This easy to make Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry is a healthy vegan recipe that makes a perfect meatless Monday dinner recipe. It takes less than an hour (mostly hands-off time) to make and is packed full of delicious Indian flavors. Make extras and you'll have a giant smile on your face at lunch the next day.
It's July! It's summer! It's the season of BBQ and no cook recipes! And here I am, sharing a coconut lentil curry recipe with you. Say whaaaaa??!!
You guys, this is what badass curry dreams are made of. For reals. I'm talking one pot and less than an hour till you're in coconut lentil curry HEAVEN!
I don't care how hot it is outside, it's always a good time for a bowl of hot curry. I mean, it's stinkin' hot in India and peeps eat curry there all the time. They must be onto something.
When I was doing the whole right of passage, backpacking around Asia thing in my early 20s, locals would always tell me that eating hot food on a hot day would cool you down. Makes no sense to me at all, but if you put a bowl of hot curry in front of me and it's a bazillion degrees outside, I'll still eat it. I mean really, how could you not?
This coconut lentil curry recipe is ridiculously simple to make. Five bucks says you're going to look at the recipe and think, “No way THIS recipe could be one of the BEST curry recipes.” But it is. For reals.
It's so simple to make that I made you a video so you can see just how easy it will be for you to sit down in front of a big bowl of curry.
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The original recipe comes from a well dog-eared cookbook of mine called, Vij's at Home. I've made some changes to the original recipe so it suits my taste:
♡ Coconut oil replaces the cooking oil (and I use MUCH less of it)
♡ Coriander seeds replace ground coriander as I love the little pop of crunch they give.
♡ Crushed tomatoes replace fresh tomatoes (so I can be lazy and not blend them)
♡ Harder to find mung beans take a hike and are replaced with brown lentils
♡ Cilantro gets piled on high.
♡ Cherry tomatoes get thrown in during the last few minutes of cooking (because heck, why not?!)
Since I originally posted this recipe, I've now made it around 324,000 times. That might be a little exaggeration, but I have made it many times. My daughter is a huge fan of this lentil curry, so I usually make a double batch and then freeze some in smaller portions so I have some quick and easy food for her on hand.
Making a big batch also means that we get lunches for days after. Curry is kind of like chili, it's even better the next day. Honestly, every time I make this I get a text from my handsome man the next day telling me how good his lunch is. Win!
Also, after getting several requests, I've now created a Crock Pot Coconut Lentil Curry recipe for you! While the original version still wins (in my books) the crock pot version is delicious and so great to come home to after a long day at work. 🙂
Watch the Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry Video!
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Healthy Vegan Curry Recipes
- Black Chana Masala
- Crock Pot Coconut Lentil Curry
- Coconut Black Lentil Curry
- Chickpea Tofu and Eggplant Curry
- Coconut Acorn Squash Curry
- Creamy Coconut Vegetarian Korma
- Loaded Vegan Butter ‘Chicken'
Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry
Prep Time: 5 mins- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This easy to make Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry is a healthy vegan recipe that makes a perfect Meatless Monday dinner recipe. It takes less than an hour (mostly hands-off time) to make and is packed full of delicious Indian flavors. Make extras and you'll have a giant smile on your face at lunch the next day.
| vegan + gluten-free |
✨ If you love this Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry as much as I do, make sure to give it a 5-star review in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon each: cumin seeds and coriander seeds
- 1 head of garlic, chopped (10–12 cloves)
- 1 – 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 cup dried brown lentils
- Optional: 1-2 teaspoons cayenne powder
- 1 – 15-ounce can coconut milk
- A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil in a large pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and toast until they start to brown, about 45 seconds. Add the garlic to the pot and let it brown, about 2 minutes.
- Add the can of crushed tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, and sea salt to the pot and cook, stirring the pot a few times, for 5 minutes. Add the lentils and, if using, the cayenne powder, and 3 cups of water to the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 35-40 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Stir the pot a few times to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom. If the curry starts to look dry, add an extra 1/2 – 1 cup of water.
- Once the lentils are soft, add the coconut milk and cherry tomatoes and bring the pot back to a simmer. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
Kristen Stevens
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Hi, I’m Kristen! 
Katelyn says
May 17, 2019 at 8:49 amI absolutely love CURRY & LENTILS! I have made similar recipes, but this one by far is the simplest…. I make it every Sunday for my lunches for the week with a good serving of Greek yogurt and some mini Naan AMAZING! Thank you so much, the attributes to my healthy meal planning and if I cut back on the Cayenne pepper my kids enjoy it just at much as me. 🙂
Kristen Stevens says
May 20, 2019 at 8:43 amThat is so great to hear!!!
Tiffany says
May 5, 2019 at 4:28 pmWow- so stinkin’ good! Followed recipe pretty much exactly and it came out perfectly. Definitely a keeper. I never write reviews but I had to for this one.
★★★★★
Kristen Stevens says
May 6, 2019 at 7:30 amAwww well thank you so much for coming back to review the recipe! I appreciate it!
Gloria Sanders says
May 4, 2019 at 8:39 pmI don’t usually like curry but my husband loves it. I made this recipe tonight for him however I had to make a couple of changes since I didn’t have everything I needed. I didn’t have seeds so I used powdered cumin and cilantro and only used half. And since it’s powdered, I opted not to try to toast it. (I burned it the first time). I didn’t have any cherry tomatoes so I just chopped up an heirloom tomato. Oh, and I only used 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. My husband absolutely loves it. And me, I loved it too. Thanks. It’s a new favorite.
Kristen Stevens says
May 6, 2019 at 7:19 amI’m so happy to hear you both enjoyed the recipe!
Amy says
May 3, 2019 at 2:12 pmSo this is one of my new favorite recipes. I used red lentils instead of brown, and subbed veggie broth for the water. I also browned my ginger after my garlic bc I like to make my curry kind of like a base. So I put the seeds in, then the garlic, then the ginger, then the cayenne and turmeric. I let it toast together just a bit then I added the tomatoes and let that reduce a bit. Then I added the lentils, cooked it til pretty done, but still not quite there. Added the coconut milk. Reduced it another 20 minutes or so. Then I added the cilantro and let it steep in for about 5 minutes of simmer. Turned off the heat and added juice of half of a lime bc it seemed like a good idea. It was really good and I’m making it again tonight, this time with the cherry tomatoes I forgot last time. 😂 Thank you again!
★★★★★
Kristen Stevens says
May 3, 2019 at 4:49 pmI’m so happy it was a hit!!!
Anne O Reilly says
May 3, 2019 at 1:03 pmLoved it, thanks for the recipe
★★★★★
Kristen Stevens says
May 3, 2019 at 4:49 pmYou’re so welcome!
Angie says
May 2, 2019 at 1:22 pmI was very excited to make this recipe, but now that I’m eating it, I have to say it’s disappointing. I’ll see what I can do to fix it because I don’t want to waste it.
First off, I read other reviews and I noted to add the salt at the end (plus my Trader Joe’s lentils note as well to add salt at the end), which I did. My lentils cooked up nice and tender in 35-40 mins, no problem!
I had coriander seeds, but only powdered cumin, so I used both. I really with I would have crushed the coriander because now I keep crunching on them in the finished product – I wish they were more integrated. I would suggest grating the ginger, same issue – I chopped them (not minced) and so I’m getting big bites of ginger. I didn’t have tumeric, so I used curry powder.. it’s a curry right, so it should have curry in it?! I would call this recipe a work in progress that needs more testing.
★★★
Kristen Stevens says
May 2, 2019 at 5:30 pmI’m sorry to hear you didn’t like the coriander seeds. The little crunch is my favorite part of this curry!
Celine says
May 2, 2019 at 10:54 amRecipe was very watery (more like soup), lentils completely overcooked, hardly any structure left. Quite dissappointing.
★★
Kristen Stevens says
May 2, 2019 at 5:28 pmI’m sorry to hear you didn’t love the recipe.
Nathalie says
April 30, 2019 at 8:47 pmDelicious!!! Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Kristen Stevens says
May 2, 2019 at 4:40 pmYou are so welcome!
danielle says
April 19, 2019 at 3:38 pmcan you use red lentils? if so, cook for how long?
Kristen Stevens says
May 2, 2019 at 4:51 pmYou can. They cook a little faster so you’ll want to reduce the cooking liquid and time.
Michelle says
April 15, 2019 at 4:17 pmThis recipe is so simple, healthy and DELICIOUS! I’ve made it a number of times and actually have a double batch bubbling away right now! This has become a regular in our house. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful animal/dairy/nut free recipe!
★★★★★
Kristen Stevens says
May 2, 2019 at 4:58 pmYou are so welcome!!