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    Green Curry Salmon

    April 10, 2023

    Homemade green curry isn’t just for dining out. This green curry salmon recipe is fresh and flavorful, and totally satisfying and you can totally make it at home!

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    homemade green curry salmon in a large pot made with coconut milk, lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, peppers and onions
    Photography by Gayle McLeod

    Coconut Curry Salmon: Healthy, Fast, Simple

    This salmon curry recipe hits the spot. Salmon is loaded with fatty acids (brain food), and the curry is full of Thai flavors, bright herbs, and a creamy, coconut broth. You can serve the green curry salmon over a bed of cauliflower rice if you want to keep the carbs low, or serve with simple steamed rice—brown or white are both great. And if salmon isn’t your thing, you can even make this green curry recipe using a white fish, like halibut or sea bass. In other words, take our green curry salmon recipe and feel free to make it your own—be adventurous! We’re just here for the tasty and healthy recipe ideas!!

    homemade green curry salmon in a large pot made with coconut milk, lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, peppers and onions

    Ingredient Spotlight: Green Curry Paste

    Yes, in a perfect world we would make green curry paste from scratch. Fortunately, there is really tasty store-bought green curry paste available. Thai green curry paste is often a blend of some or all of the following ingredients: green chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal (which is closely related to ginger and turmeric, and has a flavor similar to lemongrass), lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, coriander, cumin seeds, white peppercorns, shrimp paste and salt (thanks Wikipedia!). Thai green curry (kaeng khiao wan) offers a balance of chili pepper heat and cooling creamy coconut milk that the spicy, fragrant paste is mixed with to make a coconut curry broth. We think that it does matter which green curry paste you use, because there is quite a variety in taste across brands. We really love Mae Ploy green curry paste for store-bought, but if you’ve got your own favorite (or homemade), feel free to use it!

    salmon, peppers, onions, rice, fish sauce, green curry paste, lime juice, coconut milk and ginger in prep bowls

    What’s In Green Curry Salmon?

    You know that you’ll need salmon—four skinned salmon filets for our recipe—and green curry paste. And not much else! Here’s everything you’ll need to make green curry salmon:

    • Coconut milk (we love to use full-fat coconut milk here for a rich and creamy base)

    • Green curry paste

    • Lime

    • Ginger

    • Fish sauce

    • Sweet onion

    • Bell pepper

    • Scallions

    • Fresh cilantro

    • Red pepper flakes

    4 (4 ounce) raw salmon fillets on a baking sheet seasoned with salt and pepper
    coconut milk, curry paste, lime juice, ginger, and fish sauce in a large pot to make green curry salmon
    coconut milk, curry paste, lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, peppers and onions in a large pot
    coconut milk, curry paste, lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, peppers, onions and salmon in a large pot

    How To Make Green Curry Salmon

    If you’ve never made green curry at home before, you’ll be delighted by how easy it is to whip up for your next meal.

    1. Warm the green curry paste and coconut milk, whisking to combine.

    2. Pour in lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, onions and peppers and simmer.

    3. Gently lay salmon—seasoned with salt and pepper—into the simmering curry.

    4. Transfer the pan to the oven to cook for another 10 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through (but not overcooked).

    5. Serve piping hot, with sliced lime wedges, green onions, cilantro and red pepper flakes for garnish, over rice or cauliflower rice.

    homemade green curry salmon in a large pot made with coconut milk, lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, peppers and onions
    homemade green curry salmon in a large pot made with coconut milk, lime juice, ginger, fish sauce, peppers and onions

    Tools You’ll Need:

    More Coconut Curry Recipes

    Now is the best time to be making all of the coconut curry recipes—it’s creamy, warming and so healthy. We can’t get enough, as evidenced by our roster of recipes:

    homemade green curry salmon served on top of white rice garnished with green onions, cilantro and red pepper flakes

    To Your Health!

    Try this easy salmon curry, and let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

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    Green Curry Salmon

    Updated on April 10, 2023

    • Serves:  4
    • Prep Time:  15 min
    • Cook Time:  20 min
    • Calories:  348
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    Ingredients

    • 4 (4-ounce) salmon fillets, skin removed
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt
    • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
    • 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk, shaken
    • 1 tablespoon green curry paste
    • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
    • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
    • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
    • 1 small sweet onion, sliced into ½-inch-thick half rounds
    • 1 red bell pepper, cut into ½-inch-thick strips
    • 1 green bell pepper, cut into ½-inch-thick strips
    • Cooked rice, for serving
    • 4 green onions, thinly sliced, for serving
    • Fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving
    • Red pepper flakes, for serving

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 375° F with a rack in the center position.

    2. Season the salmon all over with the salt and pepper.

    3. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the coconut milk, curry paste, lime juice, ginger, and fish sauce; whisk to combine. Add in the onion half rounds and pepper strips and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the peppers and onions begin to soften.

    4. Nestle in the salmon and bake in the oven until the salmon flakes easily with a fork, 10-12 minutes.

    5. Serve the salmon over rice. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, and red pepper flakes.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 348
    • Protein 35 g
    • Carbohydrates 24 g
    • Total Fat 12 g
    • Dietary Fiber 9 g
    • Cholesterol 65 mg
    • sodium 746 mg
    • Total Sugars 10 g

    Green Curry Salmon

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Lisa

      Any sub for the fish sauce?

      You can just leave it out. Hope you enjoy Lisa!

    • Meg

      To what internal temperature do you cook the salmon? It's too squishy for me at 125*F as is recommended by many, but I don't want it hard and dried out, either. Does the sauce help keep the salmon moist? TY

      You can cook it to 145. Yes the curry should help keep it moist and if you don't cook it over 145 it shouldn't dry out. Hope you enjoy Meg!

    • Linh

      Hi, when we bake in the oven do we put the lid on? Thank you and great recipe!!!

      No lid needed. Hope you enjoy Linh!

    • Jacky

      Can this be frozen? Would you make sauce and leave salmon raw and freeze like that? Defrost before you cook?
      Thanks

      Freeze the sauce and salmon separately so you don't run the risk of overcooking your salmon once reheating. Hope you enjoy Jacky!

    • Catherine

      What brand do you recommend for the green curry paste? For some reason I'm not seeing the name and while it looks like there should be a hyperlink I'm not showing it linked properly

      I always use Mae Ploy.

    • Evelina

      This recipe just wasnt it it fell flat, even with fresh Alaskan sockeye salmon. I followed the recipe as written and I had to do some doctoring up. I added brown sugar, chicken broth, more lime and more spices. Maybe it was the green curry I used, I dont know.

      We love Mae Ploy curry pastes!

    • Karen

      Really, really good and very easy! I love Thai-style curries, but in recent years have not been able to tolerate any heatthe one tablespoon in this recipe was perfect in that it gave the curry the flavor, but no heat. The rest of my family added hot peppers and chili oil to their bowls, and everyone was happy! I followed the recipe closely, just subbing bok choy for the green bell pepper because that was what I had on hand and adding a bit of garlic because I like it. Served over brown jasmine ricethis was a winner and will definitely go into our meal rotation. Thank you!

      Thanks Karen, so glad you liked it!

    • Lisa

      Didn't have fish sauce, so used coconut aminos. Also, only simmered the onion in the sauce since I had some sauteed peppers and mushrooms that I added when it was plated. Served with Mahatma cilantro lime jasmine rice and some green beans. Baked for 15 minutes and was perfectly done. My husband kept saying "this is so good"! The only thing is I wish the sauce was a bit thicker. Might be from using organic coconut milk, which doesn't have any gums in it.

      Thanks Lisa, we are so glad you both loved it!

    • Daea

      Awesome recipe, thank you

      Thanks Daea, we are so glad you loved it!

    • Deb

      This was love at first bite! Made this last week and tonight I made it again and it’s delicious and so quick and easy to make. Definitely going into my regular rotation.

      Thanks Deb, we are so glad you loved it!