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Home » Recipes » Vegetarian » Slow Cooker Lentil Curry

Slow Cooker Lentil Curry

1/7/22

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

This Slow Cooker Lentil Curry with butternut squash, spinach and coconut milk is a delicious vegan recipe – serve with rice for a full meal!

Butternut-Squash-Dal-Red-Lentils

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How to make this recipe

This butternut squash dal is a delicious, simple recipe that you can cook throughout the day while you're at work so you come home to a fast, tasty meal. Or, you can chop up the ingredients and dump in the slow cooker on Sunday while you lounge around relaxing, watching TV, reading books or exploring outside. Really, it's up to you what you do with the glorious, extra hours you'll have while waiting for this to cook.

Here's how to make it step-by-step:

  1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker except for spinach, garnishes and rice.
  2. Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours.
  3. Cook the basmati rice at some point while the dal is in the slow cooker – I usually do this half an hour before the dal is finished.
  4. Once dal is finished cooking, stir in spinach and then plate with rice, garnishing with sesame seeds and cilantro if desired.

Butternut-Squash-Dal-Red-Lentils Butternut-Squash-Dal-Red-Lentils

Ingredients and substitutions

This is a super versatile recipe so you can change up the ingredients for this dish as you please. Here are some suggestions:

Veggies – The veggies you choose to include in this meal are up for debate. I prefer the butternut squash as it cooks slowly and adds a lovely, nutty and sweet flavour to the curry and turmeric, but I could also see any sort of bell pepper or sweet potato working well here. Add in whatever you'd like, including changing up the greens at the end.

Lentils – You can use brown or green lentils with this recipe instead of red lentils. Just a warning though, red lentils become softer and turn into a stew-like texture whereas the other lentils hold their shape more and absorb less liquid, which may result in more of a soupy texture.

Spices – Turmeric, curry powder and chili powder are used in this recipe – I highly recommend keeping the turmeric, but you can add or remove the other spices. Cumin, garam masala, cardamom, coriander and paprika would make excellent additions.

Butternut-Squash-Dal-Red-Lentils

What to serve with lentil curry

Garnish your meatless masterpiece with some sesame seeds and cilantro, and serve alongside some basmati rice. Pro tip: herbs are not just for garnishing. I absolutely love eating generous amounts of them alongside curries, salads, sandwiches and one pot meals, and herbs like cilantro and parsley have killer health benefits and are nutritionally dense. Consider giving a giant handful a try next time you cook up a big meal!

Here are some other serving suggestions:

  • Quinoa
  • Wild rice
  • Side salad
  • Roasted broccoli
  • Steamed cauliflower or cauliflower rice
  • Crusty bread
  • Naan or pitas, to dip

Butternut-Squash-Dal-Red-Lentils

Storing and reheating

What I especially love about this meal is that it reheats well, so you'll have leftovers for the whole week. You can keep this slow cooker dal in the fridge up to 5 days. I recommend storing in individual portion sizes in meal prep containers so that all you need to do is reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Make sure to sprinkle some water overtop before reheating to help the dal retain moisture and not dry out.

Freezing lentil dal

Freezing this lentil dal is super easy too! Just store in glass containers with lids and either defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave, or you can reheat from frozen for 6-7 minutes in the microwave. Store the dal and the rice separately in the freezer to preserve them both properly.

Butternut-Squash-Dal-Red-Lentils

More vegetarian slow cooker recipes

  • Slow cooker peanut stew
  • Slow cooker sweet potato lentil chili
  • Instant Pot/slow cooker minestrone

Meal prep tools

  • This is the brand of basmati rice that I use
  • I also use red lentils like these ones here
  • Get your Slow Cooker here
  • I also love these glass meal prep bowls for reheating this recipe in individual portions
Butternut Squash Dal

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal

This Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal with lentils and coconut milk is a delicious vegan recipe - pair this Indian dish with basmati rice for a full meal!
4.65 from 107 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 383kcal
Author: Taylor Stinson

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!

Nutrition

Calories: 383kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 428mg | Potassium: 1074mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 14372IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 6mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GirlonBloor or tag #girlonbloor!

This Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal with lentils and coconut milk is a delicious vegan recipe - pair this Indian dish with basmati rice for a full meal! #slowcooker #butternutsquash #vegan This Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal with lentils and coconut milk is a delicious vegan recipe - pair this Indian dish with basmati rice for a full meal! #slowcooker #butternutsquash #vegan

This Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal with lentils and coconut milk is a delicious vegan recipe - pair this Indian dish with basmati rice for a full meal! #slowcooker #butternutsquash #dal This Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal with lentils and coconut milk is a delicious vegan recipe - pair this Indian dish with basmati rice for a full meal! #slowcooker #butternutsquash #dal

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About Taylor Stinson

Hey there, my name's Taylor! I’m the founder of The Girl on Bloor, a food blog where I share healthy meal prep recipes for busy people. I'm a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto on (you guessed it!) Bloor Street. I've got 10 years experience meal prepping, along with a Master's degree in journalism, and you can find my work across the internet featured on publications such as Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Women's Health, Reader's Digest and more. I also run the awesome 5-Day Meal Prep Challenge, which is a free email course and Facebook group where I share my meal planning strategies and easy meal prep tips and recipes. Be sure to check out my free beginner’s guide to meal prep and follow me on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get my latest recipes and meal prep tips!

Comments

  1. Leonard says

    June 12, 2022 at 05:08

    Is it 1 can of 400ml chopped tomartos or 1 can at 787ml?? So you mean two cans then or just 1 400ml can

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      June 13, 2022 at 13:51

      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.

      Reply
  2. Jackie says

    March 20, 2022 at 11:15

    I’m making this today! One question though, when you put the ingredients into the crockpot, do you stir them or leave them alone?

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      March 21, 2022 at 09:10

      You can stir them!

      Reply
  3. Morgan says

    January 14, 2022 at 12:33

    If using frozen spinach would you add at the beginning?

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      January 17, 2022 at 09:46

      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.

      Reply
  4. JAF in DC says

    October 17, 2021 at 17:43

    Do you have instructions for stovetop? No slow cooker household. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      October 22, 2021 at 11:29

      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.

      Reply
  5. Mo says

    October 6, 2021 at 11:37

    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!

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      October 6, 2021 at 14:23

      Yes this is the chili powder I’m referring to!

      Reply
      • Mo says

        October 7, 2021 at 16:55

        TYSM Taylor 🙂

        Reply
  6. Ashley says

    September 12, 2021 at 12:09

    Can this be done in the instant pot?

    Reply
    • Taylor Stinson says

      September 13, 2021 at 08:35

      I haven’t tested it myself, but I imagine it could be!

      Reply
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Taylor Stinson

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I'm Taylor Stinson, a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto. Looking to switch up your weekly meal prep routine? I've got you covered with healthy recipes and meal planning resources. Join 1.5 million other monthly readers and dive in! MORE ABOUT ME..

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