It’s HOT outside, so I’m experimenting a lot with my slow cooker this week. Slow cookers are awesome not only because they’re mostly hands-off, but also because they contain their heat well and don’t cause that dreaded ambient heat rise in your kitchen. So, while I totally could have just boiled these Coconut Curry Lentils on the stove top, I saved myself some steam and sweat by cooking them in my slow cooker.
How to Serve Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils
My only issue with using my slow cooker a lot in the summer is that slow cooker recipes are often warm and heavy, more like winter recipes. To freshen these Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils up a bit, I topped them with finely diced red onion and a liberal sprinkle of chopped cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro, you can add some sliced green onion for a similar effect. For even more freshness, try adding a dollop of plain yogurt and a squeeze of lime juice.
Can I Freeze Coconut Curry Lentils?
This recipe makes a lot but luckily it freezes well–rice and all! Just portion everything out into single-serving freezer-safe containers, chill completely in the refrigerator, then transfer to the freezer.
What Size Slow Cooker Should I Use?
This makes a super big batch of lentils, so I would suggest using a 6-quart slow cooker. I use a very basic slow cooker from Hamilton Beach, which is so old that it’s not in production anymore, but you can find a similar slow cooker here. (affiliate link)
What Kind of Curry Powder Should I Use?
You can use either a hot or mild curry powder, depending on whether you prefer your lentils to be mild or spicy. People often ask me what brand curry powder I use, and I have enjoyed both the 365 brand curry powder and Sharwood’s curry powder. Or you can try making your own curry powder at home with this recipe for Easy Homemade Curry Powder from Spiceitupp.com
Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils
Servings 10 cupsIngredients
COCONUT CURRY LENTILS
- 1 yellow onion ($0.37)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 cups brown lentils ($1.36)
- 1 sweet potato (about 3/4 lb.) ($0.98)
- 2 carrots ($0.22)
- 3 Tbsp curry powder (hot or mild) ($0.45)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional) ($0.03)
- 1 15oz. can petite diced tomatoes ($0.65)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce ($0.99)
- 3 cups vegetable broth* ($0.39)
- 1 14oz. can coconut milk (full fat) ($2.47)
FOR SERVING
- 10 cups cooked rice ($0.99)
- 1/2 red onion ($0.40)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro or green onions ($0.40)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Peel the sweet potato and carrots. Dice the sweet potato (1/4-1/2 inch cubes) and slice the carrots.
- Add the onion, garlic, sweet potato, carrots, lentils, curry powder, cloves, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and vegetable broth to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Once cooked, the lentils should be tender and most of the liquid should be absorbed.
- Stir the can of coconut milk into the lentils. Taste and adjust the salt or other spices as needed (the amount of salt needed will depend on the type of broth used and the salt content of the canned tomatoes).
- To serve, add 1 cup cooked rice to a bowl followed by 1 cup of the lentil mixture. Top with finely diced red onion and fresh cilantro.
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Notes
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How to Make Slow Cooker Curry Lentils – Step by Step Photos
Dice one onion (it’s under all that stuff) and mince two cloves of garlic. Peel one sweet potato (3/4-1 lb.) and peel two carrots. Dice the sweet potato and slice the carrots. Add the onion, garlic, sweet potato, and carrots to the slow cooker, along with 2 cups uncooked brown lentils.
Also add one 15oz. can of petite diced tomatoes, a 15oz. can of tomato sauce, 3 Tbsp curry powder (mild or hot–your preference), and 1/4 tsp ground cloves. I’ve decided that I really like cloves in my curry, but if you’re not a clove person you can leave it out.
This is the curry powder I use, BTW. It’s just something I picked up at the grocery store, but it has pretty good potency. Curry powders can vary quite a bit from brand to brand in both flavor and potency, so you might have to experiment to find one that you like. I like to buy mild curry powder and then just add cayenne to dishes when I want things spicy.
Finally, add 3 cups vegetable broth to the slow cooker and give everything a good stir.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. If your slow cooker runs extra hot or doesn’t hold in moisture well, keep an eye on the cooker to make sure the lentils are not drying out. If they begin to look dry or burned on the edges, add more water. After cooking the lentils should be tender and most of the broth absorbed.
Stir in one 14oz. can of full-fat coconut milk. Give the lentils a taste and adjust the salt or other spices if needed. The amount of salt needed will depend on the salt content of your vegetable broth and canned tomatoes. Mine had plenty of salt, so I added none. If you find the lentils to be bland at this point, add a 1/2 tsp of salt or so to see if that makes the flavors pop.
To serve the lentils, add 1 cup cooked rice to a bowl, followed by 1 cup of the coconut curried lentils. Top with finely diced red onion and fresh cilantro (or green onions if you’re not a cilantro person). Other optional toppings include: plain yogurt, a squeeze of fresh lime, or thinly sliced jalapeños.
These Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils are sure to fuel ALL of your summer adventures! :D
My family is mostly plant-based and we LOVED this recipe. It is a great way to get some protein into our diet. To cut corners I used shredded carrots, which was perfect. I was worried about the lentils being undercooked, but they were perfect. We had it with naan bread. I will def make this again. Does it freeze well? I was surprised at how much it actually made. It fed a family of 6, plus leftovers!
I also had a problem with the lentils not cooking. After 4 hours on high when I tasted it everything was so delicious! But the more I cooked it to get the lintels to soften the more the flavor just vanished. I cooked them for 6 hours and they still weren’t cooked. I thought perhaps I read the recipe wrong and that I needed canned lentils because the recipe doesn’t specify but nope. Next time I will soak them over night. Other than that it was an awesome recipe!
Try RED lentils, they cook much quicker than the green or brown varieties! 😉
I don’t usually write reviews but I LOVE THIS RECIPE! I make it often. I have a smaller slow cooker so I halve the recipe and use just one sweet potato and one can of diced tomatoes instead of tomato paste.
I make it for me myself and I and I love that this makes a ton of food. I can always stash some away in the freezer for those nights I need some comfort food without the $$$ and the time.
Can’t say enough good things.. oh wait.. it’s vegan too!
We make this all the time. We add a pinch of spice (cayenne) to ours because our curry powder isn’t spicy. Tonight, we added a butternut squash this, and it was yummy!
We love this recipe, it’s one of our favorites! And it’s vegan. Our slow cooker broke, so I learned to just make this on the stove by cooking the lentils separately. Still works!
Thank you, Beth
I just ditched the other two slow cooker lentil recipes from other site searches. Yours is now on the top of the podium. So good. Perfect in my lowest-priced, basic Crockpot.
I forgot to buy tomato sauce so I used tomato paste with some water. A can of Coconut cream rather than milk went in. I try not to change the pro’s recipe for my first run, but I did throw in some basil and parsley just because I can’t help doing it.
This is the perfect transition recipe from summer to fall! The flavors are light and bright, but it’s also warm and comforting for earlier, chillier nights.
For future reference, I might try cooking this for, say, 15 minutes or half an hour longer than the recipe says – some of my lentils were done to perfection, but some were still a little firm. Maybe stir once halfway through, and then add 15 or 30 mins to the cook time to compensate for the lost steam?
Is it possible to use red lentils instead of the brown? I’m not too familiar with lentils so I’m not sure if the cooking times vary depending on the lentil used?
I really suggest brown lentils for this. Red, orange, and yellow lentils break down really quickly when cooked, so you’ll end up with something more along the lines of split pea soup. Brown lentils hold their shape so the curry will have some texture. :)
Green lentils also hold their shape well. I happen to only have green in the house and just looked up the equivalents.
Our whole family loved this recipe. I added a couple tablespoons of brown sugar just because I was in the mood for a sweet curry. I also replaced the cloves with allspice – it’s just a bit more mellow, and I don’t always love cloves. I was in a hurry so I did the whole thing in a pot on the stovetop, and it still worked. Tomorrow we’ll try topping it with raisins, peanuts, coconut and cilantro – our favorite curry toppings. Thanks!
I make this constantly! Great quantity and it reheats well. Excellent for meal prep. I always have this with rice – I do think it goes best as an accompaniment to a starch or grain. Otherwise the flavor and texture alone doesn’t so too much for me.
I have had issues with timing in the past, just trying to pay attention to the cook on the lentils. I believe my crockpot may not heat consistently so when you’ve got a tricky temp item like lentils, it requires a couple check-ins throughout those hours. Not a big deal, since I usually like to check in with my slow cooker recipes anyway.
I’ve just found your site, looking for a black bean nacho recipe, which, of course, you have. I’ve been blown away by all of your wonderful recipes! You have a new fan from Australia. ( I was actually born in El Paso, so my mum loved this s stuff!).
I like Ve the idea of budget cooking that is low on meat. Your recipes are so different. We can’t use garlic, as one of us ends up in Emergency after eating it, but I find most recipes are fine without t. But if you have any substitutions to recommend, that’d be great. I use
Asafoetida in Indian recipes…
Not a fan. The flavor combination was too odd. The tomato sauce plus the cloves plus the Indian flavors clashed and made it taste like this weird spaghetti meets curried dahl meets pumpkin pie spice. It was not a party in my mouth. It was an awkward get together of very distant family relatives. I could see a version of this working if you took out the tomato sauce and the clover. But that all being said, I’m a huge fan of Budget Bytes and have found plenty of recipes on this site that major home-runs, so you win some, you lose some.
Love this recipe! SO delicious. I was curious about adding the ground clove, as I’ve never added it to curry before, but WOW that added such an amazing depth of flavor. Really looking forward to eating my leftovers all week. If you did more vegetarian slow cooker recipes I would be so happy!
Hello, is the suggestion a cup per a person? We are from the UK so not use to cups. Thank you
Yes that’s the suggested serving amount. I believe it’s about 229 grams. :)
The lentils have taken forever to cook. 10 hours and they’re still not cooked. Also, the flavor had a slight bitterness to it. It helped to squeeze a lime into it. Everything else was good! This also makes a ton.
Sounds like there is something wrong with your slow cooker. I’ve never had a problem, my sc usually takes an hour less than the times listed
Don’t add salt at the start, it will cause the lentils to stay firm. You can also soak the lentils overnight before cooking if you’re still having issues with them.
After three hours in the slow cooker on high I wasn’t pleased with the texture, I felt the lentils weren’t cooking fast enough, so I switched it to the stove and simmered it for an hour, it was perfect in the end.