Coconut Curried Golden Lentils (20 Minutes!)

Comfort food at its very best! This was such a delicious meal which I tweaked ever so slightly, and I will definitely make it again.

This is one of my main standbys. I have made it countless times over the years! I often add steamed veggies on top, which don’t take long at all to cook. Golden lentils are harder to find but they have such a delightful color! Mine took way longer to cook than 4-5 minutes tonight and I’m not sure why — it was more like 35 minutes, even though the stove was on high for most of that time. So, depending on how long the lentils take, this may take more than 20 minutes, as a heads up to other cooks. I love how affordable and yet flavorful this recipe is! Thanks for creating one of my faves, Minimalist Baker!

This was surprisingly good. I upped the seasonings at the end and was not disappointed. I warmed the leftovers up today and served it on a roasted sweet potato. Incredible!!! I will definitely be making this again.

Super easy and delicious! Nourishing and easy to mix with other dishes 🥰 Ate it with avocado, red onion and fresh cilantro!

I’ve been going back to this recipe for many years now. Simple, delicious and goes with everything.

I made this today, using regular coconut milk and adding pumpkin for thickness and chili for more of a kick. I served it over rice with a thick tamarind sauce as a condiment and it’s a hit. Definitely adding this to my rotation!

This recipe is epic. I’ve been making it for years and it seriously never disappoints. The best possible way to make lentils.

I have made this recipe many many times over the years. I usually double (or even triple) the amount of curry powder. I also add an umami ingredient since without it, I always feel it has that sort of emptiness to the dish that’s hard to describe. That could be something like my go to which is fish sauce (inspired from Thai cuisine), or a stock bullion.

Thanks for sharing your recipe!

This is the most amazing recipe ever! So delicious and full of flavor, feels like decadence in a bowl and it is healthy! LOVE! Thank you!

just made this! Anew house favorite – used date syrup as sweetener and was perfect!

Absolutely delicious! I used regular coconut milk and added fresh kale, ate this over brown rice and garnished with cilantro. It was a hit with the family and is so healthy. Will be adding this to our regular dinner rotation!

Made this many times and my family has enjoyed it! Definitely need more curry, turmeric, and cayenne to give it a flavorful spice kick! I highly recommend you guys try it, I guaranteed you won’t be disappointed.

Made this many times and has my family has enjoyed it! Doe’s definitely need more curry, turmeric, and cayenne to give it a flavorful spice kick! I haughty recommend you guys try it, I guaranteed you won’t be disappointed.

I made this with lime juice instead of lemon, and it was a big hit with my friends! Everyone loved it & it was the most popular at our lil potluck.
(I also made it a little spicier 😁)
Thanks, MB!

This was a miss for me — I found it pretty bland. I think I might do better with regular coconut milk as the light (or at least the brand I bought) was pretty flavorless. Oh well, can’t win ’em all!

This was delightful! I was looking for a new recipe for my work lunches and this did the trick!
Also, I would just like to thank you, so much, for the way that you input the nutritional information on your recipes. The way you do it, clearly outlining the serving sizes and including the information for one serving is so, so helpful. I’m diabetic and on a weight loss journey and the way you list that information has been a life saver for me. Thank you for the amazing recipes and the creative variety you provide.

Quick and easy! I made it exact to the recipe (maybe even heavier on the seasons) and it was delicious. I can see how this would be great with added chicken, or as another commenter said, pineapple. As is, I love that this is GF and vegan because it’s suitable for all sorts of guests! Thanks!

Holy crap! I made this tonight for myself on a whim and it was amazing!! I will definitely be adding this recipe to my favorites for future use and have already shared it with my sister and mom. I’m not a huge fan of ginger so I left it out but added spinach and cilantro at the end and served it over short grained brown rice. I also love lemon so I added an extra tablespoon. It brings out such a great flavor with the curry! Thank you for sharing!

PS. I also appreciate your instant pot instructions for both lentils and quinoa. I’ve used both many times and they always come out perfect!

This is super yummy. Thank you! I will put this in my regular rotation. I think I forgot to put in the lemon! But I think maybe my family will like it better without! Thanks again.

Very tasty. I didnt . Cooking the lentils in stock is a must!

For a different take on this lovely curry, and if you forgot ginger and cayenne like I did. Add around 3/4’s of a tablespoon of harissa, and two tablespoons of Sriracha sauce. Or add a small bit of harissa and sriracha as you go for the desired taste. The idea is to have a light taste of harissa spice but with a stronger kick thanks to the Sriracha.

This is now one of my favorite go-to quick meals. I’ve made it as is, and I have also made it with chicken instead of lentils. It is so rich and flavorful! I serve it over rice, alongside roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. It is the perfect meal for my vegan friends, as well as those with other food preferences like dairy free or gluten free. Easy, full of flavor, filling, and healthy.

We doubled the recipe, added shredded chicken and pineapple. It was awesome!!
Kicked up the spices on the adult version.

I made this tonight using green lentils that I’d soaked for a couple of days.

Added about half a table spoon of cumin seeds, 2 red chilli’s, and a shake of ground corriander. At the end I stirred in some chopped fresh corriander too. I didnt have palm sugar so subbed brown sugar, and instead of shallot I used used a yellow onion.

It was AMAZING. THE FLAVORS! So much punch. And nice and spicy, all our sinuses are clear.

Don’t skip the lemon either! It added an amazing zing and ties all the flavours together.

Oh my gosh. These were absolutely amazing. I will definitely make them again and again. I precooked these for tomorrow but I couldn’t stop taking a spoonful each time I walked by.

Very good! I made it as written using only 1 of maple syrup and I used green lentils because that was what I have. I boiled them for 30 minutes. I will make this again.

Delicious made with regular coconut milk and french lentils! I served with sauteed greens, brown basmati rice and sweet potatoes from your bowl recipe. I’ll definitely be making this again- thank you!

I soaked the yellow lentils overnight, and they still took at least 20 minutes of boiling to get soft. I used some chopped onion rather than shallot, but otherwise made this recipe exactly. It is delicious! I served it over jasmine rice. I will definitely make it again.

This recipe is a slam dunk! Thank you! I had green lentils on hand so subbed those, as a result the appearance of the dish wasn’t quite as golden and glowing! I’m a BIG FAN of ginger so I used probably 5T + grated it since my fresh ginger lives in the freezer. As I didn’t soak my lentils I just let them simmer on the stove, which didn’t make them mushy at all. I sent leftovers home with my dinner guests, and then sent the recipe link to them! Given how quick this recipe is, I’ll be sure to use on weeknights.

I just made this for dinner and it surpassed my expectations. I sauteed some boneless chicken breast sprinkled with red curry, turmeric, salt and pepper. I used half the amount of coconut milk and supplemented the rest with vegetable broth, as I cooked the green lentil in some for extra flavor. Otherwise, I used all of the other ingredients as directed. At the end, I added the sliced chicken breast to the curry sauce and lentils and cooked that on simmer for 5 minutes. I also cooked my green lentils for 10 minutes in the vegetable broth. This dish will be on my weekly rotation now. Love it!

This recipe is delicious for sure and I will make it again, I would change a few things though. In the directions, it says 4-5 minutes to cook the lentils, I didn’t think that was long enough and next time, I will taste them before stopping their cooking time to ensure that they are tender enough for me. I also thought there was too much tumeric. I think next time I would try half that amount OR I might try using fresh tumeric instead of ground , the ground just has a bitterness to it that distracted from the other flavors.
The best part of this recipe is that it lasted me all week, I took it to work with a bed of fresh spinach and some jasmine rice each day and it was so good!

I followed the recipe precisely. The flavorings were fantastic, but the lentils were hard after cooking only 4-5 minutes. Nobody would eat it.

Really good – my first time making lentils *and* curry! I threw in cubed gold potatoes using Amber’s method of adding them to the sauteed spices and onion/garlic/ginger, and then putting some water in to simmer until soft.

I also added chopped fresh cilantro, and used about 1/4 coconut cream/ 3/4 coconut milk to give it a little bit of indulgence. :)

I am enjoying a bowl of this right now! It’s a great recipe, I believe, as written. I did adapt to my taste.
I doubled it for our large family, added 3 onions instead of shallot, 2 cubed potatoes & carrots, added more turmeric. It’s amazing!
I served on asian rice, with cucumber raita on top.

Wowowow. Incredible. I was skeptical about this one and thought it might be bland, but it is far from bland! I doubled the ingredients, but not the lentils, added one cubed golden potato, a bag of frozen peas, and two sliced carrots just because I had these ingredients in the kitchen and they needed to be used up. This is one of my new favorite recipes! Super versatile based one what you have on hand.

I made this yesterday, and my husband and I loved it! I added some almond milk to make it 6 cups total (1 cup servings), and it was so good and comforting! I also used green lentils. Yum!

I like strong flavours, so added extra chili, turmeric and curry powder, plus garnished with fresh coriander. Used lime and brown sugar subbed in, and it was delicious. I put in around 1.5 tbsp chopped ginger because that’s all I had and only 1 tbsp sugar and it was plenty IMO.

So delicious!! Perfect for a cold winter day! I used regular (brown? green?) lentils, and reduced salt slightly to 1/2 t. I love the suggestions in other comments about adding vegetables to the curry. I will try that next time. Oh yes, I will definitely make this again!

I made this and was very disappointed. The ginger overwhelmed the dish. I ended up adding another 1 1/2 cups of lentils to soften the bite and it helped some.

Always nervous to try new recipes that people will eat.. but this was great! I added a lot more of the spices and used honey instead of coconut sugar. Very easy and my roommates think I’m a pro chef!