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!
This recipe might 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.
WHAT IS AN INSTANT POT?
Instant Pots are smart, programmable electric pressure cookers which were invented and designed in Canada and they are amazing. Mine is by far my favourite appliance and this is not sponsored by Instant Pot at all. I recommend them because I truly love mine.
They speed up cooking 2 to 6 times while using up to 70% less energy than other cooking methods. They are also able to function as slow cookers, rice cookers, yogurt makers and you can sauté in them. They are incredibly versatile and useful.
I use mine literally every single day for everything from cooking my Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats, cooking grains, dried beans like my Pressure Cooker Black Beans and for making soup, stews and curry. I wouldn’t be without it.
This is the Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart 9-in-1 model:
It’s the newer version of mine and I think just perfect for a medium sized family. There are 3 of us and it easily makes enough for 2 dinners plus some leftovers.
I already have a stash of vegan Instant Pot recipes, and there will be lots more to come, so if you do decide to splash out on one you will have a plentiful supply of yummy things to cook going into the future.
HOW DO I MAKE INSTANT POT LENTIL DAL?
SEE MY VIDEO FOR A VISUAL GUIDE. FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
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:
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 INSTANT POT LENTIL 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.
THIS INSTANT POT LENTIL DAL IS:
- Super quick & easy
- Almost completely hands-off – Set the Instant Pot and forget.
- Incredibly budget friendly
- Super healthy
- Protein packed and filling
- Gluten-free
- Oil-free and really low in calories
- Perfect for batch cooking and meal prep
- Reheat friendly
- Freezer friendly
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
And if you love this recipe, please do check out my cookbook, and subscribe to my email list for a fabulous FREE eCookbook featuring my top 10 recipes. Being on the list means you will be first to see my new recipes and you’ll be kept in the loop on all things new and exciting too!
Instant Pot Lentil Dal
Ingredients
- 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.
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
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.
Juliet says
Delicious!!
Becky says
Do you have to soak the lentils before cooking? If so how long?
A Virtual Vegan says
No there’s no need to soak them.
Mary says
Absolutely delicious. Got the burn notice first time but just let it simmer till it was cooked ( didn’t read the recipe properly and stirred lentils in) .Second time followed the recipe properly and had no problem.
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m really pleased you enjoyed it Mary and that not stirring it helped prevent the dreaded burn notice the second time!
CeeCee says
Would you say this recipe will work in the mini IP if I half the ingredients? I am looking for an easy recipe that will encourage me to actually use the Instant Pot, rather than have it gather dust on the countertop. I cannot believe I am intimidated by a piece of kitchen equipment lol.
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m not sure how big the mini ones are but this fits nicely with room to spare in a 6 quart, so if your mini is around 3 quarts then halving it should be fine. You shouldn’t need to adjust the cooking times.
And don’t put off using your IP. They are so great! I use mine every day for something. Start simply and try cooking rice in it. You’ll never go back to stove top. No more worrying about it boiling over or drying up. 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups water. White rice press the rice button and let it go. Brown rice is 20 minutes at high pressure. For both leave to release the pressure naturally. It comes out perfectly every time. I use it for cooking all of my grains and oatmeal etc.
CeeCee says
Thank you! I’m so annoyed at myself that I find the IP so scary 😊 I have added a bag of white rice to the shopping list and will give it a try tomorrow.
Tom says
I got the burn notice after the instant pot heated up for 15 minutes (before it reached temp). I scraped/deglazed at the water stage very thoroughly. I’m guessing that it needs more water or oil.
Susan says
Hello – in the instructions under the photograph it says to stir in the coconut milk but in the recipe it says to just put it in with the tomatoes and lentils and leave it alone. Which one is correct? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
Don’t stir it. I’ve corrected the text in the post.
jordi says
Am I the only person who got the dreaded “burn” problem 3 TIMES? I am familiar with this issue in the past and made sure nothing was stuck to the bottom and even took the pot out of the base for a few minutes before setting the manual timer. I’m just going to let it simmer for a bit and hope that it cooks enough.
A Virtual Vegan says
I’ve only had one other report of the burn warning coming up and this recipe has been around for quite a while now (over a year) and is very popular. I also make it myself all the time and have never had it happen to me.
If you can’t finish it in the Instant Pot, it will cook fine if you simmer it on the stove top. Red lentils cook very easily.
Do you by chance have one of the bigger Instant Pots? Bigger than 6 quarts. If so you may need to increase the volume of liquid in recipes created/tested in a 6 quart machine which is most recipes you find online. Instant Pot themselves say that recipes need to be adjusted for 8 quart machines. They need more liquid to come to pressure than 6 quarts. https://instantpot.com/the-secret-to-making-the-most-of-a-mini-or-8-quart-instant-pot/
If you do have a 6 quart though, from speaking to a lot of other people who create Instant Pot recipes, it seems that there are some individual pots that are a bit temperamental and a lot more sensitive than most which causes them to show the burn error very easily. If that’s the case then it’s wise to just add a little more liquid than called for in your recipes. It’ all about getting to know your pot and what makes it work best.
With this recipe in particular, if you continue to have trouble, you could try adding a little more water and omitting the coconut milk, then adding it after everything has cooked. Just simmer for a few minutes after that to warm it through.
Hope that helps.
Gin Perdide says
Outstanding dish. Perfect blend of spices.
Brenda says
Excellent flavour. Thank you for such am awesome recipe. Our family prefers to eat dahl with naan bread.
Courtney says
I made this dish tonight for the second time. This time around, wanting to watch my fat intake, I subbed the coconut milk with a can of plum tomatoes and added a half teaspoon of coconut extract. It was incredible.
Melanie McDonald says
That’s good to know! I’m really pleased you are enjoying the recipe!
Nan says
Absoutely *loved* this recipe. We didn’t have canned coconut milk on hand but we did have coconut flakes, so we made our own. (Nice, because I like super light cocnut milk.) I loved that the dal wasn’t very thick. I used to have Indian housemates and they always made theirs like this (or even thinner!)
Melanie McDonald says
I’m really pleased you enjoyed it and thanks so much for stopping by to leave feedback. It’s much appreciated!
Steph says
It came out tasting pretty good but is it supposed to be so soupy? I thought it would be a bit thicker, next time I try it I’ll definitely reduce the amount of water used. I would prefer it have a little density at least. Also, what does it mean to “allow the pressure to release naturally.” I took it to mean not venting the instant pot when it was done, but it never lost pressure that way. After a half an hour I just vented it anyway.
Melanie McDonald says
It isn’t as thick as a traditional stove top cooked dal, because that wouldn’t work in the Instant Pot. Anything that is too thick, especially lentil-y things that get really thick with less liquid would make the “burn” error come up on the Instant Pot display and it would not come to pressure properly. Recipes like this have to be a little thinner. I tested this recipe thoroughly and any less liquid and you risk that happening. Once it’s finished, if you wanted to thicken it up, you could remove the lid, set it to sauté, and let the excess liquid evaporate off, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking. With regard the “allow the pressure to release naturally”, that means you don’t release the pressure yourself. You allow it to release on its own. During that time it is still cooking gently and would also be thickening up a little. The pressure will release on its own if you leave it. The time it takes varies depending on what you are cooking and how full the Instant Pot is. Sometimes the little silver thingy, gets stuck and if you touch it gently with your finger it pops right down. That might have happened with yours, but usually for me with this recipe it does take around 30 minutes.
Keith Harvey says
I’ve noticed, in online videos, that Indians often prepare masoor da(h)l, i.e. spiced red lentils, with a consistency rather nearer to thick soup than something you can pile onto a plate. Westerners can find this surprising. The Instant Pot’s results seem to be closer to an authentic ‘thickness’, remembering that the lentil mixture will often be poured over white Basmati rice as a kind of vegetarian sauce. There is, as we all know, a lot of nutritional advantage to be had from mixing pulses and grains.
Diana says
We were vacationing with the family. We make most of our food because it is easier being vegans. Our kitchen was, however, very primitive and our ingredients scarce. As I was trying to figure out how to feed the hungry crowd a nice dinner this recipe came up in my e-mail. As I read over the ingredients I saw the we had JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING on the list or could easily find it in the country we were in. I made it for dinner that night, with just a few subtractions, and EVERYONE LOVED IT!!!! Thank you so much for such a fun and delicious surprise for our family. I earned some GREAT points!
Carrie D says
This is one of my all time faves! The whole family “loved” it….. even my super picky teens. Thank you…. Thank you…. Thank you for a healthy family meal that made everyone smile!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks so much Carrie. I’m really pleased you all enjoyed it!
Madison Johnson says
My first attempt at using my new instant pot and oh my was this delicious! It makes A LOT, I would say more like 8-10 servings if serving with rice or anything else but leftovers are nice to have. I got the burn warning even though I followed advice to avoid, but I just reset the cook time and it fixed itself. I used light coconut milk to be careful with extra calories but it was still amazing! :)
Colleen says
Soooo deliious! Mel’s done it again. This dish is so quick and easy to make and tastes fantastic. We had it over brown rice and both loved it. My husband went back for thirds! This will go into our regular rotation.
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay!! I’m so pleased you both enjoyed it. It’s one of my husband’s favourites so I end up making it a lot, and yes, so easy, especially with the Instant Pot. Thanks Colleen!