coconut lentil curry

This easy to make Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry is a healthy vegan recipe that makes a perfect Meatless Monday dinner recipe. 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.
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✨ If you love this Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry as much as we do, make sure to give it a 5-star review in the comments below!

Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry

coconut oil

each: cumin seeds and coriander seeds

head of garlic, chopped (10-12 cloves)

tomatoes

ginger, chopped

turmeric

sea salt

cup dried brown lentils

cayenne powder, optional

water

15-ounce can coconut milk

cherry tomatoes

cilantro

Heat the coconut oil in a large pot or skillet 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.

Add the can of crushed tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, and sea salt to the pot and cook, stirring the pot a few times, for 5 minutes. Add the lentils and, if using, the cayenne powder, and the water to the pot and bring it to a boil. 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 1/2 &#8211; 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.

I just made this tonight and it was an easy recipe to follow.  I didn’t have cumin or coriander seeds so I just used the powder version. I also added kale at the end.  It was tasty but it was sour for me.  I like my curry on the sweet side.  I’m not sure what made it sour, maybe the crushed tomatoes.  

Delish, thank you! I like my curry fairly thick so added the milk solid only from 2 cans of coconut milk and discarded the coconut water. The whole spices added a fabulous texture. Will definitely add this to my favorites list.

Great recipe thanks! I’ll be making it again!

I’ve just made this and it really is amazing! Thank you :-) 

I love this recipe. Made it a few times at home and batch cook them. I only use 2/3 of the water as I like my curry to be thick. Thank you!

Delish! I've made this numerous times and it never gets old. Plus, I love the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Absolutely delicious! So straightforward! So tasty. Love it! 

I'm Colombian so it's tradition to eat lentils. Let me tell you, this has to be my all time favorite way to cook them! It is so yummy even when I add kale to it, my dad will eat it! 10/10 recommend this recipe even if you aren't a fan of curry or lentils.

This was so good! Easy to make, and delicious. One of those dishes that make me question why I'm not vegan.

It was runny and lacking flavour.
I made it for students from India and they had to fix it and add onion and more spice. They said u should always add onion in any indian indian style recipe.

So yummy! It’s amazing. I just added some onion because I love onion! Bravo! 

This is tasty, but there’s one thing I didn’t like, which was chomping on coriander seeds. Every few bites I’d get a pungent burst of flavor that would throw off the taste of the dish. It’s just my opinion, though.  My suggestion would be to crush them a bit with a mortar and pestle or something like it. 

Absolutely delicious! We used a chile de arbol and crushed chile instead of cayene to make it hotter. Other than that, pretty much followed your recipe. Thanks!

So easy and so delicious every single time. I’ve made the recipe exactly and it’s amazing but I made a small change because my kids get funny about textures so now I only use powdered spices and no cayenne but it’s wonderful. 

Delicious 😍 So easy to prep and make.  I used tinned lentils for extra ease! I also substituted Cayenne pepper with hot smoked paprika to compliment the natural smokiness of the lentils.

This recipe is a go-to for us. We LOVE the toasty spices - they give an amazing flavor to the dish. We're fans of big spice and heat, so we also add the full amount of cayenne pepper. Super easy and health, perfect for a Meatless Monday (or Tuesday, or Wednesday...)

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/DblQjrda.mp4

A creamy coconut lentil curry recipe that makes the ideal vegan dinner. 

Learn how to cook Instant Pot Lentil Curry (Pressure Cooker Lentil Curry) with simple, long shelf life pantry ingredients! This creamy, hearty &amp; flavorful curried lentils recipe is super easy to make &amp; done in 45 mins. Budget-friendly, filling, &amp; satisfying vegetarian meal (with vegan options).

Instant Pot Lentil Curry

(400 grams) whole lentils (green

(875 milliliters) unsalted chicken stock (or vegetable stock/water)

(24 grams) curry powder

table salt ((add

(30 grams) ghee ((substitutions: unsalted butter

(23 grams) garlic (, minced)

(220 grams) medium onion (, diced or minced)

ginger (, minced)

(15 milliliters) regular soy sauce

tomato paste

Saute Onion &amp; Garlic: Heat up Instant Pot using &quot;Sauté More&quot; function. Wait until the indicator says &quot;HOT&quot;. Add 2 tbsp (30g) ghee to the Instant Pot. Add in diced onions, then saute for 3 minutes. Add in minced garlic, ginger, ¼ cup (60g) tomato paste, 3 tbsp (24g) curry powder, and ½ - 1 tsp (1.4g - 2.8g) cayenne pepper, then saute for another minute. *Curry Powder Tip: Different Curry Powder vary in taste, aroma, quality. Make sure to taste &amp; adjust accordingly. Best to use High Quality Curry Powder when possible. *Spicy Level Tip: Adjust the amount of cayenne pepper according to how spicy you want your lentil curry. For reference, we used mild spicy curry powder with ½ tsp (1.2g) cayenne pepper, and it was mild-medium spiciness.

Deglaze Instant Pot: Pour in 1 cup (250ml) unsalted chicken stock, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

Pressure Cook Lentil Curry: Add in 1 tbsp (15ml) regular soy sauce, ½ tsp table salt, then give it a quick mix. Add in 2 cups (400g) of whole lentils and 2.5 cups (625ml) unsalted chicken stock. Make sure the lentils are submerged in the liquid. *Note: If you&#039;re not using the coconut milk at the end, add in an extra ¼ cup (63ml) unsalted chicken stock here. With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. -Green Lentils: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 10 minutes, then 10 minutes Natural Release. -Brown Lentils: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 8 minutes, then 10 minutes Natural Release. After 10 minutes, release the remaining pressure by turning the Venting Knob to Venting position. Remove the lid carefully.

Season &amp; Add Coconut Milk: Give it a few quick stirs, then mix in ¼ cup (63ml) coconut milk. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt (roughly 1 - 2 large pinches of salt). Add in more coconut milk as desired.

Garnish &amp; Serve Curried Lentils: Garnish Curried Lentils with finely chopped cilantro or green onions. Enjoy this Easy Instant Pot Lentil Curry over rice or your favorite side dishes!

This Coconut Lentil Curry is a 30 minute easy dinner idea that's healthy and full of flavor; it's a plant based recipe flavored with Thai curry paste.

Coconut Lentil Curry with Greens

brown or green lentils

leafy greens: spinach, kale, or chard

olive oil

coconut milk

Thai red curry paste

salt

black pepper

Make the rice according to How to Cook Basmati Rice (or Instant Pot Rice).

Place the lentils in a saucepan with 6 cups warm water. Bring to a low boil, then boil for about 20 minutes until tender (taste to assess doneness). Drain, then add a few pinches of salt.

Meanwhile, wash the greens, remove the stems and chop the leaves. (If using prewashed baby spinach, you can skip this step.) In your largest skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the greens and sauté for several minutes until tender and bright green.

When the lentils are done, add them to the skillet with the greens. Over medium high heat, stir in the coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, tomato paste, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Cook for a few minutes until heated through and the sauce is thickened.

Taste and add a few pinches of salt if desired. Serve with rice.

This Instant Pot Lentil Curry can be made in an Instant Pot  in about 30 minutes.( Or make this on the stove top- see notes!)  Infused with fragrant Indian spices, this recipe is not only delicious, it is is vegan and gluten free! Serve it over a bed of spinach, basmati rice or with homemade naan bread!

Instant Pot Lentil Curry 

coconut oil, or ghee(ghee tastes best)

onion, diced

garlic cloves, rough chopped (3-4 tablespoons)

ginger root, finely chopped

carrots, diced (or sub 1 cup celery)

coriander

paprika (not smoked, or sub chili powder)

fenugreek leaves (optional, but elevates)

garam masala

nutmeg

cayenne (or chili flakes) more to taste

brown lentils (or large green- do not use split)

can coconut milk (ADD AFTER YOU COOK THE LENTILS)

Set Instant Pot to the Saute function, heat the oil and saute the onion, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and carrots, saute 3 more minutes, stirring.  Add all the spices, salt and tomato paste, stir for 1 minute. Add the water and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the brown lentils, give a stir and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes. If using other lentils, see notes. Manually release!

At this point, if you wanted, you could also add other veggies- peas, cauliflower, or a handful of spinach to wilt.

Re-taste for salt, adding more if necessary (especially if adding a lot of veggies)  and add more Garam Masala to taste, or chili flakes. If it seems watery, saute or keep on warm, uncovered for a bit. The Coconut Lentil Curry will also thicken slightly as it cools.

Serve over a bed of baby spinach, over basmati rice (or both) or with homemade Naan.

To make the Turmeric Coconut Chips,

heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add ¼ cup coconut flakes and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon ground turmeric. Dry fry for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly until fragrant and lightly toasted.  Turn off heat.  These are too easy to burn, so don&#8217;t walk away!

This dish was incredible! I only had red split lentils and it still came out perfect (I kept an eye on it and only simmered about 15 min on stovetop). Added peas and coconut milk at the end, served with cilantro, lime, avocado and pita. Cannot wait to make it again!

I made this dish yesterday.  It came out great despite the strong, not so pleasant  odor coming from the Instapot as it cooked.  I followed the recipe exactly, adding the optional mustard and fennel seeds.  Given the smell coming off the pot I was surprised that it tasted so rich and delicious. I can't, however, get rid of the smell from the Instapot lid.  I have soaked the rubber band in hot water, and even used vinegar. The smell is still coming off on my hands.  Something about the combination of spices in this recipe is leaving a smell that is not good.  I'm wondering if it is the dried fenugreek leaves (more than I ever use in a recipe).  I use these spices all the time and have never had this happen. Maybe the rubber on the Instapot? I'm new to cooking this way so don't know.

Excellent vegan dish! One of my favorites, and it’s also the lowest in calories, compared to other stews. I don’t like carrots so I substituted a sweet potato and it was delicious. Did mine on the stove in my Dutch oven. Thumbs up. 👍🏻

This recipe was incredible, our whole family loved it.  I can’t wait to make it again.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/YosM9g8A.mp4

This Indian Coconut Lentil Curry is full of flavor and can either be made in an Instant Pot or on the stove-top. Infused with fragrant Indian spices, this authentic recipe is not only delicious, it is vegan and gluten-free! Serve the creamy curry lentils over a bed of baby spinach, basmati rice or with homemade naan bread! A simple tasty weeknight meal. Video 

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Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry

Instant Pot Lentil Curry

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Coconut Lentil Curry with Greens

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Top 5 coconut lentil curry recipes from across the web

The most viewed coconut lentil curry recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry

Instant Pot Lentil Curry

Coconut Lentil Curry with Greens

Coconut Lentil Curry with Greens

Instant Pot Lentil Curry

The most viewed coconut lentil curry recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine