This Slow Cooker Lentil Curry with butternut squash, spinach and coconut milk is a delicious vegan recipe – serve with rice for a full meal!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Yellow onions – white onions or shallots would also work.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic cloves have the best flavor, but jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch.
- Butternut squash – use another winter squash like Hubbard or acorn squash, or another vegetable entirely like sweet potato.
- Dry red lentils – you could also try dry green lentils.
- Coconut milk – substitute for light coconut milk or even heavy cream.
- Diced tomatoes – a can of crushed tomatoes would also be good here.
- Turmeric – saffron is the best substitute for turmeric.
- Curry powder – make your own using a blend of spices including ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, ginger, dry mustard, cinnamon, black pepper and cayenne.
- Chili powder – use a mixture of paprika, cayenne, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Spinach – stir in some kale or Swiss chard instead, or leave the greens out entirely.
- Fresh cilantro and sesame seeds – to garnish.
- Basmati rice – serve with any rice of your choice like brown rice or even quinoa.
How to make lentil curry in the slow cooker
Step 1: Add everything to the pot.
Add the olive oil, onions, garlic, butternut squash, lentils, coconut milk, diced tomatoes, turmeric, curry powder, chili powder, salt and pepper to the slow cooker in the order listed.
Step 2: Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Step 3: Make the rice.
While the curry is cooking, make the basmati rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop.
Step 4: Serve and enjoy!
Once the curry is done cooking, stir in the spinach. Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro, serve over rice and enjoy!
What to serve with lentil curry
Here are some of my favourite side dishes to serve with this lentil curry recipe:
- Homemade naan or pita bread
- Basmati rice, brown rice, coconut rice or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option
- Steamed broccoli
- Vegetable pakora
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't tested this recipe on the stovetop, but it should be pretty easy to adapt. Try adding everything to a pot on the stovetop, bringing it to a boil and simmering until the squash and lentils are soft, about 30-45 minutes. Stir in the spinach at the very end.
No, there's no need to soak the dry lentils before adding them to the curry. The lentils cook alongside the rest of the ingredients in this recipe. If you soak the lentils first, they'll likely release water as they cook, making your curry watery and like more of a lentil soup than a thick curry!
I'd recommend using dry red lentils for this recipe, but dry green lentils would work too.
Coconut milk is pretty essential to making this vegan curry, but if you're not concerned about keeping it a vegan and non dairy dish, you can swap it out for a bit of heavy cream instead.
If you find that your lentils are still a bit tough after cooking, they haven't cooked for long enough. Continue to cook in the crockpot until the lentils have the desired consistency.
Storing and reheating
One of the best parts of slow cooker recipes is that they're great for meal prep. You can just dump everything in the crockpot, have it cook all day, then enjoy it fresh or store it in the fridge for later.
If you have any leftovers of this lentil curry, you can store individual portion sizes in glass meal prep containers in the fridge. When you're ready to enjoy, reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. I'd suggest sprinkling a bit of water or vegetable broth over top before reheating to ensure the curry doesn't dry out.
Can you freeze lentil curry?
Freezing this lentil dal is super easy! You can freeze it in freezer-safe containers or Ziploc bags for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat as normal, or reheat straight from frozen in the microwave for 6-7 minutes.
More vegetarian slow cooker recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to pack up your weekly lunches.
- Here is the crock pot I use.
Slow Cooker Lentil Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small yellow onions diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small butternut squash cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cups dry red lentils
- 1 (400mL) can coconut milk
- 1 (796mL) can diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 cups spinach chopped
- Cilantro and sesame seeds for garnish
Basmati rice
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to slow cooker in order that they are listed except for spinach, garnishes and rice.
- Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours. Meanwhile, cook basmati rice according to package directions in a rice cooker or on the stovetop.
- Once dal is finished cooking, stir in spinach and then plate with rice, garnishing with sesame seeds and cilantro. Enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Pamela Burris says
Very easy to prepare and so delicious!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Leonard says
Is it 1 can of 400ml chopped tomartos or 1 can at 787ml?? So you mean two cans then or just 1 400ml can
Taylor Stinson says
It would be two 400mL cans, or one 796mL can. I believe this may be an issue of it being more common to find 796mL cans in Canada where I live vs the smaller cans in the US.
Leonard says
Thank you! Yes there’s no such thing as a 797ml can in the uk just 400ml I’m the superstores haha unless your buying from a business outlook. I’d Likes to say tho I’ve only been using one can of 400ml and it’s just perfect so will continue to just use one can.
Jackie says
I’m making this today! One question though, when you put the ingredients into the crockpot, do you stir them or leave them alone?
Taylor Stinson says
You can stir them!
Morgan says
If using frozen spinach would you add at the beginning?
Taylor Stinson says
I would still add it in at the end. Maybe defrost in the microwave first so as not to cool down the meal too much.
JAF in DC says
Do you have instructions for stovetop? No slow cooker household. Thanks.
Taylor Stinson says
Unfortunately I don’t have specific instructions for this recipe but you could definitely make it on the stove. You’ll mostly just add everything to a large pot and cook until the lentils and squash are soft, adding the spinach in last.
Mo says
HI Taylor, Could you please clarify which kind of chili powder this recipe calls for? In American grocery stores, chili powder is a blend of dried chiles along with paprika, cumin, oregano, etc… Is this the chili powder you are referring to? Or is it something else, similar to cayenne pepper? Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Yes this is the chili powder I’m referring to!
Mo says
TYSM Taylor 🙂
Ashley says
Can this be done in the instant pot?
Taylor Stinson says
I haven’t tested it myself, but I imagine it could be!