This simple red lentil curry recipe is such a healthy and filling meal. Perfect to have on a weeknight because it comes together in about 30 minutes and all-in-one pot! Protein-filled red lentil, fibre-packed chickpeas and antioxidant rich spinach are cooked with coconut milk and canned tomatoes in a flavourful spice mix of curry powder, paprika, cumin. Delicious!
This Easy Red Lentil and Chickpea Curry with Spinach is a perfect weeknight meal.
Nothing fancy here! Just a delicious and naturally gluten free red lentil curry.
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A recipe like this easy curry with red lentils, chickpeas and spinach is a perfect in-between-weather-recipe, you know?
Like, it's not the dead of winter yes but the birds just starting chirping when you go for a walk around the neighbourhood.
No one is opening pools and stocking up on sun block for long summer days (yet!)
If you love healthy, warming recipes like this curry, then definitely check out this recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry, this Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk and this Black Bean Soup with Roasted Red Peppers {Instant Pot}.
📝Ingredients for this red lentil curry recipe:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Curry powder
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Paprika
- Salt
- Chickpeas
- Red lentils
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Coconut milk
- Baby spinach
- Sour cream, limes and cilantro for serving
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🔪Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium-low heat
- Add the chopped onion and stir, cooking for about 30 seconds. Add in the garlic and stir.
- To the onion and garlic, add the curry powder, cumin, coriander, paprika and salt. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes to release the aroma of the spices.
- Add the chickpeas, lentils, diced tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir to combine and place the lid on the pot. Turn up the heat to medium and bring the curry to a slow boil.
- Then, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until lentils are soft.
- After about 7 minutes, add the spinach and stir.
- Serve hot with a spoonful of sour cream, lime wedges and/or fresh cilantro
See recipe card for full instructions and more tips below.
🔄Substitutions
Instead of the spinach, you could use another leafy green that cooks down well like baby kale or collard greens.
Even sometimes I'll throw in chopped, frozen baby kale. It works great if you have some in your freezer.
If you don't have chickpeas on hand, you could substitute with cannellini beans instead (white kidney beans.)
And although this curry gets its flavour from the blend of spices, you could use a curry paste from a jar or tube instead, like a red curry paste. Just omit all the spices and use 1-2 tablespoon of the curry paste, depending on your preference for spice.
🥡Storage and Freezing
Leftover curry will be good for up to 3 days in the fridge.
This is a great curry to make for lunches as part of a meal prep too.
After cooking, cool the curry down in meal prep containers. Then keep in the fridge with a lid on.
Add a lime or lemon wedge for when you're re-heating to squeeze over top.
You can freeze this curry. Place in an air-tight container and freeze for up to 1 month.
Thaw in the fridge overnight and then re-heat throughly in the microwave or over the stovetop.
✅Top Tip
The coconut milk in this recipe gives an awesome creaminess.
Be sure to go for the full-fat coconut milk for this recipe. Not "light" coconut milk.
I've found for the heat and length of cooking, this curry needs the extra fat from the coconut milk.
🥘What to serve with this curry
One of the best parts of this all-in-one meal of chickpea curry is that you can eat it straight up, and it's delicious.
But if you do have it, a few springs of fresh cilantro with a dollop of Greek yogurt would be amazing on top.
Or if I have gluten-free wraps in the house, wrap up the curry into the tortilla for a quick on-the-go (literally) lunch😋
❓Do you need to soak red lentils?
Nope! You don't need to soak dry lentils, which is great. Through the cooking process with broth or water, they absorb the fluid and become soft - aka they "cook"😄
I hope you love this red lentil curry recipe like we do!
~April
If you're looking for more gluten-free recipes, browse through these categories too:
This recipe was originally published on March 7th, 2021. Updated recipe and copy and republished on May 24th, 2022.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Red Lentil and Chickpea Curry with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 small can chickpeas, drained and rinsed about 2 cups or 398ml
- 1 cup dry red lentils 250 ml
- 1 large can diced tomatoes 796 ml
- 1 ½ cups coconut milk 1 can, 400ml
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach About 3 large handfuls
- Sour cream
- limes
- cilantro optional, for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat
- Add the chopped onion and stir, cooking for about 30 seconds. Add in the garlic and stir.
- To the onion and garlic, add the curry powder, cumin, coriander, paprika and salt. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes to release the aroma of the spices.
- Add the chickpeas, lentils, diced tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir to combine and place the lid on the pot. Turn up the heat to medium and bring the curry to a slow boil.
- Then, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until lentils are soft. If the curry is too thick, you can add a little vegetable broth or water.
- After about 7 minutes, add the spinach and stir. Taste the curry. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve hot with a spoonful of sour cream, lime wedges and/or cilantro.
Katrina Andries says
This has become one of my favourite recipes, really tasty
April says
Thank you for commenting, Katrina. So you glad you liked it😄