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
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Place the prepared lentils in the slow cooker with tomatoes, coconut milk, vegetable broth, tomato paste, curry powder, 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!

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 favourite 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
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1.5 tablespoons 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
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups chopped kale (bite-sized pieces, leaves only, no stems)
- 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, tomatoes, coconut milk, vegetable broth, tomato paste, curry powder, 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.
© Girl Heart Food Inc. Photographs and content are copyright protected.
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!
Liz @ Ready To Yumble says
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 says
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!
Annie@ciaochowbambina says
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 says
Thanks so much, Annie! Have a lovely weekend too!
rebecca | DisplacedHousewife says
Yum. What a delicious meal! Love lentils, love curry! Love everything about this. xo
Girl Heart Food says
Thanks so much, Rebecca! xo
Kushi says
This recipe looks so flavorful and delicious. Lovely clicks. Thank you so much for sharing!
Girl Heart Food says
Thank you very much, Kushi! Appreciate it 🙂 Have a lovely week!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
oh my goodness, this looks soooo flavorful! I love green lentils, woot woot!!!!
Girl Heart Food says
Thank you Alice!!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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