If your picture of fall does not involve butternut squash and red lentils and cauliflower cooked in a coconut-creamy red curry sauce and poured over a mini-mountain of steamy rice, are we even friends?
I’m not even sure where to start. This curry is cozy beyond cozy. There’s just enough curry paste to make your tastebuds perk up, and the texture is creamy, but still with some tender veggie pieces intact, and it’s all just so yummy.
Also: it is totally vegan, gluten free, dairy free, full of vegetables, all the things. And somehow it was still the container of leftovers that I found myself reaching for all week amidst cheesy pastas and meaty leftovers.
Hello, unicorn: healthy, delicious, seriously ridiculously easy.
Making The Instant Pot Cauliflower Curry Magic
Everybody in!
Cook for 5 minutes and give it a stir.
The end!
Oh, The Things You Can Do With Instant Pot Cauliflower Curry
- You can serve it over rice, with naan, or just… plain, I guess? Like a stew?
- You can make it more or less spicy with the addition of hot sauce, cayenne, etc. My daughter loved the non-spicy stuff right out of the Instant Pot, but we added some heat for the adults.
- You can saute the onions and garlic first to get the most out of your aromatics. I did this once and it was great.
- You can use dried onion and garlic, because sometimes chopping all that up is just… a lot.
- You can use fresh cauliflower and squash.
- You can use frozen cauliflower and squash.
- You can add fresh ginger, fresh basil, fresh lime juice… anything to make it pop a little bit.
- You can add other vegetables – greens like spinach or kale added after cook time are especially good.
- You can add other protein like tofu or chicken.
- You can freeze it! I like to freeze it uncooked, and then just transfer the whole frozen container of stuff to the Instant Pot.
- You can use the stovetop instead – see recipe notes.
This food – this entire fall season, this back-to-cooking routine, this type of recipe – this stuff gets me REAL excited. And I didn’t expect to fall so hard and fast for one of my first fall recipes, but here we are.
Whatever you’re doing in your life right now… it’s a straight up guarantee that you could benefit from some Instant Pot cauliflower curry.
This recipe was inspired by my friend Angela at Oh She Glows! You can check out her original recipe here.
Check Out Our Video For How To Make Instant Pot Cauliflower Curry:
Instant Pot Cauliflower Curry
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Cauliflower Curry! Tender cauliflower, butternut squash, and red lentils cooked in a coconut-creamy red curry sauce and poured over a mini-mountain of steamy rice. YUM.
Ingredients
Scale
- half of an onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 cups squash, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Immediately release the pressure to prevent overcooking the veggies.
- Stir and season with more salt, or something spicy if you want. Give it a few minutes to cool and thicken slightly. Serve with rice. The end! It’s SO GOOD.
Notes
The vegetables will slightly break down, and red lentils are naturally kind of soupy, so the combo creates kind of a semi-pureed texture which is really, really yummy (and doesn’t require a blender).
If you use frozen vegetables, they get mushy faster, so I’d recommend cooking for more like 4 minutes instead of 5!
To make this on the stovetop: saute the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil, add vegetables, lentils, and liquids, and simmer for 10 minutes or until everything is tender. Keep over low heat to let it gradually thicken as the vegetables break down, or use an immersion blender to get a semi-pureed texture.
If you are strictly vegan, the Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste (our fav!) is vegan-friendly. (affiliate link)
Freezer Meal Version
- Freeze Together:
half of an onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups butternut squash, cubed
1/2 cup red lentils
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt - Instant Pot Instructions: Add 1 cup water before cooking. High pressure 6 mins + quick release.
- Slow Cooker Instructions: Add 1 cup water before cooking. High setting 4 hours.
- Final Step: Serve with rice and cilantro.
- Check out our full freezer meal posts with all recipes and instructions here!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Thai-Inspired
Keywords: vegan curry, vegetarian curry, Instant Pot curry, cauliflower curry
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our best Instant Pot recipes page. Check it out!