You need to know how to make the BEST creamy lentils in the Instant Pot pressure cooker! This recipe will become a staple in your kitchen.
I’ve had my Instant Pot pressure cooker since November (I snagged it on a Cyber Monday sale online) and have had fun experimenting with it. While I love that it can quickly cook meat from frozen, these lentils are by far my favorite thing that’s come out of it.
These lentils are creamy, but dairy-free, and absolutely bursting with the best Italian flavors. Tim commented that they tasted like pizza. Pizza flavor in a healthy form? I’ll take it! 
If you don’t like coconut milk, don’t worry, you don’t taste it one bit here. Not even a hint. It lends its creamy texture, but the flavor is masked by the seasonings and tomato sauce and paste. I have tried this with both the lite and regular canned coconut milk, and both work equally well. 
One of the best parts about this recipe is that it is a five minute prep recipe. Dump the ingredients in the Instant Pot, and let it work its magic. 
You’ll notice that the recipe says the lentils cook in 20 minutes, but I listed the cook time as 30 minutes. I did this to account for the time it takes for the pressure cooker to heat. I’ve gotten frustrated following recipes that don’t account for that time and then dinner isn’t ready when I thought it was going to be.
Finally, I haven’t tried this without an Instant Pot, but I’m sure you can make this on the stovetop if you don’t have a pressure cooker. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and simmer until the lentils are cooked and liquid is reduced, about 35-45 minutes.
These Creamy Lentils in the Instant Pot are great alone as a side dish or with some grilled or roasted vegetables as a main course vegan bowl. I’ve also added leftovers to some greens and it’s great that way, as well. So much you can do with these! I hope you love them as much as we do.
PrintHow to Make the BEST Creamy Lentils in the Instant Pot
These creamy (but dairy-free) lentils are bursting with Italian flavors!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup lentils
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk (lite or regular both work)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Dump all of the ingredients in the pressure cooker and stir to combine.
- Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the steam.
- Stir and serve. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Calories: 248
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 293
- Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 28
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 10
If you make this recipe, I would LOVE to see it! Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @happyhealthymama.
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I’ve been hearing so much about this Instant Pot Pressure Cooker! I think it’s about time I order one and then use this as my first recipe!
You must try this! SO good and SO easy!
Wow, Great chana recipe.
I am going to make this recipe today for my family.
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Please let me know how you like it! 🙂
I made these lentils as directed. The lentils were still not cooked. (I shut off the IP and started it up again.)
I set the timer for another 15 minutes. The lentils still came out cruchy.
That is very strange! I have made these several times and never had that problem. I can’t imagine how a pressure cooker would not cook lentils in 30 minutes. They cook on the stovetop in 40 minutes. Have you had success cooking other things in your pressure cooker?
i use it all the time. I make steel cut oats in 4 minutes. Stews, with beans, and / or lentils.
How long do you cook the stew with lentils and do they cook fine that way? I’m perplexed as I haven’t had this issue at all. I wish I could help more, but I can’t figure out why they wouldn’t cook in your pressure cook and cook fine in mine. I don’t like my lentils mushy, but they definitely don’t come out crunchy.
Tried this tonight and it did not work at all. Lentils scorched and di not cook. IP did not come to pressure. My IP FB group says the recipe does not have enough water for the IP to pressurize correctly. What a waste of ingredients.
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I’m sorry to hear this didn’t work for you. I’ve had no issues with it and have made it several times. I appreciate you giving your feedback and will try to investigate why it isn’t working for some people.
I have had the same issues. Lentils not done and scorched on the bottom. I like the recipie taste but definitely will maybe need to add more water and time.
What type of lentils did you use? Red or green?
I use brown lentils.
Scorched and crunchy lentils. Waste of what looked yummy.
I scraped the scorched part from the bottom of the pot and added another full cup of water (in addition to the 1/4 cup from the recipe) it has come to pressure. Hoping for the best now.
It turned out sooooooooo good! Just needs 1 1/4 cups of water instead of 1/4.
same! didn’t cook. added water and time and delish!
Thanks! This is my first attempt at a recipe in the instant pot and I keep getting the “burn” indicator as the pressure cooker is heating up. I’ll try adding an extra cup of water. Too bad dinner should have already been ready and I have a crabby 3yo because of it. Next time will be so much better!
This is a great easy recipe, I made some edits: increased water quantity to 1 1/4 cup, added half a cup of greek yogurt instead of coconut milk and replaced the seasoning with indian spices. I also included ginger and garlic!
Thanks for the feedback!
I made this recipe but embellished it. I added way more spices, onion, and garlic. I used 1.5 cups of water and cooked it 25 minutes. First and foremost it was super yummy. I could eat the whole pot if I didn’t explode. Second, it was the first time that the bottom of anything I have cooked, burned. I have an electric stove, so after the 25 minutes, I moved it to another cool burner to cool off. I think this is an excellent recipe, but you must increase the water.
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This was terrible. I followed the recipe to the letter and I could most definitely taste the coconut milk and not only that, the lentils were not done (with the quick release you instructed). I ate one serving and threw the entire rest of the pot into the trash.
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