With plenty of kale, creamy coconut milk, tomatoes and warming spices, these curried green lentils are not only delicious, they’re hearty and easy to prepare. And, made in the slow cooker, these lentils require very little hands-on time and cleanup is a cinch! Lentils in the slow cooker never tasted so good!
This time of year, heading into winter, makes me crave (big time) hearty comfort food.
After outside on a cold day, I just want to curl up with a big bowl of something warm, satisfying and delicious. You too?
This slow cooker lentil recipe fits the bill perfectly, which is why it’s made pretty regularly in our home.
And, don’t you just love the slow cooker? You put everything in there, set your timer and go about your business until it’s ready.
I go through bouts of using the slow cooker, do you? And whenever I remember to take it out again, I wonder why I don’t use it more often.
Once you try these slow cooker curried green lentils, you’ll want to use yours more often too!
Why We Love Curried Green Lentils
- This recipe is made in one pot for easy cleanup (and who doesn’t love that?).
- Made with mostly pantry ingredients, it’s pretty budget friendly.
- These lentils can be enjoyed as is or part of a multi-course meal.
- Of course, they taste delicious!
Do I Need to Soak the Lentils?
Nope! Green lentils don’t have to be soaked prior to using in this slow cooker lentils recipe.
However, you’ll still want to pick them over for any rocks, foreign objects or imperfect lentils and discard those.
I like to give them a little rinse and drain, too.
How To Make This Recipe
- Place the prepared lentils in the slow cooker with canned tomatoes, coconut milk, vegetable broth, tomato paste, curry paste, coriander, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg, chili peppers, onion, garlic and black pepper. Stir to combine everything.
- Add chopped kale and stir in.
- Cover and cook.
- Stir in salt, lemon juice and cilantro. The lemon juice and cilantro really brightens the curried lentils. I just love it! (Full recipe ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Can I Use Brown Lentils Instead?
Absolutely! Dried green or brown lentils work in this slow cooker lentil recipe.
Slow cookers can vary, so just cook until the lentils are tender and cooked through (typically, in my slow cooker, it takes about 6 to 7 hours on the low setting).
What Can I Use Instead of Kale?
Don’t have kale on hand? Substitute with fresh baby spinach. If using baby spinach, you can simply stir in at the end of cook time and the residual heat will wilt it.
What To Serve With Curried Lentils
- Naan (so good for dunking into the lentils)
- Dollop of plain yogurt (use your favouite dairy or non dairy variety, whatever you prefer) over top upon serving
- Poached or fried egg over top (great for any meal of the day, really)
More Yummy Lentil Recipes
If you make these slow cooker curried green lentils, be sure to leave a comment below!
This curried lentils recipe was originally published August 15, 2016 but has been updated.
Curried Green Lentils (Slow Cooker Lentils)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups dried green lentils, picked over (remove and discard any rocks, foreign objects and imperfect lentils), rinsed and drained
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly break up tomatoes before adding to slow cooker
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk, a 400 millilitre can
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste, or curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 red Thai chili peppers, minced (or to taste)
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chopped kale (bite-sized pieces, leaves only, no stems)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, from about ½ of a lemon (or use lime juice)
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro, plus more to taste for optional garnish (or parsley)
- chopped chives or green onion, garnish to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Set slow cooker to low setting and add lentils, canned tomatoes, coconut milk, vegetable broth, tomato paste, curry paste, coriander, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg, chili peppers, onion, garlic, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add kale and stir again until everything is well combined. Cover and cook for 6 to 7 hours or until the lentils are cooked. (Slow cookers can vary. I cooked mine for 6 hours and the lentils were just done.)
- After six hours stir in salt, lemon juice and cilantro.
- To serve, divide the lentils into bowls and garnish with more cilantro and some chives or green onion (if desired). Enjoy!
Notes
- Canned tomatoes can vary in salt content. For me, ½ teaspoon of salt was good, but you can totally season to taste.
- If you like things less spicy, use less chili peppers (or omit entirely). If you don’t have fresh chili peppers, feel free to add some crushed red pepper flakes or ground cayenne pepper to taste.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
David @ Spiced
You know, I totally need to use lentils more often! I always find them delicious, but I rarely go to ’em. Gotta fix that! I love that you guys took a real staycation. Laura and I were just talking this morning about how nice it would be to take a vacation. But I’m thinking a staycation could work…especially since we could keep sending Robbie to daycare while Mom and Dad get a little R&R. Oh, and I totally support the slow cooker in the summer movement! I just pulled mine out the other day…super easy! I really need to put this recipe on our list soon…it sounds like a great summer comfort food!
Girl Heart Food
Staycations are pretty awesome! It’s all relax time, no travel…know what I mean? I use my slow cooker all the time and have really brought the pressure cooker into the mix. Great little time savers. Hope you get a chance to try the lentils. They’re great as is without any added protein, but would also be awesome with some chicken too. Comfort food for the win!
Adina
This is a wonderful looking dish, I love Indian food and anything made with lentils anyway. I don’t have a crock pot but I suppose I could make it without one anyway. Yum!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Adina! I’m sure it would work just fine without the crock pot 🙂 Enjoy!!
Kevin | Keviniscooking
LOVE me the slow cooker, so easy. so needed! And lentils are so under used, so I’m happy to see this post. We had a killer time in Maui and I came back a tad bit burned, but will survive… some had to do it. 🙂 Yay to spicy curried lentils in the Summer! Great recipe of spices and coconut milk, love it. Pinned and shared friend!
Girl Heart Food
I agree, Kevin! Lentils are totally underused, aren’t they? I’m so happy to hear you had a fun time in Maui…always nice to get a little break and some sunshine; everyone needs that every now and then 🙂 Appreciate the kind words and Pin, my friend!
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes
Lentils are the BEST! And lentils with Indian spices are the BEST of the BEST! This makes me drool. lol. Yum
Girl Heart Food
YES! Lentils are the best…agreed 🙂 Plus, they are so good for ya so extra bonus points there, right? Thanks Sarah!
Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom
So I made this dish the other day and it was fantastic! And SO easy to make! Seriously, I spent like 5 minutes throwing everything into the slow cooker and then just set it and forget it! There was a ton of flavor and you notice how I keep referring to the dish in the past tense? Well that’s because it’s all gone! Yup, just me and hubs destroyed the entire pot in one brief weekend 🙂 Will definitely be making again!
Girl Heart Food
Oh my goodness, Kathleen! You seriously just made my day!! I’m so happy you made it and even happier that you and your hubby enjoyed it that much! Really appreciate you trying it out and the kind words. It’s one of hubby and my favourites that I make often so it’s so nice to know others enjoy it too. Have a fantastic week! xo
Kate @ Framed Cooks
I love staycations – they are the BEST! Especially when they come with easy, healthy, scrumptious recipes like this one, because as much as we all love our kitchen, we want to enjoy some staycation time outside of it. Pinning!
Girl Heart Food
We had a great time on our staycation! Lots of nice weather, relaxing on the deck and good food. Thanks so much for the kind words and Pin Kate! Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Megan - The Emotional Baker
I think staycations are the best! Glad you were able to relax 🙂 This dish looks perfect for the cooler temps ahead. I know my family will love it!
Girl Heart Food
Staycations are pretty awesome and the weather was fabulous every single day so that was perfect! Lots of time outside 🙂 Thanks so much, Megan! Have a great weekend!
Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table
Yay for a fun staycation with great weather! And glad you were able to disconnect for a bit – always so refreshing 🙂 And thanks for coming back with this stellar recipe! I can eat spicy food any time of day or year, and I’m with you on using my slow cooker year round. (I’ve got dinner in it right now!) Can’t wait to try this easy yummy healthy recipe!! Have a great weekend!
Girl Heart Food
We really did have an awesome time and it definitely was nice to have a break, that’s for sure! The slow cooker is the best, isn’t it? I’ve been using it a lot lately (along with the pressure cooker). Healthy meals made easy with easy clean up is the way to go for sure 🙂 Have a great weekend too, Kathryn.
Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom
I LOVE lentils! And it just so happens that I have everything on hand. Slow cooker, 6 hours…. if I get into the kitchen right now, I can have this for dinner! Sorry to keep this brief, but I gotta run! I’ll report back tomorrow 🙂
Girl Heart Food
Yay!!! I’m so exciting to hear that, Kathleen 🙂 ! Please do let me know how you like it. Woo hoo!
Liz @ Ready To Yumble
Gotta love a recipe with two instructions! I LOVE slow cooker recipes also, but you’re right, I don’t think of it in the summer as much as I should! Glad to hear you enjoyed the staycation, sounds absolutely lovely. Was there more Mario gaming? 😉
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Liz! Definitely…easy recipes that taste good are always a winner in my books. No Mario gaming this time ’round; the weather was too nice…what a shame, lol 😀 Have a great weekend!
[email protected]
This looks luscious!! And when you add grilled naan and Greek yogurt —-> forget about it!! I’m always on the lookout for dishes that are healthy and abundantly tasty… This nails it!! Thanks for sharing! Have a lovely weekend, friend!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much, Annie! Can’t beat healthy AND tasty, can ya? Have a lovely weekend too!
rebecca | DisplacedHousewife
Yum. What a delicious meal! Love lentils, love curry! Love everything about this. xo
Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much, Rebecca! xo
Kushi
This recipe looks so flavorful and delicious. Lovely clicks. Thank you so much for sharing!
Girl Heart Food
Thank you very much, Kushi! Appreciate it 🙂 Have a lovely week!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
So happy you enjoyed your staycation Dawn! Sometimes those are the best kind! This dish sounds so spicy and delicious Dawn! My husband Tom actually loves lentils. Now I’d have to fib and say the kale is spinach, but every once in a while a little fib to get him to try something I know he’ll love is in order! Thanks for sharing and have a great week!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Mary Ann! It was a lovely staycation for sure! Yay for your husband loving lentils! They are so versatile and good for ya, aren’t they? Have a great week too 🙂
Girl Heart Food
Thanks Mary Ann! We was a lovely staycation for sure; we really enjoyed ourselves 🙂 Yay for your husband loving lentils! They are so versatile and good for ya, aren’t they? Have a great week too!
karrie @ Tasty Ever After
So I kind of heard you were having a good week off and celebrating some birthdays 😉 Glad you two had a great relaxing week. Wishing we lived closer to each other so we could have spent some of it together eating, drinking, shopping, wearing our pizza and fries shirts. hahahaha!! Yay to Suicide Squad!!! We are going this Wednesday night to see it in IMaxx 3D and I’m totally psyched for it. I’m all about extreme action so I’m not expecting an Oscar best picture winner or anything. I love all the Marvel characters too. Can’t wait!!
I just used my crock pot for pork carnitas the other night. It’s so fantastic to put a bunch of stuff in there and come back several hours later to a cooked meal. Thinking I’ll get it back out and do this recipe for Thursday dinner and I’ll have leftovers for a yummy lunch 🙂 Have a wonderful week back to real life girlfriend! xo
Girl Heart Food
I thought you may have heard about that, Karrie 😉 We did have a great week for sure! Couldn’t have asked for better! Wished we lived closer too. That would be so awesome!! Talk about fun! Perhaps one day we’ll get to hang out and have a laugh. I can’t wait for you to see the Suicide Squad; let me know how you like it when you see it! The sound track is absolutely wicked too. It is action packed so I know you’ll love it! Hope you do try the lentils and like ’em. Now, you’re making me crave carnitas, lol. Have a wonderful week too, girl! xoxo
Cathy | whatshouldimakefor.com
looks so good and hearty and i’m ready to dive right in. glad you enjoyed your staycation and a little r&r. my fam saw suicide squad this weekend too and felt the same. sometimes a little mindless entertainment and a big bowl of popcorn is all you need! welcome back!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much Cathy! Everyone needs a little r & r every now and then, don’t they? I heard that there could possibly be a spin off of Suicide Squad. I really loved the soundtrack to that movie! Wasn’t it awesome? Such a collection of songs and looking forward to getting the album. Hope you have a great week.
Demeter | Beaming Baker
Hiya Dawn!!! Welcome back my friend! 🙂 Blogging just wasn’t the same without ya! 😉 Oh gurl, you know I love how easy this recipe is! Plus, the fact that you mentioned grilled naan as a nice side… well, I just got super hungry thinking about it all. 😉
Staycation: I’m beyond happy to hear that you had such a lovely weekend with the hubs. Sometimes, it’s just the most fun to act like a tourist in your own town. Makes things livelier and more fun, ya know? 🙂 Anyway, I totally feel you on needing to disconnect. Too much of one thing can quickly lead to burnout. Erik and I have been talking about taking a break all summer. We still need to fit some time in, but in the mean time, I’ll live vicariously through you. 🙂
Ya know I love it when you cook up something spicy and savory. May you send some over? 😉 Don’t forget to pack some grilled naan please! 🙂 Happy Monday, D. So happy you’re back. xoxo Pinning, of course!
Girl Heart Food
Hey Demeter! Thanks so much 🙂 Sweet of you to say! It was definitely nice to have the little break I must say! And the nice weather made the time off that much better!
I would love to send you over some of these lentils with lots and lots of naan! Better yet, if we lived closer, you could c’mon over and we’d have a chit chat 😉 Happy Monday to you too, girl. Thanks for the lovely comment, as usual, and Pin. xoxo
Miriam - londonkitchendiaries.com
Nice that you had a lovely staycation with great food, family and friend, movies and good weather! We had a staycation last year and I thought it was absolutely amazing – just working in the garden, visit some local restaurants, reading a good book … just very relaxing! Curried green lentils with curly kale sounds great – especially since you can just throw everything into a slow cooker and after 6 hours you have a delicious and healthy meal! Perfect!
Girl Heart Food
Thank you Miriam! We really enjoyed ourselves and the weather was nice every single day so that was a definite bonus 🙂 Funny how nice weather can make things that much better. This is a favourite recipe of myself and hubby. I make it regularly and we love it every single time. Hope you have a great week 🙂
Michelle | The Secret Ingredient Is
Sounds like the perfect staycation! I agree that it’s completely necessary to disconnect for a bit – and summer is the perfect time to do it! I still want to see Suicide Squad despite it not getting the best reviews!
I’m definitely bookmarking this recipe – it looks so good and flavorful, and I absolutely love lentils! Plus the idea of throwing them in the slow cooker is so genius. YUM!
Girl Heart Food
It was the best staycation! Loved every minutes of it. So relaxing! Suicide Squad was awesome! Critic reviews were awful, but audience reviews were great and I heard they broke a record for sales and everything! You won’t be disappointed 🙂
Thanks so much for the kind words. Lentils are pretty awesome, aren’t they? So versatile. Hope you get a chance to try them soon. Have a great week, Michelle.
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
oh my goodness, this looks soooo flavorful! I love green lentils, woot woot!!!!
Girl Heart Food
Thank you Alice!!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
Hooray for the staycation! Glad it was relaxing! I love using the slow cooker during the summer! Sometimes I even put it outside so any extra heat stays outside. This looks so healthy and delicious!
Girl Heart Food
Slow cookers are the best. Never thought of putting it outside in the warmer months…great idea for next time 😉 Thanks so much Kathy!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
Sounds like you had a wonderful staycation, Dawn! Sometimes those can be better than a trip away. And hooray for the weather cooperating for you! I’ve heard of that movie, but haven’t seen it yet, so I may just have to check it out. These lentils and kale look just gorgeous! Can you believe that I’ve never cooked lentils before? I definitely need to change that. Sounds like such a delicious combination, and on the healthier side too. Love! Pinned, of course! Hope your Monday is off to a great start!
Girl Heart Food
We did have a lovely staycation! It was so relaxing and we had so much fun together 🙂 If you’ve never cooked lentils before, then this would be a great place to start! I cook them all the time and I love them! Plus, they are so good for you, so that’s just a bonus 🙂 Thanks for the sweet comment and Pin, girl. Appreciate it! Have a great week!
Jolina - The Unlikely Baker
Ah I do enjoy your fun facts Dawn! And this chili looks awesome. I don’t really mind eating spicy or soupy things in the summer. Love them anytime of the year! And anything just thrown into the slow cooker and forgotten is a winning dish in our house. And that ingredient list – just looking at it is already making me hungry! (PS: The only kinds of movies I like are those shut your mind off ones. I didn’t go to the movies to THINK!!)
Girl Heart Food
Thank you Jolina! Aren’t slow cookers the best?? I agree…going to the movies to turn our minds off is definitely not a bad thing, is it? So happy you are liking the recipe…hope you get a chance to try it out soon 🙂
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
So glad you had a relaxing staycation, girlfriend! Sometimes it is NECESSARY to just unplug and get away from all things internet and blog related! So you saw Suicide Squad huh? It did get terrible reviews, but Boy wants to see it. I’m thinking if yous sat through it I can give it a try… besides we will watch it at home so if is sucks I can always just go downstairs and mess around in the kitchen. hahaha. 🙂 Anyways, I looooove me some lentils and they don’t get enough love (even from me), so thank you for fixing that with these! I love that these are cooked slow! And with kale! I’ll be eating extra grilled naan and yogurt with mine! This looks perfectly nutritious and super delicious, girlfriend! Cheers!!
Girl Heart Food
It was a lovely staycation for sure, Cheyanne! We really enjoyed ourselves! Suicide Squad was amazing! I think they broke a records for ticket sales and everything. Lots of action! Happy you like the recipe 🙂 I love all sorts of lentils and beans and the like and make recipes like this quite often. Hubby loves it too, so they don’t get wasted in our home! Thanks for the kind words. Have a great week! xo