Curry Paste

High FODMAP

Serving sizes

Curry Paste changes rating with portion size. Its rating is estimated from what it is made of, so the servings are described rather than weighed.

Small serving Moderate
Moderate serving High
Large serving High

Fructans

Curry paste is High FODMAP, a concentrated blend built on aromatics that pack a lot of punch into a small spoonful.

The base is typically onion, garlic, and shallot, so Fructans are concentrated in the paste: even a small serving lands at moderate, and it climbs to high by a moderate serving.
Most curry pastes lean on these aromatics for their savory depth, so the amount you use matters, and added ingredients can shift the picture from one jar to another.

To build that same warmth without the fructan load, simmer your own blend of low-FODMAP spices with garlic-infused oil and the green tops of spring onions.

Why curry paste is rated high

Curry paste is high, and the concentration is the whole point of the problem. A paste is built by pounding aromatics down into a thick, water reduced blend, and onion, garlic and shallot are usually the backbone of it, so the fructans that would be spread through a whole pot of fresh aromatics end up packed into a spoonful. The rating is estimated from what curry paste is typically made of rather than from a measured serving, and the ladder makes the steepness clear: a Small serving already reads MODERATE, a Moderate serving is HIGH, and a Large serving is HIGH. Compared with the same aromatics used fresh in a dish, the paste delivers far more in far less, which is why the amount on the spoon matters more here than in almost any other jar in the cupboard.

What changes your risk

The concentration itself Removing water to make a paste does not remove the fructans, it just packs them into less volume. A spoonful of paste carries what a much larger amount of the fresh aromatics would, which is why the ladder climbs so fast.
How much goes in the pan A Small serving comes in at MODERATE, a Moderate serving is HIGH, and a Large serving is HIGH. Thinning the finished curry with coconut milk or stock spreads the paste over more food, but it does not change what is in the jar.
Spices are not the problem, the aromatics are Ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli, ginger, lemongrass and pepper are not what drive this rating. Onion, garlic and shallot are, and they are usually listed first on the label.
Garlic-infused oil replaces the flavour, not the fructans Fructans are water-soluble and do not dissolve into oil, so infused oil carries the garlic taste with none of the fructan load, provided no solid pieces are left in it. That makes building a paste from scratch genuinely different from buying one.
Frying the paste does nothing to it Blooming the paste in hot oil deepens the flavour but heat does not break FODMAPs down. Neither does simmering the curry for longer.

Swaps

Build the flavour from the spice side instead of the aromatic side. A base of ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli, ginger, lemongrass and kaffir lime, bloomed in garlic-infused oil, gives the warmth and depth a paste is there for, and a pinch of asafoetida in the oil stands in for the savoury onion note remarkably well. Finish with the green tops of spring onions or chopped chives for the fresh allium edge, and lean on lime juice and fresh coriander at the end for lift. Serve it over rice. What does not work is buying a paste and using less of it as a strategy, since even a Small serving reads MODERATE, and it does not help to swap in a paste based on shallot instead of onion, because shallot is a fructan source too.

How to lower the load

Make a jar of your own. Pound or blitz the dry spices with ginger, lemongrass and chilli, loosen the mixture with garlic-infused oil rather than water, and keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge so the convenient option in the house is the one you can eat. When buying, ignore the front of the label and read the ingredient list in order, because onion, garlic or shallot sitting in the first few entries tells you everything. Takeaway curries are difficult for the same reason a restaurant bolognese is: the paste goes into the pan before anything else, so a dish cooked to order from whole spices is a better ask than a curry with the paste left out.

Common questions

is curry paste high fodmap

Yes, it is high overall because of the fructans from the onion, garlic and shallot it is built on. Even a Small serving reads MODERATE, and it is HIGH at a Moderate serving and at a Large serving.

how much curry paste can i use

The data does not give a weight, only the climb: a Small serving is MODERATE, and a Moderate serving and a Large serving are both HIGH. There is no serving in this data where an ordinary curry paste comes in low.

is curry paste high in fructans

It is, and that is what sets the rating. Onion, garlic and shallot are the usual base of a paste, and reducing them into a concentrated blend packs those fructans into a much smaller spoonful than the fresh aromatics would.

what can i use instead of curry paste

Bloom ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli, ginger and lemongrass in garlic-infused oil, add a pinch of asafoetida for the onion note, and finish with the green tops of spring onions, lime and fresh coriander. That covers the same role without the fructans.

Learn more

Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.

Curry Paste is an estimated rating: it is inferred from the food's ingredients and composition and cross-checked, not measured directly in the papers below. The low, moderate and high cutoffs are still those of Varney et al. (2017).

References

Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by HPLC. Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.