Red Lentil Curry
Updated Sep 18, 2025
Red lentil curry is an easy and hearty Indian-inspired vegan recipe that's made with lentils, sweet potatoes, aromatic Indian spices & broth!
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Make Curry with Lentils!
I love a good curry filled with plant-based protein and veggies like this Red Lentil Curry recipe. If you’ve never tried a curry recipe before, this red lentil one is a great one to start with because it’s really easy to put together and you don’t need a lot of ingredients.
I simplify a traditional curry by taking shortcuts with a few important spices and using red curry paste, so may not be a traditional recipe but it tastes traditional and so good! The red lentils just melt into the curry, making it so hearty and comforting!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Red Lentil Curry Ingredients
- Lentils: Red lentils are typically used in Indian cuisine since they break down more easily than green lentils and are great for thickening curry. Instead of red lentils, you can use green lentils. If you do use green lentils, try soaking them in water for 15 to 20 minutes to help them to soften.
- Vegetables: Onion and sweet potato. If you don’t want to use sweet potatoes, you can use white potatoes or add other vegetables like peas, carrots or cauliflower.
- Red curry paste: A pre-made red curry paste is a quick and easy way to add flavor to to the lentil curry.
- Seasonings, aromatics and spices: Fresh ginger, fresh garlic, curry powder, turmeric, cumin and salt. Feel free to skip some spices or add other popular Indian spices like garam masala, ginger or cardamom.
- Broth: To keep this red lentil curry vegan, use store bought or this homemade vegetable broth, but chicken broth will work well too.
How to Make Red Lentil Curry
Red Lentil Curry
Ingredients
- 2 cups red lentils
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1-inch knob fresh ginger grated
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 quart low sodium vegetable broth
- Fresh cilantro for serving
- Greek yogurt for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, add onions, garlic, and ginger and cook until soft and translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin and salt and mix together until the onions are well coated and fragrant.
- Add the red lentils, sweet potatoes, and vegetable broth. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are knife tender and red lentils are cooked and thickened, 35-40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and yogurt.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Rinse the red lentils before cooking. The main reason you’ll want to do this is to remove debris or shriveled lentils. You can soak them in water if you’d like, which will decrease their cooking time. But this step is not usually necessary, especially since you’ll be cooking them for a while with the sweet potatoes anyways.
- Cook the spices before adding the vegetables. You can cook the spices alone with the oil or with the onions and garlic. This allows them to release their full flavor so you can get the most out of the spices. If they just simmer with the vegetables, they won’t have the same effect or bloom.
- Go heavy on the spices. Curries are heavily spiced dishes. The curry gets all the flavor from the combination of warm smokey spices, so start with my amounts below, but feel free to add more. And feel free to tweak it with what you have on hand along with adding some chiles for a more spicy curry.
- Thin out the curry with some water. The red lentil curry will continue to get thicker as it cooks and as it cools. So you can add more water to get the consistency you like.
Serving Ideas
- Make some homemade naan to dip with this red lentil curry.
- Serve the curry on top of some type of rice like basmati rice, brown rice or even turmeric rice.
- Switch out the rice for something grain-free like quinoa, cauliflower rice or even broccoli rice.
FAQs
This red lentil curry will keep well in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You can reheat it on the stovetop for a few minutes or in the microwave for 60 seconds.
This curry freezes really well, for up to 3 months. Thaw it fully in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Comments
What kind of red curry paste do you use? Is it Thai red curry paste, or something else? Thanks.
Hi Missy! I usually use Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste.
If one doesn’t have red curry paste and is also intimidated by its “spicyness” is there a good substitute? Green curry paste or omit?
Thank you!
I love lentils and sweet potatoes, in this recipe the combination of flavors is perfect!!! It’s super delicious!
Yay, so glad you liked it!! Thank you!
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