This delicious red lentil dal is high in protein, perfectly spiced and highly flavorful. It’s also ready in 30 minutes, perfect for easy weeknight meals.
When you want something super healthy and high in protein that still easily fits into the realm of comfort food, then you want some red lentil dal, also known as red lentil dahl.
Whether you call it dal or dahl this spicy, creamy and comforting meal is exactly what you want for an easy and delicious dinner.
It’s similar to our vegan lentil curry, but it cooks up even faster since it uses red lentils which cook up really quick. So this is a very fast dinner option that comes together in around 30 minutes, tastes wonderful and also keeps very well, so make a big pot.
It’s a fabulous mix of spices, coconut milk, red lentils and vegetable broth that simmers away until you’re left with a fragrant and delicious meal.
If you love dal you’ll also love our vegan dal makhani. And for more easy and delicious recipes that are ready in 30 minutes or less, try our vegan chana masala.
How To Make Lentil Dal
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add olive oil to a pot along with chopped onions, crushed garlic and minced ginger and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add in turmeric, coriander powder, cinnamon, curry powder and dried red lentils and sauté the lentils in the spices briefly.
- Add chopped tomato, vegetable stock and coconut milk and mix in.
- Bring it to a simmer and then turn down the heat and cover the pot and leave to simmer, checking it and stirring regularly, until the lentils are cooked. Keep an eye out as they cook fast.
- Add coconut sugar (for flavor balance) and salt and pepper to taste.
Chef’s Tips
Don’t over-cook it. This is the most important tip because not only do red lentils cook fast, they also go from perfectly cooked to over-cooked mush very fast. So if you leave it just a few minutes longer then you should, it will be more like a lentil mash than a lentil dal.
The lentils take around 10-15 minutes to cook from the moment the pot reaches a simmer. So it’s really super fast.
Use canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk. This is crucial to a wonderfully rich dal with a perfect blend of flavors.
Coconut sugar is for flavor balance only, it does not make the recipe sweet. You can substitute it for brown sugar if you prefer.
Recipe FAQ
We used dried red lentils which works wonderfully in this dal. They cook really fast and also have a lovely yellow/orange color when cooked. You can use dried red lentils or dried split red lentils.
Serve it with rice (we used basmati rice), some crispy poppadoms on the side and some fresh chopped cilantro. A swirl of coconut milk or coconut cream is an optional topping as well.
Storing and Freezing
This lentil dal also keeps beautifully in the fridge for 4-5 days, so if you have leftovers it’s ideal for lunch the next day and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove.
It’s also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze some.
More Lentil Recipes
- Lentil Bolognese
- Vegan Lentil Curry
- Vegan Lentil Soup (Middle Eastern Style)
- Vegan Sloppy Joes
- Vegan Bolognese
- Lentil Ragu
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Red Lentil Dal
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, chopped
- 1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 tsp Minced Ginger
- 2 tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Coriander Powder
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Curry Powder Mild or Spicy
- 2 cups Dried Red Lentils (400g)
- 14 ounces Canned Chopped Tomato (400g)
- 3 cups Vegetable Stock (720ml) or Broth
- 14 ounces Canned Coconut Milk (400ml) Full Fat, Unsweetened
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For Serving (Optional):
- Basmati Rice
- Poppadoms
- Fresh Chopped Cilantro
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a pot along with the chopped onions, crushed garlic and minced ginger and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add the turmeric, coriander powder, cinnamon, curry powder and red lentils and sauté the lentils in the spices briefly and then add the canned chopped tomato, vegetable stock and coconut milk.
- Bring it to a simmer and then turn down the heat and cover the pot and leave to simmer, checking it and stirring regularly, until the lentils are cooked. Keep an eye out as they cook fast*.
- Add in some coconut sugar (for flavor balance) and salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with basmati rice and fresh chopped cilantro with some poppadoms on the side (optional).
Video
Notes
- The coconut sugar can be replaced with light brown sugar or other sugar if you don’t have coconut sugar on hand. This is just for flavor balance and doesn’t make the dish sweet, however you can also omit it if you prefer.
- Be very careful not to over-cook your lentils. Red lentils cook so fast and just a few extra minutes can take them from perfectly cooked to over-cooked mush. They take about 10-15 minutes to cook from the point that the pot has come to a simmer.
- Nutritional information is for the dal only and excludes rice.
- Keep leftovers stored in the fridge in a covered container for 4-5 days. It is also freezer friendly.
- This recipe was first published in January 2018.
Made this tonight and really enjoyed it! The addition of cinnamon to the dal was genius!
Great recipe! Will make again. I added it to my recipe book as a keeper.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Thank you so much for your awesome review Helen!
Tried this for the first time. I’m lazy and used canned lentils but result was really delicious. The whole family loved it. Thanks for this recipe another keeper.
Fantastic! So glad it was good with canned lentils as well. Thanks so much for posting and the great review.
I have made this many times. Simple and quick to make. My grandchildren love it. My granddaughter 2 years old is a fussy eater but will eat this will no complaint she loves it. Thank you.
Awesome to hear that Cliff, thank you!
Great recipe! I must say that all the recipes that I’ve tried thus far have been simple and really tasty (tried about 8 so far), thank you Alison! I substituted the curry powder for tandoori, it was delicious!
Awesome! Thanks so much Aasiyah!
My new favourite recipe. So simple yet soooo delicious. Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks Lucy!
This was my first attempt at making Dal and it was absolutely delicious. My partner raved about it – who is not a fan of this type of food so winning!!!) I have now made the recipe four times and everytime it has been just as delicious.
Thanks Caroline!
I tend to make things up as I go along in the kitchen but I was looking for a dal recipe as I’d never made one before. It unfortunately just came out bland. 🙁 I’ll try and experiment with herbs and spices but was just wondering if you generally keep this simple so that people can customise?
Hi Julia, I’m wondering if your vegetable stock is low salt? There can be a fair bit of variety in vegetable stock and ours is quite salty. It is quite likely that you just need to add more salt and pepper in at the end to bring it to life.
I made this a couple of weeks ago and it was super easy and tasted delicious. It also froze very well. Will make again tomorrow. Thx so much x
Awesome Emma, thanks so much for the great review!
I made this last Sunday and have had the leftovers for lunch the last two days. It’s absolutely delicious. This is one of those meals that is even better the next day. I served it with homemade naan.
So glad you enjoyed it Julie! Thanks for posting!
Is there an appropriate sub for the coconut milk if someone is allergic to coconut?
Cashew milk would work well!
I made this for the first time! Really good and delicious with basmati rice and naan! I forgot that lentils cook fast so I had a bit of my lentils burnt but overall it was easy and quick to make. Perfect meal prep as well!
So glad you enjoyed it, haha yes the red lentils cook in record time! Thanks for the great review!