This Coconut Lentil Curry Bowl is a one-pot dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes. It’s so easy to make with very little hands-on prep time. This vegan, gluten-free meal is full of flavor and is immensely satisfying.
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Do you want to know what’s an absolute tragedy? My kids don’t enjoy any meals where their food is mixed together or with any type of sauce. Yes, the one-pot meal, a busy mom’s dream dinner, is my kids’ worst nightmare.
I’m a persistent gal, though, and one thing I’ve learned about feeding children is that their tastes and preferences do change, especially if you continue to serve them a variety of foods over time. I haven’t given up on the one-pot meal. I keep trying.
I served this dinner to Meghan and Luke along with whole grain naan bread, raw vegetables, and applesauce. I added more to the meal (easy things I didn’t have to cook) because I knew they wouldn’t eat a lot, if any, of the one-pot meal I was serving as the main entree.
I reminded Meghan that she loves chickpeas, and even though she was reluctant, she picked them out and ate them. Luke will do what Meghan does usually, so he followed his big sister and ate his chickpeas. They both were a no-go to try the kale or saucy mix of lentils, and I didn’t push it. They devoured their naan (a favorite) and also ate all of their carrots, red peppers, and applesauce.
I’ll never give up trying to get my kids to love a one-pot dinner. If you’re lucky enough to have kids who don’t mind everything mixed together, give this one a try. I might be a little jealous, but I’m happy to make your life a little easier.
Recipe Ingredients
It’s always my goal to have easy-to-find ingredients that make incredibly delicious meals on top of being healthy. I think I’ve accomplished that here! I recommend canned coconut milk for this, and Lite coconut milk is what I usually use, but the full-fat version works just as well and makes it richer.
How to Make This Easy Coconut Lentil Curry Bowl Recipe
- In a large high-sided skillet, combine the red lentils, tomatoes with their juices, coconut milk, water or broth, curry powder, ginger, turmeric, and salt.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 18 minutes.
3. Stir in the chickpeas and kale and allow to cook another 3-5 minutes, until the kale is wilted and bright green. Stir in the lime juice and cilantro and serve.
That’s it! This is a super quick and easy dinner. Quick, easy, AND healthy. Not an easy-to-come-by combination!
Oh, and full of flavor. I just love coconut and curry together, and the fresh ginger, lime, and cilantro just bring the whole thing together.
I didn’t eat any bread with this because of my anti-inflammation diet, but it’s perfect with warm naan bread. If you want to bulk up the meal more and keep it gluten-free, it would also be amazing with this super easy Coconut Rice Recipe. If you need a vegan, gluten-free, weeknight meal that is super satisfying, this is exactly what you need.
If you try this, please give it a star rating below! It’s so helpful for other people to see who’s tried and liked the recipe. I think you may also love this Vegetable Grain Bowl recipe!
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One pot coconut curry lentil bowl with chickpeas and kale
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This is a one-pot dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes. This vegan, gluten-free meal is full of flavor and is immensely satisfying. It pairs perfectly with warm naan bread.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup red lentils
- 1 (15 1/2) ounce can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion with juices (I blended mine a little to avoid big tomato chunks that my family dislikes, but that is optional)
- 1 (15 1/2) can lite coconut milk
- 1 cup water or vegetable broth
- 1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
- ~1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (15 1/2 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups roughly chopped, deveined kale
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large high-sided skillet, combine the red lentils, tomatoes with their juices, coconut milk, water or broth, curry powder, ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 18 minutes.
- Stir in the chickpeas and kale and allow to cook another 3-5 minutes, until the kale is wilted and bright green.
- Stir in the lime and cilantro and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Canned coconut milk is what you need here. Lite is my preference, but full-fat works, too.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: main meal
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 610
- Sugar: 12.5g
- Sodium: 655mg
- Fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 97.3g
- Protein: 32.8g
Even though I am going to wait a month to give you a detailed update of how things are going with my new diet and finger pain, I can’t wait to tell you how things are going. After one week on an anti-inflammation diet, I have seen a significant improvement in my finger pain!
One week ago, I could not bend my finger in the morning and throughout the day making a fist was impossible. I can do both of those things now and the pain is much less. I did not expect to feel a difference so quickly, but I am more determined than ever to continue with the changes I’ve made. I’ll give you more details in time, but I just wanted to give you a quick update since I’m so excited about the results so far. Thanks again for all of your comments and support.
Note: This post was first published in 2014. Photos were updated and a video added in January 2020.
This was so warming and satisfying on a cold winter’s evening. I stayed true to the recipe, and it was delicious. I loved how the red lentils naturally thicken the dish. Next time, I think I will try adding cauliflower or mushrooms, though really, it is super delish just as it is. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your feedback and the star rating. I really appreciate it!
This was the best recipe!!! Tasted like it came straight from our local Indian restaurant. It’s officially in our regular rotation.
Thanks so much for your feedback!
This was really good and so easy! Thank you for sharing!
You added the lentils uncooked? No need to pre-cook the lentils?
Yes, you add them uncooked. Make sure you use red lentils, which cook faster, or the cooking time will need to be longer.
This was our first plant based family meal and it set the bar high! So easy to make the the flavors were incredible! This will be in regular rotation!
Loved this! So easy and satisfying. I swapped the kale for spinach becasue that’s what I had. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you liked this. 🙂
How many servings does this make?
Never mind I see now!
We made this last night and LOVED it! We served it over rice and it was a big hit. Thank you!!
Made this recipe last night and LOVED it! We served over rice and it was a big hit. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know.
definitely pinning this to make this weekend for my meals next week. Love curry and love easy! This looked delicious!
I hope you love it! This is one of my favorites. 🙂
I love this recipe – easy and healthy. I’m adding this to my dinner line-up for this week 🙂
Great! Please let me know how you like it. 🙂
Yum! This looks so good. Must make soon…for me, because I know my crazy kids will have no part in it.
I can’t even get my 3 year old to eat a sandwich unless I separate each component. Luckily, I have older kids too, so I know that at some point the “pickiness” will go away.
So awesome that you can see improvement already! What great inspiration! tonja
how did you know i love one pot wonders and curry?! looks amazing and nourishing!
Isn’t curry fabulous? One of my favorite flavors!
This looks SO perfect! Love that it’s a meal in a bowl–my fave. So sad to hear that the kiddos don’t let things with sauces all mixed together…but I guess I could understand that. Pinning!
So glad to hear that the anti-inflammation diet is working. Looking forward to receiving the one-month update.
I just love a curry with lentils and chickpeas!
Robyn x
I will keep you updated!
Awesome job with the diet change- lowering animal product consumption is the best thing you can do for inflammation, and it decreases animal suffering and environmental destruction to boot. Very glad you are going to stick with it!
Thanks, Amy.
Seriously, what’s up w these goofy kids? Mine are the same way! I think it’s written somewhere that kids are ment to test your every attempt to make life easier/healthier/more organized. I made something similar w cauliflower and the darlings refused to eat it unless I seperated it on a plate. Hello, it’s a curry bowl?
Yes! Everything must be deconstructed. So strange!
What a great dish, love this combination. So nice to here this meal worked with your children, sounds like persistence pays off.
Well, it didn’t work perfectly, but at least they ate some of it! 😉
I made a lentils, beans, kale stew and it is delicious (this is how dinner looks at our house). I am going to try your curry as we love curries at our house. We eat the stew with polenta as we can’t have gluten. But some naan bread would be delicious:).
Ooooh polenta is a great idea!