Transform your red lentils into something amazing with my creamy Instant Pot Lentil Dal. It makes a really easy, super tasty, healthy & budget friendly dinner and is perfect for meal prepping as it reheats and freezes perfectly!
Grab a few handfuls of lentils, some spices, and an Instant Pot and transform them into a pot of creamy, delicious Instant Pot Lentil Dal that’s economical, nutritious and will make your tastebuds dance!
I've been a little obsessed with red lentils of late, what with this and my Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup. This recipe might actually seem familiar, and that's because it's an adapted version of my Red Lentil Dahl. It didn't need much changed to make it work really well in an Instant Pot. And as luck would have it, lots of you had Instant Pots for Christmas and have been asking for more Instant Pot recipes so how's this for timing.
But, if you don’t have an Instant Pot or other other electric pressure cooker, and you really want to make this recipe, hop on over to my original Red Lentil Dahl recipe and you will find detailed stove-top instructions.
How to make Instant Pot Lentil Dal
It really is so simple to make Instant Pot Lentil Dal and the results are absolutely fantastic. It's one of our favourite family meals.
Here is what you need:
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
And here is how it's done:
Step 1- Sauté the onions in the Instant Pot then add the ginger, garlic and spices
Step 2- Pour in some water and scrape the bottom of the pan well. Add lentils and tomatoes.
Step 3- Add coconut milk, then put the lid on, seal it and cook as directed in the full recipe below.
How to serve Dal
Pair this creamy and delicious Instant Pot Lentil Dal with:
- Fluffy rice
- Quinoa
- Cauliflower rice
- Naan bread
- Poppadoms
- The Lime Slaw from my Enchilada Lentil Tacos recipe
A sprinkle of cilantro, some fresh chopped tomato and a few chopped peanuts or cashews over the top (like in my pics), really compliment it too and help to turn it from midweek dinner, into a posh treat yo'self (or someone else) kind of meal.
Hungry for more?
For more Vegan Instant Pot recipes, check out these great options:
- Vegan Instant Pot Portobello Pot Roast
- Seasoned Pressure Cooker Black Beans
- Teriyaki Instant Pot Rice
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Healthy Chocolate Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
- Vegan Instant Pot Potato Curry
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Lentil Dal
Author:
Ingredients
My Instant Pot is a 6 quart. If yours is a different size you will need to scale the recipe up or down accordingly.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil , or use water for sautéing to make the recipe oil-free
- 1 large onion , chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger , finely chopped or grated
- 2 heaping teaspoons garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes , add up to a teaspoon extra if you like it a spicy. You can use 1 fresh small red chili if you prefer
- 2 slightly heaping teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons salt , plus more to taste at the end
- 1 teaspoons ground black pepper , plus more to taste at the end
- 740 mls / 3 cups + 1 tablespoon water
- 400g / 2 heaping cups dried split red lentils , (no need to soak)
- 3 large fresh tomatoes cut into chunks
- 1 400 ml / 13.5oz can / a little under 1¾ cup canned coconut milk , full fat or light
INSTRUCTIONS
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add the oil or a few tablespoons of water. Sauté the onions for 3 to 4 minutes until they are just starting to turn golden, then add the ginger and garlic. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Turn off the Instant Pot then add all of the spices and seasonings. Allow them to cook in the residual heat of the pot for about 1 minutes, stirring them constantly.
- Add the water to the pot, and using a metal spoon, have a really good scrape into the bottom of the pot all over, to mostly remove the brown bits from the bottom. This step is important because otherwise you could get the "burn" message popping up on your display later.
- Next add the lentils, tomatoes and coconut milk. Don't stir it. Just leave it as it is.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot, seal the vent and set it to MANUAL (PRESSURE COOK) on newer models, high pressure, for 8 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally. Remove the lid and give it a really good stir then serve.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
Valerie says
I live at an altitude of 5600' - any recommendation/change regarding procedure?
Melanie McDonald says
I have no no experience of high altitude cooking so can't help I'm afraid.
Thomas Hitzler says
I followed the recipe and my lentils were very much under cooked. I discovered that; 1) my raw brown lentils take a longer time to cook, and 2) in general, lentils cook more slowly in an acidic mixture. I do rinse my lentils before cooking as instructed on the package. So, I cook my lentils from 20 - 24 minutes on HP with a 6-10 minute release and then I add the tomatoes and put the lid back on for a few minutes to heat the tomatoes. DO NOT EAT CHEWY, UNDER COOKED LENTILS. They are not good for your stomach. I do like this recipe a lot - very tasty. Thanks!
Melanie McDonald says
This recipe has not been tested with brown lentils. If you use split red lentils as called for in the ingredients list, and follow my directions, it will work perfectly.
Sophia says
The best Instant Pot recipe we've tried so far. Really delicious and worked perfectly with no issues. More IP recipes please!
Sarah says
Don't let the simplicity of the recipe fool you! It was so delicious that both of my young kids devoured it! I omitted the chili flakes, used a can of tomatoes (because I didn't have any fresh ones) and added some spinach in at the end. It was great on it's own, but you could make it a heavier meal with vegan sausage or crumbles. Thanks so much for the recipe! I'll be making it regularly :)
Juliet says
Truly delicious!!
Giddy says
Hi, is it suppose to have that much ginger, it was too over powering with ginger. Otherwise I'd imagine it would taste good with half the ginger perhaps, will try that next time.
Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes 2 tablespoons is correct. I've never found it over-powering and never had any other reports of that. You did use fresh ginger not dried and use a proper measuring spoon to measure it? Everyone's taste buds are different though and the recipe is very flexible though so you can easily decrease the amount next time if you prefer. Hope that helps!
Giddy says
Thanks for the reply. Yes it was fresh organic ginger and I even used a bit less than 2 tablespoons so maybe it was some extra potent ginger :-)
Kelly says
My husband and I thought this recipe made the best Dahl we’ve had! Even my picky 5 year old liked it ? the cooking process was super simple and quick. We’ll be making it again soon. Thanks!
E says
Unfortunately, I have so far not had a good experience with this recipe. This is the first recipe from here that I've tried and I kept getting a burn notice on my instant pot.
I did make sure I scraped the bottom and deglazed properly and yet, burn notice. I stopped the cooking and scraped the bottom again and started cooking again, and yet again, burn notice. I did that one more time and yet again burn notice.
I decided to pour all of the food I could into a large bowl and thoroughly cleaned the inner pot, scrubbing it, and even added an additional cup of liquid just in case, and yet again, burn notice. I finally gave up and just poured everything into a pot onto my regular stove burner which was disappointing, but I didn't want it to go to waste.
Hopefully, next time I try it will work out. If you have any tips or ideas as to what may have happened, I would love some input since so many people have had a better result and your recipes sound amazing!
A Virtual Vegan says
So sorry that happened.
My thoughts:
I am betting you have a newer model Instant Pot. They seem to have lots of issues with the burn warning and it seems to trigger much more easily than it did in the earlier models. I make this recipe almost weekly and have never ever had a burn warning with mine when making it and my 4 recipe testers didn't get one either when we were testing this recipe.
Is your model an 8 quart? A common theme from people who have the burn error is that it is either a pretty new machine, or it's an 8 quart. This recipe has only been tested in a 6 quart. 8 quarts need a little more liquid to come to pressure and because the lentils in this absorb so much water, the effect of not enough water will probably be more pronounced. I think you would need to add about 1 cip/240 mls more in an 8 quart.
Did you stir it before you put the lid on? If you did that could be what happened. The ingredients need to go in and not be stirred. That helps the pot come to pressure more effectively.
Also altitude can be a factor when using a pressure cooker. In thinner recipes it likely wouldn't be so obvious but in recipes with thicker sauces like this it could cause more issues. Are you at quite a high altitude?
If you are up for trying it again I would let the pot cool down completely after sauteing the onions etc, or saute them in a separate pan on the stove. Then add an extra cup of water and definitely don't stir it before you add the lid. The extra liquid will make the dal much soupier but it will still taste great, and you can always reduce it and thicken it up by using the sautee function once it's finished pressure cooking.
If the burn error happens again, carefully remove the inner pot and place it on a heat-resistant surface. If there’s nothing stuck to the bottom, add more liquid, let the instant pot cool down and then set it to cook again once it has. Add enough liquid to replace the original liquid that evaporated/absorbed into the lentils, plus an additional cup and lift the food with a spoon to allow the liquid to reach the bottom of the inner pot when you pour it in.
If food is stuck on the bottom of the pot, transfer the contents to a separate bowl. Scrape and clean out the pot so there’s nothing stuck on the bottom, then allow the Instant Pot unit to cool down. Then pour in a cup of water before adding the food back in. Don't stir and set it again. You might be able to reduce the original pressure cooking time since the food might have already partially cooked. If there’s too much liquid left after pressure cooking has completed, reduce the liquid by cooking on ‘Saute’ mode.
Your other option is to use the pot in pot method to finish cooking the dish. It's a great alternative if you want to avoid any further hassles with the Instant Pot burn error. Just transfer all ingredients to a separate oven-proof dish that will fit in your inner pot and use PIP to finish pressure cooking.
From speaking to other food bloggers who have lots of Instant Pot experience, we've come to the conclusion that every single pot is slightly different. Some people own 2 or 3 and certain recipes will cook ok in one but not in another. It seems that some are more temperamental than others for sure. I don't know why this is.
The vast majority of people making this recipe have no problems at all and it's so frustrating that a few aren't able to make it successfully. And what makes it worse is it's so hard to pinpoint the actual reason because it could be any number of things. I hope these thoughts help you deduce what it might be though and that you manage to cook it successfully in the future! And rest assured that all of my recipes are tested absolutely thoroughly by myself and a team of recipe testers, and I pride myself on them working perfectly. That makes the Instant Pot thing even more annoying, especially as it appears to be your first experience of one of my recipes. But at least you know that any others you try should be A-Ok. I have a non Instant Pot version of this recipe in case you'd rather skip it in the IP and make it the traditional way ;O) https://avirtualvegan.com/creamy-red-lentil-dahl/
Emma says
I am having the same repeat issue unfortunately, not working for me at all.
George says
When I first started making recipes like this I almost always got a burn notice. Unlike you I did not do a good job scraping. Once I got that down I still got the burn notice. I think I solved it: I would measure and rinse the lentils early in the prep, and they would congeal into clumps. Now I measure them but rinse right before mixing them in with the liquid. No more burn notices with lentils at least.
Mars says
WOW! This turned out amazing the first time! I stirred in chopped kale - that I had just picked from my garden - at the end of cooking time.
Recipe has been printed and laminated!!! Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it. Thank you for stopping by to leave a review/rating. It's much appreciated!
Fran says
I had surgery one week ago and needed a dump and leave meal to feed the family while I rested during the day. I put this in the instant pot at 9am and added an extra cup of water and left it sealed and 'warming' all day. The resulting dish was a perfect texture ! Family loved it, I served with plain basmati rice, quick chapati and a capsicum salad. Everyone happy and a quick easy meal for a resting mum!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you all enjoyed it and I wish you a speedy recovery Fran.
Kate says
This is so easy to make and tastes wonderful! I shared it with my neighbor (who is a chef) and her reaction was “Holy s**** This Dahl is amazing!”
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Kate! I'm really pleased you both enjoyed it!
Andrée Girouard says
My Instant Pot does not seem to have a timer more than 4:00 min. Is it because it its defective??
A Virtual Vegan says
If the display says 4 00 it is 4 hours not minutes. 4 minutes would be 004. When you turn it on, you press manual or pressure cook depending on the model then the plus and minus buttons to adjust the time. Hope that helps!
Stephanie says
I love this recipe and make it often in my Instant Pot! It comes out perfectly every time. I follow your directions and do not make any substitutions. This lentil dahl is very creamy and comforting. It's a keeper in our house! Thank you!
Juliet C. says
So delicious!!! I am a huge fan of Indian and especially curries. This is the perfect amount and assortment of spices. Im a huge garam masala user! Thanks for sharing.