Jackfruit Curry with Sweet Potatoes

A deliciously creamy jackfruit curry with sweet potatoes. An easy to make vegan and gluten-free curry that’s bursting with flavour!

This is a new addition to our curry rotation. We have curry at least once a week and we are loving this one! It’s packed with warm Indian spices, making it really tasty, but also suitable for the whole family.

This is such a great family-friendly vegan dinner. It’s creamy, tasty, filling and so easy to make. Jackfruit is perfect for adding to curry and the sweet potatoes really make this a rich and satisfying meal.

What Is Jackfruit?

If you’re vegan you probably already know all about jackfruit. If you’re new to a vegetarian or vegan diet then this is for you. Jackfruit grows in tropical areas of Southeast Asia, Brazil, and Africa. Its consistency is similar to chicken or pork, which has led to its popularity as a meat substitute. Young jackfruit has a fairly neutral taste so it takes on the flavour of whatever sauce or seasoning you pair it with. That is why most savoury recipes call for young jackfruit.

Why This Recipe Works

• Jackfruit is a great meat substitute, especially in curry!
• Indian spices bring great flavour to this curry but it is still suitable for the whole family, even the kids will love this!
• Vegan and gluten-free – this is a great vegan family dinner, easy to make and really tasty.
• Sweet Potatoes bring extra sweetness to this dish and bulk it up to make it a very satisfying meal. Just serve it with some rice and your favourite naan.

What You’ll Need

• Jackfruit – I use tinned young jackfruit for this curry. Look for young jackfruit canned in water. You can find it in most large supermarkets or in good health food stores.
• Sweet Potatoes – Two small sweet potatoes go a long way in this curry. Look for potatoes that feel heavy for their size and have no bruises, soft spots, or signs of sprouting.
• Bell Pepper – One small to medium green bell pepper.
• Onion – One medium brown onion, cut in half is all you’ll need here.
• Spices – The spices you will need are: cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, garam masala and curry powder.
• Aromatics – Garlic, ginger and red chilli pepper to bring the heat.
• Tomatoes – One tin of chopped/diced tomatoes, try and get good quality chopped tomatoes if you can.
• Coconut Milk – Full-fat coconut milk is best for this curry, it makes it really creamy!

How To Make Jackfruit Curry

1. Cook the onion until soft, it will need at least 2o minutes to be nice and soft. Add the garlic, ginger, and chopped chilli pepper, cook these for a minute or two until you smell start to smell the garlic.
2. Next, add the spices and cook for just a minute, until the spices release their aromas.
3. Add the sweet potatoes and the green pepper, give them a good stir and make sure they are covered in the spices. Now pour in the chopped tomatoes. Stir everything well then pop a lid on the pan and simmer over low heat until the sweet potatoes are almost tender.
4. Now add the jackfruit.
5. Carefully stir everything together.
6. Finally, pour in the coconut milk and simmer over low heat until the sauce is thick and creamy and the jackfruit is piping hot.

Watch How To Make It

Tips For Making The Best Jackfruit Curry

• Cook the onion until really soft but not overly browned. This can take at least 20 minutes but the longer you cook it the better.
• Young jackfruit can hold a lot of water, drain it, rinse it in cold running water then let it sit in a colander for the water to drain away.
• Don’t overcook jackfruit, it can turn a bit mushy when overcooked so be careful not to overcook it.
• Texture – I like the jackfruit in this curry to be more chunky but if you prefer the jackfruit to be more like a pulled consistency then shred the jackfruit with two forks once the curry is ready to serve.
• Coconut Milk – full-fat coconut milk makes this curry really creamy so make sure and go full-fat and, if you can, use a good quality coconut milk.
• Sweet potato – Try and cut the sweet potato into similar sized chunks, this will ensure all the sweet potatoes cook at the same time.
• Heat – I use a jalapeño chilli pepper to make this curry so it is mild enough for my family. If I’m serving this to adults and want to make it hotter I will use a couple of dried red chillies. If, like me, you just want to add heat for your portion, add some chopped red chilli or some dried red chilli flakes when you serve it.

How to Serve Jack fruit Curry and Variations

We serve this with basmati rice, coriander and naan. It’s great with brown rice or quinoa too. There are a lot of ways to switch this curry up, chickpeas are a great addition as is spinach. You could also use regular potatoes instead of sweet but the cooking time will be longer.

FAQs

Does jackfruit taste like meat? Young jackfruit has a mostly neutral flavour. It has a stringy consistency which is similar to pulled pork but on its own, it does not taste like meat.

Where can I buy jackfruit?  I recommend you buy canned young jackfruit. You may find it hard to buy the whole jackfruit outside of South East Asia where it originates from. Due to its recent popularity most large supermarkets now stock canned jackfruit.

What about leftovers, can I freeze this curry? Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat leftovers on the hob until the curry is piping hot. If you need to you can also freeze this. Leave it to cool then place it in a freezer-safe container. It will last for up to 3 months. To defrost, leave it in the fridge overnight then reheat on the hob.

Need More Vegan Curry Ideas?

• Mushroom Curry 
• Butternut Squash & Chickpea Curry
• Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry
• Thai Red Curry with Tofu

Jackfruit Curry

A deliciously creamy jackfruit curry with sweet potatoes. An easy vegan and gluten-free curry that's bursting with flavour!

 

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Fusion, Indian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Michelle Alston

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium brown onion cut in half then sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 5cm piece of ginger peeled then finely grated
• 1 red chilli pepper I used a jalapeño chilli pepper, use 2 dried red chillies if you want it hotter.
• 1 heaped tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp medium curry powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 medium green bell pepper/capsicum pith and seeds removed and cut into chunks
• 2 small sweet potatoes (300g or 2+1/4 cup) peeled then cut into cubes of equal size.
• 1 x 400g can chopped/diced tomatoes (1 x 14.5oz can)
• 1 x 400g can of young jackfruit in water (1 x 20oz can) drained, rinsed then left in a colander to drain any excess water.
• 1 x 400g can coconut milk full-fat is best.

For serving

• Rice, coriander/cilantro leaves and naan

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a saute pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the sliced onion with 1/2 a teaspoon of sea salt and cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and golden. This will take at least 20 minutes.

  Stir often to ensure the onion doesn't burn.
• Once the onion is soft and golden add the garlic, ginger and chilli pepper. Cook for a minute or two until they release their aroma. Be careful not to let them burn.

  Next add the spices - (1 heaped tsp turmeric, 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds, 1.5 tsp cumin seeds, 1.5 tsp medium curry powder, 1.5 tsp garam masala). Stir well and cook just until they release their aromas, about a minute.
• Now add the chopped sweet potatoes and the bell pepper. Stir well making sure they are both covered in the spice mixture. Add 1/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper.

  Pour in a can of chopped/diced tomatoes. Pour about 1/4 cup of water into the can, give it a swirl then add that to the pan and stir everything together.

  Pop the lid on the pan and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are almost tender.
• Cut the jackfruit into bitesize pieces, remove any seeds and then add it to the sauce.

  Pour in the coconut milk and stir gently. Check the seasoning and add more salt if you feel you need it.

  Simmer for about 10 minutes until the jackfruit is piping hot, the sweet potatoes are soft and the sauce is thick.

  Serve with rice, a sprinkling of coriander/cilantro leaves ad naan.

Notes

• Jackfruit - Make sure and but the young jackfruit that is canned in water. Jackfruit canned in syrup is sweeter and not suitable for this curry. Young jackfruit can hold a lot of water, so drain it, rinse it in cold running water then let it sit in a colander for the excess water to drain away.
• Cooking Jackfruit - jackfruit can turn a bit mushy when overcooked so be careful not to overcook it. The same applies to the sweet potatoes.
• Onion- Cook the onion until it is really soft and golden, but not overly browned. This can take at least 20 minutes.
• Sweet Potatoes - Try and cut the sweet potato into similar sized chunks, this will ensure all the sweet potatoes cook at the same time.
• Coconut Milk - Full-fat coconut milk makes this curry really creamy so make sure and go full-fat and, if you can, use a good quality coconut milk.
• Texture - I like the jackfruit in this curry to be chunky but if you prefer the jackfruit to be more of a pulled consistency then shred the jackfruit with two forks once the curry is ready to serve.
• Heat -I use a jalapeño chilli pepper to make this curry so it is mild enough for my family. If I'm serving this to adults and want to make it hotter I will use a couple of dried red chillies. If, like me, you just want to add heat for your portion, add some chopped red chilli or some dried red chilli flakes when you serve it.
• Storing/freezing - Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat leftovers on the hob until the curry is piping hot. If you need to you can also freeze this. Leave it to cool then place it in a freezer-safe container. It will last for up to 3 months. To defrost, leave it in the fridge overnight then reheat on the hob.
• Nutritional Information - is calculated using an online nutrition tool and is approximate. It does not include rice or naan.
• Measurements - I weigh all my ingredients using an electric scale, all measurements are metric. Cup measurements are approximate.

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