Lentil Curry
This lentil curry recipe offers fresh flavor, warming spices and vegetables. Inspired by Indian curries, this recipe is satisfying and delicious!
Posted by Kathryne Taylor on October 14, 2026
This hearty lentil curry recipe is perfect on a cool day. Featuring tender lentils and plentiful veggies, it’s nicely spiced with curry powder and cumin. Curious about the spice level? I’d classify it as mild. The dish is lightly creamy thanks to some coconut milk, but not heavy.
Make this curry when you want to warm up and eat your vegetables as the same time. I tested this recipe five times with a variety of vegetables and love the final combination of onion, bell pepper, carrot, potato and cauliflower. You could treat it as a light main dish or a vegetable side dish.
If you’re a fan of dal makhani (the classic Indian lentil curry) or lentil soup but want to try something different, give this dish a try. It yields quite a bit, so you can freeze individual portions for later in the season.
How to Make Curry with Lentils
The key to making a flavorful lentil curry is to build the dish in layers. We’ll cook the vegetables in two increments, seasoning each one. Then we’ll add aromatics and spices—garlic, ginger, curry powder and cumin—and cook them long enough to wake up their flavors.
Finally, we’ll add the lentils with the wet ingredients—water, coconut milk and diced tomatoes with their liquid. The mixture will need twenty to thirty minutes to simmer away while the flavors intensify.
Watch How to Make This Curry
Vegetable curries always have a lengthy ingredients list, but I streamlined this recipe as much as possible. Once you’ve chopped your veggies, the method is straightforward. Here’s a video to show you how to make it, and you’ll find the full recipe at the bottom of the post.
Ingredient Tips
Buy the suggested vegetable sizes when you’re grocery shopping. For example, the recipe calls for a small cauliflower; a large cauliflower will throw the dish out of balance. (If the store only sells large, reserve some of the cauliflower for another use.)
Use black beluga or French green lentils (lentilles du Puy). I also tested the recipe with regular brown lentils, but they didn’t thicken the stew enough and I didn’t enjoy their flavor.
Leftover fresh ginger is perfect for making ginger tea.
You might as well cook some extra rice and plan on making Extra Vegetable Fried Rice tomorrow night.
Serving Suggestions
This dish offers a hefty dose of vegetables and fiber. You can serve it on a bed of cooked brown rice if you’d like. I recommend basmati or regular long-grain—either way, you can use my favorite brown rice cooking method. To add some additional protein to the meal, top it with a fried egg, at which point the meal would become vegetarian instead of vegan.
You could serve this dish as a major component in a homemade Indian-style buffet, along with Palak Paneer or Quick Chana Masala. For a side salad, consider some greens dressed with Carrot Ginger Dressing (omit the sesame oil). Will you please invite me, too?
Please let me know how your lentil curry turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Lentil Curry
This lentil curry recipe offers fresh flavor, warming spices and vegetables. Inspired by Indian curries, this recipe is satisfying and delicious! Recipe yields about 6 bowls.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 ¼ teaspoon fine salt, divided
- 1 small cauliflower (about 1 ¼ pound, or 4 ½ cups), cored and roughly chopped
- 1 Yukon gold potato (½ pound or less), peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup black beluga or French green lentils, picked over for debris and rinsed
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup light or regular coconut milk, plus more for garnish
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- Black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
- Cooked brown jasmine rice or long-grain rice, for serving (optional)
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the onion, carrots, bell pepper, and salt. Cook until the onions are turning translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower and potato. Cook until the vegetables are fork-tender and the cauliflower has some color to it, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, curry powder and cumin. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the lentils, water, coconut milk and tomatoes with their liquid, plus another ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring every few minutes to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom, until the potatoes, carrots and lentils are cooked through and the mixture has thickened, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Season to taste with additional salt (I added another ¼ teaspoon) and black pepper. Serve in bowls with an extra drizzle of coconut milk, chopped cilantro, and a wedge of lime. Leftovers will keep well in the refrigerated, covered, for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from an older (since deleted) recipe titled Tomato and Lentil Curry. I like this recipe much better.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This sounds fabulous! Is there a plant-based substitute for coconut milk (coconut being prohibited for patients with cardiovascular disease)?
Hi Robin, I would try cashew cream or milk. You could also do silken tofu.
My friend is allergic to bell peppers will it make any great difference if I leave them out, we were just this morning talking about wanting a recipe for lentil curry and here it is
Hi Christine, you can omit the peppers if needed. This recipe is flexible for vegetable substitutions.
I haven’t made this yet, but definitely will. I love your recipes! Thank You for creating good food for good health and well-being! I’m immensely impressed with your newsletter. I look forward to it.
Thank You so much,
With Gratitude,
Devorah
Can we use tinned lentils
Hi Judy, I recommend the recipe as written, but if you want to use cooked or canned lentils, you can add them at the end and use a bit less broth.
Can you use canned lentils, or maybe already cooked lentils from Trader Joe’s?
Hi Sarah, I recommend the recipe as written, but if you want to use cooked or canned lentils, you can add them at the end and use a bit less broth.
Hi Kate- at my altitude lentils can take a very long time to cook. Can I omit the water and use canned lentils instead?
Hi Julie, yes you would reduce the water and add them at the end.
I like using red lentils. Will they work ok in this recipe?
Hi Paula, yes you can use red lentils if you prefer, but they will get a softer texture after cooking. I prefer the firmer texture and “bite” of French green or Beluga lentils.
Do I need rice as I do not like rice except in pudding?
hi Devon, no you can serve over your preferred grain.
My wife made this curry last night, and it was absolutely delicious. She made a couple of changes: she doubled everything except the coconut milk, and used butternut pumpkin instead of potatoes.
I had two huge servings, and the second was even better than the first. I suspect the leftovers will be better still. I can’t wait!
PS: I’m an omnivore with a fairly varied diet, but your vegetarian recipes are encouraging me to eat more legumes, and a wider variety of them. Thank you!
My carnivore husband raved about this recipe. He said several times, “don’t lose this recipe”. I made crispy tofu to have with my dish since I’m a vegetarian. For hubby I cooked him T-Bone steak as his protein. He actually went back for a second helping of the Lentil Curry and Steamed Rice before even going back for seconds of his steak. A great testament to a delicious recipe. Thank you. I also have plenty of leftovers for tomorrow plus enough to freeze 2 large portions as well for a future easy meal supper or work lunch. I just hope the potatoes freeze ok in it… I hate grainy potatoes after they’ve been frozen. Fingers crossed.
It was a bit involved for making it the first time but I think it will go quicker the next time now that I know the simplicity of the recipe.
This sounds delish, thank you. I especially love the flexibility it offers. Would it be pushing it too far to substitute cauliflower rice if we don’t have regular cauliflower at hand?
Hi Jean, using riced cauliflower will impact the texture and it won’t take as long to cook, but if you adjust for that it should be fine.
Thank you!
Hello! Is it ok to make with green lentils, instead of French green lentils?
Hi Sheryl, French green lentils are slightly smaller and hold their shape more. You can use another type, it will just impact the texture, and I prefer the “bite” of French green lentils.
I made this yesterday and it’s absolutely delicious. It’s going straight to the top of my list of regulars. I substituted with well rinsed tinned lentils as they are easier on my tummy. Added lots of black pepper and less water. Served with brown rice and left over sausages. Perfect!
Light but warm dish perfect for a colder day. We added cayenne for a bit of a bite and were very pleased with the outcome. Looking forward to having leftovers the rest of the week
Increasingly Cookie and Kate weekly recommendations are been tested out in my house! It’s great to have some ideas for the week. I tried this out last weekend and it was delicious. A lovely, warming curry with loads of vegetables. we had some popadoms, natural yogurt and mango chutney with it. It made a lovely meal.
I used leftovers as burrito filling, toasted the burritos, and topped with cilantro lime taco sauce. Crazy good. This recipe is wonderful and definitely a keeper!
Wonderful recipe. This time, I followed the recipe closely. In the future, I might switch up the vegetables. The recipe indicates 15 mins of prep time but it took me much longer. Nonetheless, it was worthwhile. The portions were generous and the mix of textures and flavors was delicious. Will definitely make it again.
OMG!!!! This was SOOOOO good! I made this Lentil Curry and it’s definitely a keeper! Used a sweet potato instead and added mushrooms. My daughter said “More mushrooms next time Mom!” When reheating, I added fresh cilantro and a dash of coconut milk for garnish as suggested. YUM YUM!
Thank you Kate!!!
My family loved this dish! We eat a lot of Indian food and I knew we would enjoy this based on the ingredients. I almost made this with green lentils, since I had them on hand, but read I shouldn’t substitute the lentils. I’m glad I followed the recipe! It turned out perfect and we have plenty of leftover that tastes even better the next day!
Kate, this lentil curry is amazing! What a great recipe. I JUST made it, and I am already loving it. The balance of flavors is divine–I am not a cauliflower fan, but I bit the bullet and added it, and the texture is perfect. Thanks so much for this superb autumn delight!
My best,
Chris
I love your recipes and own your book. Pretty much made all your curry’s! But this one I found there was far too much liquid and I made not a single substitute. I actually had to ladle out liquid during the cooking process because it wasn’t cooking down and was more of a soup! Even then it wasn’t cooking down still very liquid-y for a curry. I would suggest at least one cup less water possibly 2. But thank you for a new curry recipe my 8 year loves your curry’s! Especially the kale and sweet potato.