Green Curry Beans and Greens

By Kristina Felix

Published March 17, 2026

  • Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
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Ready In
30 min
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Store-bought Thai curry paste is a delicious convenience that can be further enhanced with just a few fresh ingredients. In this recipe, it’s freshened up with serrano, ginger and garlic, then simmered with coconut milk and creamy butter beans. Baby spinach gets stirred in at the end, but you can use baby kale too — just cook it until it wilts. Serve the curry over rice or spoon it onto flour tortillas and eat it as a burrito. Use as much serrano as you’d like or remove the seeds before mincing to suit your tolerance for heat.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 or 2 serrano chiles, stem removed

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as avocado

  • ½ cup green curry paste (4 ounces)

  • 1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, preferably gum-free

  • 2 (15-ounce) cans white beans, such as butter or cannellini, drained

  • 1 bunch basil (preferably Thai, if available; about 4 ounces)

  • 1 (5-ounce) container baby spinach

  • Salt

  • Cooked white rice or flour tortillas, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat a deep 12-inch cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium while you mince the serrano chile (seeds included), garlic and ginger together to make a chunky paste.

  2. Step 2

    Add the oil to the skillet along with the serrano, garlic and ginger and the curry paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the paste is very fragrant, about 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the coconut milk, then fill the coconut milk can with water and pour it into the skillet. Add the beans and turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, mash half of the beans and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the curry thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. 

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, pluck the basil leaves off of the stems. Stack half of the leaves and thinly slice into ribbons, leaving the rest whole.

  5. Step 5

    Stir the spinach and whole basil leaves into the skillet and simmer until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste for salt. 

  6. Step 6

    Ladle into bowls over rice or on a flour tortilla like a burrito, and serve topped with basil ribbons.

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