Instant Pot Brown Lentils
This recipe for making Instant Pot Brown Lentils is so easy and versatile. Lentils are full of nutrition and a great source of plant-based protein. Use them in soups or salads, or make them into yummy lentil burgers.
Types of Lentils
Lentils are a type of legume that come in various colors. The most common lentils you’ll find in the market include:
- brown or green lentils (the most common types)
- red or yellow lentils (often used in Indian cooking and for dishes like Instant Pot Red Lentil Dal)
- black lentils, also called beluga lentils
- French green puy lentils
Here’s a picture I snapped in the bulk section of my local health food store so you can see the variety of colors.
You’ll notice that what we typically call green lentils are actually more brown in color. That’s why green lentils are also known as brown lentils.
True green lentils are known as French green puy lentils and have a different texture than the brown or green lentils that are most common in the United States.
There is also a similar confusion around red lentils as they are sometimes called yellow lentils (likely because they turn yellow-ish when they are cooked).
Why You Need This Recipe
- Lentils are actually very easy to cook. Unlike other beans that require soaking before cooking, lentils can just be rinsed and cooked in water right away. In other words, you don’t need to soak lentils before cooking. They only need about 20 minutes cooking time on the stovetop to be tender and ready to eat.
- Lentils are an awesome meal prep recipe because they store up to a week and can be used in such a variety of ways. I have several lentil recipes including my Wild Rice & Lentil Salad, my Baked Lentil Burgers, and my easy Coconut & Lentil Curry.
- This recipe for Instant Pot Brown Lentils is also very budget-friendly.
Recipe Steps
The easiest way to cook lentils is in an electric pressure cooker. It’s faster and more efficient to cook a batch of lentils in the Instant Pot as opposed to using the stovetop.
Step One
Rinse and drain your dry lentils (use brown or green lentils). Pick them over for any debris.
Step Two
Combine the rinsed lentils with 1 3/4 cups of water into the base of your Instant Pot.
See the recipe card below for even more specifics.
Lock on the lid and set the timer to high pressure. The cook time will depend on what type of lentil you are cooking (see below).
Step Three
When the cooking time is up, wait 10 minutes, use the quick release to get rid of any remaining pressure, and then remove the lid.
Here’s a handy chart with pressure cooker cooking times for the different types of commonly found lentils:
- Brown lentils (most common): 10 minutes
- Green lentils (sometimes also called brown lentils): 10 minutes
- Red lentils: 3 minutes
- French green puy lentils (these are smaller than the other type of regular green lentils): 6 minutes
- Black lentils: 6 minutes
You can feel free to add salt or other seasonings into the pot before you cook your lentils.
It’s common to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 of ground black pepper. It just depends on how you are going to use the cooked lentils.
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
- For an easy way to serve cooked lentils, add a tablespoon of olive oil, sea salt, and a squeeze of lemon juice. This is simple and great recipe for lentil salad.
- Feel free to add other seasonings to your cooked lentils. Curry powder, garam masala, smoked paprika, or Italian seasoning are all good options.
- Cooked lentils can also be made into a complete meal by adding cooked rice or cooked quinoa, plus a simple vinaigrette dressing. See my Copycat Costco Quinoa Salad for an actual recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Lentils are a small legume. They come from a bushy plant that is mostly grown in Canada, Turkey, and India. Lentils are a great source of plant-based nutrition, including protein, non-heme iron, folate, and magnesium.
Cooked lentils have a mild flavor, making them an excellent base of recipes. Depending on which type of lentil you use and how long you cook them, lentils can either have a firm texture or be quite mushy. I love using them to make Baked Lentil Burgers.
Some people like to add some olive oil to the pot to prevent foaming. In my experience, lentils do not create that much foam so you do not need to add olive oil.
Rinse and drain the lentils in a fine-mesh sieve. Pick through the lentils to pick out any debris. Place the lentils in a medium saucepan. Add water to cover the lentils, plus about 2 inches. You will usually need 2 cups of cooking liquid for every 1 cup of lentils. You can use water, chicken broth, or vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil and cook for 20-25 minute, or until the lentils are soft and most of the water has been absorbed.
More Healthy Instant Pot Recipes You Might Like
- Instant Pot Carrots
- Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
- Instant Pot Zucchini Slices
Don’t Miss These Instant Pot Resources!
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Instant Pot Brown Lentils
This recipe for Instant Pot Brown Lentils is so easy and versatile. Lentils are full of nutrition and a great source of plant-based protein. Use them in soups or salads, or make them into gluten-free lentil burgers.
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed well and drained
- 1 3/4 cup filtered water
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the rinsed lentils and water in the base of a 6-quart pressure cooker. Add the salt and pepper.
- Lock on the lid and set the time to 10 minutes at high pressure.
- When the cooking time is complete, let the pressure come down naturally for about 10 minutes. Then, use the quick-release to release any remaining pressure.
- Serve the lentils hot or at room temperature.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- Store your cooked lentils in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze cooked lentils in a tightly-sealed container for up to 2 months.
- You can feel free to add salt or other seasonings into the pot before you cook your lentils. It’s common to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 of ground black pepper. It just depends on how you are going to use the cooked lentils.
- Cooked lentils can also be made into a complete meal by adding cooked rice or cooked quinoa, plus a simple vinaigrette dressing. See my Copycat Costco Quinoa Salad for an actual recipe.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Basics
- Method: Instant Pot pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 169
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 296 mg
- Fat: 0.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.5 g
- Fiber: 5.2 g
- Protein: 11.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest is the author of the best-selling Instant Pot-authorized cookbook, The Healthy Meal Prep Instant Pot Cookbook. She has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition and receives over 5 million annual visitors to her site. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
I use this recipe and make lentils on a weekly basis!
The recipe says 1 cup lentils and 1 cup water, but the instructions under Pressure Cooker says 1 cup lentils and 1 3/4 cups water. I made them with 1 cup water and they were kind of dry and a little hard, so I’m assuming your recipe needs to be updated.
Hi Jennifer, I am sooooo sorry. It should be 1 and 3/4 cup of water to every 1 cup of lentils cooked in the pressure cooker. I’ve updated the recipe. Again, I really apologize for the mistake!
Any idea how long it will take for lentils that have been soaked overnight?
I would try cutting the cook time in half for soaked lentils.