A quick and easy one-pot meal, this green lentil and spinach curry is filling and full of flavor making it a perfect plant-based meal.
In my opinion, lentils are a totally underrated ingredient. Not only are they incredibly easy to cook on the stovetop but they are incredibly inexpensive to use. Dried lentils are a year-round pantry staple that can help you create everything from soups to salads, to side dishes and stews. Not only are they a whole food, but they are also a good source of plant-based protein and a great way to grocery shop on a budget as they stretch really far to create many meals. This creamy green lentil and spinach curry is easy to whip up in a pinch and is a great nourishing meal that will keep you coming back for more.
Lentils cook very similarly to rice, a bit of water and a pinch of salt and away you go. Although that is the basic format, there are lots of ways to jazz lentils up with broths, herbs, and spices to help add some additional flavor. Lentils also come in many shapes, colors, and formats, and their use can vary from dish to dish. I personally prefer red and yellow lentils for soups and stews, like my Spiced Red Lentil Soup, Puy lentils for salads, like my French Lentil & Beet Salad, and brown or green lentils for richer and earthier dishes like this green lentil and spinach curry. Thanks to their quick cooking time, lentils make a great weeknight meal, as they are easily ready in less than 20 minutes. Plus, they can even be made in advance and stored in the fridge to add to salads or cut down on cooking time for meals.
More Lentil Recipes:
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Green Lentil and Spinach Curry
I made this lentil and spinach curry with green lentils to keep with the green theme, but red or yellow would also work very well.
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Prep Time: 5 minutes -
Cook Time: 35 minutes
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Total Time: 40 minutes
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Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Category: Entree
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Method: Stovetop
- Diet: Vegetarian
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups green lentils, dry
- 400ml can light coconut milk
- 3 cups water
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2” ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons olive or coconut oil
- 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup basmati rice
Instructions
- Using a mesh colander, rinse the lentils well, strain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat oil and add diced onion and carrots. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent and carrots are tender.
- Add in minced garlic and grated ginger, and cook for another 1 minute. Add curry powder and ground cumin, and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add rinsed and strained lentils to the pan, and stir quickly to coat the lentils in spice and onion mixture.
- Pour in water and coconut milk, and stir to ensure everything is well combined.
- Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook on low for 30 minutes until lentils are tender and the sauce has thickened.
- While the curry is simmering, prepare the rice. Combine basmati rice with 2 cups water and a pinch of sea salt, bring to a boil, and simmer on low for 15 minutes until the water has absorbed and rice can be fluffed with a fork. Set aside.
- After 30 minutes, add chopped spinach to the curry, cover again and cook for another 5 minutes. The spinach should wilt down into the lentils, it might need to be stirred a little to encourage it.
- Remove curry from the heat and give it a good stir to ensure everything is well mixed together. Season to taste as needed.
- Serve curry with a side of basmati rice and sprinkle of coriander.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 597 calories
- Sugar: 5 grams
- Fat: 17 grams
- Carbohydrates: 92 grams
- Fiber: 12 grams
- Protein: 24 grams
I made this curry tonight for the family and everyone loved it. It’s great to get a new vegetarian meal that makes everyone happy!
Thanks
That’s great and make me so happy! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Looks fantastic. Would be helpful to add nutritional information?
Thanks Kate! I actually purposefully don’t include the nutritional information because to me there is no use in counting calories, and do not often recommend it to people I work with. I wrote a whole blog post about it, you can read more about it: https://kaynutrition.com/2017/05/is-calorie-counting-necessary/
Thanks! I read the article on calorie counting, makes sense now!
Kate
Great! Glad you found it helpful 🙂
Hi! Did you use red or yellow curry powder?
Hi Tina! I used yellow curry powder but either will work!
Hi! Could you add in other veggies? Like peppers or cauliflower? Looks tasty!
Absolutely, either of those would work! Lighter vegetables, like leafy greens, can be added at the end with the spinach, while heartier or denser vegetables could be added with the onion and carrots or halfway through the lentil cooking process.
Great recipe and super simple.
What a delicious recipe, thank you! This is a keeper! I love that there is spinach in this delightful dish. I am always looking for hearty plant based recipes with leftovers to freeze. It sure saves time on those busy days. I also freeze cooked rice so that is what I am using today.
I’m so pleased you like it! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
Oh my gosh. Creamy and dreamy lentil curry. So delicious. Followed the recipe to a T and it was perfect. Only changes I made is adding a sweet potato as I was lean on carrots, and added a few cardamom pods in while simmering for extra aromatics. Delicious week night meal prep, done!
Thank you so much for sharing, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
The metric units were not quite right in this one. My tweaks were 600ml of water, 400ml can of coconut cream, 3 teaspoons of coconut oil and fresh coriander/cilantro to garnish.
Fresh flavours, easy and quick to make.
Lovin’your work, Steph!
Thank you so much for sharing, Phil!