Vegan Thai-Inspired Meal Prep

This Vegan Thai Meal Prep blog features 4 vibrant vegan Thai-inspired recipes that are perfect for making ahead for the week or for creating an epic Thai feast that your friends and family will love. Make sure to watch the video below for visual references and don’t forget to scroll down for the written recipes!

Why Should You Meal Prep?

Meal prepping is a great way to help you save time cooking in the kitchen during the week, it can save you money and prevent you from ordering take out 8 times in a week– which can help your wallet and also with weight loss! Cooking nutritious, balanced meals at home means you know exactly what’s going into your food, and you’re more likely to eat food that you’ve lovingly prepared instead of let it go to waste.

Also, if you’re new to eating plant-based, meal-prepping can help you stick to a plant-based diet! If you’re looking for a craveable week of flavourful comfort food, this Thai-inspired vegan meal prep will be a game-changer. From creamy yellow curry to hearty, fragrant basil fried rice, to bright and tangy papaya salad, this Thai feast will give you tons of meals for the week to keep you satisfied and fuelled without breaking the bank, or splurging on calories.

Why Thai-Inspired?

I truly appreciate Thai cuisine and all its wonderful, bold flavours. The liberal use of fragrant, fresh herbs, vegetables, fruits and bold spices offers so much variety in the delicious meals you can create. There are so many incredible vegetarian and vegan-friendly Thai recipes that are not only budget-conscious, but packed with tons of fresh veggies, plant-based proteins and herbs. This meal prep only scratches the surface of some of the best plant-based Thai dishes with a plant-based spin, but I think you’ll love each of them for what they bring to the table (pun-intended)!

What’s On the Menu?

Here’s a quick rundown of the funky fresh recipes you’ll be prepping:

• Thai Yellow Curry: a rich and creamy curry with loads of veggies and tofu.
• Vegan Chick’n Satay: a plant-based spin on the classic using Soy Curls, with a spicy peanut sauce.
• Thai Basil Fried Rice: a veggie packed fried rice with lots of fragrant Thai basil.
• Papaya Salad: fresh papaya, green beans, carrots and tomatoes in a sweet, spicy and tangy sauce.

Shopping List

Most of the ingredients in this meal prep can be found at your local Asian supermarket. If you’re lucky enough to have several asian markets to choose from, try and shop at a Vietnamese or Thai supermarket as you’ll have better luck at finding certain ingredients than at a Chinese or Korean market.

• Produce: Garlic, green onions, red & green bell peppers, Thai basil, limes, cilantro, shallot, Thai red chilis, green papaya, carrot, green beans, cherry tomatoes,
• Pantry Staples: Coconut milk, peanuts, peanut butter, leftover cooked white rice
• Seasonings and Spices: Coconut oil, yellow Thai curry paste, coconut sugar, tamari, kaffir lime leaves, garlic powder, rice vinegar, maple syrup, hoisin sauce, soy sauce/tamari,
• Vegan Substitutes & Proteins: Extra firm tofu, soy curls, tempeh, shelled edamame

Order of Prep

1. Make the Thai Yellow Curry. In the meantime, rehydrate the soy curls for the Chick’n Satay.
2. Marinate the soy curls in the coconut curry sauce for 30 minutes; in the meantime, make the Thai Basil Fried Rice.
3. Air fry or bake the marinated soy curls, and make the peanut satay sauce on the stove.
4. Prepare the dressing and chop all the veggies for the Papaya Salad; assemble.

Thai Yellow Curry

I’ve never met a Thai curry that I didn’t like. Yellow, red, green… they’re all delightfully unique in their flavour profiles. What I particularly like about yellow Thai curry is the more pronounced flavours of lemongrass, ginger, and turmeric, plus it’s such a gorgeous colour!

1. Toss the cubed tofu in a large mixing bowl with ½ tbsp oil and a pinch of salt, then transfer to an air fryer basket. Air fry for 20 minutes until golden and slightly crispy, then set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat a deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp coconut oil and then add the yellow curry paste and garlic, and mix with a spatula until well combined into a slightly thinner paste.
3. Add half the can of coconut milk. Stir well, so that the paste is completely mixed with the coconut milk. Then add the remaining coconut milk, peanut butter, coconut sugar, soy sauce and stir well.
4. Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, chopped veggies and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a moderate boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are slightly tender.
5. Add the air fried tofu pieces, and half of the Thai Basil leaves and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add lime juice. Taste and add salt if needed. Garnish with the remaining basil leaves, and crushed peanuts. Enjoy over jasmine or white basmati rice.

TIP: Many Thai curry pastes contain shrimp or anchovy paste so it’s important to look at the ingredients list to ensure it’s vegan. If you can’t find a yellow curry paste that’s not vegan, green or red Thai curry pastes will work just fine for this recipe.

Soy Curl Chick’n Satay

Typically a dish consisting of grilled meats on a skewer that is served with a spicy peanut sauce, we are putting a deconstructed and plant-based spin on this super flavourful combo! To make this more meal-prep friendly we are skipping the skewers. Soy curls are a fabulous plant-based chicken alternative and paired with the satay sauce make a craveable snack, side dish or appetizer.

1. Place the rehydrated soy curls in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl mix the coconut milk, thai curry paste, coconut sugar, soy sauce, garlic and salt. Drizzle over the soy curls, toss to coat and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, add the peanut sauce ingredients in a pan and simmer for a few minutes until thickened. Add a touch more water if you want it a little runnier. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
4. Preheat your oven or air fryer oven to 400F, and line a baking tray with parchment plus a light spritz of oil, or lightly oil the air fryer basket,. Place the soy curl pieces in the air fryer basket.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 mins, turning halfway, until golden around the edges and crispy, OR air fry for 20 minutes until golden and crispy, turning halfway. TIP: Be sure to pour over any remaining marinade over the soy curls before flipping.
6. Sprinkle with some fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts and peanut sauce!

TIP:  Peanuts and peanut butter are commonly used in many Thai recipes, but if you have a peanut allergy you can swap out peanuts/peanut butter for cashews/cashew butter or sunflower seeds/sunflower butter. The flavour of the dish will be slightly different but still very yummy.

Thai Basil Fried Rice

Thai Basil Fried Rice is one of my favourite things to order at Thai restaurants. It’s so flavourful, fragrant, spicy, salty and packed with veggies and Thai Basil. Plus it’s so easy to make! Make sure you use day-old leftover cooked rice when making fried rice as it’s drier and breaks apart easily in the pan, opposed to fresh cooked rice which will be sticky and clumpy.

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and break apart the day old rice. Heat a large pan or wok with 1 tbsp oil. Saute the shallot for a couple minutes and then add in the garlic and minced red chilis, sautéing until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Add bell peppers and protein of choice and cook until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add half of the basil, roughly tearing the leaves with your hands.
3. Add the tomato and the day old rice, then pour over the liquid seasonings. Mix well, taste, and feel free to add more of the seasonings if desired.
4. Add the rest of the basil and mix into the rice until wilted. Serve the rice and enjoy while hot!

TIP: Thai basil is a staple in Thai cuisine as it has a more fragrant, spicy, licoricey flavour that differs from regular Italian basil, which is sweeter and milder. Definitely try to find Thai basil if you can for this recipe!

Payaya Salad

Traditional Thai Papaya Salad is a sweet and tangy dish that uses unripe, young green papayas as they are crunchy, mild in flavour and pair well with the textures of the other vegetables in the salad. This version of papaya salad uses a ripe papaya that is thinly sliced, which offers a slightly sweeter flavour and juicier texture. Both versions are delicious in their own right, so you decide which one you want to make! Crunchy or soft 😊

TIP 1: Most traditional Thai papaya salad calls for green, unripe papaya, not the ripe orange ones. It’s important to get green if you want a crunchy salad as they are hard, firm and crunchy which makes shredding them easier. If you can’t find green papaya some other alternatives you could try are chayote squash, daikon radish, or green apples. If opting for a ripe papaya, find one that is more light green with lots of yellow on the skin; brown spots indicate it’s overripe.

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
2. Prepare the papaya one of two ways: Slice off the top and bottom of the papaya and peel off the green skin. 1) if opting for a crunchy salad, use either a julienne peeler, box grater, or food processor with shredding blade, and shred the papaya into medium shreds. 2) If opting for a softer, juicier salad, cut the ripe papaya flesh into chunks or thin slices.
3. Add the papaya into a large mixing bowl with all remaining salad ingredients and toss to combine. Pour over the dressing and toss once more to combine. Best serve chilled.

TIP 2: To make this salad more meal-prep friendly, keep the salad and dressing separate until ready to eat to prevent it from getting soggy in the fridge. When serving, add a couple tablespoons of the dressing to the salad for each individual portion served.

It’s Always a Good Time for Thai

If you digged any of these Thai-inspired high-protein vegan recipes you might love some of my other vegan meal preps like my Greek Meal Prep, Lebanese Meal Prep, Hawaiian Meal Prep, or Italian Meal Prep! Don’t forget to also try out my Vegan Pad Thai!

Lastly, if you made any of these recipes and decide to share them on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @SteamyVegan and use hashtag #SteamyVegan! I seriously love seeing what you’re cooking up! Plus make sure to check me out on YouTube — I have HUNDREDS of videos to give you limitless plant-based inspiration!