If you're looking for a flavorful plant-based dinner idea, look no further than this instant pot red lentil curry! This recipe is packed with healthy, inexpensive ingredients and is ready in just over 30 minutes.
Seriously, this is a go-to recipe at my house. I always keep a variety of lentils on hand for quick Instant Pot meals (and red lentil patties!).
Red lentils cook quickly and really soak up flavor, making them a great option for last-minute dinners.
If you don't have an Instant Pot but want to make a similar recipe with red lentils, you might like my red lentil casserole, red lentil bowls, or slow cooker red lentil soup.
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Recipe highlights
- Dietary-features: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free
- Made with healthy, inexpensive pantry staples
- Ready in just over 30 minutes (most of which is inactive time)
- Easy to double and freeze for meal prep
Ingredients and substitutions
- Red or orange lentils: Green and brown lentils do not work here because they have a different cook time.
- Sweet potato: Choose an orange-flesh sweet potato (Jewel or Garnet).
- Yellow onion is my go-to but white onion and red onion work in a pinch.
- Garlic and ginger: Fresh is preferred but ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ginger powder can be used in place of fresh as needed. Add in with the other spices.
- Curry powder, cumin, ground coriander and cayenne pepper are the main spices. Curry powder comes in many different forms. You can buy a pre-made curry powder or make and customize your own.
- Full fat coconut milk adds creaminess. Reduced fat can be used for a lower fat meal.
- Spinach: I use fresh spinach but frozen will work too. Frozen spinach will take a few more minutes to thaw in the hot curry.
Step-by-step instructions
All of my Instant Pot recipes are made in a 6 qt DUO60 Instant Pot. Check out more of my Instant Pot recipes.
Before you begin: Rinse the lentils thoroughly under running water to remove any debris. Scrub sweet potatoes if you are leaving the skins on OR skin the sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes with skins on will hold their shape better.
Step 1: Press the "sauté" function on your Instant Pot. Adjust the timer to 7 minutes. Once it reads "hot" add the olive oil. Add the diced sweet potato and onions, sautéing until onions are softened, about 5-6 minutes.
Step 2: Add minced garlic and ginger and sauté a minute more.
Step 3: Stir in the spices and sauté for 30 seconds more. Add in 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable broth to deglaze the pot. This removes any stuck on bits and helps to prevent the burn error!
Step 4: Stir in coconut milk, vegetable broth, and red lentils. Lock the lid in place and turn the vent to "sealing".
Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally, which will take about 10-15 minutes.
Step 5: Remove the lid and stir in the fresh spinach. It will wilt down just from the heat of the curry but you can adjust the heat to "sauté" to wilt it more quickly. Enjoy with a side of rice or quinoa.
Customization ideas
- Heat: You can purchase mild, medium or hot varieties of curry powder depending on your preferred spice level. Add in a minced jalapeno along with the garlic for more heat.
- Extra veggies: If you have any extra veggies that need to be used up you can dice them up small and sauté them with the sweet potato and onion. Celery, carrots, peas and green beans are all great additions to lentil curry.
- Serving ideas: Make it a complete meal by serving with rice or quinoa. Sprinkle with fresh lime juice and green onions and you're set for a filling vegetarian meal.
- Are you looking for a traditional Indian recipe? This isn't it! This recipe is inspired by my favorite Indian flavors but it definitely doesn't use traditional methods or ingredients. For something more authentic try searching "masoor dal".
FAQ
Yes, you can double the recipe if you have a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot. Double every ingredient, including the liquid. Keep cooking time the same but note that it may take longer to come to pressure.
Since brown lentils take longer to cook I recommend using red lentils in this recipe.
The best way to prevent the burn error with this recipe is to:
1) wait until the pot reads HOT before adding oil and
2) deglaze the pot with vegetable broth after sautéing aromatics and blooming the spices.
By pouring in a few tablespoons of vegetable broth and scraping off stuck on bits from the bottom of the pot you are more likely to avoid ingredients from sticking to the pot while cooking.
Storage notes
How to freeze: Lentil curry freezes really well. Let the lentils cool to room temperature before transferring to freezer containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat.
Leftovers and reheating: For best quality, keep leftovers for 3-4 days. Reheat single servings in the microwave in ~2 minutes or reheat on the stove in a small sauce pot over medium-low heat until warmed through.
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes?
If you are looking for a stove-top curry recipe, check out this mixed vegetable curry or this vegan chickpea curry. This Instant Pot chickpea curry is another meal prep favorite.
Did you try this recipe? You can leave a star rating in the recipe card or a review in the comments below. Or check out my cookbook and keep up to date with my YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or newsletter!
Recipe
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Instant Pot Red Lentil Curry with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry red lentils rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive or peanut oil
- 1 pound sweet potato diced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger about 1" ginger
- 1 and ½ tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional; makes it lightly spicy
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- for serving: lime wedges, chopped cilantro, sliced green onion
Instructions
- Press the "sauté" button on the Instant Pot. Set to "normal" heat. Once it reads "hot", add the oil. When hot, add the sweet potato, onion, and salt. Sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to brown.
- Add the minced garlic and ginger. Sauté for 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in the spices (curry powder, cumin, coriander seed, cayenne pepper). Continue stirring for 30 seconds to prevent the spices from burning.
- Drizzle in 2-3 tablespoons vegetable broth or water to deglaze the pot. Stir to remove any stuck on spices or onion.
- Stir in the coconut milk, remaining vegetable broth and red lentils. Lock the lid in place and turn the pressure vent to "sealing".
- Select "high pressure" and set the timer to 5 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure. Allow the pressure to release naturally after the 5 minutes are up; this will take about 10-15 minutes.
- When the pressure has released, remove the lid and stir in the fresh spinach. Serve with rice or quinoa and top with green onions, fresh chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
Video
Notes
- Ginger and garlic: ½ teaspoon ground ginger or garlic powder can be used in place of fresh as needed. Add in with the other spices.
- Leftovers and reheating: For best quality, keep leftovers for 3-4 days. Reheat single servings in the microwave in ~2 minutes or reheat on the stove in a small sauce pot over medium-low heat until warmed through.
- Freezing: Let the lentils cool to room temperature before transferring to freezer containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat.
- Doubling: You can double the recipe if you have a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot. Double every ingredient, including the liquid.
Sally says
I have shared this recipe with my son who is a vegetarian- prepared it for my family of two and we will have it often-used light coconut milk and chicken broth for us and the recipe worked well.My lentils were slightly overcooked b/c I didn’t open the cooker right after pressure release but they were delicious.The dish reheats well in the microwave.Thank you for creating and sharing your recipe-much appreciated. S K
Vegantattoo says
This is the second time I have made this recipe in a week! I made a double batch to take to work to feed my co-workers this time, if I find the strength to share. I love this! It's fast, healthy, cheap, and tasty!
Cassidy Reeser says
Thank you so much for the review and for sharing the recipe! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it enough to share with your coworkers!
Jennifer C says
We made this for food prep and love it. Easy and flavorful. Served over quinoa.
Cassidy Reeser says
Glad it's a hit for meal prepping. Thanks for the review!
Emily says
The flavor was great, but the lentils and sweet potatoes got absolutely cooked to mush in the Instant Pot. I followed the instructions exactly- 5 minutes at high pressure, let the pressure release naturally. Unfortunately, it turned into a baby food-like texture- not sure if that's the intended result. Usually I like to taste the individual lentils in a dish. Next time I'll probably try manually releasing the pressure and/or reducing the time to 2-3 minutes.
Cassidy Reeser says
I'd say the lentils in this recipe definitely trend more broken down/mush, so good call to decrease cook time a bit if you'd like them to stay more intact. Thanks for the review!
Ellie says
We just had this for dinner. It's amazing! I blended it in the end because my toddler is fussy so it looked like thick soup. I served it with roasted broccoli and rice. We all loved it. I'm saving this recipe!
Cassidy Reeser says
So glad you liked it and it's toddler approved! Thanks for the review.
Kristina says
I followed the recipe, but something did not work....the bottom burnt black, the rest was a puree consistency and the color of mud. It was spicy and very sweet, I would significantly increase amount of salt next time.
ryan says
It seems like the lentils aren't getting cooked.
I substituted water for the vegetable broth at a 1 to 1 ratio.
Is anyone else having this problem?
I think lentils require a 3 to 4 cups of water to 1 cup of lentil ratio and this recipe isn't accounting for that. That's my best guess.
Cassidy Reeser says
Are you using red/orange lentils? I haven’t had this issue. I would just continue cooking an additional 2-3 minutes if they aren’t done at the written time, and repeat as needed. However if you get the burn error then it does need more liquid.
Em says
Delicious. I followed directions to the T with fresh ingredients except lightly sprinkled additional salt over the lentils when I added them. I thought the garlic and ginger would be too much but the final result is perfect. - Q: did you mean to put the coriander seeds in whole? I ground them up with a pestle to avoid any unpleasant hard bits in the final dish.
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks for the review! And good catch, that should definitely be ground coriander. Thanks 🙂
Chelsea says
I make this recipe regularly and it is one of the few recipes I actually follow (normally I just wing it after checking out a few recipes). It is so good as is and hits the spot every time!
Sarah says
Delicious. Like all recipes that suggest using the saute function, I do that on the stovetop and transfer it to the IP to avoid burning.
We love this curry; it's so tasty and easy to make. I add a dollop of yoghurt and make a roti to go with it.
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks for the review! 🙂
Amy says
I also had a bit of burning in the bottom of my pot. When I checked on it after the 5-minute beep, I noticed the pressure nub wasn't up - surprising, because this recipe does include more than the minimum amount of liquid that the IP usually requires. Next time I would add a little more broth to hopefully take care of this.
Otherwise, flavour and texture were good! I dolloped some cilantro-lime-pistachio pesto on top for brightness and served it with coconut rice to use up the rest of the can of coconut milk.
Nabila says
Can i omit the coconut milk and how much water would i need then?
Cassidy Reeser says
I would just use an equal amount of water.
Nabila says
Thank you!!