Sweet Potato Lentil Curry with Spinach
This cozy Sweet Potato Lentil Curry is a weeknight-friendly, one-pot vegetarian dinner that’s as nourishing as it is flavorful. Tender red lentils simmer with sweet potatoes, warming spices, and creamy coconut milk before finishing with a handful of fresh spinach. Serve it over rice with lime wedges and herbs for a deeply satisfying plant-based meal that comes together with pantry staples.
Servings 4 people
Calories 383kcal
Equipment
- Knife and cutting board for chopping vegetables
- Microplane for grating ginger
- Fine mesh strainer or colander for rinsing lentils
- Large skillet, pot, or Dutch oven (see note)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil divided (or cooking oil of choice)
- 2 medium sweet potatoes chopped into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
- ½ cup diced yellow onion (about ¼ large onion)
- 1 red bell pepper diced (about 1 cup, optional)
- 3 garlic cloves minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger grated (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ⅛-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste (optional, see note)
- 1 cup red lentils rinsed
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 (13.66-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 4 cups chopped baby spinach
Optional for serving:
- Cooked rice such as brown basmati rice (see note)
- Lime wedges
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in a large skillet, pot, or dutch oven (see note) over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 7 minutes, or until browned.
- Move the sweet potatoes to one side of the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, onion, and red bell pepper (if using), and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper (if using) and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Add the lentils, 4 cups water (or enough to fully cover the lentils), and salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
- Stir in the coconut milk and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced and the lentils are creamy and falling apart. Stir more often toward the end to prevent the curry from sticking to the pan and use wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan if needed.
- Stir in the spinach and cook for 2 minutes, or until wilted. Turn off the heat and adjust the seasonings as desired.
- Serve over cooked rice with lime, cilantro, and mint if desired.
Notes
Equipment note: I make this curry in a 12-inch All-Clad aluminum skillet, and there is just enough room in the pan. Use a large pot or Dutch oven if your skillet is smaller than this.
Spice note: Use a mild curry powder and add cayenne pepper to taste, or use a hot curry powder and omit the cayenne pepper. You can also omit the cayenne pepper if you are preparing this for small kids or prefer milder flavor.
How to cook brown basmati rice:
Stovetop: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a pot with a lid. Add 1 cup dry brown basmati rice and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice with a fork and serve.
Instant Pot: Add 1 cup dry brown basmati rice, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 ½ cups water to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Secure the lid, turn the venting knob to sealed, and set to manual pressure cook on high for 23 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. Then turn the venting knob to the venting position. Once the floating valve in the lid drops, open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Nutrition facts are estimates only. Ingredients that are optional for serving are not included in the calculation.
Recipe adapted from New York Times Cooking.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25recipe | Calories: 383kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 383mg | Potassium: 1119mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 19861IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 6mg