Have you ever had roti? Get ready to fall in love with my easy curried lentil and squash version made with flour tortillas. Sweet butternut squash, warm spices, lentils, and vegetables combine into a memorable vegan main dish.
These curried lentil and butternut squash roti are so cozy and satisfying: just what everyone is craving on this first day of December! They’re a fun West Indian twist on a traditionally Mexican-American dish: the burrito. You all know how much I love a good burrito (exhibit A and exhibit B), but in this recipe, I’ve replaced the beans with lentils and the rice/potatoes with roasted butternut squash.
The spice profile is what really knocks these roti out of the park, however. Of course, in a typical Mexican burrito you would find plenty of cumin and chili, but for my West Indian variation, I opted to use a swoon-inducing combination of cumin, turmeric, cayenne, cloves, cinnamon, and curry powder!
Finally, a cilantro lime cashew cream sauce ties it all together. This sauce is delicious on practically everything, so make a big batch and enjoy it all week long.
To make these roti, you’ll start by roasting the butternut squash and cooking the lentils.
While the squash and lentils are cooking, you’ll saute some onion, garlic, red bell pepper, and ginger. Add the spice blend to the sauteed onions, followed by the roasted squash and cooked lentils. Add a bit of lemon juice to balance out the flavours.
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Stuff four large whole grain tortillas with the squash and lentil filling, roll, and place in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Lightly brush with olive oil and bake until golden brown.
While the burritos are in the oven, make the cilantro lime cashew cream by blending together cashews, lime juice, cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, and water until smooth.
Slice each burrito in half, if desired, and dip each bite into some of the cilantro lime cashew cream.
These vegan curried lentil and butternut squash burritos speak to the comfort food-loving part of the soul, and I think it’s only fitting that I’m sharing this recipe at a time of the year when our souls could use a little extra love. Happy December, all. I hope that this recipe finds you happy and well.
If you make this curried lentil and butternut squash roti, let me know how it went by leaving a comment and rating below. And don’t forget to take a photo and tagging it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing your delicious recreations. 🙂
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Curried Lentil and Butternut Squash Roti
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Healthy, warming, and satisfying vegan curried lentil and butternut squash roti with a delicious cilantro lime cashew cream sauce for dipping.
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing roti
- 7 cups peeled and cubed (1 inch cubes) butternut squash (from 1 large butternut squash)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ⅛ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 10-12-inch whole grain flour tortillas
Cilantro Lime Cashew Cream:
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours and drained
- 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 cup fresh cilantro (some stems are fine)
- ¼ + ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium clove of garlic
- ½ tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup water, plus more as needed to thin
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the lentils in a fine mesh sieve. Place them in a medium saucepan and cover with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain off any excess water, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the squash on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a couple pinches of fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- While the squash is in the oven, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of sea salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Then add the red bell pepper and ginger and cook a couple minutes more.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the spices plus the 1 teaspoon of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the spices to the vegetables in the skillet and stir to incorporate.
- Add the lentils to the skillet, as well as the roasted butternut squash and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- To assemble the roti, place 1 heaping cup of lentil/squash mixture in the center of a tortilla and roll up. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with a bit of olive oil and place the roti in it. Repeat with the remaing 3 tortillas. Lightly brush a small amount of olive oil over each roti to enhance browning while baking.
- Bake the roti for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and crispy.
- While the roti is baking, make the cilantro lime cashew cream. Blend together the soaked cashews, lime juice, cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, and water in a blender until ultra smooth and creamy, adding more water as needed if it seems too hard to blend. Transfer the cream into a glass jar and cover until ready to use.
Notes
Forgot to soak the cashews in advance? Simply soak them in boiling water for 45 minutes and proceed with the recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
Jill says
This is a perfect roti recipe. Lentils, squash, spices – wow! The cilantro cream was perfect too.
Terri says
This looks amazing! I had roti and loved it! And now, thanks to your recipe, I can make it on my own!
Allison says
Thank you so much, Terri! 🙂
Marieke says
Omg YUM! I love the combo of lentils and butternut squad, and with that spice mix.. perfect!
Allison says
Thank you so much for the kind words, Marieke! 🙂