Vegan Red Lentil Curry

Vegan red lentil curry is thick, creamy and only takes 20 minutes to make. This lentil curry without coconut milk is made with simple pantry ingredients and is made in one pot with minimal steps. This cauliflower red lentil curry is mild, adaptable and budget friendly!

Why you will love this recipe

• Easy to make
• Simple, pantry ingredients
• Versatile and adaptable
• Use instant pot or slow cooker

Ingredient spotlight

• Spices: Curry powder, turmeric, cumin, salt, garlic powder – these spices give the curry it’s unique flavor.
• Red split lentils – red split lentils are like red lentils that have been split, which makes them very quick cooking. Red lentils cook in about 8-10 minutes and become soft and creamy when cooked.
• Frozen cauliflower rice – frozen cauliflower rice is so easy to add to this curry. Because of the shape, the cauliflower rice just melds into the curry, helping to add bulk without being detected.
• Crushed tomatoes – I love using crushed tomatoes in gives the tomato flavor without the texture.
• Soaked cashews – make the curry rich and creamy.  You can use coconut milk instead here if needed.

How to make vegan red lentil curry

Preheat a large pot over medium heat.

Chop the onion and peel and chop the ginger. When the pot is hot, spray with some avocado oil or olive oil spray and add the onion and ginger. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the spices to the pot and stir well. Cook about 1 minute to toast the spices.

Rinse the lentils. Add the lentils, water, frozen cauliflower and crushed tomatoes to the pot with the onion mixture. Stir well. Cover the pot, turn the heat up to medium high and cook for 12-15 minutes until the lentils are soft and tender and staring to fall apart. Check the lentils after about 8-10 minutes to stir.

While the lentils are cooking, pour boiling water over the cashews and let them soak at least 5 minutes. Drain the cashews and add them to a blender with ½ cup of fresh water. Blend on high until smooth.

When the lentils are soft and done cooking, pour the cashew mixture into the pot with the lentil curry. Stir well and serve hot.

Other ingredients to add

• Veggies: Red bell peppers, fresh spinach, fresh kale, shredded carrots, frozen peas shredded sweet potatoes.
• Spices: Red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, fresh serrano chilis
• Other additions: Chickpeas, tofu, ground chicken, ground turkey or cooked shrimp

How to serve cauliflower lentil curry

This lentil cauliflower curry is best served in a big bowl with your favorite grain or flatbread. Some of my favorites ways to serve this are alongside of:

• Jasmine rice
• Quinoa
• With naan or oat flour flatbread

How to make instant pot red lentil curry

You can make this lentil curry recipe in the instant pot very easily. Here are the steps:

• Put the instant pot on saute mode. Chop the onions and ginger. When the instant pot is hot, spray with olive oil or avocado oil and add the onions and ginger. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the spices to the onion mixture and cook 1 minute.
• Add about ½ cup of water to the pot and scrape down the bottom with a stainless steel spoon or wooden spoon you don’t care about (the turmeric and curry will stain the wood). Scraping off any of the brown bits from the onions or spices helps to ensure you won’t get a burn notice.
• Add the rinsed lentils, the rest of the water, cauliflower rice and crushed tomatoes to the instant pot. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Allow the pot to naturally release at least 5 minutes before manually releasing the pressure.
• Soak the cashews in boiling water for at least 5 minutes while the curry is cooking. Drain the water and add the cashews to a high speed blender with fresh water. Blend on high until smooth.
• When the pressure has been released, pour the cashew cream into the lentil curry in the instant pot then stir well. Serve hot.

Can you make red lentil curry in the slow cooker

Yes! This recipe is so good when made in a slow cooker.

• All you have to do is dump all the ingredients in (besides the cashews) and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
• Soak the cashews in boiling water for at least 5 minutes while the curry is cooking. Drain the water and add the cashews to a high speed blender with fresh water. Blend on high until smooth.
• When you are ready to serve, add the cashew cream to the slow cooker and stir well. Serve hot.

Common questions

Can you use curry paste?

For this recipe, I used curry powder because I always have it on hand. If you want to use curry paste instead, you certainly can! Instead of curry powder, use about 2-3 tablespoons of curry paste in it’s place.

Do you have to soak lentils before cooking them?

No, you don’t have to soak lentils in advance. However, I do suggest rinsing the lentils before using them though.

Can you double this recipe?

This recipe can easily be doubled if you want to make it for meal prep or to feed a large crowd. This vegan red lentil curry freezes well and would be great for meal prep. You may need to add 5 minutes to the cooking time as using 2 bags of frozen cauliflower rice will cause it to take longer to come up to a boil to cook the lentils.

Substitutions

• Onion – use whatever onions you have on hand – red, yellow, white or you can even use shallots. If you don’t have onion, you can simply omit.
• Fresh ginger – fresh ginger can be tough to keep on hand (you can store it in the freezer) so I always keep freeze dried ginger on hand instead.
• Red split lentils – use regular lentils, but you will want to increase the cooking time from 12-15 minutes covered to 15-20 minutes covered. Note that using green or brown lentils won’t create the same creamy consistency.
• Cashews – if you don’t have cashews, you can use hemp hearts (which don’t need to be soaked in advance) or you can use ½ a can of coconut milk. Be sure to shake the can vigorously before opening.

If you love this recipe, you should try

Apricot Chickpea Curry

Red Pepper Lentil Soup

Lentil Tortilla Soup

Red Lentil Flatbread