Coconut Lentil Curry
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Very simple and tasty. Cooked it with split red lentils
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit! Thank you for coming back to comment!
Looks wonderful! Will make it this weekend!
If I want to use ground cumin and ground coriander instead of the seeds, how much would I put in of each?
Thanks! 🙂
You can use the same amounts. 🙂
Hi! I only have french lentils. Can I use those instead?
They will work well in this recipe!
Very tasty –was really good even before I added the coconut milk!!!!
Thank you for coming back to let us know!
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious!!!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for stopping by to comment!
This recipe is delicious and easy and pretty hard to mess up. I started with brown lentils and about 25 minutes in it seemed too soupy so I added about 1/4 a cup of red lentils for the last 15 minutes. It was perfect! Thank you!
Hooray! I’m so happy that you love the recipe!
I followed the recipe to the T until I got to add “cayenne powder” I had ground cayenne pepper – so in it went. Don’t know if there is a difference. Served over sprouted brown rice – so yummy!
Same thing! It’s one of those ingredients that can go by more than one name. 🙂
This was so delicious, I fell in love at first bite! The family loved it too. Thank you for a beautiful dish.
Hooray! I’m so happy that you love the recipe!
Love this recipe! I do it in my slow cooker and add in a pile of other veggies. My boyfriend who generally doesn’t think a meal is a meal unless there’s meat always go back for seconds!
Love that it’s a hit with everyone!
Can I sub for canned lentils? Would I have to do anything different?
They should work just fine. Since the lentils are already cooked, I would skip adding the water and only add some if the curry looks dry. 🙂
Smelt Devine cooking. I think next time I will swap to ground coriander though. Also needed a bit of zing so might add some fresh lime right before serving.
Fresh lime would be lovely!
Can I make this recipe with more lentils without changing anything else?
If you add more lentils you’ll need to add more water. You add more as needed as the recipe cooks. 🙂
This look delicious and I so want to make it. However, I have never seen brown lentils here in my country. Green, red, puy and beluga are all lentils I can easily get my hands on, though. Which do you think would work best as a substitute?
Green lentils would work well!
Can the brown lentils be switched to a different lentil? Brown ones are hard to find locally, and buying in bulk online to try a recipe my family might not like is possibly wasteful (what do I do with the lentils if my family doesn’t like them).
Green lentils work well, too!
I just made this and I like the flavour but there is way too much liquid? I made it exactly as instructed but they didn’t have crushed tomatoes at the supermarket so I used canned chopped tomatoes which did come with a lot of liquid in the can, After simmering it seemed about right but the coconut milk is a lot so that made it really liquidy again. I still think it could be great so next time I will just make some adjustments so that the finished product is thicker.
The extra liquid from the chopped tomatoes might have done it. 🙂
This recipe was absolutely delicious and so easy to make (I’m a very average cook). I served it with cauliflower rice and it was a big winner with the non vegans too. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with everyone!
I live in Bangkok and eat this spicy deliciousness regularly. This recipe is perfect and has become a staple for my breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Thank you!!
Fantastic! I’m so happy it was a hit!