Spicy Red Lentil Curry

Just made this recipe on a whim right now because I had some tomato paste that I needed to use up and oh my gosh, I could not be happier. It turned out even better than I hoped it would! Wonderfully spicy, and all the flavours compliment each other perfectly. I used Aroy-D brand of red curry paste for anyone looking for a good one that is less expensive than Thai Kitchen! The only changes I made were by accident (distracted, whoops): an extra garlic clove, and about half the sugar. I also opted to leave out the coconut milk due to sheer laziness; I’ll try it in the future when I feel like I want the extra creaminess, but right now the spice is exactly what I want. I’m only halfway through my meal and had to rush to post this review, this curry is that darn good. So many kudos!

Considering this recipe is so simple, it tastes so good. In fact, this is quite possibly my favourite curry, ever. Tastes even better the day after and along with the pickled onions (which I highly recommend and again, leave them marinating overnight) makes it a combo that you’ll go to time after time

This is terrific recipe, Dana. I made it tonight for my partner and I and we loved it. I followed the recipe exactly, save for adding a little more garlic + ginger and using only 5.5 oz of tomato paste. A really tasty, easy meal. We will be adding this into our weekly rotation. Thank you!

Made this tonight and I absolutely love it! I added just a little more of the curry paste because the tomato flavor was a little overpowering. I will be making again !

I wish I read comments prior to making. I also thought recipe called for 16 ounce tomato paste. This was still yummy, but not spicy, even after adding more turmeric. It was very tomato-tasting, hence the 16 ounce paste – excited to try again with 1 – 6 ounce can. I also used onions and eggplant rather than carrots

I made this last night and it was AMAZING!!!! I cooked it pretty much to the recipe; just added some red capsicum that I needed to use up and it was so good I’ve talked about it since – many times!

Thankyou!! 5 stars from me :)

I love this recipe, make it all the time! I don’t add the tomato paste at all, and add some brown sugar to balance the salt. Will definately check out some more of your recipes this year <3

Honestly i didn’t really like it. It isn’t bad but the tomato flavor is way too strong and there is nothing to balance it out. I added some extra chilies, pepper, and turmeric to help it out a little and it’s more to my personal taste now. Some creamed coconut on top of the coconut milk is also really good imo.

quite delicious! i added a small diced onion when sautéing carrots. doubled the recipe (at least 2 cups of lentils) and used a lot more of the red curry paste. kept the tomato paste to 6 oz. it was delicious! everyone in our family enjoyed it very much! served with naan and brown rice and kale on the side. YUMMY and healthy.

Gosh, I really wanted to love this recipe. But unfortunately, it tasted like tomato paste with a touch of curry flavor. I think it needs WAY more lentils, and maybe seasoning (?), to balance out all of the tomato paste. I’d be interested to try it again but with many modifications. Sorry. :(

Thoroughly enjoyed. The family have requested it again. I added celery and onion in with the carrot, and some frozen spinach right at the end. No coconut milk, but served with a dollop of greek yoghurt. Thanks for the tasty recipe.

This was awesome. I did cook for an extra 10 minutes to soften lentils.
Can’t wait to make this again!

My husband requests this for our weekly lunch prep alllll the time! We love taking this as a base and adding more veggies (broccoli, green beans, spinach) and sometimes even add chickpeas for some extra protein. I always make a double batch! Instead of using 2 cans of tomato paste when I double though, I add a can of roasted tomatoes and cut back on the water a bit. The lentils are always perfect. Thank you! One of our faves 🥰

Love it! Make it all the time.

I made it for lunch and it was SO GOOD! Here are some substitutions I made in case they are useful for anyone else: I used sriracha instead of red curry paste, maple syrup instead of coconut sugar, and I added in one Japanese sweet potato diced into small cubes. I didn’t have coconut milk so I left it out and it was still delicious. Served over brown rice.

I have recently deemed Mondays as “Lentils for Dinner Day” to help balance our more splurge-y food choices during the weekends (and to save some money!) ;). I finally bought red lentils to try this recipe, and we made it tonight. It was really good, but we thought the tomato paste was too strong and took away from the Thai vibe it was trying to achieve. I doubled the recipe and quartered the amount of tomato paste (so an 8oz can) because that was all I had in the pantry. We really loved the red lentils; they were so tender & smooth! We will definitely try it again with less tomato. Thanks for a great recipe!

I made this tonight and it was amazing! I added a jalapeno and used the coconut milk. Served over quinoa. I will definitely be adding this into the dinner rotation!

This is a great recipe. I’ve made it for friends and recommended it and everyone loves it. Followed exactly (using maple syrup). I’ve made this a couple times and have successfully added various roasted veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and sweet potato for some more body. The first time I made it it did take longer than 30 mins with all prep included, but the more you make it the faster it goes.

Red lentil nirvana. The ultimate plant based comfort food. I followed the recipe exactly. I was hesitant to open a can of coconut milk but in the end, I was glad I did!

I am a big fan of yours! I have made a number of your recipes and have always had success. Some of your recipes are among our favorites and we make them often. Last evening I made this lentil recipe. I made a double batch last but only used 1 can of tomato paste instead of 2. It turned out soooo good. I will definately make it again. Thanks for providing such a terrific stream of reliably delicious and nutritious recipes! Bonus that you are in Portland, so am I.

We loved this! Made it last night and doubled because I was confident it would hit all the notes for us. Used 1 cup carrots and 1 cup sweet potatoes. Used a can of diced tomatoes instead of water. About a half can of full fat coconut milk. The entire jar of Thai Kitchen red curry paste went in. Loved the tomato-ey richness. REALLY excellent (perfect?) recipe, thanks so much! We ate it with white basmati rice and garlic naan from Trader Joe’s.

Yummy! This is my favorite weeknight combo of delicious, nutritious and easy! Mine didn’t turn out as red as the pictures but I don’t think it matters, probably a difference in curry pastes. I am excited to try this with different brands! I skipped the rice and just went with naan. I will definitely make it again!

I made this for dinner tonight!! It was soo good, the flavours danced in my mouth! Amazing! I ended up adding 1 cup of red lentils with 3 cups of water (and Skinnymixers thermomix vegetarian stock paste!) Instead of using a whole can of tomato paste, I used a can of whole tomatoes instead, added 1 tbsp of tomatoe paste and 1 tbsp of coconut sugar. Because I love spice, I added a sprinkle of chilli flakes towards the end! This one is a keeper!

Dana, you are amazing! Every recipe I make that you own is always an absolute treat! I am grateful. Thankyou!

This was an excellent dish! One of the best I’ve ever made! It will be a staple in our house. I made it exactly as written except I didn’t have vegetable stock so just used water. Amazing!

I thought there was way too much tomato paste, but that could be my taste preference.

After a friend recommended the crazy delicious (and healthy) Roasted Cauliflower Tacos, and we took a leap of faith into our first Kimchi with your instructions, Minimalist Baker is our new recipe go-to site.
I doubled the ginger (love ginger) and carrots (can never have too much carrot) but otherwise stuck to the recipe, including the ‘pickled’ red onion. Another kitchen victory thanks to you guys!

Delicious! I added the coconut milk and a squeeze of lime for freshness. Only complaint was it wasn’t spicy enough but I think it was my own fault with the additions! Also topped it with chives and cilantro. Five stars.

Have made this so many times! It is a favorite!! Including the quick pickles!!! Love using the clean thai kitchen brand curry paste. This is a winner!!5 stars!

Yum! I had to restrain myself from turning the whole pan into just one serving haha! Reduced the oil and the coconut sugar a little bit, added broccoli and cauliflower, otherwise followed the recipe just as written and it turned out great! Can’t wait to make it for my vegan mom. Thanks for a delicious recipe!

Made it with just half spoon of the cury paste so its kid friendly and 2 spoonfulls of coconut milk full fat, i loved it but most inportantly the fussy kid I babysit loved it too :)

This was a great recipe. Really enjoyed it. As I was on a low sugar diet, I left out the carrot, and used a whole tomato instead of a can of tomato paste. Worked well even without using a vegetable broth. Threw in cilantro stems and root during the cooking as well and it added a great depth of flavor.

I followed the recipe exact, except I added some red peppers to it and it was just waaaaayyyy to tomatoey. Wish I added half the amount of tomato paste :(

This was really flavorful and good. I added a potato because I had one kicking around, plus half an onion. Do the coconut addition. Yummmmm

I made the spicy red lentil curry, quick pickled red onions, and easy vegan naan for dinner last night, and everything was delicious! I upped the turmeric in the curry as suggested for depth of flavor and gave the dish a squeeze of lime juice before serving. Thank you for the meal inspiration!

Just made this recipe, and it came out great! I will definitely be making this again. It was delicious, easy, didn’t require many dishes, and would be easy to scale up for meal prep!

In terms of the recipe, I followed the majority of the recipe, except that I omitted the coconut oil, used maple syrup instead of coconut sugar, and used the “Thai Kitchen” brand red curry paste instead of the suggested brand. Because I used the Thai Kitchen red curry paste (needed to use up what I had left in my fridge!), the lentils didn’t end up “spicy”, but they still had great flavor! This would be a great substitution if you’re making this dish for someone who doesn’t like spicy foods, but still wants a “red curry” flavor. But next time I make these, I will definitely try the red curry paste that you recommended!

Also, I served the with brown rice and pickled onions. I wasn’t sure if the onions would go with this dish, but it was actually really delicious together! Great serving tip!

Would totally make this again! So different and I like adding variety to my menus, lentils tend to get boring but this was fun and new.

I made this today and it it very delicious, I also added spinach. I fried the Paratha Bread to accompany curry. So quick and easy to make as well. Next week this will appear on the menu for a group of 45 people.

Made it tonight with yellow curry paste, which is all I had in the cupboard, and it was so outrageously good and satisfying. Added a little cayenne, wine the paste was lacking that red curry oomph. I made an eggplant basmati rice pilaf on the side for extra veggie goodness, and I swear you’ll make a vegan out of me yet, Dana. Thank you for this recipe.

Sooooo delicious! Your recipes are always straightforward and easy to follow and yummy! I really appreciate it!

So easy. So satisfying. It’s amazing on rice. No matter what you do, don’t skip the pickled onions. I usually add a bit more coconut milk than what recipe calls for, but I’m a bit of a coconut milk fanatic.

Have made this many times – always delicious!!!

I googled this recipe to approximate a soup I love at a local eatery, and it fit the bill! Bonus that it’s so easy. Don’t skip the coconut milk. Also, I put fresh spinach leaves in the bottom of the bowl when serving, for added color and nutrition.

Hi MiniBaker,

I gave up meat this month to try something new and stumbled upon this lentil recipe. I’m new to cooking and it was easy to make!

Thanks for making life easier!

I made this but turned into a soup instead, by adding more water, vegetable broth and coconut milk. I turned out absolutely delicious ! My husband is not a lentil fan, so a blended the soup to get a smooth texture – he didn’t recognize any lentil at all and told me he loved it! Definitely will put in my favorite recipes list. Thank you!

This is my new favourite. So simple to make but jam packed with flavour

Oh man that was GOOD! I used the ingredients I had on hand – which was diced tomatoes, not paste, and no tumeric, and it was still delicious. I’ll eat this often!

I made this last night and we loved it! I doubled the recipe so we have some in the freezer for next time. We are looking forward to trying the chickpea buddha bowl next! Thanks for all your great recipes :)

Delicious, easy and uses ingredients I always have on hand! Perfect recipe to add to my rotation. Inexpensive to make as well, if you are on a budget, which I love.

I woke up this morning thinking I HAD to find a super delicious, easy to make with items in the pantry ‘red lentil curry’ recipe. I looked at a few recipes on line and then came across yours and I knew immediately that it ticked all the boxes for me. I didn’t have any broth handy so I dissolved a vegan stock cube in one of the cups of water. I had coconut sugar in the pantry so I used that and I had frozen cubes of coconut cream handy so I used them instead of coconut milk. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe.
I was thrilled with the final result – it is so yummy that I’m heading off the kitchen to have seconds. This is definitely going to be one of my ‘must make’ recipes.

Many, many thanks from the other side of the planet (NZ)

Helen

Hi– this is delicious. Would be perfectly fine without any changes but… couldn’t help myself. Less tomato paste. Added Vidalia onion (sweet) — sauteed at beginning. A little cubed sweet potato. A couple handfuls of unsalted cashews– roasted 10 minutes or so until golden brown.
And how could the coconut milk be OPTIONAL??? It’s a MUST!!!!

So good! My whole family (including my picky 10 year old) ate it and loved it. Will definitely make it again.

This was good. I did add more tumeric. I really like it. I need to find a substitute for the tomato paste because I am not a huge fan. I am thinking diced tomatoes? I don’t know … suggestions? I am giving this a 5 star rating because it is easy and tasty. The tomato paste thing is just a preference that I need to work through, but I do really like your ideas for lentils. I have been a vegetarian for something like 26 years and have found that tofu doesn’t settle well with me, I often substitute lentils when something calls for tofu.

my first vegan recipe that was meant to be vegan! SOOO good. I did augment a few items….no tomatoes…extra chili pepper…..more coconut milk. served with shredded organic coconut and chopped peanuts on the top, over Jasmine brown rice.

I made this yesterday with Thai Kitchen red curry paste because I couldn’t find the Aroy-D paste that I would normally use. Because of the this the red lentil curry was simply flavourful, but not spicy. I thought it was delicious and definitely a good curry for beginners. Had I made it with the other curry paste it definitely would have been SPICY!!
Next time I will double the amount of carrots as they seemed like an afterthought.

Great tasting, hearty dish and I can’t believe how quick and easy it is to make. Definitely a keeper! Thank you.

Wonderful!!! I used cauliflower in place of carrots bc that’s what I had wow it was amazing

I love the 3 red lentil staple recipes – red lentil child, red lentil bolognese, red lentil curry – so good, so simple and quick to make. They are all go-to meals when we need a quick weeknight delicious option.

Just made this for dinner tonight, and it was so good!
I used maple sugar since I already had it on hand, I doubled the carrots, and I didn’t have cilantro, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. The pickled onions were a fantastic touch and really brought the meal up a notch!
I will definitely be making this again!

Hmmm… It was somewhat bland.

Doubled it and we’ve been eating it all week. Delish!

I just made and ate this and it was sooooooooooooooooo good! I love your recipes, always simple and delicious, I make them often and I am never disappointed!
This was perfect, it IS spicy mind you, I would recommend adding the coconut milk if you are shy about spices. It was great served with brown rice and a few cashews nuts. I’d recommend adding fresh cilantro of course, but I hadn’t any on hand.

Thank you so much for all of your work, Dana and John!

A french vegan girl :)

This is a winter staple recipe in our house! My favorite addition is roasted cauliflower. Plus, it meal preps well.

Finally, I love any recipe that has me use an entire can of tomato paste so I’m not stuck with weird amounts of leftover paste. ;-)

I just made this for dinner, served with chapatis. It was amazing! Hubby loved it too. Thank you for such a tasy recipe, keep em coming :) x

Made this tonight; it’s totally delicious! I had to simmer it for longer, but I can’t wait to make it again.

I just made this and I have to tell you it is delicious! I love indian food…..I don’t know why my red curry paste isn’t “spicy” – even though it says it should be on jar – so therefore, I added some cayenne – which was perfect. Thank you for another wonderful dinner! I really enjoy your recipes!

I love when I have everything on hand and can make a 30ish minute meal. It takes about that long to drive to a restaurant and place an order. I didn’t make any substitutions. Yummy and quick-ish lunch! <3 thank you!

I love this! I used the whole bag of lentils and 32 ounces of veggie broth, I sauteed some onions with the garlic and carrots at the beginning, and I used way more turmeric and curry paste (along with some cayenne, Chipotle chili powder, and garlic powder, because that’s how I roll) but this was very flavorful and filling. I love it!

Yum!!! I just made the spicy lentil curry. It is full of flavor and just what I was looking for. Thank you.

This was delicious!

This was really good. Didn’t have broth in the kitchen, and was too lazy to go get some, so spiced up some water with what I had in the pantry and still worked out.

I am a juvenile type 1 diabetic and after having my second baby I’m venturing into the vegan world. I have looked over several of your recipes and never actually made anything until last night. This was amazing. If I can eat like this every night transitioning to a vegan lifestyle then it will be very enjoyable. I added some Smokey paprika and sliced limes for garnish/ serving. To be honest, I just ate leftovers for breakfast! :) I am going to make the sweet potatoes chickpea Judah bowl tonight! Thank you!!

This recipe was magnificent!!! My whole family loved it… Yummy! I will be doing this again. Thank you for providing so many awesome recipes on your site.

I made this tonight with your garlic flatbread recipe and it was AMAZING. So flavorful and easy to make. I will definitely be trying your Thai Yellow Curry recipe next!

I made this for the first time last week and bought ingredients to make it multiple times again. It’s sooo delicious and incredibly easy!! I couldn’t stop eating it!

i love your website! i started making some of your recipe it’s really good!

I’m making this now and it smells great– also, tastes pretty good too, and I’m not even finished cooking it, just tested the lentils. This reminded me of a recipe I tried and loved a few years ago. Here’s the other recipe, which is quite good, except the boiled lentil method is tricky– my lentils always came out mushy. So I hope I have better luck with your method. Thanks!

We had this for dinner tonight! It was delicious. I didn’t have the coconut milk to balance the heat, so it was a bit on the spicy side. But still delicious, nonetheless!

I added diced onions to it and subbed tomato sauce for paste (since it was what I had on hand).

It got a five thumbs up from my family. :)

I made it & it was perfect! A delightful light Buddha bowl with the pickled onions and brown rice a la Saveur. Thanks for the great vegan recipes!

By the way, I tried adding the rating to my comment above but was not able to click on the stars. For some reason I’m able to do so now though.

I was looking for a red lentil recipe online (I’ve only ever cooked with red lentils 2-3 times before) and yours came up pretty high in my search results. I’m so glad I tried it out!! I followed the directions to a T and it the taste was absolutely wonderful. My husband who isn’t a fan of red lentils surprisingly also really loved this! Even my 13 month old! He loved the first few bites but when the bit of heat kick in started to cry, so I mixed it with a bit of sour cream to cut the spice and he ate a ton!! My only comment about the actual recipe is that you must have massive garlic cloves where you are. haha :P I thought mine were big but I used 7 and it still only gave me a heaping tablespoon. I feel I would have needed about 10 large cloves in order to get 1.5 tablespoons as mentioned in your recipe. Thanks for the great recipe – I will definitely come by to look for more! :)

Thank you. Good luck.

Absolutely love this recipe! I make at once in a month because it’s so easy to do and very good for the spicy lover in me. I only use Naan bread with it.