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Vegan Thai Lentil Chickpea Curry is an easy Thai curry made with lentils, chickpeas, curry paste, tomatoes, coconut milk, and ginger. This chickpea curry recipe is a vegan favorite and includes Instant Pot, slow cooker, and stove instructions.
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Vegan Thai Lentil Chickpea Curry
This Vegan Thai Lentil Chickpea Curry recipe is a plant-based curry made for Instant Pot, Stove, or Crockpot. It's an easy vegan curry with garbanzos, Thai red curry paste, tomatoes, and coconut milk. It's so rich and creamy, it's hard to believe it's vegan! It's one of my favorite Thai meals that practically cooks itself!
Ingredients you'll need
- coconut oil (or any oil)
- green onions
- fresh ginger
- fresh garlic
- red curry paste
- cherry tomatoes (or canned tomatoes)
- coconut milk
- dried brown lentils
- cooked chickpeas
- water
- salt
- (optional) cooked brown rice or cooked quinoa for serving
How to make this recipe in the Instant Pot
- Chop veggies and open canned ingredients.
- Saute veggies in oil in the cooker on the saute setting.
- Add remaining ingredients
- Close/lock/seal lid, set pressure cooker button for 6 minutes on HIGH pressure.
- Allow 10-minute natural pressure release
- Serve warm
How long do you pressure cook lentils and chickpeas?
For this Thai curry recipe, you definitely do not want to overcook the brown lentils. So I use a manual time of 6 under high pressure with a 5-minute natural pressure release. Any longer than that, your lentils might resemble mashed potatoes.
What I love about this chickpea curry
- it's naturally vegan AND gluten-free
- budget friendly (because it uses everyday ingredients that can be cross-utilized with other ingredients)
- freezer-friendly...so you can have it on hand at all times
- easy to make
- almost hands-free
- packed with protein, fiber, and flavor
More comfort food recipes
- Vegetable Thai Red Curry
- Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Chili
- 3-Bean Vegan Chili
- Thai Coconut Soup
📖 Recipe
Vegan Thai Lentil Chickpea Curry
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Note about scaling
When scaling, the light gray ingredient notes after the comma don’t change. Adjust as needed.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil, or preferred oil
- 2 med Green Onions, sliced; separate white stalks from green tops
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Ginger, grated
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Red Curry Paste (or yellow or green)
- 12 Cherry Tomatoes, or 1 (15 ounce can) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (13.5 ounce can) Coconut Milk
- 1 cup Uncooked Brown Lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can Chickpeas (drained), or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup Water
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Lentil Chickpea Curry Instant Pot Instructions:
- Select "Sauté" on the Instant Pot and heat the OLIVE OIL.
- When the display reads "Hot", add Add GREEN ONIONS (white stalks only), GINGER, and GARLIC; sauté a few minutes until slightly tender, stirring frequently.
- Add CURRY PASTE and TOMATOES; sauté a few more minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently.
- Add COCONUT MILK, LENTILS, CHICKPEAS, WATER, and SALT.
- Press the "Cancel" function on the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and turn the pressure release valve to the "Sealing" position.
- Select "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" and set the cooker on "High" pressure for 6 minutes.
- When the cycle completes, allow the pot to sit 10 minutes (undisturbed) for a natural pressure release (NPR).
- Then, release any remaining steam by turning the pressure release valve to the "Venting" position, using an oven mitt for protection.
Lentil Chickpea Curry Stove instructions:
- Heat OIL in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add GREEN ONIONS (white stalks only), GINGER, and GARLIC; sauté (and stir) a few minutes until slightly tender; add CURRY PASTE and TOMATOES; sauté a few more minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently.
- Add COCONUT MILK, LENTILS, CHICKPEAS, WATER, and SALT; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20-30 minutes (until lentils are tender and cooked through).
Lentil Chickpea Curry Crockpot Instructions:
- Heat OIL in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add GREEN ONIONS (white stalks), GINGER, and GARLIC; sauté (and stir) a few minutes until slightly tender.
- Transfer sauteed veggies over to a 3+ quart Crockpot.
- Stir in CURRY PASTE, TOMATOES, COCONUT MILK, LENTILS, CHICKPEAS, WATER, and SALT.
- Cover and set Crockpot on HIGH 2 hours or LOW 4 hours.
Serving instructions, toppings, and storage
- Serve warm over rice or quinoa, garnished with cilantro, green onion (tops), and lime.
- To store, allow to cool completely. Refrigerate in airtight containers up up to 5 days or freeze up to 1 month in freezer-safe containers.
Equipment
- chef knife
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are estimates and may vary based on brands, ingredients, and portions.
Wendy says
I may have already commented, but will again. This is our go-to recipe for easy curry, because of the simplicity and so many variations possible. Today, we used panang curry, used yellow pear cherry tomatoes and a red dahl rather than brown lentils. When my kid is here, we use the yellow curry with a dash of the red. Sometimes we use regular onions, sometimes green onions. We double the recipe and make rice on a weekend and pack all our lunches for a week. I brought this for a work potluck and had at least four requests for the recipe. Thank you! This is really a winner.
The Kitchen Girl says
Awww this makes me so happy to hear! Love the red dahl curry idea ... I need to try that myself. Thank you sooo much for taking the time to leave this detailed comment. Much appreciated!
Vickie says
Home run in my house of picky eaters.
The Kitchen Girl says
Yayy! So glad to hear it and thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated!
Courtney says
Help, the recipe says canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained in the ingredients. But the instructions say add the chickpeas ‘with juice’. Am I supposed to reserve the chick pea liquid and add it Making in an instant pot.
Thanks!
The Kitchen Girl says
Hi Courtney, omgosh ... good catch! Don't reserve liquid 🙂 I just fixed the recipe instructions. So sorry for confusion.