Instant Pot Lentil Stew–a comforting bowl of stew that can be make vegan or can be made with smoked sausage. Lentils cook so quickly in the electric pressure cooker! The leftovers make a great lunch the next day too.
Get the SLOW COOKER lentil stew recipe here
Instant Pot Lentil Stew
This lentil stew is super fast and easy to make but tastes absolutely amazing! It’s a healthy dish that can easily be vegan and gluten free, if you desire. It’s made with simple and basic ingredients that you can find in your pantry and in your refrigerator. I was hoping to eat the leftovers the next day for lunch but my husband snatched them up and took them to work. Next time I make this I will double it so we can have more leftovers. I hope you give Instant Pot lentil stew a shot!
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Instant Pot Mashed Ranch Cauliflower
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What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Lentil Stew I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Lentil Stew
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A comforting bowl of stew that can be make vegan or can be made with smoked sausage. Lentils cook so quickly in the electric pressure cooker! The leftovers make a great lunch the next day too.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup green or brown lentils
- 3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 large carrot, diced
- Optional: 10 ounces beef smoked sausage, sliced into quarter inch pieces
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute function. When the display says HOT add in the oil. Swirl the pot around. Add in the onion and saute for about 4 minutes.
- Add in the lentils, broth, garlic powder, parsley, basil, oregano, salt, red pepper, tomatoes, tomato paste, carrot, and sausage.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. Let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Open the pot.
- Stir the stew and salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
This recipe is GLUTEN-FREE! Just check the broth to be sure it does not contain gluten.
- Category: Stew
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Rating: * * * * * * * * * *
I just make this dish again, reheated it the next day in the microwave, and after putting some in bowls, tossed in some raisins that had just been purchased for oatmeal. They plumped up since the stew was very hot, and tasted wonderful! It reminded me a tiny bit of some Moroccan dishes with raisins.
Next time I reheat the stew I’ll add some raisins before nuking. Not to everyone’s taste, but delicious to us. Next time I might make without sausages, just a bit of smoked paprika.
I used Gilbert’s chicken Andouille sausage again, sautéing it with the onions after the onions had sautéed for a couple minutes. I think it brings the flavor out. Gilbert’s sausages are made without a lot of junk, and they have some great and unusual flavors. No affiliation.
I think this recipe replaced my faves of all times!
Thanks for the tips! I’ll try Gilbert’s next time I go to the store 🙂
Good stuff. Glad I found your site. I used wood smoked sausage from my home town. Added a sweet potato and the result was pretty damn good. Love my IP. Keep the recipes coming.
That sausage sounds GREAT! Thanks for the 5 stars Jake!
Need more than 5 stars! Gosh, Karen, I expected good, but this was great! I sautéed Gilbert’s* Andouille Chicken Sausage with the onions when the onions were almost ready (the sausage comes cooked), used two carrots and added ripped up fresh baby spinach to the pot when it was done, which of course wilted into little green pieces. More color and good stuff. (Thanks Sharon, below, for the idea.) I left out parsley (ran out) and oregano (don’t like).
* First time tried this brand, liked it more than others I’ve used. No affiliation!
P.S. I hope you mention this recipe to your readers/subscribers, since it’s been more than five years since you introduced it! Maybe a double batch will fit in the 6-quart since I’d like to freeze some.
BTW, stew I made has a very subtle but delicious smoky flavor, I guess from the sausage though on its own it didn’t take smoky. If I make the stew vegetarian, maybe smoked paprika or even liquid smoke would work? If so, how much would you add?
Thanks!
I should send it out again! I love this one. I would add a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika…a little goes a long way
I want to try that sausage! sounds great!
Their website is cool too!
Love this recipe! Do you drain the tomatoes? Or mix the tomato liquid into the stew?
Thanks for such fantastic recipes, Karen !!!!! 🙂
Hi there, do not drain the tomatoes. Add the entire can in.
I’ve never, ever been a Lentil fan. When I saw this recipe I thought I should try it. The Instant-Pot made a world of difference in the texture of the Lentil. I love this stew! I added beef sausage (think of Kielbasa type of thing). What a wonderful, satisfying meal this make.
Lentils really can be good sometimes! Haha! I’m so glad you tried the recipe and thought so too.
Do you know how much fiber is in each serving?
5 grams, I just updated the nutrition info!
If I add some veggies, say, butternuts quash, sweet potato, potato, should I change the cooking time? I just got my IP and still in the learning phase!
Thanks!
The time is for the lentils to get soft. You can add in the squash it may get very soft. But keep the same cooking time so lentils can cook through.
Im a chronic kidney disease patient and I follow a whole food plant based diet. This diet helps all of us patients very much. Is there any company that delivers these type of meals to our homes so that we can cook them in our microwave? Preferably dinners and low salt……thanks for any help you can give
Hi Pat, I’m not familiar with these types of companies but I would think that with all the meal prep/delivery companies out there one has to specialize in diets that require low salt. I would see about hello fresh https://www.hellofresh.com/
Can I use cut up beef hotdogs instead of sausage?
Can I double this recipe without changing the cooking time?
Yes ma’am. https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
Yes.
So good!! I added in 1/2 a cup of brown (Costco) rice and did two cans of chicken broth (which I think comes out to 3.5cups) same cooking time and turned out perfect. Dumped some mushrooms in after it was done cooking and put the lid on just for a few minutes to soften – just added the sliced mushrooms because I needed to use them up, but turn out fantastic!! Thanks for this recipe!
Yum! Your version sounds tasty!
Could I replace the lentils with green split peas? If so, what time adjustments should I make? I mistakenly bought split peas.
I think you could. I’m also thinking the cooking time would be similar to lentils. Let me know!
This turned out good. I briefly sauteed the sausage with the onions the last 2 minutes. I added a chopped celery stalk and the leaves with the rest of the ingredients. Once the stew was done, I added a couple of handfuls of fresh baby spinach and stirred it real well until the spinach wilted.
Wow your version sounds really perfect.
Yummy! Will certainly make again! BUT, the lentil texture is so different than your picture. I did use red lentils ( all I had ) , 8 qt. IP Duo ( all I have ), and am at very low elevation of 21 ft. Could any or all of these reasons account for different texture. Except in taste, they were difficult to identify as lintels. No one complained! The taste was spot on. Suggestions please. I want mine to look like yours!
How did they look? Were they overcooked?
Yes, they were over cooked. I am new to this method of cooking so do not know if I adjust the cooking time, venting time, or both the next time I try this recipe. To date I follow the cooking and venting times given though my pot is larger than the one used by you for this recipe.
I would cut down on the pressure cooking time. Maybe all the way to 1 minutes.
To the person who used red lentils, I used to cook a lot of Indian food and their lentil recipes specified red lentils. They definitely cook quicker so that likely accounts for the texture you experienced. Just a thought! I have substituted brown for green but never used red unless specified.
Looks wonderful! Does the nutrition information include the sausage?
Lental Stew – If I want to add rice, quarter of a cup do I need to adjust the time
What kind of rice? I wouldn’t adjust the time, I bet it would work fine as is.
I made this tonight and join the others in a favorable review. I used 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. Any more would be too spicy for us. I guessed at what “crushed red pepper” was. Hope I was correct.
So glad you liked it Mary!
Hello Karen
Is “crushed red pepper” the same thing as cayenne pepper?
I’m not exactly sure but you could probably use it interchangeably. go easy on it and then you can always add more if it needs more spice.
I have an 8 quart Duo. How do I adjust recipes that are for other Instant Pot sizes than mine.?
You can keep the recipes the same. Both the time and ingredients. The only change you would make for an 8 quart is to make sure you have enough liquid in the recipe to bring the pot to pressure. I believe you’ll need at least 1 1/2 cups? Is that what it says in your manual?
You said to cut down to 10 minutes for red lentils, but the recipes says 5 minutes for green lentils. Did you mean 1 minute for red lentils?
oops yes sorry that’s what I meant!
This is seriously AMAZING!!!!! Very quick and easy, plus delicious!
I used double smoked farmer’s sausage, which my store sells a gluten-, soy- and MSG-Free version. I sliced it thin, and chose to saute it with the onions until it was golden. I also used French green lentils, which I feel have more flavour (Bob’s Red Mill has them). I soak my lentils for an hour before cooking, which is just me, I feel it helps digestion.
The rest of the recipe was easy-peasy, just dump in the rest of the ingredients, five minutes of cooking and then a NPR.
So VERY tasty!
Thank you for a “do again” recipe! It’s a keeper.
Hi Pamela, thanks so much! I’m glad you liked it and I like your idea of browning the sausage.
We had the leftovers today and it’s still delicious. I forgot to mention that after I sauted the sausage with the onions, I did remove the excess grease, of which there was a lot. I used paper towels to blot it up.
Oh yes, good to know.
This sounds SO GOOD!!! Now that it’s finally cooler here in Ohio, I’ll be making this for the weekend!
Go buckeyes!