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Just made this for dinner. Yum! It was the perfect combination of spices. I felt like I’d ordered from an Indian restaurant. Thanks so much for the recipe!!!!
Stacy
Now is a good time to:
- wear cozy sweaters
- get a few candles going
- immerse your house in the flavors and smells of your favorite classic comfort-food-but-still-kinda-healthy simmering stovetop recipes.
For example, RED CURRY LENTILS DUH.
These red curry lentils are one of my all-time favorite recipes. As is usually my vibe, we’re working with very basic pantry ingredients here and simple, straightforward prep. It’s hard to mess this one up.
Just cook your lentils and toss them in up this spicy red curry sauce with sauteed onions and a shot of coconut milk. OH MY PERFECTLY SPICY GOODNESS.
I’ve kind of had a fling with lentils lately. Or wait, like, over the last 8 years. These guys, this one, that other one, and now a walk down memory lane back to the original that started my love affair? I can barely stand it. If you’ve never made lentils before, this is a perfect recipe to introduce you to the magic of the most cheap, healthy, versatile, and absolutely delicious little food in the pantry. The Humble Lentil reigns supreme.
Will you eat a big plate of these red curry lentils with rice? Or will you scoop up a creamy bite with a warm piece of naan? Or will you eat it cold out of the fridge with exactly zero judgement from me?
Only time will tell.
Variations For This Recipe
- Vegan Version: Just sub oil in for the butter!
- How to make in the Instant Pot: We have a recipe for that – follow our Instant Pot Red Curry Lentils here.
- How to make in a slow cooker: Another one for that! You can find our Crockpot Red Curry Lentils here.
Watch How To Make Our Red Curry Lentils
Common Questions About Red Curry Lentils
Yep!
Absolutely!
We’d recommend brown or green lentils for this recipe. We don’t recommend red lentils since they’ll overcook in this case.
Red Curry Lentils
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Red curry lentils is my all-time favorite lentil recipe. Thick, creamy, saucy, and perfect as leftovers. Plus it’s healthy and easy!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1/2 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- a few good shakes of cayenne pepper
- 1 14-ounce can tomato puree
- 1/4 cup coconut milk or cream
- cilantro for garnishing
- rice for serving
Instructions
- Cook the lentils according to directions. Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes until fragrant and golden. Add all the spices (curry paste, garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne, sugar, garlic, ginger) and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato puree; stir and simmer until smooth.
- Add the lentils and the cream. Stir to combine and simmer for another 15-20 minutes (the longer, the better)! Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
Equipment
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Thai-Inspired
Keywords: red curry lentils, curry lentils, indian lentils
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our delicious lentil recipes page. Check it out!
Tasty recipe, the cilantro really makes it great, I added 1 tsp salt and a splash of lime juice. I didn’t have curry powder on hand and substituted it with a mix of turmeric/cumin/coriender.
We loved this meal! It was so delicious and simple. It was just me and my hubby eating so I froze the leftovers and look forward seeing how well they reheat for an easy future meal. Thank you for sharing these delicious recipes.
Such an easy and wonderful recipe! It will go to our regular rotation for sure!
I’m not one for Instagram, but I did just make this recipe again. It holds up, delicious every time, pairs really well with sauteed spinach and a dollop of yogurt on the side. It’s just so good to have a recipe I know I can make, even with my very slow knife skills, that’s proven to taste good and be healthy so I feel good eating it.
These lentils are sooo good and even better the next day!
I love so many of your recipes! Thank you. I’m trying this one for the first time. Is there really no salt in this recipe? It’s simmering on my stove top now, but I’m curious if you truly make it without salt. Thanks again.
Hi! Do the lentils have to be cooked first, or can they cook in the mixture?
Lentils take some time to cook and require extra liquid, so for this recipe with the stated amount of liquid, they do need to cook first!
This recipe looks very good, but the website is so KLUTSY with ads that I can’t stand to use it. Neaten it up some and maybe I’ll be back. Or tell me how to stop the unwanted noise?
Made this last night for dinner and it was delish! This morning I couldn’t stop thinking about it and decided to have it for Monday brunch – warmed it up over rice and added a little more tomato puree and coconut milk, fried up an egg, added a dollop of plain greek yogurt and topped it off w/a sprinkle of cilantro. Yum! I love leftovers!
This is insanely good…highly recommend. Nothing but great experiences with Pinch of Yum recipes, and this one does not disappoint!
Can this be frozen?
Yes, this should freeze great!
One of my “go-to” recipes. Very delicious and easy to whip up. Lentils have a lot of nutritional benefits besides fiber. Recommended for anyone
Hi,
I am going to make these this week, stove top version. I noticed that the insapot recipe calls for the same amount of ingredients except far less coconut milk. Is there a reason for this? Also one version calls for tomato sauce, the other tomato puree. Does it really make a difference because of the method of cooking? Thanks!
This was delicious. I do like my curries a bit sweeter, so I added extra sugar. Next time, I might also add cloves. Easy recipe! Thanks!
OMG!!! This is heaven. I made this today and will be making it again and again and again and ..well you get what I’m saying 🙂 YUM!!! I omitted the sugar and added a pinch more of cayenne pepper. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe. Yum!!!
This was soooo good! I am always looking for new recipes with lentils, and I know I will be making this again!
Tried these last night, OMG so good!!!!
Dear I’m interested with you discuss chickpeas rad lentils for business
I used the brownish/green lentils. They came out still somewhat hard. Lentils can be toxic if not cooked thoroughly enough.
Thanks for the awesome vegetarian recipe! Sorry if you already answered this question (there are a lot of comments already), but in the first picture it looks like there is some sort of nut also added as a garnish? What is that?
I believe they’re chopped peanuts, but cashews will work too!