This Rice with Coconut and Lentils is an easy one-pot side dish with a wonderful coconut flavor. Perfect to serve with your favorite meat or as a meatless main dish.
This Rice with Lentils and Coconut (Arroz con Lentejas y Coco) is a traditional Colombian recipe and if you follow this blog, you know that I use coconut milk in a lot of the traditional Colombian dishes.
Ingredients You'll Need
The printable recipe card with exact amounts and cooking directions is below.
Rice: I recommend using long grain rice, because the texture is fluffy. Feel free to use your favorite.
Lentils: You need to wash them well and discard any debris.
Coconut Milk: You need canned coconut milk to make this rice recipe.
Water: Helps to make the coconut milk thinner and the rice won't be mushy.
Vegetables: Onion and garlic to add flavor to the dish.
Oil: I like to use olive oil, but you can replace it with butter.
Salt: To add flavor
Cilantro: To garnish
How to Serve this Rice
This delicious rice with lentils and coconut dish makes a fabulous accompaniment for grilled meats, poultry and seafood and could also be served as a vegetarian meal, perhaps with a green salad.
How to make Rice with Lentils and Coconut
- Rinse and soak the lentils for 30 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium pot. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Add the lentils, salt and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and the water is absorbed.
- Add the rice and stir until combined. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.
More Rice Recipes to Try
Cilantro Rice (Arroz con Cilantro)
Rice with Carrots (Arroz con Zanahoria
Rice with Coconut and Lentils Recipe (Arroz con Coco y Lentejas)
Ingredients
- ½ cup lentils
- 1 cup rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- Salt
- Fresh cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Rinse and soak the lentils for 30 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium pot. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Add the lentils, salt and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are cooked and the water is absorbed.
- Add the rice and stir until combined. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.
Oysterculture
Love the combinations here, they sound delicious! Of course your presentation is so much nicer than anything you'd find on my table.
theungourmet
I love lentils and coconut milk!
This kind of reminds me of a rice I made with jerk chicken a while back.
I love your presentation! Yum!
Danielle
wow...that looks great!!
Nora
Mmmm, que rico! I LOVE the sound of that!
Erica
Thank you everyone!!!
Amber
This looks so good! How beautiful. I love coconut rice and I love lentils but I have never had the combo of them together. I will have to try it!
Velva
I love coconut! I would have never thought coconut and lentils together. Great combination!
I would not have known that coconut was a common cooking ingredient in Colombian cooking. Interesting!
rebecca subbiah
what kind of lentils looks great
pooja
hmmm looks yum Erica ! i would love to try these sometime !
Anna
I love food with coconut, it makes everything so aromatic. Your picture looks really good too.
Erica
Hi Rebecca,
Brown lentils.
Erica
Thank you all so much for visiting my blog!!!
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
The combination of rice and lentils sounds wonderful!
nora@ffr
love coconut and this dish is perfect!! erica congrats on the wards.. you rili deserve 🙂
cheers and have a nice weekend!
Soma
This sounds so good & served with a salad it is one full healthy meal. What kind of lentils did you use, brown ones? i do beans & rice, but never combined it with coconut milk, sounds like a flavorful vegetable biryani.
Michael Gilmore
Sounds and looks good. Had not thought to do this dish with lentils. Have done something similar with gandules (pigeon peas) or with red beans like gallo pinto.
Erica
Thank you so much for your comments!
DougT
Coming back for the fourth time to make a new family favorite!
The first time we made this for a BBQ we had. A pal is Colombian, so I thought I'd surprise him. He was, we loved it, and here I am back again.
Thanks for posting!
marionk
My mother was from Panama and coconut rice was a staple on our table. She has passed and I was so dumb not to get the recipe. I remember her making it using fresh coconut, but I never could would remember what type of bean she used in it. I knew it was a small brown bean. Your recipe looks almost identical to mom's rice. I am going to try it. thank you!!
Mike
I had arroz con coco at an office gathering today, it was amazing. What kind of rice do you recommend?
Erica Dinho
I like to use long grain rice.
Sandy
If I didn't want to use coconut milk, what would be an appropriate substitute?
reinesha alexis
Is the rice already cooked when you add or is it uncooked when you add
Erica Dinho
No
Anonymous
Do you mean canned coconut milk or the thinner drinking kind?
Erica Dinho
Canned coconut milk
Catherine
Erica, I love your blog! I’m Colombian, but came here at the age of 3. So I didn’t get to grow up with all of the yummy Colombian food. My mom only knew how to cook a handful of traditional meals. So it’s awesome that I can get all these yummy Colombian dishes from your blog! So I thank you for sharing with us all! I made this arroz con coco y lentejas and it did come out with an amazing flavor! My kids and I loved it! However, the rice came out mushy. Any pointers? I followed the recipe exactly as you wrote it.... except that I doubled the recipe as I needed to feed more people than just 4. Any tips will be greatly appreciated! Muchísimas gracias Érica!!
Laurie E Matherne
I have cooked this often since discovering your recipe years ago. I love the combination of coconut milk and lentils.
Anonymous
This was excellent. I thought it may be a bit bland but it was so delicious!!
Robert
I recently made this dish and the recipe was right on. I love lentils and rice. It the coconut milk brought it to another level.