Swiss Chard Curry with Lentils
This Swiss chard curry with lentils is a creamy vegan stew made with fresh Swiss chard, yellow lentils, and aromatic spices. Coconut milk gives the curry a mild, rounded flavor, while lemon adds freshness and a balanced acidity. It fits well into both vegan and vegetarian cooking and is a flavorful, satisfying, protein-rich everyday meal that’s simple to make but definitely not boring.
What Makes This Swiss Chard Curry So Special
If you love curries—especially those made with coconut milk—and you’re also a fan of lentils and a generous helping of vegetables, then I have a new favorite recipe for you: Swiss chard and lentil curry with coconut milk and lemon.
The combination of ingredients just works so well: yellow lentils make this vegan curry creamy and filling, coconut milk rounds out the spices and adds extra creaminess, while Swiss chard brings a slightly tart, green note and lemon juice adds freshness and balance.
A Love for Swiss Chard
For me, Swiss chard is one of those vegetables that should appear on our plates much more often. I first got to know and love it through blitva, a Swiss chard and potato dish from Croatia—which shows just how delicious Swiss chard can be with just a few ingredients.
I’ve since come across it quite often in my vegetable garden plot, where various seeds have already been sown in a few of the rows, including Swiss chard. And anyone who grows it knows that once it starts growing, it grows well and abundantly.
Since I don’t always want to eat Swiss chard in the classic way with potatoes, I started looking for new ways to prepare it. Eventually, I came across this curry, among other things, which I’ve enjoyed cooking anew every season. Swiss chard works really well not only in Mediterranean dishes but also in a spicy curry.
Ingredients
Let’s take a look at the main ingredients in this chard curry:
- Swiss chard
For this curry, the entire Swiss chard is used, stems and leaves. - Yellow lentils
Yellow lentils work particularly well in this curry because they cook quickly and create a creamy consistency. They don’t need to be cooked separately but can be cooked directly with the broth, Swiss chard, and spices. However, the following are also suitable for this recipe:- Red lentils: The cooking time remains similar, but the consistency becomes slightly softer and creamier.
- Brown or green lentils: I originally prepared the curry with these, specifically with brown mountain lentils. It tastes good too, but takes significantly longer and becomes much less creamy, as they retain a firmer consistency.
- Coconut milk
Coconut milk makes the curry nicely creamy and well-rounded. It pairs very well with ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin, and cilantro. - Lemon
Lemon juice is an essential part of this recipe because it adds a fresh and balanced flavor. It is added at the very end to preserve its freshness. - Onion, garlic, ginger, spices, and tomatoes
Onion, garlic, and ginger, together with the spices, form the aromatic base. The tomatoes also pair well with the coconut milk and add extra acidity and freshness to the dish.
Preparation
This vegan or vegetarian chard curry with lentils is a one-pot dish and is very easy to make. As always, you’ll find the exact instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Since Swiss chard stems and leaves have different cooking times, they are prepared differently. The finely chopped stems are added quite early on, while the leaves are added much later:
- Sauté the onion in oil.
- Add the Swiss chard stems and sauté them as well.
- Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger, then add them.
- Sauté the spices briefly.
- Add the tomatoes and salt.
- Add the Swiss chard leaves and yellow lentils.
- Pour in the vegetable broth.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk.
- Simmer for another 5–10 minutes.
- Add lemon juice, pepper, and optional fresh cilantro at the end.
Following this recipe, the curry becomes creamy without feeling heavy, and the Swiss chard integrates well into the sauce without losing its flavor.
Serving Suggestions
This Swiss chard curry with lentils pairs especially well with simple side dishes that soak up the creamy sauce. These include:
- Rice (basmati or jasmine) – my go-to favorite
- Quinoa (as an additional source of protein)
- Couscous
- White bread such as flatbread, naan, or chapati
- Potatoes—while they don’t really soak up the sauce, they also go very well with it.
- Variation: You could also cook the potatoes right along with the rest; they make the curry even more filling and give it a stew-like quality. To do this, cut the potatoes into small pieces and add them along with the lentils and broth.
What also goes very well with this dish:
- fresh cilantro
- vegan yogurt, such as soy yogurt
- a small splash of soy sauce
Soy sauce isn’t traditionally Indian, but it works well here because it adds depth and spice to the mild coconut-lentil curry. I intentionally cook lentil dishes with less salt so I can add soy sauce later.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
You can easily make this Swiss Chard Curry with Lentils ahead of time. It often tastes even more flavorful the next day, once the spices have had more time to infuse. For meal prep, it’s best to store the curry and the side dish separately. This keeps the rice or quinoa fluffier and prevents it from absorbing too much of the sauce.
The Swiss chard curry will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days. It’s best to store it in a tightly sealed container and let it cool completely before placing it in the refrigerator. Reheat it thoroughly before eating, and if it’s too thick, stir in a little water or vegetable broth.
The Swiss chard curry freezes well. To do this, let it cool completely and portion it into suitable containers. When reheating, the curry may be thicker because the lentils absorb liquid. In that case, add a little water or vegetable broth and stir well until the consistency is creamy again.
Swiss Chard Curry with Lentils: Creamy, Lemony and Vegan
Ingredients
- 500 g Swiss chard
- 4 tbsp canola oil or sunflower oil or coconut oil
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 piece fresh ginger about the size of a thumb
- ⅓ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tomatoes
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup yellow lentils 1 cup = approx. 200 g (7 oz)
- 2 cups vegetable stock or 2 cups of water plus ½ tbsp vegetable stock powder
- 400 ml coconut milk 1 can
- 4 tbsp lemon juice approx. 1 lemon
- black pepper
- cilantro leaves
- soy sauce optional, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the Swiss chard: Separate the individual Swiss chard leaves and wash them thoroughly. Cut out the thick stems, including where they still extend into the leaf. Cut the stems into pieces about 1–1.5 cm (½ inch) wide and finely chop the leaves into strips about 0.5–1 cm (¼–½ inch) wide. Set the stems and leaves aside separately.
- Sauté the onion: Peel and finely dice the onion. Heat oil in a pot and sauté the onion over medium heat until translucent.
- Add the Swiss chard stems: Add the chopped Swiss chard stems and sauté for 2–3 minutes.
- Prepare the garlic and ginger: Peel the garlic and ginger, finely chop or pulse in a food processor, and add to the pot. Sauté briefly.
- Toast the spices: Add the chili, turmeric, cumin, and coriander powder and stir well. Toast the spices for about 1 minute over medium heat until they are fragrant—but do not let them burn.
- Add the tomatoes: Finely chop the tomatoes or pulse them in a food processor. Add them to the pot along with the salt and sauté for about 3–5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add the lentils and Swiss chard leaves: Add the finely chopped chard leaves and yellow lentils, then pour in the vegetable stock. Stir everything, cover, well and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Stir in the coconut milk: Add the coconut milk and let the curry simmer for another 5–10 minutes (uncovered), until the lentils are tender and the curry is creamy and thick.
- Adjust the consistency: If your chard curry becomes too thick, add a little water or additional vegetable stock, stir well, and let it simmer briefly. Season to taste: Stir in lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper, and finely chopped cilantro leaves.
- Serve: Serve the curry with cooked rice, for example. I also like to season it with soy sauce and top it with even more cilantro.
