Crockpot Lentil Curry
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Warming and comforting, this hands-off crockpot lentil curry makes enjoying a flavorful and rich curry dinner so very easy! Throw everything into your pot, set the timer, and let the delicious flavors meld. Earthy lentils absorb aromatic spices that are mellowed by the creaminess of the coconut milk and finished with bursting cherry tomatoes and fresh cilantro. Return to an effortless, satisfying curry dinner!
This crockpot lentil curry is so easy – almost too easy! You can even put all the ingredients in your slow cooker in the evening. Store it in your fridge overnight, then turn it on in the morning before you head out the door. When you come home 8-10 hours later, dinner will be waiting for you!
While the convenience factor alone is worth celebrating, it’s the irresistible fusion of flavors that truly steals the show. The crave-worthy flavors meld together slowly for a well-balanced curry that is as delicious as it is easy to prepare.
Ingredients needed
Crockpot curry lentils are made with a handful of ingredients. This is what you need:
- Brown lentils: You can use green lentils if needed.
- Coconut milk: Use unsweetened coconut milk. Light coconut milk works, or you can opt for regular to make it extra creamy!
- Other ingredients: Fresh ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne powder, can of crushed tomatoes, head of garlic, onion, water, sea salt, cilantro, and cherry tomatoes.
- Optional: Cooked rice for serving.
Adding vegetables to crockpot lentil curry
If you’re looking to add a few of your favorite veggies, you can just pop them right in the crockpot. Depending on how hard the veggie is, you can either add it at the start, or towards the end of the cooking time.
- Add at the start: Cubed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, or cauliflower.
- Add at the end: Spinach, kale, green beans, or peas. If you’d like your bell peppers to maintain a little crunch you can add them in the last 20-30 minutes.
What to serve with crockpot lentil curry
Serve on a bed of steaming cauliflower rice or basmati rice with some naan on the side. This lentil curry works as a standalone dish, but if you’d like to add something on the side you can make some curried carrots, chili paneer, or roasted tandoori cauliflower.
Recipe FAQs
Can I store leftover crockpot curried lentils?
You can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. If you’d like to enjoy it beyond that, you can also stash it in the freezer for up to three months. Crockpot lentil curry freezes really well!
Can I use another type of lentil or canned lentils?
You sure can – just note that each variety of lentils will have a different cooking time. Green will have a similar time to brown, but red lentils or yellow lentils will cook much quicker, so they would go mushy if you cooked them for this long.
The same goes for canned lentils. As they are already cooked, they’d turn to mush if you tried to use them in this recipe. If you want to use canned lentils, follow our coconut lentil curry recipe, adding the canned lentils without the water and simply heating them.
How do you avoid the lentils remaining tough?
Lentils that have been sitting on supermarket shelves or in the pantry for longer will take longer to soften, so check the date and ensure they’re fresh. Add the salt towards the end of the cooking process.
What do the whole cumin and coriander seeds taste like?
The cumin seeds meld into the curry, adding flavor but not being too noticeable. The coriander seeds stand out, giving a little pop of flavor when you bite into them. If you’re worried that the flavor will be too strong, you can use ground cumin and ground coriander instead.
Crockpot Lentil Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups dried brown lentils
- 2 tablespoons ginger (minced)
- 1 tablespoon EACH: cumin, coriander, turmeric
- Optional: 1-2 teaspoons cayenne powder
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 head garlic (chopped)
- ½ medium onion (finely minced)
- 3 cups water
- 15 ounce can coconut milk
- 2-3 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
- Optional: cooked rice for serving
Instructions
- Add the dried brown lentils, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, if using the cayenne, crushed tomatoes, garlic, onion, and 3 cups of water in your crockpot. Put the lid on and set the timer for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.1 ½ cups dried brown lentils, 2 tablespoons ginger, 1 tablespoon EACH: cumin, coriander, turmeric, Optional: 1-2 teaspoons cayenne powder, 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 1 head garlic, ½ medium onion, 3 cups water
- Stir the coconut milk, 2 teaspoons of sea salt, cilantro, and cherry tomatoes into the curry. Taste and add extra salt to taste.15 ounce can coconut milk, 1 cup chopped cilantro, A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes, 2-3 teaspoons sea salt
- Serve the curry on its own or over a bed of rice.Optional: cooked rice for serving
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
More lentil recipes
For more inspiration, check out all of our curry recipes!
I am attempting to make this right now. Wish me luck, I doubled up all the ingredients, should be ready in 4 hours! This is my first attempt at cooking anything. Legit. I got this slow cooker and it’s sat doing nothing for months… it looks good so far, it’s the same color at least! Thanks for the recipe Kristen!
think i got the ingredients sizing all messed up, will try again, how big is a cup? think i had far too much lentils in, lols
A measuring cup is 8 liquid ounces. If you have a scale, 1 cup of lentils = 7.5 ounces. Or if you have measuring spoons, 1 cup = 16 tablespoons. Hope that helps!
Hmmm my cups are all different sizes, do you know the weights in grams please? UK and EU use gm/kilo so we dont really understand cups and ounces
The cups we use are 8 ounces – and Google tells me that is equal to 226 grams. I hope that helps!
I hope it turned out great!
Such a fab and easy recipe…I make it often. Just wondered how long you would keep leftovers for? Thanks again 🙂 xxxx
4-5 days in your fridge. But this recipe freezes very well!
I added the coconut milk in before cooking ? It was delicious . What’s the reason on adding the coconut milk after ?
Sometimes the coconut milk can curdle if it cooks too long which is why I add it at the end. It doesn’t happen every time but it doesn’t look very appetizing when it does happen. 🙂
We really love this..its so hard to find good vegan slow cooker meals and esp curries :)thank you soo much xxx
You are very welcome!!
Are we putting in the milk after it has cooked for 8 hours?
That’s right. 🙂
Would it be a terrible disaster if I didn’t add the finger ? It’s the only ingredient I don’t have! Thanks!
That was meant to say ginger!!! Sorry!!!!
hahaha!
It does add a lot of flavor but the recipe will still be great without it. 🙂
Sooo so so so good! I added some chicken and cauliflower just because I had it anyways. Turned our great! Also, sweet potato on the side of this is delicious. Im sure you could throw some inside with the curry, however I enjoy the texture of having it on the side with a smaller portion of rice. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re so welcome!
Hi Kristen,
Are you using powdered coriander in the crock pot version?
Thanks!
Jessica
You can use either! I love the little crunch of the coriander seeds but often make this with ground coriander as my man prefers it that way. Choose whichever you think you’ll like best. Same quantities either way.
Hi! Mine turned out bitter. I think it’s because of too many garlic. Guess I’ll just use 3 cloves next time.
I’m sorry to hear you found it bitter.
Cooked for 8 hours on low and the lentils are still super hard. Anyone else? I’m going to finish cooking on the stovetop.
Were your lentils fresh?
Hi,
A head of garlic seems like a lot! Do you mean a clove? A head has anywhere between 6-8 cloves depending on the size.
A whole head! It seems like a lot but it’s perfect. 🙂
Hello, this looks amazing I so badly want to make it, I cannot find brown lentils anywhere you don’t get them in Ireland (used to get them loads in South Africa), what other lentils can I use that will still make the recipe nice and be able to cook for 8 hours? Thanks
Green lentils would work, too! Or even beluga lentils would work. They would change the recipe a bit but you could cook them for 8 hours and they’d still be delicious. 🙂
Hello. I am stupid in the kitchen, but I love the sound of your recipe. Do U say that I can use black lentils instead of the brown lentils? If yes, should I vary the cooking time or make other changes? My sincere thanks.
Brown and black lentils cook in the same amount of time so you should be able to substitute them without any other changes to the recipe!
Delicious recipe! My kids and I just love this! (I use green lentils).
I use 1 T curry powder, 1 tsp ginger and 2 tsp garlic instead of the other spices. A little less water also. I love this recipe! I skip the cilantro and cayenne also.
Hooray! So happy it was a hit!
Hi! This being both vegan and a coconut curry sold me. We actually ran out of coconut milk and tomatoes yesterday (and I didn’t feel like shopping) so I subbed flax milk and 2 Tbsp coconut oil plus 2 Tbsp tomato paste. Worked great! Silly me accidentally added the salt in the beginning but didn’t notice tough lentils, so I’ll count myself lucky this time. Served with dried coconut shavings and a squeeze of lime. Great recipe. Thank you, Kristen.
Great call on the substitutions! And coconut shavings and lime sounds like the perfect toppings!
Thank you so much for your recipe. I made it today using mung beans and its perfect! It has a great depth of flavour. I think it will become one of my staples.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
I have canned lentils on hand. Would those be okay to substitute?
I think they would work better in the original version of this recipe: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/creamy-coconut-lentil-curry/
You would want to reduce or eliminate the water (since the canned lentils are already cooked) and simply warm them.