These red curry lentils with sweet potatoes and spinach are a breeze to prepare in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop! The natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes and cauliflower is the perfect match to spicy Thai red curry paste, giving you a warm, cozy entree that will warm you up from the inside out. Plus, the whole dish is ready in just 30 minutes, so it’s a lifesaver on those busy weeknights! {Gluten-free & vegan}
Table of Contents
Red Curry Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach
If you need quick, healthy meals in a hurry, red lentils will be your new best friend. They cook much faster than other dried beans, so you don’t have to fuss with soaking them overnight or cooking them for hours! Plus, they’re loaded with nutritional benefits. Red lentils contain about 12 grams of protein for a 1/2 cup serving and plenty of fiber to keep you full for hours and support your digestive health.
They also have a mild, slightly nutty flavor that makes them more even more delicious than other lentils, if I do say so myself. They’re a must-have in my pantry, and you’ll just need one bite of this comforting dish to see why!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Delicious vegetarian main dish the whole family will enjoy
- High in plant-based protein and fiber
- This red lentil curry reheats wonderfully for easy meal prep
- Ready in just 30 minutes from start to finish!
- Loaded with flavor from the red curry paste and seasonings
- The ultimate comfort food – warm, spicy, and creamy!
Ingredient Notes
For the curried lentils:
- Olive oil
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes: For a smoky, savory flavor.
- Lite coconut milk: Make sure you use lite, not full fat coconut milk. It would taste great, but the lentils are more likely to stick to the bottom of the pan in the Instant Pot.
- Chopped cauliflower: Fresh or frozen will both work well.
- Diced sweet potato: For a slightly sweet flavor and creamy texture.
- Seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, sriracha hot sauce, and salt and pepper.
- Red curry paste: This is an important ingredient! The paste is packed full of spices, fresh ingredients, and flavor to make your curry dish extra tasty.
- Red lentils: These lentils are split in half to help them cook faster. They also have a sweeter, milder flavor compared to green or brown lentils, and are great for reluctant lentil eaters.
- Fresh baby spinach: Add this right at the end to avoid overcooking it.
To garnish
- Fresh cilantro
- Squeeze of lime juice
Step-by-Step Instructions
Stove Top Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except the spinach to a large sauce pan.
- Stir to combine and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 35-40 minutes, stirring the curry every 5 minutes while cooking, and reducing the heat if necessary to prevent it from sticking to the pot.
- Add the spinach during the last 10 minutes of cooking and stir it into the mixture until it wilts.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the instant pot other than the lentils and the spinach. Stir the mixture so that all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Add the lentils, but don’t completely stir it into the rest of the mixture as they may stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Instead, gently press them into the liquid so that they’re covered with liquid but not sinking to the bottom.
- Place the lid on, ensuring that the valve is set to “sealing” and not “venting.” Press the pressure cooker button and set the timer to 5 minutes on high pressure. After a few seconds, you should see the word “on.” At the point, the cooking process will begin.
- Once the cooking process is complete, you should hear some beeping. Do a quick release of the pressure. Use a wooden spoon or oven mitt to move the valve to “venting” and keep your face away from the steam.
- Once all of the pressure has released, open the lid and stir in the spinach. Allow it to sit for about a minute or so until the spinach has wilted.
- Serve over a bed of rice topped with a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Expert Tips
- Be sure to use lite coconut milk and not full-fat. The full-fat doesn’t have as much liquid, so the lentils are more likely to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.
- If cooking this lentil curry on the stove, be sure to stir it frequently (about every 5 minutes) to prevent the lentils from sinking to the bottom and sticking to the pot.
Recipe FAQs
There are lots of different types of curry powders, and although they are delicious on their own, they’re not an ideal substitute for curry paste. Why? Well, the paste includes more than just dried spices. It also has lemongrass, fresh ginger or galangal root, garlic cloves, lots of red chili, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, and more.
Red curry powder is a dried spice blend that doesn’t contain the same blend of fresh ingredients and won’t have quite the same depth of flavor.
Plus, many curry powders are for Indian curry recipes, whereas this dish uses Thai red curry paste for a slightly different flavor profile.
The flavors in this sweet potato curry stew would work wonderfully with yellow curry powder or paste! Just skip the sriracha and red curry paste and use your favorite yellow curry paste instead. It will add a sweeter flavor profile that pairs perfectly with cauliflower and sweet potatoes.
Absolutely! Lentil curries freeze really well and generally keep a similar texture after thawing. Just make sure the curry is fully chilled in the fridge first and leave enough room at the top of the container for the curry to expand in the freezer. I prefer to prepare a fresh batch of brown or white rice when I serve the leftovers, as the frozen and thawed rice can become overly soft and mushy.
Storage Guidelines
Fridge: Store leftover red curry lentils in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheating: To reheat, either warm the mixture in a small pot on the stove or microwave in 1-minute increments, stirring as you go.
Freezer: You can also freeze your leftover coconut curry in a freezer-safe container for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat following the instructions above.
Serving Suggestions
This sweet potato lentil curry is wonderful served over a bed of rice, whether it’s steamed basmati or jasmine rice, coconut lime cilantro rice, or even cauliflower rice! Offer an extra side of veggies, like my favorite turmeric roasted cauliflower, green beans or steamed broccoli.
To serve it like a soup or stew, scoop it into a bowl and serve with warm naan bread. It’s lovely with a dollop of creamy Greek yogurt on top, which also adds extra protein and mellows out the heat from the spicy red curry.
Recipe Variations
- Add more heat: Red curry paste is generally pretty spicy on its own, but if you love heat, try adding a bit of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper as well.
- Add extra protein: Dice leftover rotisserie chicken or tofu into small pieces and add it to the pot with the lentils and other ingredients.
- Double or triple the batch: This sweet potato curry recipe makes great leftovers and can easily be doubled or tripled to make a large batch! This is best to do in a large pot on the stove instead of the Instant Pot.
- Make it creamy: I prefer the slightly chunky mixture exactly as is, but you can use an immersion blender to make it thick and creamy. In this situation, you may want to thin it out with a little vegetable stock to turn it into a soup.
More Similar Recipes
- Cauliflower and Lentil Tacos
- Pumpkin Chicken Soup
- Vegan Chickpea Curry
- Lentil Bolognese
- Vegan Falafel Wrap
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Red Curry Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 14 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 14 ounce can lite coconut milk
- 2 1/2 cups chopped cauliflower
- 2 cups peeled and diced sweet potato diced into 3/4 inch cubes (about 1 medium sweet potato)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1-2 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce
- 1/2 cup dry red split lentils
- 3 large handfuls baby spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste
To garnish
- Chopped cilantro
- Squeeze of lime juice
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the instant pot other than the lentils and the spinach. Stir the mixture so that all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Add the lentils, but don’t completely stir it into the rest of the mixture as they may stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Instead, gently press them into the liquid so that they’re covered with liquid but not sinking to the bottom.
- Place the lid on, ensuring that the valve is set to “sealing” and not “venting.” Press the pressure cooker button and set the timer to 5 minutes on high pressure. After a few seconds, you should see the word “on.” At the point, the cooking process will begin.
- Once the cooking process is complete, you should hear some beeping. Do a quick release of the pressure. Use a wooden spoon or oven mitt to move the valve to “venting” and keep your face away from the steam.
- Once all of the pressure has released, open the lid and stir in the spinach. Allow it to sit for about a minute or so until the spinach has wilted.
- Serve over a bed of rice topped with a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Stove Top
- Add all of the ingredients except the spinach to a large sauce pan.
- Stir to combine and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 35-40 minutes, stirring the curry every 5 minutes while cooking, and reducing the heat if necessary to prevent it from sticking to the pot.
- Add the spinach during the last 10 minutes of cooking and stir it into the mixture until it wilts.
Notes
- Be sure to use lite coconut milk and not full-fat. The full-fat doesn’t have as much liquid, so the lentils are more likely to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.
- If cooking this lentil curry on the stove, be sure to stir it frequently (about every 5 minutes) to prevent the lentils from sinking to the bottom and sticking to the pot.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in February 2019 and was updated in June 2024 to include more helpful tips and photos.
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope they will like it too!
I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for sharing! This was an easy, delicious, and super-food packed meal! A new go to while trying to pack all the good things into my meals during the first trimester with my second.
My pleasure Brittany! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I totally know what it’s like trying to pack in all those nutrients when pregnant…not easy! Congratulations on your pregnancy! :)