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.
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More vegetarian slow cooker recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to pack up your weekly lunches.
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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
Leanne Walker says
This recipe is so yummy. Thank you for sharing. Leanne x
Naomie says
Hey, I made it for tonight and added some mushrooms and green peppers because I had some leftovers! Smells amazing! Do you know how long this stays good in the fridge and I could probably freeze it for lunches during the week?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Naomie – there are storing/reheating and freezing instructions in the blog post above the recipe card if you want some more detailed instructions. It should be good in the fridge up to 5 days, and you can also freeze it up to 3 months.
Rose says
Very tasty! I used green lentils because that’s what I had in my pantry, but it worked out fine. Coconut milk really adds a great flavor to lentils. Thanks!
Micah says
Hi, just a heads up, the cook time is listed as 3 hours in the “heading” at the top of the recipe, but the recipe says 4 hours on high or 8 on low. Might want to update the heading.
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks so much Micah! Done 🙂
Jeannette says
Still not updated. This tricked me into thinking I had enough time to make it because it still says 3 hours cook time. At the top of the recipe card it says Total cook time: 3 hours 10 minutes. I just skimmed, saw that and hurried and went for it. Now I’ll be throwing it on the stove in the hopes it cooks faster.
Taylor Stinson says
The actual recipe instructions say on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours. I assume you had to read the instructions in order to make the recipe, because even if I put 4 hours in the time on the recipe card that you skimmed, it would still be 4 hours on HIGH, not low, and you would need to read that to find that out.
Trudy says
Thank you for this recipe! You have just got my son eating all the vegetable goodness in this! It’s lovely! I never had butternut squash before this either. I’m finding it a bit sweet, but really good.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed, Trudy 🙂
Sam says
Delicious recipe! I made it with brown lentils because I couldn’t find red, and I just used an immersion blender for a few seconds to get the right texture. Do you stir the ingredients before cooking? I see you want the ingredients added in order, so not sure if stirring would negate the order.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed, Sam! You can stir with the slow cooker, it’s just important to add the olive oil to the bottom first so nothing burns.
Pam Carr says
Wow, this dish was delicious! I will definitely make it again. Rich and flavorful, with a pleasing texture, and very filling. I used regular lentils because my grocery didn’t have red, and I used white rice because that’s what I had in the cupboard.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Jenna says
What would be the grams or cups equivalent of one “small” butternut squash cubed?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Jenna – it really varies. If I had to guess, maybe 2 cups?
TJ says
been making versions of this forever on stove, just got a slow cooker and was looking for cooking times. Thanks!
(and apparently we are neighbors)
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed, TJ 🙂
Bridget says
Can you make this without a slow cooker ?
Taylor Stinson says
You can definitely make it on the stovetop! Add it to a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 30-45 min 🙂