’s filled with the bright, subtle flavors of lime, garlic, coconut milk, curry powder, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Simple as it is to throw together, this dish looks pretty impressive because of all of the bright, vivid colors.
And the rich aroma of the curry sauce, warm from the oven, is very enticing too.
Just toss the ingredients into a baking dish, cook it in the oven, serve it over white rice (which really soaks up all of the yummy coconut curry sauce), and you’ve got something unique and healthy for dinner that’s also easy to pull off!
Here’s the recipe for Easy Thai Coconut Curry White Fish:
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Easy Thai: Coconut Curry White Fish
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Fish & Seafood Dish
- Cuisine: Asian Inspired
Description
This easy, one-dish Thai Coconut Curry White Fish recipe is fool-proof to prepare and full of fresh, bright flavors: basil, lime, coconut milk, and curry.
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil (or substitute other neutral oil such as almond oil or organic canola oil)
- 1 lime, freshly squeezed
- 1 Tablespoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 4 green onions (scallions), chopped
- 1 pound wild-caught, certified sustainable cod (or other white fish such as haddock or halibut), cut into four equally sized portions
- 1/4 cup basil, chopped
- Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- To a medium baking dish, add the garlic, coconut milk, oil, lime juice, curry powder, and crushed red pepper flakes. Season thoroughly with salt, and whisk ingredients until sauce is well combined.
- Add the bell pepper, carrots, and green onions, and season thoroughly with salt. Stir until vegetables are well coated with sauce and evenly distributed through the dish.
- Cover the baking dish and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove dish from oven and carefully remove cover. Season the fish with salt, and nestle each piece of fish into the baking dish so that no two pieces of fish are overlapping.
- Cover the baking dish and cook for about 15-18 minutes longer, or until fish is flaky, white, and opaque through the center.
- Transfer fish to serving plates and add heaping spoonfuls of vegetables and coconut curry sauce. Top with chopped basil. Serve over rice.
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Wow… beautiful presentation. This looks delicious!!
This coconut curry looks so delicious, I hope I can sub in some fried tofu in this 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Absolutely you can, that’s a great idea:)
Love this recipe! Thanks!
Author
That’s great! Thanks so much for your note 🙂
Would recipe steps be the same if I used SOLE as the fish
Author
I’ve never tried this recipe with sole, so I can’t provide an exact cooking time. But yes, I think the flavors would work well.
This recipe was DELICIOUS and soooo easy! I will definitely be making it again. Thanks Jen!
Author
That’s wonderful, thanks so much for your note 🙂
Hi! I came across your great recipe (love the step-by-step pics too) and did mine in Le Creuset as all my pans for the oven were in use! The only changes I made were:
1 cup lite coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut flakes (from my sister who had some in her freezer)
1 tbl spoon of coconut oil
3 tbl spoons curry powder
(all of above I mixed with garlic + lime juice separate after veggies cooked in Le Creuset on medium;
1/2 red + 1/4 yellow + 1/4 orange + 1/4 green pepper (with carrots, and green onions)
In the meantime:
thin cod fish filets broiled for 6 – 10 minutes
shrimp pan fried in pan for a minute on each side
and then thrown into sauce and veggies simmering on low to thicken gravy)
My hubby thought it was fantastic (and I did too) and was shocked I didn’t add tomatoes as I like to add tomatoes to everything. I didn’t want to ruin the beautiful curry colour 🙂
And I finished with cilantro on to!
Thank you so much!!
Author
Your modifications sound fantastic! Thanks so much for sending such a nice note to review the recipe 🙂
This looks so so yummy! I’m so happy I found this, and your website. I just started a pescatarian diet, and I’ve always ordered/made curry with chicken so I had no idea I could also have it with fish. So excited to try this tonight, but I’m going to try making it on the stove top so wish me luck! P.S I am also from Boston, well the suburbs, its always fun finding a blogger from Boston 🙂
Well take it from someone who can beerly find the kitchen, that this is a wonderful recipe. I cooked for my family and guests and everybody loved this dish which smells and looks delightful
Many Thanks
Jerry
Great recipe! Really easy to make. For some reason, my fish took over 30 min to cook, but that might be something to do with the oven.
The dish tasted delicious though! Thank you very much for this lovely recipe and such clear, precise instructions and wonderful illustrations!
I made this dish it was delicious and it came out mirror image kudos to the chef from the chef
I make this regularly. Sometimes I use more coconut milk so I don’t waste the can. I use less oil, maybe about half as much.
I also use freeze-dried basil. Easy and delicious.
I love this recipe! I use it regularly and my husband and I always love it! I use the whole can of coconut milk and leave it to cook for longer and it is delicious. Also, I use Thai green curry paste and it is to die for! I can’t recommend this recipe enough. Thank you scrumptious pumpkin 🙂
That’s great, I’m so glad you’re happy with this recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to send a note! 🙂
Made this last night, and it was delicious. We’ve been trying to eat a bit healthier, so I used low-fat coconut milk and cut the oil down to about a tablespoon. We’re not carrot fans, so I subbed an orange bell pepper so we could still have that amazing color. Also sprinkled with chopped cilantro instead of basil since that’s what I had on hand. The red pepper flakes add a ton of flavor to the dish. Such a delicious, beautiful meal but quick and easy for a weeknight. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for the recipe…what’s the calorie count on the finished dish?
Author
I use the VeryWellFit recipe nutrition calculator to get estimated/approximate nutrition info. According to the calculator, this recipe has about 345 calories per serving – hope this helps 😄
this was really tasty! will defintley be making it again but might use coconut crem next time to give a thicker sauce
Author
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for your note😄
Excellent
Author
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks so much! 😄
Can I switch out the white fish for salmon
Author
Hi Toni, I’ve never tried this recipe with salmon but, yes, I think it would work well with the coconut curry flavors. If you do decide to try it, let me know how it works out for you!😄👍
Hi,
Can I sub in broccoli instead of carrots?
Author
Hi Justine,
Broccoli WILL change the flavor of the dish. Carrots add a subtler, sweeter flavor. But if you love broccoli or that’s what you have on hand, why not give it a try. I’ve never tried it, but my guess is that fresh, small florets should cook evenly along with the bell pepper.💕
This is easy, delicious and in a constant in our meal rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Author
I’m so glad this one has worked so well for you. Thank you for writing!❤️
This recipe was great, definitely a keeper. Very easy, on-hand ingredients except for the fish. Tasty and easy to digest. My husband that does not like fish loved it. I did leave out the peppers because I don’t like them and added extra carrots.
Author
Thank you for you review, I’m glad it worked out so great for you😄
Hi Jen,
I made this today with one small change. Instead of using curry powder, I used mild green curry paste. It was amazing! Everyone ate up their portion and I was told that I could make it again. A winner.
Author
That substitution sounds delish! Thanks so much for your review 🙂
Recipe was killer and will make again, kids had seconds. I made it with flounder last minute so didn’t have bell pepper or basil. I added frozen peas at the end when I took it out of the oven and topped with cilantro cause that’s all I had. Everything else I followed and was delicious.
Author
Cilantro sounds perfect for this one, glad everyone in the family was happy with it!
Solid, yummy recipe! I just made a few changes. First I doubled up the garlic. I used coconut oil instead of sunflower and added about a tablespoon of Lee Kum Lee Coconut Curry sauce. It came out good but something was still missing and the lime was a bit too prominent.
Luckily as a side I made Spicy Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce (from Allrecipes.com), which was a bit too salty. Chocolate in Peanut butter moment as, instead of a side, I spooned it directly atop the finished fish. Oh damn! What was originally two really good dishes became one incredible, make you want to drink the sauce, I’ll probably dream about it delight LOL.
Thanks so much for the recipe, it will go in permanent rotation. Blessings.
Author
Blessings 💕💕
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
So yummy and easy! I did add some coconut flakes to my sauce and used mixed sweet red, yellow and green pepper. The flavor was outstanding.
Author
Happy you were pleased, thanks so much!☺️
I had the pleasure of discovering this recipe 4 years ago, and I have made it countless times since. I have also shared it with my parents, siblings and several friends, and they all love it. I have served this to kids that take pride in not liking fish, and they’ve asked for seconds. I have also tried with pollack, cod, tilapia and other white fish, and the all work.
The only change I have made to the recipe is to add the full can (1 1/2 cup) of coconut milk.
Big thanks to Jen for this! 🙂
Cheers from Norway
Kjetil “Chet” S.
Author
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a kind review! I’m happy you’ve found great luck with this recipe.☺️
This recipe was so good!! We just finished it and are so impressed. The only change I made was to reduce the oil by half and I couldn’t find any fresh basil, so had to omit that, but it was still incredible!! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Author
Thank you so much! Yes, definitely give it a try with the basil next time – it adds another layer of fresh flavor to contrast with the creamy coconut!💗
“1 pound wild-caught, certified sustainable cod”. Insane! We want to read your recipe, not your politics!
Author
My desire for animals to live free from pain and suffering comes from my heart, not a political affiliation. But as a side note, I celebrate living in a country that respects freedom of speech. I love food and gardening, and I’m happy to share my favorite ingredients on my personal blog. Imagine a world where we listen to and honor one another’s perspectives (and even try to learn from them and expand our own minds).