These slow cooker brown lentils have bold, smoky flavor from Indian spices like cumin, coriander and garam masala. Take a few minutes to toss the ingredients into a crockpot and hours later you can have a delicious, cozy and nourishing dinner on the table.
Delicious Slow Cooker Lentils
Imagine scooping up these yummy slow cooker lentils with a hot, flaky paratha or roti. Imagine the salty, spicy, smoky, savory flavors exploding in your mouth. Imagine all the good those legumes and spices will do once they go into your body.
Now you don't have to just imagine. Because you can make this dish so, so easily in your own kitchen.
Brown lentils, also called "whole masoor", are unsplit pink or red lentils (masoor dal), with their skin on. In Indian kitchens whole masoor is often cooked using techniques and ingredients that are typically reserved for meat dishes. That's because these nutty lentils easily soak in spices and seasonings, creating wholesome, full-flavored dishes that appeal to every palate.
In this simple masoor keema recipe, made even easier and more hands-off by a slow cooker or crockpot, the lentils are unequivocally delicious. This is one of my favorite slow cooker lentil recipes: the flavors are so complex and beautifully balanced, and you will be surprised that the recipe is as easy as it is. It's also soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free, and it has 16 grams of protein and 19 grams of fiber in each serving!
Recipe card
Slow Cooker Lentils (Masoor Keema) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried brown lentils (whole masoor)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (any neutral or unflavored oil)
- 1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 heaping tbsp ginger garlic paste (or crush six cloves of garlic and a 1-inch knob of ginger into a paste)
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- ¼ cup vegan yogurt
- 2 medium potatoes (cut in a ½-inch dice. Use red or yellow, waxy potatoes)
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 cups water (or vegetable broth)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak the lentils overnight or for eight hours. If you don't have time to soak, do a quick soak: place them in a saucepan, cover with two inches of water, and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Drain the lentils before using.
- If your crockpot has a "saute" or "sear" function, set it to that. Add oil and when it heats up, add the onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute the onions until they are soft, 2-3 minutes.
- Add ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, cayenne and asafetida to the pot. Stir the spices into the onions.
- Add the vegan yogurt to the pot and mix it in.
- Add the soaked, drained lentils to the pot and stir them in. Saute the lentils for a couple of minutes along with the spices.
- Add garam masala and potatoes, mix, then add 2 cups water and salt to taste. Give the lentils a good stir, then cover with the lid. Let the lentils slow-cook on the high setting for three hours or on the low setting for five hours.
- Uncover, give the lentils a stir, and add more salt if needed. Squeeze in some lemon juice. Garnish the lentils with cilantro before serving.
Notes
- Soaking lentils will improve the texture of the cooked lentils. You can either soak them overnight or, if you forgot or just don't have the time, do a quick soak, which works just as well: place the lentils in a saucepan, cover with water by two inches, and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and drain the lentils immediately.
- I made this recipe in my Instant Dutch oven, which has convenient "sear/saute" and "slow-cook" functions, but I've just as often made this in my six-quart Instant Pot Duo on the "slow cook" setting, with equally good results. A more traditional crockpot works just as well -- set it to high heat for sauteing the ingredients.
- These lentils are not saucy because they are meant to be scooped up with an Indian flatbread, much like a vegan keema masala. But if you want to make it a soupier, dal-like dish, you can easily do so by increasing the amount of water. Start out by adding an extra cup of water, then add more as needed to thin the dal out.
Nutrition Information
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Recipe FAQs
Brown lentils are key to the nutty, meaty, well-rounded flavor of this dish. If you have to substitute, you can use green lentils or beluga lentils. Don't use split red lentils because those will mush up easily and won't have the correct texture or flavor.
Canned lentils are already cooked, so reduce cooking time to two hours on high or three hours on low. Make sure the potatoes have cooked before you turn off the slow cooker.
Yes! Skip the oil and saute the onions and garlic in ¼ cup water or vegetable stock. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Increase the time to four to six hours on high and six to eight hours on low. I do recommend soaking or quick-soaking the lentils for better texture.
Sure, add chopped carrots, sweet potatoes or green peas along with or instead of the potatoes. Winter squashes would also be delicious in this lentil recipe.
Serve these slow cooker lentils with a flatbread like roti or vegan naan, or with pita bread, for a satisfying, cozy meal. Or stuff them into a taco and top with your usual taco toppings, like salsa and guac.
Store in the refrigerator for up to four days in an airtight container or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to four months. Reheat in microwave or on stovetop. If heating on stovetop you might need to thaw the lentils first and add a little water.
JKL says
The Instant Pot has only a "medium" level for slow cook. How many hours do you cook this?
Vaishali says
Hi, four hours should be enough on a medium setting.
Brian McGuire says
Is 2T of ground coriander a typo? This seems excessive.
Vaishali says
No, you need that much for the best flavor. You can reduce it to your preference, but 2 tbsp is what I recommend.
Cathy says
This sounds like it would also be really well adapted to the instant pot, especially because if the sautéing that precedes the slow cooking. How much time do you think it would need in the instant pot?
Vaishali says
Hi Cathy, this would be great in the Instant Pot. If you soak the lentils, cook for 10 minutes on high pressure, if you don't soak, cook for 12 minutes.
michele martin says
I just finished making this. I used green lentils, extra onion and garlic, left out hing (mine had expired 2 years ago), and added cubed butternut squash during the last hour in the crock pot. I cooked at high for 3.5 hrs. Very happy with the result. It's delicious! Thanks for yet another yummy recipe!
Vaishali says
Sounds so delicious. Awesome that you loved it, I love the butternut squash addition. Thanks for letting me know, Denise.
Jacki says
When you leave nutrition information, what is your serving size? Due to a health concern I track my protein.
Vaishali says
It's one-fourth of the recipe.