How To Make Green Moong Lentils In Instant Pot
I do not soak these lentils. You can if you have planned well, and reduce the cooking time to 10 minutes. I usually don’t plan much for lentils, as I know that I can easily and quickly cook them in the pressure cooker.
Heat ghee in the instant pot in sauté mode and add the cumin seeds. Then add green chili, onions, ginger and garlic.
Saute for about 3 minutes until the onions soften. Then add the chopped tomato and spices.
Now add in the rinsed green moong dal and water.
Pressure cook for `15 minutes. Then let the pressure release naturally.
If you are in a hurry, it is okay to open the instant pot after 15 minutes of natural pressure release too.
Add the lime juice and mix the dal well.
Garnish with cilantro and enjoy.
How To Make Instant Pot Lentil Barley Soup
This section walks you through a detailed step-by-step recipe with pictures. For the FULL, printable recipe card, please scroll down to the bottom of this post.
» Rinse the lentils and barley Before you begin, check the lentils for small stones. Take a fine-meshed sieve and rinse the lentils and barley under cold running water to clean any dirt or dust. Set it aside to drain.
» Cook the aromatics Turn the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Once it displays hot, add oil to the insert. Add bay leaves and garlic. Sauté for a minute or until fragrant.
» Add the Mirepoix Add chopped onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onions are soft and translucent. Add carrots, corn, and celery cook for another minute. Add bell peppers and give the ingredients a good mix.
FYI Mirepoix is a french term use for a combination of aromatic vegetables such as onion, carrot, and celery. Its the flavor foundation for soups and stews.
» Add lentils Now add the rinsed lentils and pearled barley to the Instant Pot insert. Add Italian seasoning, cumin powder, paprika, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and vegetable stock. Give the ingredients a good stir. Dont forget to deglaze the base of the insert.
PROTIP Deglazing the insert removes all the brown bits stuck to the base. Scrape everything from the base to prevent the burn message.
PROTIPIt will take about 10 minutes for the pressure to build than the actual cooking time.
Can You Eat Lentils Right Out Of The Bag
Most definitely not. Lentils and Legumes contain lectin which is a type of protein that can disturb your digestive tract and lead to an extremely uneasy stomach.
However, once you heat lentils, that lectin is broken down into a more digestible element.
If you have already added some lentils into your smoothie tobulk it up a bit, no worries. Since lentils are miniature versions of legumes,they also contain a smaller amount of lectin, so you may just have an uneasystomach that will be all better in no time.
To avoid this though, be sure to cook them for theappropriate amount of time.
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How To Cook Green Lentils In Instant Pot
I have often mentioned that I was late to the lentils party and didnt fall in love with them until I bought an instant pot pressure cooker back in 2016.
That is because, to me they were the awful, tasteless mushy thing that came out of a can and was made to make healthy food.
The only problem is that the healthy food was bland and was not full of flavour, like delicious green lentils can be today.
But after learning how to cook green lentils in the instant pot, I became a lentils addict, and they are now on our dinner plate on a regular basis. They are also used as a main ingredient for snacks and for unhealthy alternatives.
If like me, you want to learn how to cook green lentils in the instant pot the right way, add great flavour to them, have no soaking and no eating lentils from a can, then this instant pot green lentils recipe is for you.
Plus, as well as our free newsletter, we also have a free instant pot mini course. It is ideal for instant pot beginners or those that want to get more confident with their instant pot. The free course runs for 5 days with a new lesson delivered each day to your inbox.
Black Lentils Or Black Gram:
These lentils are commonly used in norther part of India for making the uber-popular Daal Makhni. Because of their dark skin, these lentils look dark black in color. When cooked, these lentils become soft and mushy, and almost creamy. Such lentils often work best in Indian daal makhni and Madras lentils. Instant pot cook time varies from 12-20 minutes.
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How To Cook Different Types Of Lentils
There are so many types of lentils, and this recipe works for most of them. As a general rule, this recipe will work well for whole lentils, but not split lentils.
Brown lentils: These are probably the most commonly used lentils. Brown lentils are slightly larger and thicker than the other types of lentils, and have a great flavor. They can be used in salads, stews, soups or a range of other dishes. If you want to eat the grains whole, like in a salad, cook them for 8 minutes. Increase to 10 minutes for softer lentils, or 15 minutes if you want them quite mushy.
Green lentils: These are also quite common, and very similar to brown lentils. Cook them for 8 minutes if you like them quite firm, 10 minutes for soft lentils, or 15 minutes for mushy lentils. I love to use green lentils in daals or stews.
French Puy lentils: Puy lentils are slightly smaller than brown lentils, and tend to hold their shape better. Cook them for 6 minutes for firm lentils, or 8 minutes if you like them a little softer. These are great for salads or in dishes where you want slightly more firm lentils.
Split yellow lentils: These are often even thinner than red lentils, and cook quite similarly. If you’re cooking plain split yellow lentils, I recommend pressure cooking them for 2-3 minutes. They will come out quite mushy. However, split yellow lentils are more commonly used in recipes like curry or soups, and rarely cooked plain.
How Long To Cook Lentils In The Instant Pot
Your eyes did not deceive you. It really does only take 9 minutes to cook green lentils in the pressure cooker. Its super quick and easy to cook green lentils this method. Even with the 5 or so minutes it takes to build pressure, lentils in the Instant Pot is much faster than the stovetop.
For softer lentils, you can cook lentils for 10-12 minutes in the Instant Pot. I personally prefer 9 minutes as they come out nice and firm, perfect for adding to other dishes such as salads without losing their shape.
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How To Make Chili In The Instant Pot
One of the things I love about the Instant Pot over a slow cooker is the saute function. With a slow cooker, you have two options:
But in the Instant Pot, you can do both which is what we’re doing with our lentil chili recipe. We start by sauteeing onions and peppers, then we add in the rest of our ingredients which includes two types of lentils and lots of amazing spices then we just set our Instant Pot to high pressure and let it do its thing.
Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup
Hey-hey, guys! Here it is, Instant Pot lentil soup with brown or green lentils, canned tomatoes and spinach. Then served with lots of fresh Parmesan cheese. Can you visualize this yum?
This pressure cooker lentil soup is a cross between my stovetop lentil spinach soup and slow cooker lentil soup. But even better no sauteing and ready in an hour-ish.
You couldnt ask for a more easy and healthy lentil soup recipe with prep time of 5 minutes. Make a huge pot and eat it all week. Considering I own an 8 quart monster, you better believe me when I say we will be eating soup all week haha.
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How To Cook Lentils On Stove
You may have read that and thought dont lentils need to be soaked? As a matter of fact, they do not. It may save a little bit of time, but because they are small, its unnecessary. In fact, it may make them mushy.
Depending on the dish youre making, youll either want to cook your lentils longer or shorter. If youre making a lentil salad, youll want firmer lentils. Therefore you should check on them after 10-15 minutes to ensure they are still whole. If youre pureeing them for a dish, you can let them cook until they split.
Tip: dont add salt until after theyre done cooking. They get tough if you add salt too early.
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How To Cook Lentils In Instant Pot
Cooking lentils is not at all tricky, if you know how to cook lentils in instant pot and in stovetop. These plant-protein rich grains are versatile, can be used in curries, patties, sauté and much much more. If you have an instant pot, and want to know how to cook lentils, here is my detailed guide to cooking lentils in the instant pot.
Lentils are a staple of Indian cuisine. We also call our lentils daal and proudly cook it many ways based on our regional cuisine. Pulses are very similar to lentils and are rich in protein too. While pulses are very popular in Asia and Africa, lentils are commonly used in Middle East and Europe. These low-fat, fiber-rich grains are super versatile for many recipes. Here are some popular lentil recipes from the blog:
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Red Lentils Vs Green Lentils
I am often asked the difference between red lentils and green lentils. From someone that eats a lot of both, I like to think of it like comparing white rice to brown rice.
Both are fantastic on the dinner table, but one takes much longer to cook than the other and one I find to be easier to keep a bite on, compared to the other.
With red lentils I am more likely to use it in a pressure cooker soup recipe that can be quick cooking, such as our instant pot red thai curry soup or our soup maker lentil soup.
Whilst with green lentils you have to accept that you will need it to be cooking for longer when added to other ingredients such as our Instant Pot Lentil Curry.
There is not one that I prefer over the other and I recommend you cook either in your instant pot and rotate as part of your meal plan.
How Long Does It Take To Make Chili In The Instant Pot
You’re not going to believe me when I tell you this, but it takes just 12 minutes to cook chili in the Instant Pot! Only 12!! Isn’t that crazy?!
But here’s the thing we have to remember with pressure cookers, it does take extra time to build up the pressure and then naturally release the pressure. So from start to finish, and with those two things accounted for, it takes about 45 minutes to make this instant pot lentil chili.
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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 weve become Instant Pot experts, let me be the first to admit: Im all about the Quick Release. Why? Because Im impatient. If youve used your Instant Pot a lot, youll 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.
Were 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 youre 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
- Vegetable broth
- Onion powder
How To Cook Instant Pot Lentils + Video
A recipe for how to cook lentils in the Instant Pot with perfect results every time. Using this super easy water to lentil ratio and cook time makes for the best, tender lentils in your electric pressure cooker.
It seems whenever Im cooking bean-based dishes lately, I always use the Instant Pot. It saves so much time, and I love how hands-free it makes the cooking process with no soaking.
Ive made Instant Pot Refried Beans, Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice, Instant Pot Chickpeas and Instant Pot Bean Soup with Pesto. And while Ive made Instant Pot Lentil Soup and Instant Pot Cheesy Southwestern Lentils, I thought it was time to just write a straightforward post on how to cook lentils in the Instant Pot, with simple seasonings, to use in other recipes or to just eat plain on their own, perhaps with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro?
As with other Instant Pot recipes Ive tested, I find that when cooked in the Instant Pot, the spices in recipes become a bit less noticeable. So, I amped up these Instant Pot Lentils with a few of my favorite spices cumin, onion powder and paprika. I also used my homemade Instant Pot Bone Broth as the stock , but you can swap it out for some boxed chicken or beef broth too.
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Health Benefits Of Lentils:
As I have already mentioned lentils are rich in fiber and proteins, they are one of the healthiest plant-based foods. For those in Whole Food Plantbased Diet, lentil is an amazing grain to include. Because lentils are edible seeds, they are rich in minerals, phytochemicals, and plant-based amino acids too. Some of the major benefits are:
- Reduces
- Excellent source of plant protein
- High in fiber, so heart healthy
Here is a detailed post on benefits of lentil.
How To Cook Lentils On The Stove
This classic method doesn’t require any fancy gadgets. Here’s how you do it:
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How To Serve Lentils
The recipe below will teach you how to cook lentils on their own, so you can use them in a number of different ways as part of your meal prep routine.
Below youll find some easy ways to serve the pre-cooked lentils.
- Toss them with BBQ sauce for a vegetarian sandwich
- Serve them over a salad for plant-based protein
I hope this tutorial will help you get more comfortable with using your Instant Pot, and will make you more confident in converting any recipe for your electric pressure cooker, too.
Easy Instant Pot Lentils Recipes From My Kitchen
- Instant Pot Dal Palak : This Dal Palak recipe is a blend of split lentils and delicate baby spinach quickly prepared in the Instant Pot, then tempered with nutty ghee and warm Indian spices.
- Zesty Instant Pot Lentil Soup: Hearty lentils cook up in a flash in the pressure cooker, with Mediterranean herbs and a few Middle Eastern spices that give this soup it’s bright and vibrant flavor.
- Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew: This Misir Wot recipe is an Ethiopian red lentil stew gracefully prepared with clarified butter, aromatics and an earthy and floral spice blend known as Berbere.
- Instant Pot Sambar : This popular curry is packed with vegetables and finished with a touch of tangy tamarind paste. It comes together in 40 minutes and is best enjoyed with rice, idli or dosa.
- Dal Makhani in Instant Pot: This restaurant style Dal Makhani is a creamy, rich and flavor packed lentil curry made with black lentils and kidney beans with aromatics and toasted Indian spices in an Instant Pot pressure cooker.
- Instant Pot Chana Dal: Chana Dal is a creamy mildly spiced North Indian style lentil curry made with split chickpeas, onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and simple Indian spices.
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