This creamy vegan lentil curry is super easy to make, hearty, filling and high in protein and fiber. It’s also naturally gluten-free.
This hearty vegan lentil curry is the perfect weeknight meal.
It’s wholesome, super delicious and high in protein and fiber. All that good stuff.
It’s super easy and pretty quick too, and you can have dinner on the table in less than an hour with this meal.
If you have leftovers, you’ll be happy too because leftovers are divine for lunch the next day.
And making this is a walk in the park.
Even if you find cooking a bit of a challenge this recipe will be easy for you. It’s super forgiving and even if you make a few mistakes, it’ll be okay!
How to make vegan lentil curry
Fry up some onions and garlic with some olive oil and spices, then add dried lentils and toss them up with the onions and spices.
Then you add a couple of cans of chopped tomatoes and some vegetable stock along with a can of coconut cream and let it simmer until the lentils are soft and cooked.
Then you add in some fresh basil until just wilted, some coconut sugar for flavor balance and salt and pepper as needed and you’re ready to go.
How to serve your lentil curry
Serve with or without basmati rice, as you like it! I’m a fan of the rice, so rice it is for me. Cauliflower rice would be great with this too.
Some fresh basil leaves and slices of fresh lime are also great to serve with this.
This recipe easily serves 6 for a filling and delicious meal.
It keeps extremely well so you can have leftovers in the fridge for a few days and reheat them as you like.
I really think you are going to love this vegan lentil curry and it will likely be on regular rotation in your kitchen soon! It’s:
- Creamy
- Hearty
- Filling and Satisfying
- High in protein and fiber
- Easy
- Naturally gluten-free
Keep leftovers in the fridge and reheat as needed. Leftovers keep very well for 4-5 days in the fridge.
More vegan lentil recipes
- Our vegan lentil soup is an ultra simple 6-ingredient recipe that is so creamy you will wonder if there is actually cream in it, but there isn’t!
- Our creamy coconut red lentil dal is ready in around 35 minutes and super delicious and satisfying.
- Our vegan bolognese sauce is made with lentils, walnuts, tofu and mushrooms and makes the most divine bolognese!
- When you want to feed a crowd, then you need our vegan pasta bake, with lentils in the sauce, and our vegan sweet potato curry uses lentils along with sweet potatoes to create a super delicious curry.
Let us know in the comments what you think of this vegan lentil curry and please rate the recipe too. Thanks.
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Vegan Lentil Curry
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6
Description
This creamy vegan lentil curry makes a perfect weeknight meal. It’s super easy to make, hearty and filling, and high in protein and fiber. Gluten-free.
Ingredients
For the Lentil Curry:
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion (Chopped)
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Mild Curry Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) Dried Brown Lentils
- 2 14oz (400ml) Cans Chopped Tomatoes
- 3 cups (720ml) Vegetable Stock
- 1 14oz (400ml) Can Coconut Cream
- 2 cups Fresh Basil*
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper (to taste)
For Serving:
- Basmati Rice (or sub Cauliflower Rice)
- Fresh Basil
- Fresh Lime
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a pot with the onion, crushed garlic, curry powder, cumin, coriander powder, turmeric and cayenne pepper and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add in the dried lentils and toss them with the onions and spices.
- Add the cans of chopped tomato, the vegetable stock and the coconut cream. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and cooked – around 35-40 minutes.
- When the lentils are cooked add in the fresh basil and stir in until just wilted. Add the coconut sugar and stir in. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve with rice, fresh basil and some slices of fresh lime.
Notes
*You can switch the fresh basil to baby spinach if you prefer.
*Nutritional information is for the lentil curry only and does not include rice.
- Category: Entree, Savory, Gluten-Free
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 6)
- Calories: 412
- Sugar: 8.3g
- Sodium: 625mg
- Fat: 19.9g
- Saturated Fat: 12.4g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 18.5g
- Protein: 15.9g
Keywords: vegan lentil curry
Hi, Just wondering, can you use barley instead of lentils???
Hi Zeva, that might work, I haven’t tried it!
Made this curry today and it was very tasty! I skipped the sugar and added an extra teaspoon of cayenne pepper. The basil is a must.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Nancy!
If I want to make this milder to serve to my kids, how would you recommend reducing the spices? Or are there any I can leave out altogether? Thanks
Hi Jen, you could reduce the curry powder and make sure you do use a mild one, or you could omit it completely, and you could omit the cayenne pepper. This recipe isn’t very spicy at all as is, but with those changes it wouldn’t be spicy at all. 🙂
So easy and so effing delicious everytime!
★★★★★
Hahaha, so glad you liked it Calista!
I’m an Indian and I swear by this recipe in college – it’s the perfect fit. I usually switch the spices a bit, like adding hot curry powder and an extra punch of heat with hot chilli powder but the coconut milk balances it out perfectly. I also skip on the coconut sugar and indulge on the lemon juice with some hearty brown rice, such an incredible, fulfilling meal!
So glad you enjoy it, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Do you think I could use green lentils instead of brown?
Yes, it should be fine!
Alison, this is a very delicious meal. The whole family enjoyed it. Thank you!!!!
Wonderful! Thanks Janelle!
Hi, how would I adjust this if I canted to use canned lentils? Thank
Hi Menique, it would probably be around 3 cans of drained lentils. However, I’m not sure how well that would work in this recipe, because the dried lentils cook in the vegetable stock and the coconut milk so they absorb some of that while they are cooking. Using canned lentils might result in it being too saucy. So you might need to reduce some of the vegetable stock but you’d have to play around with the ratios. Another curry we do have that already uses canned lentils though is our vegan sweet potato curry. 🙂
I attempted this recipe, but I feel I did wrong. Mine looks too watery, do I leave uncovered?
Hi Tim, it may be that the lentils are not yet cooked properly? They expand a lot when cooked. Just see if they are soft and tender, it may be that it’s too early in the process. You can uncover the pot and let it cook off as well. But generally it shouldn’t be watery at all once the lentils are cooked.
Made this tonight absolutely amazing. I used spinach instead of basil and added one chopped sweet potato and two chopped large carrots. Mine was super sweet on its own ( must have been the coconut cream?) so I didn’t add sugar And I doubled the cayenne to add heat. I probably used 1-2 tsp of salt to help cut the sweetness as well as a lime wedge. Over all everyone in the house enjoyed it.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! If you make it again, just make sure the coconut cream is unsweetened. All the best! 🙂
Loved it, but is there any way to avoid the fat in coconut milk….but still get the flavor and creaminess?
Hi Janet, I have made this with a light coconut milk that has significantly less fat (but it does still have some) and it still works great. It’s not as rich but it still works.
I didn’t think I would like the curry taste, so I was ready to make just 1/2 the recipe. I am so glad I made it as listed. The only thing I did not have was coconut cream, so I used a can of the coconut milk. I skipped the sugar, also. I will definitely make it again as my meat eating husband really liked it. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing Colleen!
Great recipe, my housemate and I had a great time with it 🙂
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Joe! 🙂
Can I use red lentils instead of the brown ones?
Thank you.
Hi Norma, red lentils tend to fall apart/get mushy when cooked, whereas the brown ones don’t. This is why red lentils work great for a soup or for making dal. Not necessarily a problem for this curry, just letting you know that if you do use them this will happen.
OMG. Truly one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. Thank you
★★★★★
Yay! That is just awesome! Thanks so much Terry! 🙂
Delicious ! I used spinach instead of basil my family loved it!
★★★★★
Awesome thanks Elsie! 🙂
This is an excellent dish, and easy to make. The only change that I made the second time around was cutting the coconut sugar in half. But of course, sweetness, is a personal preference.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Chris. 🙂
Can I use spinach instead of basil?
★★★★★
Sure! 🙂