This hearty vegan lentil curry is the perfect weeknight meal. It’s creamy, filling, easy to make and loaded with flavor.
Vegan lentil curry is 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’re a cooking newbie this recipe will be easy for you. It’s super forgiving and even if you make a few mistakes, it’ll be okay!
And if you love a good curry you’ll also love our butternut squash curry and our vegan chana masala.
How To Make Vegan Lentil Curry
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
Add chopped onions and garlic to a pot with olive oil and spices and sauté until the onions are softened. Add dried lentils and toss them up with the onions and spices.
Add canned chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock and canned coconut cream (or coconut milk) and stir it in.
Bring it to a simmer and then turn down the heat, and simmer until the lentils are soft and cooked.
Add fresh basil leaves.
Stir in the basil leaves until just wilted. Add coconut sugar (for flavor balance) and salt and pepper to taste.
Your lentil curry is ready to serve!
How To Serve 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. If you’d like something on the side then a loaf of crusty bread to mop up the sauce is always a winner. Or bake a loaf of whole wheat bread.
This recipe easily serves 6 for a filling and delicious meal.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftovers in the fridge and reheat as needed. Leftovers keep very well for 4-5 days in the fridge.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Vegan Lentil Recipes
- 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!
- Red lentil dal is ready in 30 minutes and super delicious and satisfying.
- Lentil bolognese is super hearty and veggie-packed.
- Vegan dal makhani is rich creamy and restaurant quality.
- Lentil ragu makes the best hearty pasta dish!
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Lentil Curry
Ingredients
For the Lentil Curry:
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Mild Curry Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 ½ cups Dried Brown Lentils (300g)
- 28 ounces Canned Chopped Tomatoes (800ml, 2 cans)
- 3 cups Vegetable Stock (720ml)
- 14 ounces Canned Coconut Cream (400ml, 1 can) Unsweetened
- 2 cups Fresh Basil
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar or Light Brown Sugar
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
For Serving:
- Basmati 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 chopped tomato, vegetable stock and coconut cream. Bring to a simmer 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.
Video
Notes
- Coconut cream can be replaced with canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
- You can switch the fresh basil to baby spinach if you prefer.
- Store leftovers in the fridge in a covered container for 4-5 days. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
- Nutritional information is for the lentil curry only and does not include rice.
Chris says
Hey, thank you for this great recipe – two questions. Can you give the serving size? I tried adding up all of the large ingredients and dividing by 6, and got roughly 1.5 cups, would that be correct?
Also, I’m trying to track calories, and when I calculated all the major ingredients, I ended up with only about 378 calories per serving, just wondering if I am under-estimating somewhere?
Olive Oil 80, Onion 40, Garlic 10, 1.5 cups Brown Lentils – 1020, 2 x 14oz chopped tomatoes – 145, 3 cups vegetable stock – 60, 14oz coconut cream – 850, 1 tbsp – coconut sugar – 45, fresh basil 10, lime juice – 10 = 2270 / 6 = 378 calories.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Chris, I don’t measure the volume like that, I just go with what a serving would be based on how many servings we get out of it. And calorie counts are going to be different based on the ingredients used and the calorie software you’re using. I calculated it based on my specific ingredients and I use cronometer.
ViviBelle says
This curry was incredibly spiced, hearty, and so so flavorful. I used green lentils and it turned out amazing. You always make the best recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Vivi! xoxo
thebigbaldchef says
Really easy to make, minimal fuss, a good and healthy dish. Quite a subtle taste in comparison to other dahl recipes I use but sometimes that’s just what you want! I have only used spinach in place of basil when I have made it. This recipe makes LOTS – enough to feed 6-8 people.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much for posting and the great review! 🙂
Mia Turner says
Awesome recipe and you can make spagbog or cottage pie with this as well.
Alison Andrews says
Yes definitely! Thanks for sharing Mia and the great review! 🙂
Beverly says
2 of my favorites Lentils and curry awesome
Love it my new go to meal had it with Farro
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much for the great review. 🙂
Tyler says
Delicious!!!!!!!!!!
Meryl says
I love your blog and recipes! Thank you so much! 2 questions please can any part of this be done in a pressure cooker? I just bought one and I’m dying to try it haha. Also if I opted to use fresh tomatoes what amount for the substitution please?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Meryl, sorry I have exactly zero experience with pressure cookers! But if using fresh tomatoes, then you would be using around 4 large tomatoes. So happy you like the blog, thanks so much! 🙂
Misha Hubacek says
Absolutely delicious! It was my first time cooking dry lentils and I am in love. Thank you so much! I didn’t add the basil because I didn’t have any. Also tried it with rice and macaroni and i think both are amazing. Non-vegan boyfriend loved it.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So happy to hear that, thanks a million for the review! 🙂
Tina says
I just made this dish as I am new to Curry’s. The smells, wow! I made the recipe exactly as written and it was super delicious. I am so happy I made this and since it’s 2 of us, we will have plenty of leftovers. Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear it was good! Thanks so much for sharing Tina! 🙂
claire says
Hi, can i use normal sugar instead of coconut sugar?
thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Yes definitely!
Alicia says
Hi, this recipe looks delicious and I am anxious to try it. I am wondering, is there something else I could use instead of coconut cream?
Alison Andrews says
I haven’t tried it with anything else, but I guess you could try using a plant based milk instead.
Mia (Australia) says
OMG! Im definately going to make this. I love lentils, but I think I will add some veggies to this mix to make it extra special with some bay leave and herbs from the garden. Thank you, this looks amazing!
Alison Andrews says
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
gayle says
This recipe is soooo good. And it was really easy to make.
Mercy for the animals
Montana says
Allison,
I love just looking at the pictures of the food you display on your website, every bit as beautiful as any sceneries a person observes in nature.
So many recipes I want to try, haven’t yet, don’t know what to make 1st!! ?
You mention trying out different flours, different this and that. How much time does it take to perfect a recipe?
(Just a side comment, my mother’s maiden name is Andrews!!)
Alison Andrews says
Hi Montana! Oh that’s interesting, maybe we’re related! 🙂 Sometimes recipes are easy, the easy ones might be tested once and then we’ll do the photo shoot for them after that, so they’re made at least twice by the time I post them, and then if we make a video then we’ll make it again, so 3 times. That’s the easy ones. Sometimes if I’m trying different things in a recipe or am having a struggle getting it right then I can test it 10 times or more! Haha, so it depends. And then if I’ve tested something 10 times or more and it is still not right, then sometimes I just have enough and leave it to come back to in a few weeks or months with a fresh perspective. Thanks for posting and hope you’ll try a few of the recipes soon. 🙂
Meg says
Any chance I can use red lentils ?!
Alison Andrews says
Yes definitely! Brown is just what we used but any color dried lentils will work great!