If you’re looking to eat more plant based recipes, you’ve probably heard this: eat more lentils! Right? Alex and I have been trying to eat our good share of lentils for years. But we admit: it can be hard to know where to start! We’ve created this recipe to be a delicious basic lentil recipe that can be served many different ways: as part of a bowl meal, in a taco, and more! (Our two-year-old Larson adores them.) The great part: pressure cooker lentils are totally hands off! Keep reading for our Instant Pot lentils recipe and more about how you can serve them. Want to make these on the stove? Seasoned Brown Lentils
How to make lentils in an Instant Pot
Making Instant Pot lentils is one of the easier things you can make in your pressure cooker! Now that we’ve become Instant Pot experts, let me be the first to admit: I’m all about the Quick Release. Why? Because I’m impatient. If you’ve used your Instant Pot a lot, you’ll know that many recipes call for a natural release: which is perfectly well and good, except it does tack on extra time to the recipe. We’re happy to report that this Instant Pot lentils recipe is seriously quick. How long do you cook lentils in an Instant Pot? 9 minutes. Then, do a Quick Release and you’re done! The only other time you have to factor in is the “preheat” time, which takes about 5 to 10 minutes depending on your Instant Pot. Overall, this Instant Pot lentils recipe has about 5 minutes of hands on time, and 15 to 20 minutes start to finish. For our Instant Pot lentils recipe, we wanted to add seasonings so that you could serve these lentils as part of a dinner recipe without having to add anything more. Here are the pressure cooker lentils ingredients:
Brown or green lentils (either will work)Vegetable broth (you can sub water in a pinch, but veggie broth adds great flavor)Onion powderPaprikaGarlic powderOreganoSalt & pepper
And that’s it! The lentils come out perfectly spiced and very moist. You’ll notice that the bowl of the pressure cooker comes out with a bit of broth left over: stir it in and the lentils will absorb the broth upon sitting. They turn out perfectly moist (being overly dry can be a complaint when cooking lentils)!
How to serve these lentils
As I noted above, Alex and I wanted to make this Instant Pot lentils recipe to function as a base recipe. It will work both if you need lentils for another recipe–but it’s seasoned so that you can eat it as an easy lunch or dinner recipe! If you’re making these Instant Pot lentils as a component for another recipe, you can omit the spices: unless you think they would go with the flavor! Keep in mind that this recipe uses salt: so if you use them as a component in another recipe, adjust the salt accordingly based on that recipe. If you’re making these Instant Pot lentils as an easy lunch or dinner, here are a few ways that we would serve them:
As a bowl meal (pictured): Throw them in a bowl with pita bread, a dollop of Greek yogurt, tomato wedges, and chopped cilantroIn a taco: Throw them into a tortilla with salsa and sour cream: or try them in place of the filling in our Verde Lentil TacosWith eggs: This morning Alex and Larson ate a delicious brunch of scrambled eggs and lentils! Here’s our Best Scrambled Eggs recipe.
Looking for lentil recipes?
Here are a few of our favorite lentil recipes:
Quick Coconut Lentil CurryHearty Lentil Stew Tuscan Artichoke Lentil StewInstant Pot Tacos with Smoky LentilsBaked Sweet Potatoes with Moroccan LentilsRed Lentil Curry with Rice (Mesir Wat)The Best Vegan NachosButternut Squash Lentil SoupEasy Dal MakhaniLentil to Water RatioWhat are Lentils? How to Cook Lentils 15 Lentil Recipes
This Instant Pot lentils recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten free, plant based, dairy free and vegan.
Looking for Instant Pot recipes?
Outside of this Instant Pot lentils recipe, here are some of our favorite things we’ve made in our Instant Pot (pressure cooker): 4.7 from 10 reviews
Basics: Sweet Potatoes | Chickpeas | Lentils| Eggs | Quinoa | How to Cook Rice: White Rice & Brown Rice| Refried BeansInstant Pot SpaghettiCreamy Instant Pot PastaVegan Instant Pot Recipes Sweet Potatoes with Thai Peanut Butter SauceChickpea Couscous BowlsSmoky Lentil TacosApple Cinnamon Steel Cut OatsGranola Instant Pot Apple CrispInstant Pot Stuffed Acorn Squash with Pecans
