Crock-Pot Madras Lentils
Whip up this delicious vegetarian comfort food with zero effort at all! Simply break out your slow cooker and let dinner make itself!
This recipe serves approx. 6 large portions or 10 side-dish sized servings. Recipe yield: 10 cups.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked lentils*
- 2 cups canned tomato sauce/puree
- 1/2 large onion (approx. 1 + 1/2 cups finely diced)
- 1 large russed potato (approx. 2-3 cups peeled and cubed)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 TBSP butter (or vegan equivalent)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
- rice or quinoa make a great base for this dish!
- fresh chopped basil or parsley to garnish
- a dollop of sour cream (vegan or regular -- MY FAVORITE TOPPING!)
- something SPICY! I added chili paste to this dish recently and LOVED it!
- curry powder/paste <-- they change the entire flavor profile of the dish but are super delicious if you're up for it!
- The original dish also had red kidney beans in the mix so if you're a fan feel free to add some cooked beans! You may want to add little extra liquid and seasonings if you do, but otherwise you're good to go!
Instructions
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You're going to laugh at how easy this is: Use some the butter or Earth Balance to lightly grease the sides of your crock-pot then dump EVERYTHING into your slow cooker.
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Set to HIGH for 3.5-4 hours and go about your day/evening as per usual.
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Once time is up, taste and add any additional seasonings your taste buds prefer. This dish comes out super thick (LOVE IT) but you could also thin it a bit with some additional coconut milk or veggie broth as desired. Simply amp up the seasonings to compensate!
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Garnish with an optional sprinkle of parsley or basil and serve over a bed of fluffy rice, quinoa, or alongside a big green salad!
Recipe Notes
* Prefer to used dried lentils? Simply add 1 cup of raw dried lentils to your crock-pot and increase the amount of tomato sauce used to two 15 oz cans total of sauce, plus add 1/2 cup of veggie broth to the mix. The lentils will soak up the extra liquid as it cooks.
** You can use one extra large russet potato for this dish or go with two smaller russet potatoes. I've also made this with Yukon gold potatoes and it works great! You'll want to aim for 2-3 cups of diced potato total.
Looking to amp up the flavors even more? I've added a spoonful or so of curry powder to these luscious lentils and LOVED IT! It's also crazy delicious with Thai red curry paste too.
Nutrition Facts below calculated before choice of toppings with an online nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed.