Green Curry Paste
When you make this green curry paste at home, you can control the level of spice to your tastes and still have superior flavor. It’s east to make ahead and keep it in your freezer for later!

Why I Love To Make My Own Green Curry Paste
First, the flavor is unbeatable! The fresh ingredients used in the paste bursts with bright heat, citrusy zing, and herb-forward aroma that packaged jars just can’t come close. Because you’re choosing each ingredient, you control everything—so the end result tastes exactly the way you like it.
Second, it’s a weeknight dinner lifesaver. One batch yields enough paste for several meals. Portion it and store in the freezer for the times when you will need dinner fast. Just make sure to pull it out the night before and thaw in the refrigerator and it will be ready for you to make some green chicken curry the next day!
Third, you can control for allergies! If you have a shellfish or another allergy, you can substitute or omit ingredients easily.
Finally, making it yourself is surprisingly simple and budget-friendly. Most of the ingredients are inexpensive at Asian markets and keep well in the refrigerator. Ten minutes of prep delivers restaurant-quality flavor that elevates anything you make.
Key Ingredients To Make Sure To Get
Just about all of the ingredients here are quite important, but you can play around with a couple substitutions if needed. I highly recommend that you go to an Asian market to find most of these ingredients and they are key flavors:
- Thai chili peppers
- Thai basil (or holy basil)
- Galangal root
- Lemongrass stalks (yes, you can use jarred lemongrass in a pinch, make sure it’s stalks in water)
- Cilantro (important to flavor, try not to substitute)
- Shrimp paste (very important but should omit for allergies)
What is Galangal Root?
Galangal root is an important part of the green curry paste, but unfortunately, it’s not easy to locate at most stores. If you are having a hard time finding it, use ginger root instead, and increase the lime zest slightly. Galangal is milder than ginger, so you can use slightly less or keep it the same amount if you enjoy the taste of ginger.
How to Make Green Curry Paste
- Making it is as easy as pulsing it in a blender!
- I do want to mention that this is a paste, so it will require you to stop often and scrape sides and bottom to mix ingredients.
- It will also take a few pulses to get everything nicely blende.
Using a Mortar and Pestle to Make Curry Paste:
Although the original curry pastes use a mortar and pestle to grind all of the ingredients into a paste, I know it’s unrealistic to expect people to regularly prepare pastes like that at this day and age. If you have the energy and the will, it is recommended that you grind the paste by hand. The flavor and aroma will be much more enhanced.
Realistically, I recommend using your blender or food processor to save yourself some time and effort.
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Green Curry Paste Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-6 green Thai chili peppers add a couple more if you want spicier
- 1 poblano pepper*
- 1 inch galangal root
- 3 limes – zest only
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup Thai basil leaves
- 2 shallots
- 3 lemongrass stalks, white only
- 3 scallion stalks
- 5-6 cilantro stems
- 1 tsp shrimp paste**
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 tsp white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Tip for working with spicy peppers: Always remember to wear gloves when working with spicy peppers, and don’t touch yourself or anyone else!
- Chop ingredients as much as you can and place them into a blender. Make sure your blender is powerful or it will have a hard time making smooth paste.
- Pulse to blend all the ingredients until smooth paste forms. Scrape sides and bottom of the blender when needed. (You may need to start and stop a few times to mix ingredients.)
Storing:
- Store the curry paste in an air-tight glass container with a lid, in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Freezing:
- You can also freeze it to keep for several months! I love to make a double batch and portion it out into about 1/3-1/2 cup servings and freeze it. Make sure to freezer it in air-tight freezer bags or containers. To thaw, do it slowly in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
More Thai Recipes To Make At Home
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I love this curry!