This creamy vegan red lentil curry with pumpkin and coconut milk is quick and easy to make, healthy, protein-rich and incredibly delicious – The perfect weeknight lunch or dinner recipe for busy people that’s freezer-friendly and ideal for meal prep.
The Best Lentil Curry Recipe in the World
I love my red lentil dal and I love all my curry recipes – especially, my vegan pumpkin chickpea curry is one of my favorites! Both dishes are flavorful, protein-rich, healthy, very delicious and most importantly super fast and easy to make. So I combined my two favorite recipes and created this delicious lentil pumpkin curry!
It really turned out sooooooo good, so I would like to claim that this lentil curry is the BEST recipe on my blog!
Quick, Easy, Vegan, Healthy & Delicious!
What I love about curry recipes is that they are not only super quick and easy to make but also very versatile.
If you buy the ingredients in advance (or use leftovers), you can always prepare a delicious curry spontaneously within 30 minutes. In addition, Indian dishes taste simply always delicious because of the many aromatic spices. And they can be easily veganized by using legumes!
You can also cook this red lentil curry all year round with your favorite seasonal vegetables! If pumpkin or squash isn’t available right now, you can use sweet potatoes or other veggies.
Perfect for Meal Prep
Of course, you can also pre-cook this dish for the whole week or even freeze it in portions for the future. This way, you can heat up a delicious, healthy, home-cooked meal anytime within 5 minutes. Only the rice or other side dishes like quinoa, millet or potatoes I would cook fresh. If you want a quick meal, you can serve the lentil curry simply with bread!
What can I use instead of coconut milk in a curry?
Of course! I personally love curry with coconut milk because it adds a wonderful exotic and slightly sweet flavor to the dish that makes it irresistibly delicious! But if you don’t like coconut, you can use another dairy-free cream instead like soy or oat cuisine. If you prefer it thicker, you can also stir in some vegan sour cream or cashew ricotta.
Ingredients needed
- Red lentils: or yellow lentils.
- Pumpkin: such as Hokkaido, also known as „red kuri squash“ which has an edible skin so you don’t need to peel it. If using butternut squash or another type of squash, you would need to peel it first.
- Tomatoes: chopped from a can.
- Vegetable broth.
- Coconut milk: or another dairy-free cooking cream.
- Cashew butter: or peanut butter, almond butter or tahini (sesame paste) if nut-free.
- Onion, garlic & ginger: the popular aromatic flavor trio!
- Curry powder: e.g. Yellow Curry Madras or curry paste.
- Salt and pepper: to taste
- Lemon: the juice of it.
- Coconut oil: or another heat-resistant vegetable oil for frying.
How to make Pumpkin Lentil Curry
As always, I recommend checking out the recipe video and these step-by-step instructions first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger & rinse the lentils.
First, heat the coconut oil in a large, deep pan or large pot and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Then add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a minute.
Meanwhile, place the lentils in a fine-meshed strainer, rinse thoroughly and drain.
Step 2: Add remaining ingredients & simmer.
Now add curry powder, pumpkin cubes and lentils to the pan and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, vegetable broth, coconut milk and cashew butter, stir and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, put a lid on and let the curry simmer for about 25-30 minutes until the lentils and pumpkin are tender and mostly soft. Then season to taste with salt, pepper and lime juice.
Tip: While the curry is cooking, you can prepare your desired side dishes, such as cooking rice and toasting cashews in a pan.
What to serve with lentil curry?
You can serve the pumpkin lentil curry with basmati rice, naan bread or other types flatbread. However, potatoes or other grains like quinoa, millet, spelt, etc. also go well! I like to garnish the dish with toasted cashews, sesame seeds, pomegranate seeds, lime wedges, and cilantro, but feel free to do that however you like!
Recipe Notes
- Lentils: If you use other lentils (such as brown lentils or black beluga lentils), always follow the package directions, as the cooking time may vary depending on the variety.
- Pumpkin: I used Hokkaido pumpkin (also known as “red Kuri squash”) which has an edible so you don’t need to peel it. If using another type of pumpkin or squash, you may have to peel it first.
- Vegetables: if you like you can replace the pumpkin/squash (or part of it) with other vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers, etc. You could also stir some cooked chickpeas, beans or fresh baby spinach into the curry at the end.
- Spices: For a more intense tomato flavor, you can add tomato paste. If you like the curry spicier, you can add chopped chili peppers, chili powder or Sriracha. You could also use a hot curry powder or red Thai curry paste. For a mild curry, yellow curry powder and yellow curry paste is suitable.
Can I make lentil curry nut-free?
Yes, of course! The lentil curry can also be easily prepared without nuts. Just replace the toasted cashews with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or other seeds. Instead of nut butter, you can also use tahini (sesame paste) in the curry or omit this ingredient altogether.
How long can you keep vegan curry?
Leftover red lentil curry will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge and can be frozen for up to 3 months. If you want to pre-cook this dish for your weekly Meal Prep, divide it into portion-sized containers or freezer bags so you can reheat individual servings quickly and easily on the stove or in the microwave.
This Vegan Pumpkin Lentil Curry Recipe is:
- Quick and easy to make
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Meatless
- Creamy
- Tasty
- Healthy & nutritious
- Rich in fiber and protein
- Versatile
- Unbelievably delicious!
- Perfect for lunch or dinner during the week!
More Pumpkin Recipes to try
- Pumpkin Chickpea Curry
- Pumpkin Spinach Pasta Bake
- Lentil Chili with Pumpkin
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup
- Tarte Flambee
- Pumpkin Risotto with Brussels Sprouts
- Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
- Pumpkin Ravioli
- Squash Ravioli
- Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi
- Spinach Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
- Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta
Recipe Video
If you try this easy vegan pumpkin lentil curry recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your dish and share it on Instagram or Facebook, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your creations! Happy cooking! 🙂
The Best Red Lentil Curry with Pumpkin
Author:Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or other oil for frying
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 inch piece of ginger chopped
- 2 tbsp curry powder e.g. yellow curry Madras or curry paste, *see notes
- 1 lbs pumpkin diced (I used Hokkaido „red kuri squash“, *see notes)
- 1 cup red lentils or yellow lentils
- 14 oz chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 14 oz coconut milk full-fat
- 2 tbsp cashew butter or peanut butter, almond butter or tahini
- salt and pepper to taste
- juice of ½ lime or lemon
To serve (optional)
- basmati rice or flatbread
- toasted cashews or peanuts
- sesame seeds
- pomegranate seeds
- cilantro or parsley
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step photos in the post above!
- Heat the coconut oil in a large, deep pan, skillet or saucepan and sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Then add the garlic and ginger and sauté for another minute.
- Meanwhile, place the lentils in a fine-meshed sieve, rinse thoroughly and drain.
- Add curry powder, diced pumpkin and lentils to the pan and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, vegetable broth, coconut milk and cashew butter, stir and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat, put a lid on and cook the curry for about 25-30 minutes until the lentils and pumpkin are tender and mostly soft. Then season to taste with salt, pepper, and lime juice. (While the curry is cooking, you can prepare your desired side dishes, such as cooking rice and toasting cashews in a pan.)
- Serve with basmati rice or naan bread and garnish with toasted cashews, sesame seeds, pomegranate seeds, lime wedges and cilantro, if desired.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Lentils: If using other lentils (e.g. brown or black lentils), always follow the package directions as the cooking time may vary by variety.
- Pumpkin: I used Hokkaido pumpkin (also known as „red Kuri squash“) which has an edible so you don’t need to peel it. If using another type of pumpkin or squash, you may have to peel it first.
- Vegetables: If you like you can replace the pumpkin/squash (or part of it) with other vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers, etc. You could also stir some cooked chickpeas, beans or fresh baby spinach into the curry at the end.
- Spices: For a more intense tomato flavor, you can add tomato paste. If you like the curry spicier, you can add chopped chili peppers, chili powder or Sriracha. You could also use a hot curry powder or red Thai curry paste. For a mild curry, yellow curry powder and yellow curry paste is suitable.
- More helpful tips and information about this recipe, including storing and freezing notes, are mentioned in the blog post above!
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It came out delicious. I didn’t alter the recipe and it was really good. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you! 🙂
Delicious dish!
Made this last night, just added some lime leaves and finished off with garam masala. It was perfect, everyone loved it and couldn’t stop eating!
That’s great! I’m super happy that you like this dish. Thanks for your wonderful feedback. Happy Wednesday! 🙂