Coconut Lentil Curry
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This easy-to-make creamy coconut lentil curry is a vegan recipe that makes a perfect meatless Monday dinner. 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.
One reader, Rae, says, “This is one of my staple recipes. So easy to make and delicious. Everyone likes it! ★★★★★”
This lentil curry recipe has been a reader favorite for years. And with almost 1500 reviews, you can bet it will be your favorite, too! It’s a flavorful vegan recipe made with kitchen-staple ingredients and is one of my family’s favorite dinner recipes.
You guys, this is what curry dreams are made of. This beauty is made in one pot, and it’ll take less than an hour to reach coconut curry heaven. The flavor starts with toasted cumin and coriander seeds, along with plenty of garlic, ginger, turmeric, and a touch of cayenne. Brown lentils (though you can also use green) simmer in tomatoes and coconut milk until tender and creamy, then fresh cherry tomatoes and cilantro are stirred in at the end to brighten everything up. It’s simple, satisfying, and the kind of recipe you’ll find yourself making on repeat.
We eat this curry year-round. No matter how hot it is outside, it’s always a good time for a bowl of hot curry. It’s stinkin’ hot in India, and peeps there eat curry all the time. They must be onto something.
Years ago, while backpacking around India for a few months, the locals would always say that eating hot food on a hot day would cool you down. Whether that’s true or not, if you put a bowl of hot curry in front of any of us and it’s a bazillion degrees outside, we’ll still eat it. And really, how could you not?
The original lentil curry recipe
The original recipe comes from a well dog-eared cookbook called, Vij’s at Home. We’ve made a few changes to the original recipe so it suits our taste:
- Coconut oil replaces the cooking oil (and we use MUCH less of it)
- Coriander seeds replace ground coriander as we love the little pop of crunch they give.
- Crushed tomatoes replace fresh tomatoes (so we 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?)
Lentil curry variations
While my family loves this recipe exactly as written, it’s also very versatile and easy to play with. Here are some additions that we’ve tried, and a few that our readers have tried:
- Add some more veggies: Sweet potatoes, mushrooms, red peppers, or broccoli are great. And spinach stirred in at the end is nice, too.
- More protein: Cubed chicken or tofu is a wonderful addition.
- Skip the coconut: iI you’re not a coconut fan, you can use whipping cream instead.
- Make it into soup: Add some extra water or some chicken or vegetable stock to turn this into soup.
What to serve with lentil curry
Like most curry recipes, this one is great served with basmati rice. You can also serve it with cauliflower rice to get some extra veggies on your plate!
And while this is absolutely a one-pot dinner, if you’d like a side dish, try one of these:
Store, reheat, and freeze
This is one recipe that tastes even better the next day, AND it freezes excellently. We’ll often make a double batch just so we can freeze half of it. And if you have little ones at home, freezing small portions of this curry is a great way to have quick meals on hand.
In the fridge – This curry will keep well for up to 4 days in a sealed container.
In the freezer – Transfer the cooled curry to freezer-proof containers and keep it in your freezer for up to 4 months.
To reheat – We like to reheat this curry on the stove over low heat, adding a splash of water as it thickens overnight. But you can also warm this up in the microwave.
Watch the lentil curry video
This coconut lentil curry recipe is ridiculously simple to make. Five bucks says that 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 real. It’s so simple to make that we made a video so you can see just how easy it will be to sit down with a big bowl of lentil curry.
Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 head garlic (chopped – 10-12 cloves)
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons ginger (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 cup dried brown lentils (see notes)
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne powder (optional)
- 2 cups water
- 15 ounce can coconut milk
- A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet (I love using my braiser) 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.1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 head garlic, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- Add the can of crushed tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, and sea salt to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the lentils, the cayenne powder (if using), and water to the pot and bring it to a boil.28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 2 tablespoons ginger, 1 tablespoon turmeric, 2 teaspoons sea salt, 1 cup dried brown lentils, 1-2 teaspoons cayenne powder, 2 cups water
- 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 ½ – 1 cup of water.
- Once the lentils are soft and the curry is thick, 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.15 ounce can coconut milk, A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes, 1 cup chopped cilantro
Last step:
- After you make this recipe, take a picture with your phone and share it in the comments section below. I love seeing it when you make my recipes!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Omg this was so easy, so cheap but tasted amazing. All 4 kids and hubby asked for seconds. This being our first lentil meal gives me the confidence to try more lentil recipes.
Amazing flavor, very easy to make and consistently good each time I’ve made it.
I use split red lentils because I couldn’t find brown, they cook nicely in 30 minutes. I’ve also done it twice now with a diced onion and diced carrot in the oil, cook it on medium until close to translucent then continue with the recipe steps (coriander seeds, garlic, etc.).
Doesn’t feel like you’re missing out on meat in this dish, it’s seriously tasty and filling. And cheap, holy man…lentils are dirt cheap!
That’s so great to know about using split red lentils. There have been a few questions here about that. Thank you for letting us know!
Delicious dish! Even my husband loved it This will become one of our faves. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear the recipe was a hit!
OMG!! This recipe is amazing. My house smells wonderful, and I just ate two bowls of the soup. Can’t wait to share it with my family. The only change I made was reducing the salt. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
This is absolutely delicious!!!
Thank you so much ?
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
First time cooking with lentils and I loved it! I just had to leave a review. I added half a green bell pepper and about half an onion, which might be why it reminded me a bit of chili (both are warm, filling, and very comforting!). It leaves a lot of room for experimenting veggie and spice wise. Served it with Basmati rice, but will probably just do some naan next time. Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome! And yes, definitely do naan next time. It’s soooo good with these lentils!
I love this recipe, some adjustments done ( my husband needs low salt, so I used Himalayan salt ) and the results were great. Thank you!
Himalayan salt is the best, isn’t it?!
Hi! I would love to make this recipe because I have 3 cans of lentils in my pantry that I need to use. Would you be able to tell me how to adjust the recipe if I want to use canned lentils?
Thanks!
I haven’t made this recipe with canned lentils (although I have it slated for recipe testing!) But I would suggest not adding the water and simply adding the lentils and coconut milk at the same time. You’ll really only need to heat them. If the curry seems a touch dry, add a splash of water. 🙂
Yes, this works. I used a pound of pre-cooked refrigerated lentils from Trader Joe. I just added without the water, along with the coconut milk. I love spice so I added additional turmeric and cayenne pepper at the end. Outstanding!
I’m having trouble finding the seeds, can ground coriander and cumin be used? Would they be the same measurements? Thanks.
Absolutely they can! I use the same amounts when I use the ground version. 🙂
LOVE this curry! So flavourful! Even better the second day (of course).
The only substitution I made was that I used diced tomatoes instead of crushed. I pulsed tomatoes in the blender a couple times to “crush” them before use.
I was worried that there was too much liquid while it was cooking, but I just cooked it a little longer and it was fine.
I doubled the recipe and used 3 tsp of cayenne pepper, which gave it just the right amount of heat. I wish had a bigger pot to quadruple for next time! It was that good. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you like it! Leftovers are the best, aren’t they?
Kristen,
The link in the recipe to the brown lentils takes you to Bob’s Mill red lentils.
Thank you for letting me know that link needed updating!
Hello,
I dont think your calorie information is correct. This gives me around 380 cal/ serving. Could you please confirm?
How much is a serving? Like one cup or two cups?
I will have to measure next time I make this recipe. I would guess 1 1/2 cups. 🙂
Tysm
I made this, and love the flavour, but the dried brown lentils take about 4 times as long to cook as your recipe suggests they should take. Can you pre-soak/cook the lentils to reduce the cooking time, or will that mess up the flavour? Thanks 🙂
I haven’t tried this recipe with soaked lentils before but I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work. I would err on the side of caution and add less water, topping it up if the pan looks too dry. 🙂
I was wondering what the serving size is. it only says serves 6. is that a cup???
I will have to measure for you next time I make this recipe. 🙂
Amazing recipe – thank you for creating it!
You are so welcome!
Thank you! Wonderful food
You are very welcome!
Suggestions for cook time and amounts of liquid if using canned lentils please.
I’ve never made this with canned lentils before. I would think you could simply add them and the coconut milk all at the same time and simply heat them. I wouldn’t add any water unless it looks like it needs a little. 🙂
Would you alter the cooking time and follow the cook times if you use red lentils vice brown? Same amount of liquid?
Split red lentils only take less than 10 mins to cook and don’t need as much liquid. I would start by adding a cup of water then add more only as needed. 🙂
My lentils aren’t cooking very well and it seems awfully liquidy, any recommendations on how to fix that for next time? Flavour is great though!
I would check the date on your bag of lentils. The only time I’ve ever had lentils not cook properly is when I started with old lentils. 🙂
Mine was the same – I’ve made it twice, and both times the lentils took about 4 times as long to cook enough to be edible – certainly not soft. I’m going to try pre-cooking the lentils or using canned lentils next time.
I’m rating it 5 , but haven’t tried it yet…it will be ready in 8 hours!
Question: What side dish can I use? No restrictions, I like meat.
If you eat meat, I think these lentils would make a nice side to some grilled chicken. 🙂