This slow cooker red lentil curry will leave you full and satisfied, with the addition of carrots and cauliflower. Served over cauliflower coconut rice, this curry is the perfect way to warm up on a cold night. Gluten free, vegan, and so simple, this meal will be waiting for you when you get home from a long day at work!
I have a confession. I’ve always been a little scared to make curry at home. I figured I could never create those iconic flavors without a ton of spices and time. But I of course was wrong. I will tell you I took some simple shortcuts to make this meal accessible to most home cooks. I used store bought curry powder, turmeric, garlic powder, ginger, and cumin to build the flavor profile here. This is a recipe I want you to feel good about serving to the entire family, and having to fuss over dinner after a long day is a win in my book. You may want to hold back on adding all the curry powder until you portion out a few servings for the kiddos though, it is just slightly spicy (nothing Dave couldn’t handle though, so it’s not that hot lol).
Growing up, I had never heard of curry, nor was I exposed to many different cultures of food. My mom made a home cooked meal every night. We rotated between the same 5-8 recipes all year long. Tacos and spaghetti were as exotic as we got! Needless to say, as an adult, I’ve really enjoyed getting to experience food. Now that I”m grown up, it blows my mind that my mom would come home and cook for an hour or more most nights just go get dinner on the table. I love to cook and would spend my entire day in the kitchen, but sometimes after a long day, it’s the last thing I want to do. My poor mom would have loved to have a slow cooker back in those days, to save her from cooking every night!
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It seems like now a days everyone is always on the go. It blows my mind when I’m talking to ladies at the gym just how jam packed their schedules are. It’s a surprise to me that anyone gets fed, let alone having time to cook dinner every night! But that’s what the slow cooker is for!! Just add all you ingredients before you leave for work, turn it on low for 8 hours and when you get home, your house will smell amazing and dinner will be ready.
I originally created this recipe for my nutrition clients for their easy to follow meal plan. I truly believe that having food planned and prepared is the best way to meet your nutrition goals. If you are interested in getting a free week long meal plan, simply click the “Get a Free Week and Try It Out’ button on this page.
Red Lentil Curry Recipe Tips
I served this slow cooker red lentil curry with coconut cauliflower rice I made as a way to offset some of the heat from the curry. It was super simple. To make cauliflower rice, you just add cauliflower florets to a food processor and pulse until they look like rice. Then you microwave for 5-6 minutes on high. Add 1/2 cup of lite coconut milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. ground ginger. If you don’t want to make cauliflower rice, you can make basmati rice and add the coconut milk and ground ginger to the basmati rice.
When you are buying coconut milk, be sure to read the can. Because there is so much fat in the coconut milk, it’s important to make sure that you are using a BPA free can. I found that the Lite Coconut Milk at Trader Joe’s is in a BPA free can, you can also get it on Amazon Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk Lite (affiliate link)
Slow Cooker Red Lentil Curry
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils
- 2 cups water
- ½ white onion chopped
- 1 tbs. fresh grated ginger
- 1 package frozen cauliflower
- 3 tbs. curry seasoning
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 29 oz. can puree tomatoes
- 1/2 can lite coconut milk
- 2 cups cauliflower rice quinoa or basmati rice
- 1/2 cup lite coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Instructions
Add the ingredients (except for the coconut milk) to the crockpot and cook high 4-6 hours or low for 8. Right before serving, stir in the coconut milk.
- Serve over cauliflower rice mixed with lite coconut milk, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger and 1/2 tsp. salt. You can also use quinoa or basmati rice instead of cauliflower rice. .
What about you?
- Did you grow up eating the same 5-8 meals?
- What was the most exotic thing you ate as a kid?
- What’s your go to slow cooker meal?
mary says
I see kale is mentioned in the directions but not in the list of ingredients. How much and when do you add it? Thanks!
Samantha says
Hi Mary!, No kale in this recipe, sorry about that and thanks for letting me know! Recipe updated :).
Elaine says
My husband would love this…he is a big fan of anything curry! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday and I hope to see you tomorrow! Pinned!
Easy Peasy Life Matters says
We love curry and lentils at our house so this will be fun to try! Thanks for sharing on the Marvelous in my Monday link up 🙂
[email protected] says
This looks perfect for my family, we are vegetarians and I love the slow cooker. Thank you for the inspiration X
Jeanne Grunert says
I was just looking at a bag of lentils I found in the pantry and wondering what to make with them. Your recipe is perfect timing! Looks wonderful. Pinned, tweeted, and happy to share. Visiting from the #HomeMattersParty
bj says
Ummm, can’t wait to try this one…
Laurie says
Pinned and tweeted to share! Thank you for linking up with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday!
Emma says
My slow cooker is my new favourite thing! This looks like a great winter warmer. #freefromfridays
Dee says
I just love crockpot recipes, especially in the winter. Your recipe looks so delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing it and have a lovely weekend… 🙂
Amy J says
I love lentils! I am going to try this recipe this week, it looks lovely 🙂
Carlyn says
I can’t wait to try this recipe, I have become a complete lentil freak. My mom made lentil soup growing up that I loved, I just never knew all the fabulous things you can do with them.
Thanks so much for sharing this in today’s link party!
Wishing you a healthy new year!
From offthesidewalk in Tampa, FL – Carlyn 🙂
Emily says
I didn’t realize how yummy lentils could be till we had this barbecued lentil dish on Sunday. It was DELISH!
Marie, The Interior Frugalista says
This sounds delicious and definitely going to land on our dinner table soon! Pinned to share and refer back to.
Cassie says
What a tasty dish! I love curry so so much!
Samantha @ WhatsUpUSANA says
I love slow cooker recipes! 🙂 Looks amazing. Thanks for sharing, Sam!
Megan @Skinny Fitalicious says
I love that you made this in the crockpot. I swear I should have like 3 of them because I use mine all the time. Curry brings back memories of when I was working in Singapore. My hotel “neighbors” were making their own curry in the Hilton hotel everyday. Everything I owned smelled like curry. I couldn’t eat the stuff for a year after that experience!
Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen says
Okay, first of all, I love the site revamp! I’m a horrible friend and clearly haven’t been here in too long Shame on me.
Second, yes. I totally grew up on the same meals, week after week. With 5-6 kids in the house at most times, my Dad cooked for us what he knew we would eat! No messing around, he just wanted us fed. lol. I honestly didn’t TRULY broaden my horizons until I studied abroad in Australia. I’m so glad I did though because so many FLAVORS. If you would have asked my 18 year old self to try Indian food I would have said “mmm, no thanks.” But now I love so many different flavors.
This recipe looks awesome, definitely pinning!
Jess @hellotofit says
I love that brand coconut milk!!
We probably ate the same rotation of foods, but growing up in northern VA there are a lot of different foods and cuisines to try – my mom was the one who introduced me to Indian food, Ethiopian food, and French food 🙂
This dish looks AWESOME, Sam! Now, you’ll be more adventurous with curry, right? 😉
lindsay says
Good to know about reading the coconut milk can. It’s crazy how they sneak so much into one Natural product. And this looks amazing! so cozy
Kat says
Yesss for a crockpot recipe! I’ve never made anything with curry, but any recipe that includes coconut milk in it is pretty much my favorite 🙂
Lynn says
Hi Sam, I may just put this in my crockpot right now. I think I have everything except the cauliflower for the rice. YIPPEE! Dinner Dilemma solved. Pinned to my ‘pinterest cookbook’.
Happy Day, Lynn
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Well I’ve never made curry in the slow cooker, always on the stove, but curry yes please!!! And seriously just re-stocked (again) my red lentils which I can say I’m fully obsessed with!
[email protected] atheltic avocado says
Now I know what to do with my red lentils that are sitting around in my pantry! This looks like a hearty and filling meatless dinner, yum!