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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Equipment
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
This was delicious. I’m a newbie cook and this was a really rewarding recipe. One thing I learned was how to “halve” recipies as my wife and I have enough lentils for a month now. =D Will make again. Thanks!
I’m sure the amount of time I cooked mine was more than needed for brown lentils, so it might be enough for green, but I’d have to test it to say for sure!
I am lovely these delicious recipes,
We had Moroccan vegetable stew last night and the slow cook coconut lentil curry tonight, amazing, we loved it , so creamy and tasty,
Thanks
Will this recipe double easily? If so, how much more time should I add? Thanks!
It should double easily. Depending on your slow cooker, you may not need to add any time.
Oh Beth! You’ve done it again. This is incredibly delicious. I just had a spoon straight out of the crock pot and I actually heard myself say “mmmmm”. So creamy it feels indulgent. I used green lentils as we don’t seem to have brown in my area. Otherwise I followed the recipe to a T! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope my family is just as excited to eat this dish tonight.
I forgot to add, I’d like to add more vegetables to this. Do you have any recommendations? Or if I stuck with sweet potato and carrots, do you know the ratio of more liquid required? Thanks again!
You could maybe do some celery and perhaps green peas? You shouldn’t need anymore liquid if adding more vegetables. They’ll actually add moisture to the curry. :)
Thanks for the suggestions. Husband hates celery, so that’s out. haha. Green peas sound like a good plan! Good to know about not needing any more liquid. I’m excited to try this dish again. Love how much it makes. I also served mine with some cooked bulgar I had in the freezer, it adds a nice chewy texture.
I was so excited to try this out cuz it’s so cheap cheap cheap to make but my turned out so bad I had to throw it out. I used green lentils which may have been part of the problem. Otherwise it tasted super tomato-y and not curried enough so the tomato flavor with the coconut was not a good combination. Could it perhaps be my slow cooker? Or the green lentils? Feeling so bummed!
It could have been either one of those things, or perhaps your curry powder is getting old and not as potent as it once was? I find there is a great variation between one curry powder to the next and since that’s basically ALL of the flavor in this dish it can make a huge difference.
I made this last night – fantastic! Used red lentils because that’s all I had on hand and decreased the cook time to 3 hours on high, and it turned out great. It was also really fast and easy. Will definitely put into the regular rotation.
Has anyone tried this with light coconut milk? I’m trying to lose my baby weight I do not want to use the real stuff.
I made this stovetop and blended the soup after simmering for 30 min or so. It was absolutely delicious! I would say the only downside to it is a lack of crunchy texture. My first bowl I sprinkled cilantro and green onion on top, but found I enjoyed it more without the garnish.
My modifications – halved the recipe –
I cooked 1c dry GREEN lentils for 20 min on the stove top in 4 c chicken broth to par cook them. Then moved the undrained cooked lentils and another 1 cup of broth to the slow cooker. Added all vegs and included half a head of cauliflower chopped in pieces & 1T fresh finely minced ginger root. Using my potato peeler, I made ribbons of raw sweet potato; omitted the canned tomato products and used a few chopped fresh tomatoes. Put 1 large tomato in my bullet-style food processor with cilantro stalks [don’t throw those away!], a little broth, and leftover cubes of cooked & peeled acorn squash – gave it a whirl to make a thick paste and added to the slow cooker.
I like my lentils with a lot of spice, so I added: 1/8 c of jar Chili Garlic Sauce [Rooster Sauce found in Asian section of grocery] and heavy dashes of cumin, turmeric, curry, coriander, cardamom, mustard seed & cloves [similar ingredients in Garam Masala].
Towards the last hour of cooking, I added half the can of coconut milk. The rest of the coconut milk I added to my Jasmine rice to replace some of the water called for in the recipe . If you haven’t tried it, coconut flavored rice is awesome!
Served the lentils over the coconut rice, topped with diced red onion & cilantro leaves.
I absolutely LOVE my slow cooker. I have a smart one that goes to WARM setting if you are not there to turn it off at the end of the cooking.
HINT: sprayed the inside of the crock with PAM cooking spray to keep food from sticking.
Hello, long time lurker on this site. I admit I was skeptical at first– oh gosh this makes such a huge portion, what if I hate it? So many lentil recipes are bland! But this was AMAZING. It tastes better with each day. It freezes beautifully. I didn’t even need the rice… i ate it like a thick stew and threw some chopped reunions and avocado on top. Also, I used green lentils (Trader Joe’s didn’t carry brown) and they definitely need a little extra time. Based on some comments below, I added a small teaspoon of garam masala for an extra kick. You were right about salt– this needs plenty of it.
Love this recipe!!!!! This is a keeper.
And by reunions, my autocorrect meant “red onions” :)
Gotta love that autocorrect! :D
I’ve been using your recipes for awhile. Almost all have been hits. This one is amazing!
Question, which Better than Bouillon base do you use for your recipes?
It depends on the recipe. I usually keep three varieties in my fridge: vegetable, chicken, and beef. If the recipe states vegetable broth, then I used the vegetable base. Same principle applies for chicken and beef broth. :)
I have some red lentils on hand and I’d like to use them for this, if possible. I see in a previous comment you say they cook faster than brown – do you think they could be added later to allow the potatoes and carrots to cook without completely killing the lentils? If it’s going to be too difficult to convert to a red lentil recipe I can get brown, I just am tired of looking at these lentils in my pantry. Lol But I am looking forward to trying this.
Well, in my experience red lentils always break down to a mush, but I don’t consider that a bad thing. I think it will still be delicious! You don’t really have to worry about over cooking them, just that the whole dish might not take quite as long as if you had used brown lentils. The vegetables shouldn’t take too long. I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing you might be able to shave an hour off the time if cooking on high, or 1-2 hours off if cooking on low.
I’ve only recently begun cooking, and I love trying out your recipes. I love this one in particular. So fragrant. So warm. So good. The only thing I added to your recipe is a little salt and a healthy dash of cayenne. Thanks so much!