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.
There’s no amount of lentils in the ingredient list…
1 cup. 🙂
Can I use red lentils instead of brown lentils (it’s all I have in the cupboard)?
Red lentil will work but you’ll want to reduce the cooking time as they cook faster. I would also recommend reducing the water you add and only adding more as needed. 🙂
Could I use green lentils for this?
They will work!
made this this evening for dinner! I’m giving it a four as it was soupier than I thought it would be but that could also be because of my cooking methods. I made two ingredient naan (greek yoghurt and self raising flour!) To go with and it was really nice! Next time I’d probably just mince the garlic and ginger rather than chopping, unless there is a specific reason for chopping? I might also use a few extra spices or saute some onions in or something just a little bit extra. Will definitely be making again though!
This is amazing! I made this last night between my boyfriend and I – he basically demolished everything. I’ve added mushrooms and cauliflower and it was great. I can’t wait to make this for my family next time.
Can I make this in the instant pot? If so when do I add the coconut milk? Do I add everything after saute and use a specific setting? Thanks!
While I’m sure it could be made in an Instant Pot, I’m not familiar enough with them to offer much advice. But I would add the coconut milk at the end. I
m considering buying an IP and if I do I’ll be testing this recipe in it for sure!
I tried this using my instant pot and it was amazing!! Used the sauté function for the first part, then after adding the lentils and water, pressure cooked it for 12 min on high. Manually release after 10 min. Then I added zucchini and let it cool down. After about 10 min, I added the coconut milk. Worked perfectly! I also added onions with the ginger. Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much for letting us know that this recipe works in an Instant Pot!
Hi Kristin–in the midst of making this…and I see the reference to the coconut OIL but it is not listed in the ingredients (only the coconut milk is). I just used some oil to brown the seeds and the garlic. Hope it works out. It sure smells good so far!
You did the right thing! Apologies for missing that ingredient!
Will the texture and process stay close to the same if you add some vegetables? My kids love onions and yellow squash in curry but I don’t have much time to play eith the recipe to make sure it works out.
I haven’t tried it myself but a lot of people have commented saying that they’ve added different veggies to theirs and enjoyed it that way. I would think it would work well!
I have made this recipe a hundred times. It is the perfect curry!!
Can I replace crushed tomatoes with tomatoe paste?
No tomato paste won’t work here. Do you have fresh tomatoes? They would work. 🙂
At what point do you put curry in it?
Just kidding. Nice dish.
Haha!
I made this last night and added some lime juice and a little sugar. The longer it sat the better. I went back for 2nds, 3rds………Thank you for the inspiration!
My go-to recipe when I need something delicious made with little effort. I made it countless times and it’s one of my favourites xx
I have done it so many times and it is always such a hit!! I did it for a dinner with my girlfriends once, and the next day half of them asked me for the recipe to make it at home!! It works with variations too, I add diced onions and use less garlic. Sooo good!!
Just made this and it’s fantastic! My first time making a curry dish. One question – I know it serves six, but about how big is one serving? About a cup? 2 cups?
It’s about 1 ½ cups. 🙂
I have made this many times now and it is SO good! Sometimes I’ll add some diced roasted sweet potatoes!