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.
Make sure to check out my collection of healthy Instant Pot recipes!
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 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup brown or green lentils
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk (lite or regular both work)
- 1/4–1/2 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!
Notes
*Since many people have commented that 1/4 cup water leaves them with scorched lentils, I’ve edited the ingredients. I still have not had a problem with 1/4 of a cup of water and when I try it with more water, my husband thinks the lentils are too mushy. But with so many reviewers saying that they like it with more water, I’ve included a range in the ingredients. Please comment with what works for you.
Nutrition
- Calories: 248
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 293
- Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 28
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 10
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I wanted to comment that I wonder if most people lentils are coming out burnt because they are not rinsing them before adding them to the instant pot. I am not sure if this is a step that you take when prepping this dish but I didn’t find it in the recipe. I imagine that they hold onto a good amount of water after a rinse. That is why yours is not burning. Hope this helps and thanks for the recipe!
I made this recipe after reading all of the reviews. I did not change anything. I added some fresh garlic and used brown lentils. It was delicious! I served it with a fried egg for breakfast. I would definitely make it again. I did not see where the recipe was updated to use brown or green lentils. That would be helpful. Thanks!
★★★★
Burn! before it even started to cook. Guess you need to specify what kind of lentils – I used red. And have to add I used almost a full cup of stock. Oddly enough, transferred to sauce pan and they were delicious!
I’m sorry that happened. I updated the recipe to specify brown or green lentils.
np – loved the flavor and will def make again using the right kind of lentil!
★★★★★
What is the nutritional value per serving size so I can calculate it? I am making this tonight.
I followed the directions exactly and turned out great! I did use the 1/2 cup of water, probably would reduce to 1/4 cup next time. Very good, thanks for the recipeb
WARNING: This recipe is a disaster
I followed the instructions exactly with no substitutions. I used 1/2 cup water instead of 1/4 cup. I used red lentils. I have an Ultra Instant Pot.
When I started it I got the “burn” warning from my Instant Pot which I had never seen before. After reading about it, I opened it up, added another 1/4 cup water and started it again.
Five minutes later I got the same burn warning and added another 1/4 cups water and tried again.
Five minutes after that I received the burn notice for the third time. I removed the lentils from the Instant Pot and finished on the stove. I had to add more water to get them to cook. By the time they were done, they were flavorless mush. I composted them.
I wasted nearly an hour on this recipe and it’s going to take me another 15 minutes to get my Instant Pot clean.
I hate to be so critical but this was a huge waste of time and food.
Mike, I have an Ultra Instapot as well, and I have had no problems with this recipe. There must be something wrong with your instapot. I would look into it, see if you can get an exchange, because seriously there is no reason why your pot should be burning with these items in it. I have made this recipe at least 5 times without a hitch. Good Luck!
There is nothing the matter with my Instant Pot. I use it all the time.
This recipe clearly needs more work based on the number of commenters who experienced burning problems.
Nope I have a regular old IP and got the burn message once it heated – never even got to start cooking. I too used Red lentils.
★★★★★
I suggest green or brown lentils for this recipe. I just updated the recipe to ensure everyone knows which variety works best.
Hey Mike–It’s okay. I appreciate the feedback. I have never gotten the burn message on my Instant Pot with this recipe. I am really sorry this was your experience. The biggest issue I can think of based on your feedback is that you used red lentils and they cook much faster than brown or green lentils. I’ve never tried this recipe with red lentils, but I’m guessing that’s why it didn’t work.
You should specify a type of lentil in the recipe. I too used Red and got the Burn message.
I have not tried this with red. I just updated the recipe so everyone knows this is for green or brown lentils.
Three stars because burnt on bottom and did not come to pressure. I use my IP daily and cook beans, lentils, rice, etc. I think the problem is not with the amount of liquid but from stirring the pot. I know this can make steel cut oats burn. You have to actually NOT stir all the ingredients so that the IP can come to pressure with enough liquid. I think 1/4 c water plus the can of tomatoes and can of coconut milk should be plenty of liquid. Even without coming to pressure, the lentils were tasty! And I was able to scoop most of it out and leave the charred bits behind. As always the clean up was easy, even with the charred bottom. I might try again. Always trying dah recipes but I don’t usually like the spices (I don’t care for cumin, garam masala or curry), but this one has wonderful flavors. To lower my Weight Watcher Points, I may try the tip in one of the comments and omit the coconut milk and tomato paste and stir in some plain (vegan for me) yogurt at the end.
★★★
This Lentil recipe was amazing!!! I did increase water to a half cup and did get a “burn” message but it was ok but will add a cup of water next time. I added spices from Penzeys Spices: 2 teaspoons of their Sweet Curry Powder and 2 teaspoons of their Vindaloo Seasoning and also threw in some chopped garlic. Stirred everything really well. My son also made this recipe and loved it. This will become our go to meal when we need something fast. Thanks for this recipe so much!!
★★★★★
Tried it twice. Burned both times. First time I blamed myself: has doubled the recipe. Second time I used only prescribed amounts, put in more water etc -and burned again!
Really sorry to hear this! Some people really seem to have a problem with this recipe, but it works well for me. I continue to make it and it’s never burned.
These were delicious! I have an 8 quart 9 in 1 and I used 1 cup of water, and green lentils. I also made sure I mixed everything thoroughly. Thanks for a wonderful and easy recipe!
Glad to hear this, Josselyn!
Please which pressure cooker function on the instant pot do I choose? Multigrain? Rice? Bean?
How many servings are there? I’m trying to figure out the calories in what I ate tonight.
I simply noticed that each type of lentil gave different results, but only a minor differences. I like to experiment, so I did note that certain lentils needed a couple of minutes more in the pressure cooking time, but nothing significant. I seriously have not had any problems with my Instapot. I’m sorry yours are burning. that sounds like a defective pot.
I don’t have these problems with my instapot burning my lentils or undercooking. It could depend on the type of lentil (french vs. green vs. red). I do find they cook up differently, but never burning. Maybe there is something wrong with your instapot? I have the ULTRA and have complete control over my settings.
Well if I had any problems with my Instant Pot I wouldn’t know because I’ve had it for a couple years now and nothing seems to have changed.
Yes, it would indeed make a great difference if the type of lentils were specified. I used red because it looked like that was the kind used in the photos, but clearly they have very different cooking times.
Like almost every other “recipe” I’ve tried using the instant pot, it burned the bottom of the pot, even with a 1/2 cup water (and it left the lentils slightly undercooked). Do I need to put it on another setting besides manual? Is anyone else extremely disappointed by the instant pot?!?! At this point I would rather use a stovetop than get burned food every single time.
★★★
I’m sorry that keeps happening to you! I almost always use the manual setting, so I’m not sure what your issue is. 🙁
Also had a problem with scorching but not too bad. I think there are likely 2 issues: type of lentils (I was searching red lentil recipes and this came up, I just assumed it was for red lentils and it came out as total mush), and the tomatoes which are known to scorch. I think if you specify which type of lentil you are using that would keep many people from being disappointed. Additionally I always cook any tomato products in the IP by just dumping them on top of the rest of the ingredients which significantly reduces scorching
Made yesterday. Scorched lentils but oddly that added to taste. I had to make myself stop eating! think the variations in our results are from different size/models of IP.
I am making again today and instead of Italian spices will try some Indian.
This is definitely a keeper for me!
Made this without the coconut milk, substituted sun dried tomatoes for tomato paste, added some siracha and a few more spices (dried shallots, paprika, garlic powder) and it came out amazingly good. I’ll try with the coconut milk another time, but the above was really great.
I love what you did with this! Sounds fantastic!
So I should have stuck with the recommended 1/4 cup water. I used 1/2 cup because of all the comments about burning but they were mushy and watery. (I have an instant pot 6qt if anyone is wondering) Also, I used red lentils which are more delicate so that may have been a factor. Regardless, they were delicious. Simple yet satisfying. I may throw some peas or spinach in next time just for some greens. Thanks for the recipe!!
★★★★★
You’re welcome! Thanks for leaving your feedback.
This was really good, super easy to make and it makes quite a bit. Nice flavor. I used a cup of water. May be what you’d consider mushy, but I liked the texture.
★★★
I clicked on 5 stars and it only showed 3!
Well, that’s strange! Thanks for trying to give it 5 stars. 🙂
Thanks for your feedback, Liz!
I’m late to this party, but can I make this without Coconut Milk? I don’t have any on hand, and would like to use regular milk or another alternative. Any ideas?
The healthy fat from the coconut milk, and the sweetness, is what makes the dish. You are also wanting the creaminess from the coconut, which you cannot get from cow’s milk. Canned coconut milk can be found in most grocery stores, so it shouldn’t be too hard to locate.