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Vegan Lentil Curry

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A vegan lentil curry with warm Indian spices! You will love this easy, one pot meal – the perfect plant based recipe for everyone to enjoy. Serve with rice and naan for a hearty meal.

bowl of lentil curry with rice and naan this recipe

If you’re looking for easy vegan dinner recipes, I’ve got you covered with this simple Indian style curry!

Curry brings me back to when I traveled to the UK (England and Scotland) with some friends a few summers ago.

Over there it’s the real deal with amazing authentic dishes and flavor combinations.

There aren’t many places that serve curry like that around where I live is, but we were inspired to create an Indian style yellow curry recipe that anyone can make at home.

It’s a super simple recipe with ingredients you can find at any grocery store.

An Easy Lentil Curry Recipe

If you love Indian-style dishes, you’re going to love this. I’m betting this vegan lentil curry is going to become a family-favorite.

bowl of lentil curry with rice and naan

Lentil Curry Ingredients

  • coconut oil
  • yellow onion
  • garlic cloves – fresh or minced in a jar is best
  • freshly grated ginger – fresh is best here, but dried/ground will work in a pinch
  • bunch of carrots
  • crushed tomatoes (tomato puree)
  • water or vegetable broth
  • dried brown lentils (or green lentils)
  • full-fat canned coconut milk

Spices

  • mild curry powder (see notes)
  • ground turmeric
  • ground coriander
  • gourd cumin
  • cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt, to taste

Serving Suggestions

Garnish with fresh cilantro, serve with rice and naan!

ingredients in bowls for indian lentil curry

Made in One Pot under One Hour

I love this recipe for a variety of reasons but one main reason being all you need is one pot! (And yes – I adapted this for a Instant Pot too!)

This lentil curry recipe comes together in just a few steps and is ready under one hour.

Step 1 – Cook down onions, garlic, carrots & spices

In large pot over medium heat (love my Staub for this), add 1 tablespoon coconut oil, onion, garlic, ginger and carrots. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in spices and salt, turn heat up to medium-high, stirring continuously for another 4-5 minutes. Add a little extra oil here as needed.

Step 2 – Add tomatoes, water and lentils

Reduce heat to medium; add crushed tomatoes, water and lentils.

Step 3 – simmer and stir

Stir to combine then bring mixture to a simmer, then cover and continue simmering for about 35-40 minutes, string every 10 minutes. After about 40 minutes, mixture should thicken a little.

pot of lentil and carrots

Step 4 – add coconut milk

Now stir in coconut milk, continue simmering uncovered for 5 minutes on low-medium heat.

Step 5 – Let stand to thicken

Now it’s time to move the pot from the heat and let stand for 10-15 minutes, until curry has thickened more.

lentil curry in pot with cilantro

How to Make in the Instant Pot

Making this lentil curry in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) is super easy as well! The main difference is you’ll need less water, and BONUS no need to stir while the lentils cook so less hands-on time!

  • Add coconut oil, onion, garlic, ginger and carrots to Instant Pot. Use “Saute” mode on low heat, stirring frequently to cook down for about 4 minutes. Add in spices and salt, and a little more oil as needed, stirring continuously for another 4-5 minutes.
  • Add in tomato puree, 1 and 3/4 cups water (or broth) and dried lentils. Stir until combined. Secure lid, setting valve to “sealing” and cook on “manual” mode for 13 minutes, then “natural release” pressure cooker.
  • Carefully remove lid, stir in canned coconut milk and let curry stand for 10 minutes. Note: the Instant Pot Method won’t be as thick right away, so you can opt to use 1 cup of coconut milk, or just know it will thicken the longer it sits (and once it’s been refrigerated if you have leftovers.)

Adjusting the Spices

Another great thing about this recipe is you can adjust the spices to your liking. I used Watkins brand curry powder which is fairly mild. I also added additional turmeric, coriander, some cumin and cayenne for a little heat.

If you’d like, you can start with just the curry powder, then once the lentils have cooked and you’ve added the coconut milk, taste test and add more spice as you’d like.

Indian Lentil Curry in bowl with spoon

Storing Leftovers

This recipe makes a decent batch of about 6-8 servings. Double the batch for leftovers and freeze in an airtight container, up to 6 months.

To Reheat

Allow frozen leftovers to thaw in fridge overnight, and reheat on stovetop over medium heat until warmed through.

More Plant Based Recipes to Love

Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley

Print

Easy Vegan Lentil Curry

bowl of lentil curry with rice and naan
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 11 reviews

Vegan lentil curry with warm curry Indian spices! You will love this easy, one pot meal – the perfect plant based recipe for everyone to enjoy. Serve with rice and naan for a hearty meal.

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Entree
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Indian Inspired
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
  • 1 small bunch of carrots, diced (about 1 cup – see notes)
  • 2 tablespoons mild curry powder (see notes)
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for some heat)
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
  • 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (or sub tomato sauce)
  • 2 3/4 cups water* (or vegetable broth, see notes)
  • 1 cup dried brown lentils
  • 1 (14 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

Serve With

  • fresh cilantro for garnish
  • rice, quinoa or another grain
  • naan

Instructions

Stovetop Method

  1. In large pot over medium heat (love my Staub for this), add 1 tablespoon coconut oil, onion, garlic, ginger and carrots. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in spices and salt, turn heat up to medium-high, stirring continuously for another 4-5 minutes. Add a little extra oil here as needed.
  2. Reduce heat to medium; add crushed tomatoes, water and lentils. Stir to combine then bring mixture to a simmer, then cover and continue simmering for about 35-40 minutes, string every 10 minutes. After about 40 minutes, mixture should thicken a little.
  3. Now stir in coconut milk, continue simmering uncovered for 5 minutes on low-medium heat, then remove from heat and let stand for 10-15 minutes. until curry has thickened more.
  4. Serve with rice, naan and more fresh cilantro.

Instant Pot Method

  1. Add coconut oil, onion, garlic, ginger and carrots to Instant Pot. Use “Saute” mode on low heat, stirring frequently to cook down for about 4 minutes. Add in spices and salt, and a little more oil as needed, stirring continuously for another 4-5 minutes.
  2. Add in tomato puree, 1.75 cups water and dried lentils. Stir until combined. Secure lid, setting valve to “sealing” and cook on high pressure “manual” mode for 15 minutes, then “natural release” pressure cooker for 10 minutes.
  3. Carefully remove lid, stir in canned coconut milk. Let curry stand for 10 minutes. Note: the Instant Pot Method won’t be as thick right away, so you can opt to use 1 cup of coconut milk, or just know it will thicken the longer it sits (and once it’s been refrigerated if you have leftovers.)

Equipment

Notes

Instant Pot Method: Uses less water than stovetop. Only use 1.75 cups water for Instant Pot. If you want softer lentils (more mushy in texture), set timer for 18 minutes.

adapted from RecipeTin Eats

Keywords: indian curry, lentil curry, vegan curry recipe

Photography by: Erin Alvarez

About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

Reader Interactions

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  1. Claire Zimmer says

    This was such a fantastic dinner! My husband and I like to do meatless Mondays so we had our eye on this recipe for a while. It definitely did not disappoint! The spices were perfect and the combination of lentils, carrots, and onion was so satisfying. We paired the curry with jasmine rice, warmed naan and hummus on the side. Will be making this easy recipe again!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  2. Stacy says

    Delicious! I accidentally added the coconut milk at the beginning – still came out great!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. SRD says

    This is absolutely the best vegan curry recipe I’ve tried. So many fall flat on the flavour (too plain, just curry, etc.), but the spice combination is PERFECT! So creamy and delicious, and SO easy to make. Served with basmati rice and naan. Added some steamed peas when we served it for additional texture. May add some cubed sweet potato next time for a bit of sweetness. Definitely a keeper. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  4. Michelle says

    Great Vegan dish. I didn’t have coconut milk so I made cashew milk and used that for the creamy texture.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  5. Kristine says

    This dish was so delicious and so easy to make! We didn’t have carrots, but I did add sweet potatoes instead. My husband and I both enjoyed it and will be making it more often! Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  6. Mike Zuchowski says

    I was looking for a light curry dish, and this popped up as an option. I prepared it a day in advance and it came out amazing . If you are lucky enough to have a spice market near by and they blend the powder to order, add your curry powder first, taste, then add the cayenne as needed. Thank you so much for publishing this dish.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  7. Eva says

    Thank you for this awesome recipe. Served it over brown rice. Super savory and tasty! Definitely going to make this again. Only thing I added was a healthy sprinkle of sumac on top of my bowl, love the lemony flavor.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  8. Lisa says

    Do you have the nutrition facts for this? I’m counting macros and would really like to know. Thank you!

    Reply

  9. Bethany says

    Could I make this with lentils that were already cooked if I omit the water or broth?

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      I haven’t tried that myself but if you’re okay with a slightly soupier base, it could work. The lentils absorb some of the coconut milk (and tomatoes) while they’re cooking so it definitely won’t be the same.

      Reply

  10. Kallen says

    I’ve been trying to add some vegan/vegetarian recipes to my regular rotation of meals and this did not disappoint!! Delicious, cheap and easy to make I can’t recommend this recipe enough!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Thank you so much for sharing a review! I am so glad you’re liking it. This is one of my personal go-to’s as well 🙂

      Reply