1-Pot Lentil Green Curry

This was really yummy but quite spicy – I loved it but too hot for my partner, even with some desiccated coconut sprinkles.

Improvising on your lentil green curry, I used 7 lbs. of organic black lentils, which I soaked overnight. I also added some vegetables (celery, carrots, onion, winter squash) which I sautéed before adding them to the pot. And I added jackfruit in the form of “pulled pork” (fear not, I’ve been vegan for 40+ years – I’d never ever go near animal products). One more thing: I used grated fresh turmeric instead of powdered.

The dish turned out wonderfully – very tasty indeed, though I probably should have used more coconut milk since the curry is quite thick (next time I’ll use 2-3 times the amount of coconut milk). As I eat the leftovers, I’ll dilute the curry with water or vegetable broth.

Thank you for your delicious recipe! I have about 3+ weeks worth of lentil green curry to look forward to (I froze what I didn’t already eat today).

Excellent!!! I didn’t have green lentils, had brown lentils, yellow curry paste and full fat coconut milk for the milk I use I cup the rest water. Followed the rest of the recipe. I really really enjoyed it. Thank you. I will be making this often. I put it over some black rice. Delicious.

I’ve been coming back to this recipe for a long time, and tonight I think I finally perfected it. I had to soak my lentils first because every time I’ve done it in the past, it took triple the time to get the lentils to the proper consistency. I highly suggest soaking the lentils (2 hours worked for me) or pre-cooking them if you can. I would also suggest waiting to add any sweetener. I always add a little too much!

I love this recipe. I’ve made many modifications because I don’t eat sugar and am trying to cut down on saturated fat. I leave out the sugar, replace the oil with sunflower seed oil, and replace the coconut milk with whichever alt milk is around. Still delicious — though not quite as decadent as the original :)

I’m not sure if my review counts because I made some changes, but this was a delicious dish! I used a yellow curry paste and yellow split peas that I had on hand. I also totally forgot about the lemon, but it was perfect without it. I served it with jasmine rice, and I’m sure it depends on the paste you use, but mine was pretty spicy even though I left out the cayenne (also by accident!). I also forgot to soak the split peas, so I ended up cooking it for two hours. Oh, and I used bottled ginger and garlic paste, low-sodium soy sauce, and light brown sugar. So while I’m not sure I even made this recipe, I can’t wait to eat the leftovers!

I normally don’t fancy curries and can only eat a few bites before I get over its richness, but this recipe is something else entirely.
Its so delicious, its an explosion of flavours and doesn’t really have that heavy overpowering curry flavour although 4 tbsp of curry paste went into it. Maybe its the maple syrup, maybe tamari or a combo of all but it sure is an outstanding dish. Bravo! 20 out of 10!

I’ve made this several times over the past few years, and this is so amazing! Today I couldn’t find lemon grass for the paste so I substituted 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. I also didn’t put the Serrano peppers in the recipe only the paste bc my husband doesn’t like “hot “. It is amazing. Ate it with basamati rice and naan bread and it’s perfect. Thank you for another amazing recipe!!

Made this today and can’t believe how delicious it is! Warming and hearty too. I can’t wait for my wife to taste this when she gets home.

This dish was simple but the flavor is phenomenal!!! I couldn’t believe my taste buds when I tried it, I will make it again!!! Thank you so much!!

Made this last night and it was super tasty! Would likely make it again. I used a 19 oz can of cooked lentils, since that’s what is available in Canada and my can of coconut milk was smaller than called for but it still turned out well. Likely because the lentils did not have to actually cook in the sauce and absorb liquid.

That being said, if you want authentic green curry flavour, this is not the recipe you’re looking for. The addition of yellow curry powder means that it’s flavourful, but not green curry flavourful. I will keep looking for an actual green curry lentil recipe as I have an eight pound bag of lentils to use.

Hm, this recipe definitely needs some tweaking. I used fresh lentils and it still took about 45 minutes to cook them. I wished I had read the comments *before* attempting this and I think it would have been perfect. However, I have a few complaints – cook time being off the main one. It is also really spicy and I LOVE spicy food/have a high heat tolerance. Easily balanced out with citrus and sweet, though. I used 1 can full fat coconut milk and subbed 1/2 cup of broth.. then added water to help cook the rest of the lentils. I would definitely make again but do it a little bit differently and time it appropriately.

TLDR; precook the lentils!!!

This was amazing! I made my own cashew milk (1/2 cup of cashews) and tomatoes to substitute the coconut milk. I also added some kale, cabbage, and green peas, and the flavors were still bold. A splendid twist on dal.

I liked this very much!

I used a 13.5 oz can of coconut milk plus 7oz of water.
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of soy sauce

This would be great with naan bread! I’ll be making this again. Thank you for posting!

Delicious. I made it mostly true to recipe, but added in a tomato, and instead of curry paste I used a blend of curry powder, mustard, coriander, turmeric, cumin, and some other spices.

I added a couple cups of water, cooked it – simmering rapidly – for at least an hour and a half, and had it covered for most of the time… the lentils were still very crunchy. I’ve made Dal countless other times and have never had this happen, so I did a quick Google to try to figure out. Turns out the likely culprit is the early addition of acid (lemon juice). If you want a more traditional mushy dal recipe, hold off on adding acid [and salt apparently] until the lentils are mostly cooked.

This recipe is fantastic! It was my first time making green lentils. I love Indian food and I’m leaning towards eating more meatless meals so I was pleased to find your recipe. I added a bit of shredded carrot in the beginning and some diced tomatoes, kale & spinach at the end. I made it extra spicy with lots of cayenne pepper. My husband loved it and so did I. We topped it with plain yogurt, cilantro and lime. I can’t wait to try your other meatless recipes. Thank you for sharing!

This recipe is delicious! The only two comments I have is that even with 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, it is too acidic for my tastes. Take it a tsp at a time. Also, I used fresh green lentils and the cook time was 35 minutes. From prep to finish, it took me an hour.

Delicious! Loved this recipe! I used one can of full fat coconut milk and vegetable broth as the remaining liquid. No issues with lentils cooking in the time listed in the recipe as others mentioned. I served this dish with naan and cilantro. Next time I will probably use one of the oil substitutions Dana suggests.

Delicious. But like all the other people who commented, it took twice as long to cook the lentils. I even left the lid on and boiled the dish towards the end to hurry it up.

Made with cashew cream due to an allergy to coconut milk. Needed to add at least 4 cups of water to get lentils to finally cook. Highly doubt this could cook lentils in 20min so next time I’ll precook the lentils.

My third time making this incredible dish – it is one of my go-tos right now as it is the perfect pantry dinner! Each time I have made it, I have had to add an extra 1-2 cups of water and cook for total of about 45 minutes, however. I just have to remember this so I don’t underestimate the total cook time! Works great with red lentils as well. Yum!

I made this recipe and found that my lentils needed to cook for much longer than 15-20 min. Took about 45/55 minutes to fully cook the lentils.

Recipe is absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Kelly

I love lentil curry but don’t care for coconut milk, so I made this with homemade cashew milk instead. Because cashew milk thickens as it cooks, and because this took longer than expected to cook, I ended up adding a quart of vegetable broth as it cooked. It came out delicious and I will definitely make it again, with these changes: I will just use vegetable broth, will cook with the lid on to minimize evaporation, will be prepared for it to take longer and maybe use more broth, and I will stir some cashew cream in at the end to make it creamy. I’m eating it right now over brown rice. Going back for my second bowl. Sooooo good!

Normally I love Dana’s recipes. This one wasnt that great. It is soo sweet due to the maple syrup. I knew 2 tbsp was too much but added it anyway. I would omit it entirely next time. Also took way longer to cook and I had to add tons of water as the lentils wouldnt soften. My sister who is a chef said you never add salt till the end as it slows lentil cooking time. The lentils probably took at least 40 minutes and 2-3 more cups water. FYI if you decide to make.

Excellent! Wow! Honey loved this as well. I added some additional lentils and water because they hadn’t softened, but otherwise excellent! Threw in some carrots, next time I’ll add some diced potatoes or spinach.

This was great. I didn’t have, turmeric, ginger or curry powder on hand, but it was still delicious, so I suspect it is heavenly with those ingredients! I used pre-cooked lentils to speed up the process but then just left the pot on a low simmer for a couple hours to let the flavors really meld. This is a keeper!

Oh my gosh! This recipe is soooo good! I loved the bite of the green curry paste! I did add a little stevia instead of maple syrup. And I didn’t have coconut aminos so I used soy sauce. But otherwise, I stuck to the recipe. My husband adored it! We lived in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India and have eaten a LOT of dahl. This was gorgeous!! Left it on low for about 40 minutes until it got nice and thick! Thanks so much for sharing. And, I’m so glad I found this site as well! I have been scouring it for more healthy options. Love the easy to make options!!

Delicious! I’ve been trying to incorporate more plant-based meals instead of meat-centric ones. I loved the flavors of this dish but wish I had read the comments about the extended cooking time first. I will know for next time, and there absolutely will be a next time. Thank you for your work and this wonderful meal idea! Now, to see if my kiddos will eat it :)

Definitely 5 stars! I used a lesser amount of red curry paste, used sweet peppers instead of serrano (I have kids with delicate palates!), and added an extra cup of veggie broth so I could make it in a slow cooker. It was wonderful-even my picky 5 year old thought so. Every recipe I have gotten from your site has been a winner-thank you and keep up the good work!

I love the flavors and ease of this recipe. My boyfriend was a fan, too. We like spicy food so I went all-in with two serranos and a pinch of cayenne, which was perfect for us. The only speed bump was the lentils—I followed the recipe exactly and they were still hard as rocks after 20 minutes (after reading the comments, I’ll try soaking or pre-cooking next time). As the mixture continued to cook, it started to burn to the bottom of the pot. I ended up adding about 2 cups of veggie broth and cooking for a total of 45 minutes, which worked out great. Lentils can be tricky!

Absolutely delicious…like all of your recipes! My little one has been refusing anything with tomato lately (we’re thinking allergy or intolerance) and finding a curry dish without tomato has been a challenge. My 1 year old and 3 year old DEVOURED this! I almost cried because it’s been difficult to get my picky baby to eat anything nutritious so this was a major WIN :) Thank you!

My daughter likes lentils, but I find them unexciting. However, this was a tasty and exciting way to do lentils. I boiled and soaked lentils first, so I wouldn’t have to add more liquid during cooking as other commenters did. I also used full fat coconut milk to make it extra yummy. Served over rice, delish.

Wow. This was amazing! I’ve tried other lentil curry recipes, and was always left disappointed. I thought this was interesting since you add lemon juice and maple syrup. It was the perfect meal for meal prep all week long, and I didn’t get sick of it at all. I also think it has super powers because it helped me crush my running work outs this week.

A couple of things – I had to let it simmer with some extra water for an additional 45 minutes. I think this was important because it really softened the lentils to my liking and the flavors really stood out. I also added a tablespoon of sriracha and fresh spinach at the end.

Will be making it again!!

This was insanely delicious! True soul food. I used store bought green curry paste PLUS garam masala and added two medium sized carrots. The lentils I used required 45 minutes cooking time, so I needed a bit more liquid (I just added water). Will do this again soon!

This was excellent. I made a not-spicy version in deference to my 13 year old daughter who is not a fan of spice. It was delicious and satisfying. I will add it to our regular rotation. Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice is a quick cheat, but I love making baked basmati rice with cardamom pods and may do that next time.

So delicious! Thank you! It was so flavorful and satisfying.
I also had to cook the lentils a bit longer and add a little liquid to do so. As mentioned in the recipe, it required a bit of tweaking after the first taste. Initially it was super spicy (I added half a jalapeno in the beginning, but omitted the cayenne) but that was easily tamed by adding a bit more coconut milk and another squeeze of lemon as suggested. Its crazy how much a bit of citrus can take the intensity of the heat down!

I’ve tried 3 different types of lentils with this and I find it’s best to pre-cook the lentils and add to the sauce. Otherwise I have to add extra water or coconut milk as the lentils always take longer than 20 min to cook (more like 40) and the liquid all cooks off before they’re tender. The flavor is incredible though!

Fantastic, easy to make, so tasty, my husband loved it too and said make sure you mark this one as a favourite !

I had mostly full fat coconut milk, but it still turned out delicious!!

I’ve been making this recipe once a month almost for a year now and I must say that it’s my favorite recipe of all times. It’s easy, it’s fun to make and it always turns out amazing! My friends always ask me to make this recipe for them, it became an instant favorite of cold winter months.

I parboil the lentils then add them, I also recommend checking the taste first before adding chili peppers, salt or lemon juice if you’re using store bought curry paste, their taste differs a lot. I always serve them with black rice.

Thanks Dana :)

Just made this for dinner. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

Wow! This is to gobble, even my short cut version. I started with a packet of deSiam Thai green chili paste cooking it according to package directions (saute in hot canola oil). Then added coco milk and about 1 TBS of grated ginger and simmered a minute or two. These ingredients went in together: French lentils for toothiness, 5 or 6 whole, but crushed cloves of garlic, the tamari, and water. Juice of one lime added a bit later (tossed in spent halves for a while, too). Tasted later in cooking process and agreed it needed maple syrup. The lentils soaked up the oil and flavors, and the result was thick and creamy. Just like the photos. Frenchies might be aghast at flouting their law of cooking de Puys with a saute of carrots, garlic, onion, celery, and bay and thyme, but that’s boring compared to this outcome.

I’ll be making this again.

Just made this and loved it, just added less lemon juice because I’m not too fond of the citrus flavor. I can’t believe all the controversy over a recipe name, people really have too much free time on their hands lol.