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.
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 for you to be in coconut curry heaven!
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 or not that’s true, 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?)
Ingredients to make curried lentils
- Coconut oil – for sautéing the flavor components.
- The flavor – cumin seeds, coriander seeds, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, and sea salt.
- Crushed tomatoes – just open a can and pour it in!
- Lentils – the star of the show! We use brown lentils, but green lentils work just as well.
- Coconut milk – this is what makes the lentil curry wonderfully creamy.
- Cherry tomatoes and cilantro – these get stirred in at the end for even more flavor.
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 excellent. 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 your fridge.
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 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 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.
I think the tomato content could decrease a little ? It was kinda too tangy for me. That’s the only thing I would change about this recipe
This was incredibly watery. Flavor was great though. It should start with 2 cups and add as needed.
My curry has turned out very watery. I added the 3 cups called for. Is there any way I can thicken it now?
To thicken it, you can boil it with the lid off until it is as thick as you’d like it.
Not sure where this went wrong for me, I’ve made lentils a million times. This was way to soupy, I should have only used 1 -2 cups of water. After I boiled off most of the water (the lentils were mushy at this point) i added in a can of coconut milk, which added ALOT more liquid that needed to be boiled off. Overall a miss for me. I gave it 2 stars because the flavor was good.
Hi,
Can I freeze this reciepe?
Yes! This freezes very well.
Will this work the same with red lentils? It sounds really good!
Red lentils cook much faster. I would reduce the water and only plan on cooking them for about 15 minutes.
This dish was absolutely, completely and totally delicious!! Even my son that doesn’t eat curry decided to taste it because the smell was so aromatic! Now, he loves curry. The easy of this dish has left me loving the creator of it! All hard working single moms thank you!
Hello, made this lentil curry for my indian hubby….omg he can’t stop raving about how tasty and perfect this was!! Thanks
Delicious!
I used ground coriander rather than the seeds as that’s what I had in my spice rack.
very good. I added my favorite curry instead of tumeric. Yummy
I absolutely loved this. I couldn’t get dry brown lentils so used a tin and half a cup of red lentils. I also stirred some baby spinach at the end. Unlike some of the comments, I absolutely love the sensation when the seeds pop in your mouth. This is going to be a favourite
Nice recipe; loved the results; this will definately become a favorite. Looking forward to the leftovers.👍🏽
Dee-lish. Will make it again. I’d put another 1/2 cup of lentils to thicken it up however. I liked someone’s suggestion about adding spinach.
My husband made this recipe for some friends we had over for dinner and we all loved it so much. He added some spinach at the very end but other than that followed your recipe to a T.
Delicious recipe. Very creamy and great flavor profiles. One change I made while doing this, was I doubled the ginger. The one thing I wish I changed would have been to grind the cumin and coriander seeds. Even a light grind would have been an improvement. Otherwise these spices tend to dominate the chewing experience as they explode in your mouth.
Otherwise, perfectly fabulous.
I love this dish! It’s become one if our favorites. The use of whole spices in particular really stand out from other recipes.
I give it a five stars as written, but I’ve also modified it to use 2 cans of chickpeas when I’m out of lentils (reduced water to 1 cup and simmered for 15 min) and it’s worked very well.
I have also subbed heavy cream for the coconut milk in a pinch and it’s of course delicious as well.