Vegan lentil curry with tomatoes makes for the perfect meatless one pot dinner ready in 30 minutes. Requiring only kitchen staples, a few spices and the star ingredients – red lentils, coconut milk and canned tomatoes. This is a dish you’ll be making over and over again. Gluten-Free too. 
Vegan lentil curry for dinner again… Ok, so I’ve been cooking with red lentils a lot lately.
And I mean all the time.
Guess that must be what happens when you buy a 2 pound bag of red lentils and have 3 weeks to consume the whole lot. Well, technically I could take it with me after this first bout of house-sitting in Costa Rica is over, but my backpack is pretty full already.
And the lentils could spill all over my stuff. Not worth risking it.
So I’ve been making a lot of curries and soups. Most of my inspiration comes from previous recipes – including my vegan red lentil curry, vegan red lentil soup, vegan Thai red lentil soup, vegan red lentil sweet potato curry, etc, etc.
This time around we’re adding tomatoes and curry powder into the mix. I’m all about the Thai curries, but I rarely bring curry powder into my recipes.
That’s about to change. It’s such an awesome spice that adds a whole depth of flavor. I’ve seriously been missing out by not using it enough – that needs to change.
Honestly this vegan lentil curry was intended to be a soup. At least that’s what I was expecting. Until of course I came over, lifted the lid off the pot and realized most of the liquid had been absorbed already.
Whoops. That;s why it’s better to keep an eye on your food when you’re cooking! Lesson learned — or better yet, lesson not learned since this actually turned out even better than had been intended! I’ll take a vegan lentil curry over a soup anyday! 
Curry for dinner instead. Don’t you just love the flexibility and versatility in cooking?
Either way this vegan lentil curry with tomatoes makes for a perfect meatless one pot meal that is ready in 30 minutes. Don’t you just love minimal clean up cooking when everything cooks in one pot? Ok, technically you need a second pot for the quinoa, but I might be assuming you already had some leftover quinoa on hand any way? Could it be?
With this vegan lentil curry you just add the ingredients in stages and you have time to prepare everything as you go. For this recipe you just need a handful of kitchen staples, a few key spices and the stars of the dish – red lentils, coconut milk and canned tomatoes. If you do not have curry powder on hand you could make this recipe with just the red curry paste, but I personally loved the additional depth of flavor created by the curry powder too. It makes this dish a fusion between Indian and Thai inspired recipes which I loved.
PS – speaking of 30 mins meals, if you’re looking for more quick recipe ideas be sure to check out my collection of recipes ready in 30 mins or less!
Other lentils recipe I love include:
- Asian Lentils Cauliflower Curry {GF, Vegan}
- Vegan Red Lentil Curry {GF}
- Vegan Cauliflower Stew with Lentils and Squash {GF}
- 10 Creamy Gluten-Free and Vegan Red Lentil Recipes
How to make vegan lentil curry
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 inch piece of ginger minced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup chickpeas optional
- handful cilantro chopped for garnish
- lime wedges for garnish
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Heat oil over medium hot in a pot. Add onions, garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant.
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Add curry powder, salt and red curry paste. Stir until mixed and cook for 1 minute.
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Add lentils, coconut milk and canned tomatoes.
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Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until lentils are cooked through.
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Add chickpeas (optional) and cook for additional few minutes.
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Serve over quinoa garnished with lime juice, hot sauce (optional) and cilantro.
Sina @ Vegan Heaven says
This sounds amazing, Vicky! I love lentils and this curry looks so creamy and full of flavor! I’m sure this is something I’d love! Can’t wait to try your recipe! 🙂
Vicky says
Thanks! If you love lentils you are definitely going to love this dish :))
Davina says
Hi Vicky,
The curry looks delicious and simple to make. And the pictures are amazing. Thanks for sharing this.
Vicky says
Thanks so much Davina! It is super simple to make indeed : ))
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
Oh wow, homemade curry is so much better than take out, this is beautiful; the colour is amazing!! Need to make this!
Vicky says
Thanks! Yes home made curry is sooo much better than take out and so much healthier too!
Lisa G says
There is no mention of how big a can of tomatoes? Thanks
Vicky says
Sorry about that! A 15 ounce can. Will update the recipe now. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
fabiola@notjustbaked says
It’s raining out right now, and will be all weekend. Perfect warm me up meal next to the fire!
Vicky says
Definitely! Enjoy!
cristina says
Another delicious one pot meal and what a treat using red lentils! { btw – luv the name of your blog! 🙂 }
Vicky says
Haha thanks –my two favorite foods – avocados and pesto inspired the blog name : ))
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats says
I love any kind of curry! This looks fantastic!
Vicky says
Right?! Me too! Thanks
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
What an awesome weekend meal!!
Vicky says
Thanks! I like to think so : ))
Christiane ~ Taking On Magazines says
I adore red lentils. My family grew up eating them often, but never in a curry (which I also love). I’ll be the combination is totally delicious and fantastic comfort food.
Vicky says
Aren’t they the best?How did your family prepare them? I’m always looking for more red lentil cooking ideas!
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos says
This looks like a fabulous curry Vicky!
Vicky says
Thanks Aly!
leslie says
Would refrigerated coconut milk work or is canned better?
Vicky says
Canned coconut milk is better because it’s creamier and thicker – more calories but definitely more flavor!
Susan says
Such a stunning color in this curry! Plus I love when recipes turn out a little different than you thought but still taste amazing.
Vicky says
Pleasant surprises in the kitchen are always nice!
Steph @ Steph in Thyme says
Oh yum, this is so colorful and beautiful! I love curry, but I honestly havent had it with lentils yet. I need to make this one night this week, thanks for sharing!
Vicky says
Curry is soooo good with lentils! You’ve got to try it!
Fanny says
Hello Vicky, I pinned the recipe and I made it on Friday. What can I say? It’s wonderful, rich, creamy, flavourful, perfect for the cold weather in London. My boyfriend even said “make it as often as possible”.
Vicky says
So glad you liked it Fanny!! And I am completely flattered that your boyfriend loved it too! Thanks for commenting to let me know. I love to hear about how the recipes turned out : ))
Erin says
Oh my goodness this was delicious and super easy to whip up! Turned out perfect thank you 5 stars
Vicky says
Aww thanks so much for taking the time to comment Erin. So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Makes my day to hear that : ))
Mikayla says
Loved this recipe, however I will either use less ginger or omit it completely next time. It was a little over powering for myself. But thats just my own personal preference, great recipe and easy too!.
Vicky says
So glad you enjoyed this recipe and yes feel free to adjust the ginger to your liking – I absolutely love love love ginger so might be putting in way more than the average ginger eater would enjoy!
Hannah says
Ccanned lentils or dry?
Vicky says
Dry Lentils
Ashleigh says
This is an amazing recipe. So simple and delicious, I’m making it for the second time at the moment. I add turmeric and use ground ginger instead of fresh, and canned coconut milk only comes in 400ml tins in Australia (which is 100ml short of 2 cups) so I add some water to make up for it. I’m also using whole tomatoes tonight which I broke down in the pan because it’s all we had in the pantry and it looks exactly the same as it did before.
Vicky says
So happy you enjoyed this! Great idea to add turmeric – I need to start adding more of that into my cooking – such a healthy spice!
Barb says
Hey Vicky, thanks so much for such a great recipe.
I’ve made it twice now and both times have gotten rave reviews.
It is forever in my “make again” recipe list. A 10 out of 10 for sure 🙂
I have to say the squeeze of lime into the curry is a must.
I mixed a good handful of cilantro into the mix just before serving as well. YUMMY!!!
Can’t thank you enough.
Keep up the good work!
Vicky says
Lime and cilantro are the best! So glad you have enjoyed my recipe! : ))
Rachel says
This was my first attempt at an Indian dish at home and all I can say is wow!! The flavors are absolutely perfect! So hearty and full of delicious flavors! Thank you so much for sharing ❤️
Vicky says
Yayyy so happy you enjoyed my recipe Rachel! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know : ))
Nadine says
I was really sceptical while cooking this, it smelled like there were far too much tomatoes in their and that they would just not blend well with the coconut milk. But in the end it turned out to be perfectley balanced in flavor! The tomatoes give the curry a really nice fruity taste, but still, its rich and also spicy. Thank you for this great recipe 🙂
Vicky says
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Nadine! I also find the tomatoes blend perfectly with the coconut milk for a super rich and creamy sauce. Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know!
Sally says
Is it freezer friendly?
Vicky says
Yes I think this should freeze well!
Sally says
It is seriously amazing!!!
Vicky says
THanks!
Elomi says
Will this recipe work with green lentils?
Vicky says
I have never tried it with green lentils but it should still work — you will just have to cook them for longer, since red lentils cook significantly quicker than green lentils. If you do end up trying this recipe with green lentils please let me know how it turns out!
SKr says
hello, i’m very new to cooking. can you please explain if the lentils to be used are dry (per previous reply in the comments) do they get added into the pot just dry?? or do they need to be rinsed/soaked first? if yes, for how long? thank you
Vicky says
Yes you can just rinse and drain the lentils and add to the recipe.