20-Minute Red Curry Lentils
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Looking for a quick & healthy weeknight dinner? These 20-Minute Red Curry Lentils are the perfect one-pot vegan dinner idea!
These 20-Minute Red Curry Lentils are something I want to eat on a weekly basis. Not only are they super quick to make, they are also really nutritious and totally delicious. They are also made in one pot for super easy clean up! Grab some naan for dipping and dig in!
Step One: Prep the Ingredients
Since this recipe is super quick, you want to have all of your ingredients out and ready to go. This will make the cooking process flawless.
Here is what you need:
- oil – I used avocado oil
- yellow onion
- garlic
- curry powder
- turmeric
- pepper
- tomato paste
- red curry paste
- coconut milk
- low sodium soy sauce – or sub tamari for GF
- cooked lentils
- nut butter – I used peanut butter
- lime juice
- cilantro
Step Two: Make the Lentils
Now, that ingredients are prepped, grab a large skillet and get to cooking.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic & dry seasonings and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the tomato paste & red curry paste and mix it in. Cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk & soy sauce and mix to combine. Add the lentils, mix and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in the peanut butter & lime juice and mix. Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Finish it off with the cilantro.
Step Three: Serve
When it comes to serving, you have some options. You can keep it simple and just serve this as-is. Trust me, there is so much flavor in there, you don’t need anything else.
You can also serve the lentils over rice. And, for dipping, you can have some naan or pita on the side.
This recipe is super delicious, quick to make and the leftovers are AMAZING! Great if you are looking for a meal prepped lunch!
Tips & Tricks
I bought pre-cooked, steamed, green lentils from Trader Joe’s. You can find them in the produce section. You can also find pre-cooked lentils in the canned section at other grocery stores. You can also make lentils from scratch and add them to this recipe.
If you want to add more greens to this, stir in some fresh spinach or kale when you add the lime juice.
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out:
20-Minute Red Curry Lentils
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil I used avocado oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2-3 tablespoons red curry paste to taste
- 1 15-ounce can coconut milk
- 1-2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or sub tamari for GF
- 2.5 cups cooked lentils see notes
- 2 tablespoons nut butter I used peanut butter
- lime juice to taste
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic & dry seasonings and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the tomato paste & red curry paste and mix it in. Cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk & soy sauce and mix to combine. Add the lentils, mix and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add in the peanut butter & lime juice and mix. Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Finish it off with the cilantro.
- Serve hot over rice or with naan/pita on the side for dipping.
Video
Notes
- I bought pre-cooked, steamed, green lentils from Trader Joe’s. You can find them in the produce section. You can also find pre-cooked lentils in the canned section at other grocery stores. You can also make lentils from scratch and add them to this recipe.
- If you want to add more greens to this, stir in some fresh spinach or kale when you add the lime juice.
Quick and easy. And delicious!
Can this be made with red lentils as well?
Yes! I would just pre-cook them if you are following the recipe as written.
This was pretty good. Instead of straight onion, i also added diced celery and carrot. I added kale. Served with naan and rice. Mekhala Red Curry Paste rather than Thai Kitchen. Mekhala is much spicier so use 1 tbsp and add a 1 tsp at a time extra to get an idea of spiciness. i did feel like the salt level was lacking. Next time, i might put an extra tbsp of soy sauce, or maybe some miso paste.
This was delicious! Even my one year old loved it! Thank you for a great vegan recipe!
Woooooo! So glad it was a hit for the whole family!
So so delicious!! The peanut butter is a great addition. I’ve made your recipes consistently since I became vegetarian in 2017 and they are always fantastic!
Thanks so much Kelsey!!
This is a great recipe! I folded in 6 ounces of fresh baby spinach and a little sugar in the sauce served with basmati with zest of the lime and garlic naan.
Yummmm! Those all sound like great adds! So glad you loved it Julie!
How is this so simple and SO delicious?! My husband & I devoured this. I stirred in some chopped spinach we needed to use up. Adding this in to our dinner rotation!
Thanks so much Lindsey! So glad it was a hit for you and your husband!
Came out absolutely amazing! One of the most flavorful/best tasting recipes I’ve made in as long as I can remember. 100/10. I can always count on you for fabulous recipes! Thank you for sharing your creativity and always being an inspiration
Wooooo! So glad you loved it Megan!!