These Indian-Spiced Lentils are hearty and delicious and loaded with comforting flavors. If you’re not familiar with red lentils, they’re rich in fiber, protein, and nutrients and super quick cooking. This meal can be on the table in under 30 minutes when made on the stove top, or tossed in a slow cooker for later if you prefer that method. It’s delicious on its own, or served with some steak, chicken, or shrimp on the side. We love it over hot white rice with a dollop of plain yogurt. My kids all love it scooped up with naan or another type of flatbread.
Ingredients Needed
- Red Lentils – find these in the dry goods near things like dried beans and peas
- Fresh spinach
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger – you can sub dried if you need to
- Chicken broth – feel free to use vegetable broth for a vegetarian option
- Curry paste and/or powder – my favorite combo is both yellow curry paste and curry powder, more info below
- Spices: mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper
- Sugar – just a tiny touch to balance flavor
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh lemon or lime
- Cilantro
- Optional for serving: white rice, naan flatbread, plain greek yogurt, olive oil
How to make Indian Spiced Lentils
- Start by sautéing onions and garlic in a large pot.
- Add garlic, ginger, and spices. Sautéing your spices brings out the flavor!
- Add your canned tomatoes and broth and then stir in the lentils.
- This mixture will cook quickly. It only takes about 10-15 minutes.
- Finish off the dish by adding some fresh spinach to wilt, then some fresh cilatro and a squeeze of citrus to brighten the whole dish.
- You can eat these plain or over rice. We also love it scooped up with naan or another type of flatbread. It’s also great with a scoop of plain yogurt on top with a drizzle of olive oil.
Which curry should I use?
This recipe is flexible depending on your tastes. You can use a variety of curry pastes, or a curry powder. I actually like to add both! I do find you get an incredibly full, well-rounded flavor when using a curry paste, but I’ve been burned (literally haha) many times not realizing the curry paste I’m buying holds the heat of a thousand suns. My personal favorite is this dish is a yellow curry paste, and I’ve been buying this one from Amazon. Though sampled straight out of the jar you can feel a lot of heat, I sense zero spiciness when added to my dish. Here’s some tips:
- Start by adding just a little bit. Even like 1/4 teaspoon. You can then add more at the end to taste. I usually add about 2 teaspoons total, in addition to a teaspoon of curry powder.
- I like to put a cup full of my finished lentils in a small bowl and slowly add curry paste to dissolve completely and then add back into the pot. This helps not accidentally leaving a blob of paste in there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days or freeze in individual portions for a quick meal later. I love my Souper Cube containers for layering rice with lentils on top for a ready-to-go freezer meal.
It can be spicy if you like spice. If you want it heat-free, omit the cayenne pepper and make sure to not choose a curry paste with a high spice level.
You can but green lentils tend to hold their shape and have a little more texture than red lentils. They won’t melt into the soft texture that red lentils will. But they do stand up to extended cooking times, making them a good option for the slow cooker.
Yes! Feel free to replace some of the broth for coconut milk, or simply making the recipe as written and adding coconut milk at the end. It’s a very flexible dish.
Slow Cooker Indian Spiced Lentils
Equipment
- Slow Cooker optional
Ingredients
- 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 2-3 teaspoons yellow curry paste see notes
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth more if desired
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups red lentils
- 5-10 ounces spinach fresh and chopped or frozen and thawed
- juice of ½ lemon or one lime
- handful of chopped cilantro
For Serving (optional as desired)
- white rice
- additional chopped cilantro
- dollop of plain greek yogurt
- drizzle of olive oil
- naan or other flatbread
Instructions
- Pick through lentils and discard any shriveled ones. Rise well with cool water and strain.
- Heat a large stock pot on the stove top to medium heat. Add 2-3 teaspoons oil to coat bottom of pan and add onions. Saute for 4-5 minutes until tender.
- Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, curry paste (feel free to start with just a little curry paste and add more to taste later), coriander, cumin, cayenne, and mustard seeds. Saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Add diced tomatoes (do not drain), chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, and lentils.
- Bring pot to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cover pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until lentils are softened. (tip: this is super flexible, if you need more liquid, add some. If it's not thick enough, just simmer longer)
- Add spinach and stir to wilt. You can add as much or as little spinach as you want. If you don't like large pieces of wilted spinach, just tear or chop it before adding.
- Finally add cilantro and lemon or lime juice and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. You can also add more curry paste if desired, I suggest dissolving it in a small cup full of the warm broth from your pot first and then adding back in.
- Serve over rice with naan on the side with a dollop of yogurt drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled withe additional salt, pepper, and cilantro.
Questions & Reviews
So I did make this as promised the other night and it was DELICIOUS! I didn’t like it over rice though so we dipped our rolls in it instead. What’s better than bread soaked in something delicious!
OH, and I added some chicken because I wanted a meat. YUM!
In the crock-pot and it smells soooo gooood!
This is very good. I used the vegan vegetable cubes and if anyone does this…you can omit the salt so it’s not so salty.
I just made this recipe yesterday because my daughter and son-in-law (both vegetarians) were home for the weekend. I have also purchased the Madras Lentils for them in the past when I’ve made a Costco run, so when my son-in-law commented that the recipe tasted a lot like the Madras lentils from Costco, he had a good basis for comparison.
I loved that we were hanging out at home and got to smell this recipe cook for hours. We were all very anxious for it to be done and we certainly weren’t disappointed. Yummy!
Ooh, I’m so happy to hear that! I’ll have to find some red lentils to try it (might become a new pantry staple 🙂 ). Thanks for letting us know the answer, Jennifer!
This is delicious! I pinned it last week and made it yesterday while we were watching football. My husband and I were very happy with the outcome! Next time we are going to make it a bit spicier, though!
Well, I said I was gonna make it, and I did. YUM. I love love LOVE these flavors together, just gotta tell myself to stop before I eat it all at once! Thanks again!
I haven’t tried this yet, but it looks great as always!
I haven’t adjusted to the fall weather yet and I’m sleepy from the cold. A nice lentil stew with those intriguing spices sounds deeply satisfying right about now.
Thank you! This looks like a perfect dish to take for lunch now that it’s getting cold and I want something warm and hearty without being high in fat or calories. I usually buy lentils at Fresh & Easy. They have a good variety and their prices are awesome. Someone mentioned basmati rice and I am currently loving the O Organics Brown Basmati rice sold at Safeway/Vons/Randall’s stores. It requires soaking before cooking, but is totally worth the extra time. It’s delish.
We love Indian food, so this is a MUST TRY for my family.
I was wondering the very same thing! I love the Madras Lentils–just bought a box yesterday, in fact!
This sounds fantastic! I’m just wondering if you’d mind sharing how you made the rice (with the onion, garlic, and chicken broth)? Thanks so much!
Take a large skillet and melt about a tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Add 1 chopped onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic and saute. Then add 2 cups of rice (white or a white variety of Basmati/Jasmine/whatever) and saute for another minute. Add 4 cups of chicken broth, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. And you’re done! 🙂
Sounds fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this out for me. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate you two!!!
I haven’t been to Costco in WAY too long (we don’t have one nearby). But maybe Sara has! 🙂
YAY!! Awesome! 🙂
I love Indian spices! I love lentils! And I just started Weight Watchers! This is perfect timing! Thanks!
Kate, have you ever tried Basmati brown rice? I’ve committed to eating only brown rice now and I like the idea of using Basmati rice with this delicious Indian recipe. I’m wondering if I could cook the Basmati rice using your fool proof brown rice oven method that posted a while ago?
I haven’t tried brown Basmati, BUT I bet you could totally cook it the same way, mostly because the instructions for regular Basmati and white rice are pretty much exactly the same. If you try it, let us know! 🙂
This was yummy! I cut the sugar in half. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. I Served it over brown basmati rice. I did use the “fool-proof baked brown rice” recipe to cook the brown basmati rice. It was good, it just came out a bit crunchy, mainly just the rice on the sides and bottom of the pan. Not sure if it needs more liquid or shorter cooking time? I used chicken broth instead of water, so I wonder if that affected it?
Thank you for the weight watcher recipe- keep these coming- so we know we can count on some good ones! Can you show us how you deal with the fresh ginger? My mom told me I could freeze it, but I’d love a step by step tutorial here on how you peel it and store, how long is it good, etc.
Thanks
Here you go, dear!
https://ourbestbites.com/2008/04/working-with-fresh-ginger/
Yes! Indian food!
Hi y’all, I have question about this recipe. How well would it freeze? I am the only lentil-eating person in my household, but if this freezes well, it seems like it would be easy to store in lunch-sized amounts and heat up for my lunches. I know I would love it.
I’m guessing it would freeze really well. If it’s too thick when you’re reheating it, just add a little water or chicken broth until you get the texture you want.
I made this recipe this weekend and can confirm it freezes well. I store it in jars so that I can take it from the freezer, remove the lid, and micro it for lunch. I don’t even have to use a bowl, so it’s less to wash, and nothing to throw away. Delicious and smart.
This looks yummy! I’m always looking for more good meatless recipes, even though I love my meat. They all seem the same, so it’s nice to get something different! When you’re talking curry powder or paste, are you talking the spicy stuff? I just have the mild yellow curry powder–would that work here?
Nope, just the mild stuff. They yellow curry powder is what the original recipe calls for, so it definitely works, but I just like the flavor of the red or green Thai curry pastes instead. Similar, but not completely the same.
Thanks!
Thanks for the great recipe. This is just what I’ve been looking for…new recipes to use while my husband and I are trying to lose some pounds. It sounds really good as well, and I have every single ingredient except the lentils.
This is going to be dinner tonight! Adding some chicken to the crockpot though….I have a hard time giving up on meat at dinner time 🙂 That’s MY problem though. Thanks for the variety! I like introducing my kids (and husband ha!) to different foods.
I am literally so excited to see this! Just bought bulk red lentils this week and was thinking soup, until I saw this recipe, which not only combines all my favorite flavors, I ALSO HAVE THEM ALL ON HAND! Yippee, thanks so much, can’t wait to try it this weekend!
Love the looks of this recipe. Even if it would add some points, I would probably stir in a can of lite coconut milk – i am partial to the smoothness the coconut milk adds.
Hugs to both of you and your families!
Ooh, good idea! I have some lite coconut milk leftover from making German chocolate cake frosting yesterday and just happen to have another pot of these lentils (yellow split peas, actually) going downstairs. Did you try it? And if yes, did the coconut flavor come through? Thanks!
This looks and sounds delicious! I have everything on hand except red curry paste, so I’m going to give it a go with green. 🙂 Thanks in advance for tonight’s dinner!
This looks so good! Thanks for keeping it easy on us!
This is very similar to another lentil recipe I make, I put it over rice but could never make it without making homemade naan bread! Spread with a little garlic butter, it is SO good. You can definitely adjust the spices to make it hot or not, I don’t make it hot at all and it’s still very flavorful with the other spices in it.
This might sounds like a silly question but would it we ok to use green lentils? I have some at home and was wondering if I could use that. I’m not very familiar yet with all the kinds of lentils / difference in texture
I *imagine* they’d be totally fine–this recipe is SUPER forgiving! 🙂
Thank you! I’ll try it over the week-end. Experimenting in cooking is half the fun so… 🙂
Actually, green lentils may taste fine but they won’t ever cook down into the rich, wonderful stew that red lentils so happily disintegrate into. Red lentils are truly worth looking for. Try Bob’s Red Mill on-line (or local if you live in the Pacific Northwest).
I GET RED LENTILS AT TRADER JOES
This might sound silly, but what do you do with the ginger? I have bought fresh ginger more than once, but I’ve ended up wasting it each time because I don’t know what to do with it. Do you guys have any tips or tricks? Also, you have mentioned that you’ve been losing weight recently so I would like to share that, with LOTS of recipes from you two, I am down 75 lbs! Please keep healthy recipes like this coming!!
Amy – When I buy fresh ginger, I peel the whole piece and then keep it in my freezer. Then, when I need it, I just grab it, grate the amount necessary and stick it back in the freezer when I’m through with it. I just store it in a freezer ziploc bag.
I do the same thing with my ginger! Peeling, then freezing, it makes grating SO easy, plus the ginger doesn’t go to waste if you forget about it in the fridge! 😀
Amy you can put the fresh ginger in a ziplock Baggie at put it in the freezer. Then when you need it just take it out (no thawing) use a peeler to take off the skin on the area you think you will need and the grate what you need with a fine grater or micro plane. I use ginger just on occasion so I just break off a smaller piece of ginger at the store or if you ask your produce manager they will cut you a piece. Hope this helps.
Personally I break off about exactly what I need while at the store and do not buy the whole ridiculously large pieces they have set out. I think quite a few people do this because you can see the breaks on the ginger.
However, if you’re not comfortable doing that you can put your remaining ginger in a ziploc baggie and close it up and pop it into the freezer and it will last you a good long time and be ready for you whenever you next need some ginger. HTH!
Personally, I enjoy a few thin slices of ginger in my green tea. I also enjoy mixing it with cucumber slices and carbonated water, so I have a healthy fizzy alternative to soda. It also goes great if you are doing a stir fry.
Store it in the freezer. It lasts a lot longer.
Looks delicious! Is it spicy? My mom is crazy for lentils but cannot handle any spiciness whatsoever.
The cayenne adds the heat, so you could either omit it or cut way back on it.