This Red Lentil Stew is a quick and delicious one-pot meal! It is a simple combination of Thai flavors and fresh produce that results in a mix between a Thai red lentil curry and red lentil stew.
Recipe: $7.98 | Per Serving: $2.00 | Servings: 4
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This recipe was originally posted in the early days of my blog - February 2015 to be exact. With long long winter days here (in Tallinn, Estonia!), I spent the winter making all the stews, soups, and curries from my blog multiple times. I pulled this one from the archives and because of how simple it is, it just kept popping back up on the menu all winter and into early spring!
I decided to update it with nicer photos and a little more clarity. The recipe is slightly altered as well, but you can find the original recipe here.
Love cooking hearty meals with lentils? Try this Lentil Kale Soup or Lemon Lentil Kabocha Stew next. Might I also recommend this gut-healing kitchari by my good friend Abra?
Why You Will Love This Lentil Stew Recipe
- Quick and Easy. Red lentils cook quickly making this dish an easy meal for weeknight dinners.
- Hearty and Satisfying. Even though it's made without meat this Thai lentil curry is sure to fill you up and leaving you feeling satisfied.
- Great Flavors. It's a little spicy, a little creamy, and a lotta delicious.
Ingredients
- Aromatics: Onion, garlic, and ginger layer in their flavors giving the curry more depth and complex flavors.
- Veggies: Shredded carrots and bell pepper both cook quickly in the same amount of time it takes to cook the lentils.
- Coconut oil: Just a bit for sauteing the onions and garlic. You can use another vegetable cooking oil if you prefer.
- Thai red curry paste: I'm a fan of your basic Thai Kitchen red curry paste, but there are a lot of different brands out there that many say are much better (Maesri is reportedly the best if you can find it!). They each vary by spice level and sodium content, so just be aware of that if using another brand.
- Tomato paste: Although not at all traditional in a Thai red curry, I like the savory-umami-sweetness tomato paste brings to the dish, but in a pinch, you can omit it, or even replace it with 1 large ripe tomato.
- Red pepper flakes: For me, Thai Kitchen is not spicy enough, and RPFs add a bit more heat to the dish. You can leave them out if you prefer a milder flavor, or if you're using a spicier red thai curry paste.
- Red lentils: These lentils are such a fun and exciting color, but this fades to a paler pink once cooked. They are meant to cook down into a creamy-mushy texture in this dish.
- Coconut milk: Use full fat canned coconut milk for the best flavor.
- Greens: You can use any you enjoy including kale, Swiss chard, and spinach.
How to Make Red Lentil Curry
Step 1: Wash and prepare vegetables. Dice the onion, mince the garlic, grate the ginger, shred or slice the carrot, and slice the bell pepper into strips. You can also wash and chop the kale at this stage.
Step 2: Cook the aromatics. Cook the onions in a large stock pot or deep-sided skillet with the melted coconut oil and a a pinch of salt until soft. Add the curry paste, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger with another pinch of salt. Stir well to combine.
Step 3: Add the lentils. Add the red lentils, coconut milk, and the water or broth to the pot. Stir well to combine.
Step 4: Add the vegetables. Add the shredded carrots and sliced bell pepper to the pot and simmer uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are fully cooked and tender. Stir occasionally. You may find that you want to add a little more water here. I like my red lentils to be quite soft so they fall apart into the curry.
Step 5: Stirring the curry. Stir well and add the chopped greens (kale or other). You can also add a little splash of water (1-2 Tablespoons). Cook for three minutes covered with a lid.
Step 6: Serving the curry. Season with additional salt as desired, and stir in the juice of ½ a lime. Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve with the rice!
Expert Tips
- Serving: This vegan red lentil curry is an entire meal on its own. I love to serve some lime wedges on the side to squeeze into the bowl for extra brightness and top the curry with some chopped cilantro. Add more red chili flakes on top if you want it spicier.
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or the freezer for up to three months. Keep the rice separate from the curry. Reheat the rice and curry separately in the microwave to serve again.
- Adjust the Consistency: You can add more water if you want the consistency a bit thinner and more like a red lentil curry soup than a stew.
- Taste Before Adding Salt: Different brands of curry paste contain different amounts of sodium so be cautious when salting your dish.
Recipe FAQs
Sure. Yellow lentils will work similarly to the red lentils and cook in about the same amount of time. If you use brown or green lentils these may require more water and also a longer cooking time. They won't break down quite the same way, but I'm sure they will still be delicious.
No, lentils, and especially red lentils, do not need to be soaked. They cook quickly straight from dry.
More Thai-Inspired Recipes
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Thai Curry Red Lentil Stew
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked white rice or any
- ½ onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 Tablespoons fresh ginger minced
- 1 carrot shredded
- 1 bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon fine salt more to taste
- 2 Tablespoons thai red curry paste
- 1 Tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk about 1 ¾ cups
- 2 cups water or broth more if desired
- 4 cups greens (kale) swiss chard, etc., roughly chopped
- 1 lime
Instructions
- For the rice: prepare 1 cup rice of choice according to package instructions.
- Wash and prepare vegetables. Dice the onion, mince the garlic, grate the ginger, shred or slice the carrot, and slice the bell pepper into strips. You can also wash and chop the kale at this stage. Set aside.
- In a large stock pot or deep-sided skillet, melt the coconut oil, then sauté the onions with a pinch of salt until soft. Add the curry paste, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger with another pinch of salt. Stir well to combine.
- Add the red lentils, coconut milk, and the water or broth. Stir well to combine.
- Finally add the shredded carrots and sliced bell pepper. Simmer this, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are fully cooked and tender, stirring occasionally. You may find that you want to add a little more water here. I like my red lentils to be quite soft so they fall apart into the curry.
- Once the lentils are cooked to your preference, stir well and add the chopped greens (kale or other). You can also add a little splash of water (1-2 Tablespoons) and cover with a lid. Let this cook for 3 minutes, then remove the lid, and stir in the kale.
- Season with additional salt as desired, and stir in the juice of ½ a lime. Garnish with cilantro if desired, and serve with the rice and a few more lime wedges.
Notes
- You will get slightly more protein (about 1 more gram per serving) with brown rice instead of white rice.
- I increase the protein by using bone broth (8g protein per cup) instead of vegetable broth/water.
- You can also stir in 3 Tablespoons hemp hearts just before adding the greens to increase the protein. (3 tablespoon = 10g protein)
- Finally, I sometimes serve this with a little dollop of Greek yogurt. (1 Tablespoon = about 1 g protein)
Nutrition
I LOVE this dish! I’ve made it twice already in the last month. I personally like a big pop of lime so I usually use 2 limes worth juice.
LOVE that big pop of lime, Abi! I'm totally with you. Thank you!
Made this today, and it is delicious! It will definitely be on my regular rotation!
This is one of my staples. Love it! Simple and tasty tasty.
Thanks for sharing Ali! I'm so honored this is a staple in your home! I also love it. :) :)
I love the addition of curry paste! I have a bag of lentils sitting around with no idea what to do with them. This is perf.