How Many Calories in Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan)?

Also known as แกงเขียวหวาน, แกงเขียวหวานไก่, Gaeng Kiew Wan Gai, Kaeng Khiao Wan, Thai Green Chicken Curry.

Chicken, Thai eggplant and basil in a coconut milk curry made from green chili paste. Sweet, hot and creamy, eaten with rice or poured over khanom jeen rice noodles.

500kcal / 1 bowl curry with 1 plate rice

A bowl of gaeng keow wan gai is about 240 calories on its own, per the Thai Department of Health, and about 500 calories once you add a 200g plate of rice. The coconut milk is 145 of the 240; the chicken is 80; the eggplant and basil are almost nothing.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 bowl curry with 1 plate rice (450g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	500 kcal	111 kcal
Protein	22 g	5 g
Carbs	62 g	14 g
Fat	20 g	4 g

Where the calories come from

Jasmine rice200g

260 kcal

Coconut milk80g

145 kcal

Chicken50g

80 kcal

Thai eggplant, basil, curry paste40g

15 kcal

The real talk

The official Thai figure of 240 calories per cup surprises people because it sounds low for a coconut curry. It is low because a food court ladle is about 80ml of coconut milk and 50g of chicken. Restaurant green curry is a different animal: a full bowl with 150ml of thick coconut cream and 120g of chicken is closer to 480, which is the figure some Thai calorie tables list. Same dish, double the portion.

The rice is where the meal gets its size. A normal 200g plate of jasmine rice is 260 calories, so curry plus rice is about 500. Order it over khanom jeen (fermented rice noodles) and the noodles are lighter at about 165 for 150g, but stalls ladle far more curry over noodles than over rice, so that plate usually ends up heavier, around 560 to 620.

Green curry is one of the sweeter Thai curries. The name literally means sweet green curry, and there is usually 10 to 15g of palm sugar in a pot. That is not a huge number per bowl, but with the coconut fat it is why one bowl tastes like a treat and two bowls feel like dessert.

How the portions compare

240 kcal

Curry only, food court ladle

500 kcal

Curry with 1 plate rice

740 kcal

Restaurant bowl with rice

Green Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan) variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Gaeng keow wan moo (pork)	235 kcal	Curry only, Thai Department of Health
Gaeng keow wan gai (chicken)	240 kcal	Curry only
Gaeng keow wan look chin pla (fish balls)	260 kcal	Curry only, fish balls are lean
Khanom jeen gaeng keow wan	580 kcal	Over rice noodles, heavier ladle

How to eat it lighter

Order the curry in a bowl and spoon it over rice yourself, rather than khao rad gaeng style where the shop floods the plate; you control how much coconut milk lands on the rice.
Eat the chicken and eggplant, leave the last third of the sauce in the bowl. That is about 60 calories of coconut fat you did not need.
Pick chicken over pork belly or beef; the Thai table lists chicken at 240 and pork at 235 per cup, but pork belly versions in restaurants run much higher.
Ask for extra Thai eggplant and basil. They cost nothing in calories and stretch the bowl.

Common questions

How many calories in Thai green curry with rice?

About 500 for a food court bowl of chicken green curry with a 200g plate of rice. A restaurant sized bowl with thick coconut cream pushes that to 700 or more.

Is green curry healthier than red curry?

They are nearly identical. The Thai Department of Health lists green curry chicken at 240 calories a cup and red curry chicken at 235. Green curry is usually a bit sweeter, red curry a bit saltier.

Is green curry high in fat?

Yes, about 16 to 20g of fat per bowl, nearly all from coconut milk. Massaman and panang are richer still.

Related foods

Red Curry (Gaeng Phed)

235 kcal per 1 bowl (curry only)

Panang Curry

320 kcal per 1 bowl (curry only)

Massaman Curry

325 kcal per 1 bowl (curry only)

Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry)

350 kcal per 1 serving, 1 bone-in chicken piece with coconut curry gravy (hawker / nasi campur style)

Moo Krob

560 kcal per 1 plate

Gai Tod

320 kcal per 1 piece (thigh, about 130g)

See all Meat, Grills & Lauk calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical street stall or food court serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on Thai Department of Health (กรมอนามัย) via hdmall.co.th: gaeng keow wan gai 1 cup = 240 kcal; rice plate 200g = 260 kcal added for the with rice serving. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

New here? Read how I went from 128kg to 86kg without cutting rice ›