Super easy, versatile yogurt curry dip with only 3 essential ingredients, and tons of concentrated flavor! A kid-friendly, adult-friendly, crowd-favorite dip for entertaining and game day snacking!
Recipe highlights
- Super easy to make curry dip with so much flavor!
- Just three essential ingredients, and you can add a few extra for more flavor IF you like.
- Very versatile dip! You can use other curry flavors too.
- Guaranteed crowd favorite for game day and parties, but also great to keep as a healthy snack to eat, whenever.
Ingredients (and substitutions)
- Greek yogurt (or Labneh)
- Good quality green curry paste
- Coconut milk or vegetable oil
Optional ingredients
- Spring onions
- Cilantro
- Thai basil
Yogurt substitutions and vegan options
- I use Greek yogurt because it’s easy to find and has a lovely, thick consistency. But I do love using labneh for this curry dip as well, because labneh is thicker in consistency. Either option is fine.
- If you do want a thicker dip, BUT you only have Greek yogurt – you can thicken the Greek yogurt as well.
- You can also use sour cream as a substitute.
- A hummus base will also work REALLY well in this recipe, if you want to keep the curry dip vegan or dairy free. But make sure the curry paste is also vegan.
Green curry brands and substitutions
While I’m using green curry paste for this recipe, you can use other curry pastes as well. The curry paste should be,
- Very flavorful / concentrated. If you have to add a lot to get the flavor, then it will make the dip runny.
- A paste OR a dry mix. A sauce will generally not be as flavorful, and will make the dip runny. A dry mix will work well, but additional salt and seasoning will need to be added.
Green curry is one of my top 5 comfort foods! This green curry roast chicken for instance, is one of my go-to roasts. So I’m VERY picky about my curry pastes. Which is why it’s REALLY important to use a good quality curry paste.
Brands I recommend
Mae ploy is a great brand to use for green curry. Aroy D is another brand that is popular, although it’s not one that I particularly enjoy. Another brand that is available in Canada (but not in the US) is Cock brand green curry paste.
The green curry paste that comes in the blue elephant meal kit is also good, but expensive because you only get 1 serving per pack, and you can get a lot more with mae ploy!
I would absolutely avoid Thai kitchen and blue dragon curry pastes. These do not taste good at all!
Instead of green curry, you can also use other Thai curry pastes such as,
- Red curry paste
- Yellow curry paste
- Massaman curry paste
You can also use South Asian curry pastes such as,
- Rani brand Biryani paste
- Rani brand tandoori paste
- Any curry paste from the spice tailor brand
- Or even my Sri Lankan curry powder recipe as well
If you’re looking to make a vegan version, make sure that you use a curry paste that does not contain shrimp paste or any other animal products.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is used to bloom the spices. The thickened part of coconut milk (or coconut cream) is cooked until the oil separates. The curry paste or powder is then cooked in this split coconut mixture to cook and bloom the spices.
The hot oil is absorbed by the spices and makes the flavor of the paste / powder more deep and complex. It also adds lovely coconutty notes to the curry paste. But if you do not have coconut milk, you can use vegetable oil too.
Do not skip the step of blooming the paste, since it’s crucial for enhancing the curry flavors!
How to make the best yogurt curry dip
Step 1 – Prepare the yogurt (OPTIONAL)
Only follow this optional step if you want to make your Greek yogurt thicker.
In a wire mesh strainer (large enough to hold 1 lb of yogurt), place a cheesecloth that’s folded over a few times to make a fine sieve. Then, empty a tub of Greek yogurt into the cheesecloth-lined sieve.
Place the strainer over a bowl and cover loosely. Refrigerate overnight to allow excess liquid to drain from the yogurt into the bowl below.
The next day, the yogurt should have thickened after the excess liquid dripped down into the bowl below. The thickened yogurt is now ready to be used.
Step 2 – Prepare the curry base
In a small pot or frying pan, place the coconut milk / cream. Heat over medium heat to cook the coconut milk. The coconut milk will start to simmer and then start to separate (coconut solids and coconut oil) (image 1).
When the coconut milk starts to separate, add the curry paste and other herbs you choose to add (image 2). Mix well and continue to cook to allow the paste to cook and become fragrant in the coconut oil that is separating. This can take 3 – 5 minutes, depending on the heat of your stove (image 3). Do not rush this, as you don’t want to burn the curry.
While I only added spring onions here, you can also add other aromatics too! I love to add cilantro and Thai basil sometimes which pair really well with this dip.
Let the cooked curry paste cool down to room temperature (image 4).
Step 3 – Mix the yogurt and curry paste
This step is really simple! Place the yogurt in a bowl. Add about half of the curry paste and mix (image 5). Taste and mix in the rest to your liking.
The reason for starting out with just half of the paste is simply due to personal preferences. My husband and I LOVE big, punchy, strong, spicy flavors – so we tend to add more curry paste to our yogurt curry dip. But if you prefer a milder flavor, then only add half the amount and adjust the flavor to your preference.
The amount of salt should be enough depending on the curry paste that you use, but otherwise you can add more salt to taste.
You can add just a squeeze of lime to make the dip more tangy as well (image 6). But this is also optional.
Refrigerate the dip in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve it (image 7).
Step 4 – Serve
Serve the dip with anything you like! This is so good that you can actually eat it with a spoon – but dippable snacks are recommended.
To make this dip look fancy, you can create a swirl in the middle and drizzle any leftover curry paste on top. Or you can sprinkle finely chopped spring onions or cilantro on top as well.
Serving ideas for this curry dip
- Chips (potato or corn chips)
- Pita bread
- As a curry dip for veggies (veggie sticks / veggie platter to serve)
- Breadsticks
- Chicken wings – like these cheese stuffed boneless chicken wings
- Fried shrimp – like my salt and pepper shrimp recipe
Recipe tips for success
- Use an unflavored Greek yogurt, preferably with some fat. I find that the 0% yogurt just doesn’t taste as nice as the full fat yogurt.
- Make sure the yogurt is not sweetened.
- For a thicker consistency in your dip, use labneh (or use 50% labneh mixed with greek yogurt), or strain your greek yogurt overnight in the fridge to remove excess liquid and thicken it.
- Please choose a really good curry paste. It must be a paste or dry, and concentrated in flavor. I’ve provided suggestions for brand names that are pretty widely available in Asian stores in North America. For my readers living outside of North America, please let me know if you have any brands that you recommend, so I can add them to the post recommendations!
- Bloom / cook the curry paste. This will remove the raw flavor, AND enhance the spice flavor in the paste.
- Know your taste preferences and adjust accordingly! While we personally love lots of curry paste in our dip, you may prefer a yogurt dip that is not as strong. So, start with half the amount and add more if needed. If you have “extra” curry paste, this can be used to make MORE dip OR added to a curry when you cook next time.
Storage tips
Fridge
This green curry yogurt dip should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Since it’s a dairy product, it will only last about 5 days in the fridge.
Freezer
You can also freeze this dip to store it for longer. Make sure it’s stored in an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag, with as little air as possible.
The curry dip can also be thawed out in the fridge over 24 hours. Mix really well before eating. But please do note that the texture of the yogurt curry dip can change and become thinner after freezing and thawing.
Recipe
Yogurt Curry Dip
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
Green Curry Yogurt Dip
- 1 ½ cups unflavored Greek yogurt full-fat preferred (you can use labneh for a thicker dip)
- 60 g store-bought green curry paste about ¼ cup (see recipe notes for recommended brands)
- 60 g coconut cream ¼ cup – unsweetened, OR use 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt only if needed (depends on the curry paste)
- Lime juice optional (only if needed – depends on the curry paste)
- 2 spring onion finely sliced (optional)
- 2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tbsp Thai basil chopped (optional)
Instructions:
Green Curry Yogurt Dip
- In a small frying pan, heat the coconut cream over medium heat.60 g coconut cream
- The coconut milk will start to boil and the oil will start to separate (see photos in the post for reference). At this point, add the green curry paste and other (optional) herbs that you'll be adding to the dip.60 g store-bought green curry paste, 2 spring onion, 2 tbsp cilantro, 2 tbsp Thai basil
- Saute the mixture for about 2 – 5 minutes, or until the paste is cooked and is very fragrant. Do not let it burn!
- Remove from the heat and scrape the curry paste into a small bowl. Let it cool down to room temperature. It will cool down faster in the fridge as well, but do not let it harden.
- In a bowl, add the yogurt (or labneh) and half of the cooled down green curry paste and mix to combine. Add more green curry paste IF you like (to your taste). The amount will vary depending on the curry paste brand AND your personal preferences. So start with half, and add more as needed.1 ½ cups unflavored Greek yogurt
- Taste and add salt only if needed. If you added all of the curry paste, you may not need to use salt at all. Add lime juice to taste (if you want the dip to be more tangy).Salt , Lime juice
- Serve with chicken wings and crudites.
Recipe Notes
Note about green curry paste
I like to use Mae Ploy green curry paste. Depending on the brand of green curry paste that you use, the amount to add to the yogurt will vary. Add just half at first and add more if needed. You can use extra yogurt to adjust the dip to your taste as well.How to make a thicker dip with Greek yogurt
Straining the yogurt overnight in the fridge will help thicken the yogurt to a labneh-like consistency. Place a large sieve / strainer over a bowl and line the sieve with layered cheesecloth or a fine cheesecloth / nut milk bag. Place the yogurt in the cheesecloth and allow the excess liquid to drain into the bowl overnight. Cover the sieve with the yogurt loosely with plastic wrap. Because the yogurt will lose liquid, make sure to strain more yogurt than stated in the recipe here, so that you end up with enough yogurt for the dip.Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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