Simple but delicious Low Syn Red Lentil Dhal – pure comfort in a bowl and a perfect recipe for freezing leftovers.
One staple in my pantry is jars of lentils, I tend to have a few different varieties, mainly because they are super cheap and a great ingredient to have. They can replace ground meat in a variety of dishes and are perfect in one of my favourite type of meal – curries!!
It is probably not a huge surprise that I LOVE curry, you will find quite a few different recipes right here on the blog, when I say. a few, what I really mean is LOTS. A new curry recipe probably goes up on the blog at least once a month. I just can’t help creating new ones.
The great thing about curries is you can literally add anything to the pan with a few spices for a delicious meal.
I am a definite meat eater, but occasionally I like and enjoy meat free meals and so lentils or beans are always the best ingredient to choose for a meat free curry, as along with some vegetables they will bulk out the dish to make it filling and satisfying.
Another thing I really love at the moment is my Instant Pot. Wondering what an Instant Pot is?
It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, sautés, has a setting for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).
This is one of the best things I have bought and I use it almost daily in one way or another. Hey I even cook my boiled eggs in this – you should see how effortlessly they peel.
Check out my other: Instant Pot Recipes
Click here to read more about the instant pot on Amazon
Don’t worry though if you don’t own a instant pot, this Red Lentil Dhal can just as easily be made stove top.
So today when I wanted a quick meal ready for lunch, it was the instant pot to the rescue – I just combined some lentils, leftover butternut squash, zucchini, the usual ginger and garlic, curry powder (keeping it nice and simple), stock and some coconut milk and in 10 minutes I had a delicious lentil dhal to enjoy with some steamed white rice.
I chopped the vegetables fine using the food processor bowl of my Nutri Ninja Complete Kitchen System with auto IQ technology. I love this blender and food processor. The auto IQ technology, means it blends or chops to a set pattern depending on what it is you are making. So cool!!!
Really though you don’t even need the rice – this dhal is sooo good, you may just want to scoop it from the bowl with a spoon. That may well be me admitting I did exactly that.
If you a healthy extra b choice spare, some warmed pitta bread goes really well with this too, using the bread to scoop up mouthfuls of the dhal, the only problem there is, you may not have enough bread to scoop up all this amazing Red Lentil Dhal you will want to eat.
For an SP day, try serving with this yummy Roasted Cauliflower Rice – cauliflower rice done this way, is so much more flavourful than microwaving and it is perfect alongside curries like this.
If you want to keep this syn free, you can skip the light coconut milk that I stir through at the end and instead spoon on some fat-free plain yoghurt. But for me, I LOVE the flavour and creaminess the coconut milk gives to this Red Lentil Dhal and the syns really are not too high when you divide into portions.
Looking for some other Lentil Dishes to try?
- 4 Ingredient Quick Lentil Curry (Instant Pot)
- Syn Free Chicken, Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry
- Coconut Green Lentil Curry
- Low Syn Lentil Curry (Instant Pot and Stove Top recipe)
- Mexican Lentil Bake
- Lentil Shepherds Pie
- Lentil Bolognese
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Curry
- Syn Free Lentil Cheddar Bake
- Aubergine, Courgette, Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry
- Syn Free Spicy Carrot and Lentil Soup
- Chicken and Lentil Soup
- Syn Free Sweet Potato, Vegetable and Lentil Chilli
- Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup
with many more recipes in my FULL RECIPE INDEX – over 700+ amazing Slimming World Recipes and fully searchable by meal type, syn value, ingredient etc
WHAT KITCHEN ITEMS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS LOW SYN RED LENTIL DHAL?
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Jug
- Chopping Board
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Wooden Spoon
- Deep Saucepan, or Instant Pot
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Low Syn Easy Red Lentil Dhal | Slimming World
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 servings
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly
- Extra Easy - 2 syns per serving
- Green/Vegan - 2 syns per serving
- SP - 2 syns per serving (serve with cauliflower rice)
- WW Smart Points - 2
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180g) of dry red lentils
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 250g(90z) butternut squash, finely chopped
- 1 zucchini, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp of fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tbs of medium curry powder
- 2 cups (480ml) of vegetable stock
- 1 cup (240ml) of light coconut milk - 7.5 syns
- salt and black pepper
- spray oil
- fresh chopped coriander
Instructions
- Spray a deep pot over a medium high heat with spray oil.
- Add the onion and fry to soften.
- Add the garlic, ginger, zucchini and butternut squash and fry for a further 5 minutes. (add a little stock if it starts to stick)
- Add the curry powder and stir to coat.
- Add in the the red lentils and stock
- Bring to a boil and simmer for about 25-30 mins, until the lentils are softened and stock is pretty much all absorbed.
- Stir in the coconut milk and continue to simmer for about 5 mins - the dhal will become creamy and thickened.
- Season as needed, sprinkle with fresh coriander
- Serve and enjoy
Notes
Instant Pot - set to saute mode and follow first few steps 1-4, once you add lentils and stock, add lid, close valve and set for 10 mins manual (high pressure), do a quick release, set to saute mode again, and stir in coconut milk until thick and creamy.
Double ingredients to make a bigger batch if you want to freeze some portions.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only.
Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. Also double check syn values of sinned ingredients as different brands can vary.
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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 serving
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 169 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 4.2 g | 6% | |
Saturated Fat 3.1 g | 16% | |
Sodium 70.2 mg | 3% | |
Total Carbohydrates 32 g | 11% | |
Dietary Fiber 11.9 g | 48% | |
Sugars 0.8 g | ||
Protein 9.5 g | 19% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
It is the responsibility of the Reader to assure the products or ingredients they use in any recipes from Slimming Eats are allergen-free (gluten-free, egg-free and/or dairy-free, for example) or Vegetarian friendly. Slimming Eats assumes no liability for inaccuracies or misstatement about products, opinions or comments on this site.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only
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I made this in my slow cooker. I didn’t have any courgettes so substituted spinach.
OH said it was absolutely delicious. It had loads of flavour, and was there any more?
He was right, it was delicious. It was also cheap and easy to make. I served it with boiled rice.
Gotta love lentils right? So cheap but can be used in some really tasty meals.
Made this today, very yummy comfort food..perfect on a rainy winters day. Thank you, love your page.
Do you know how many grams 1 cup of red lentils is at all? In the UK and not sure! Thanks:)
Hi Zoe, if you have a measuring jug you can measure the lentils up to approx 240ml make on the jug 🙂 – I tend to use cup measurements as it’s so much quicker and easier than weighing everything.
Love this recipe, I left out onion and added spinach. It was very yummy! Freezes really well.
Thanks for commenting Carrie – so glad you enjoyed it.
Hi! I was wondering if you weren’t keen on using 2 syns for the coconut milk could you sub in ff natural yogurt or quark?
Does anyone find this absorbs the stock really quickly then sticks to their pan? I have it on pretty low for simmering but still seems to do this! Trying to cover it with a lid to keep moisture in. Otherwise it’s tasty!
Hi Fiona, are you sure you have the ratio of red lentils correct? I make this regularly and don’t ever have that problem.
You couldn’t certainly try, to be honest though you won’t get the same results as with the coconut milk.
Hi yeah I use a cup measurement for lentils so think it’s the correct amount?? Just seems to absorb the water really quickly…
That’s definitely strange, not sure why it is doing that for you. A cup measurement is correct (just make sure it is level and not a heaped cup) I presume you are adding the correct ratio of liquid too? You can add in a little more water if needed to prevent this happening in future and just give it a stir every so often through the cooking to prevent any sticking.
I love this dhal! I have made it so many times. I’ve also used korma powder and have substituted carrots for courgettes (which I prefer).
I am so happy to hear you love it, Sarah. It really is so versatile and can be swapped for various veg. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Made this a few time, absolutely delish
Such a quick recipe to make for a midweek family meal and I have leftovers for lunch too.