Instant Pot Lentils (Perfect, Tender, No Soaking!)

I have made this 3 times every time I get soup! I have tried 10 min, 8 min, 7 min and allow to naturally release for 15 minutes. Every single time it is a mushy mess, at least lentils are cheap.

I just used this recipe to batch cook a bag of lentils (kitchen refit begins Monday eek!) and it worked perfectly for me. Brown lentils (instructions of 45min, 3 to 1 water/lentils.). I followed this recipe and PC on high for 10minutes. They came out perfect. Only around half a cup of liquid left which was easy enough to strain out. Thankyou from a PC newby! X

Awesome recipe if you’re making baby food, I guess, since I basically just have mush now. I followed the recipe carefully (at high for 9 minutes, less than the maximum recommended time) and ended up with the most overcooked, soupy mess. I drained the lentils as recommended in the comments, but I can’t un-cook them to a reasonable firmness. The ratio of lentils:liquid is very incorrect based on my experience with this recipe.

Awful advice. Unless you’re making soup, 3:1 ratio of liquid to lentil in instant pot is ridiculously to much. About 1.5:1 NOT 3:1.

Soooo, I followed measurements and since I have older lentils (over 4 years in my pantry) I cooked for 12 minutes with a full natural release and the texture was soft but not mushy. Also, I added a half teaspoon of each onion powder, garlic powder, and salt.
There is a bit of delicious pot liquor leftover and that made this a keeper recipe. Today I poured it off into a cup and savored every drop.
My intention is to use the lentils through the week in tacos, salads, and with sautéed mushrooms over mashed potatoes.

In my opinion the cooking time is relative to the condition of the lentil. I know that makes it challenging for beginners to lentils.

Mine came out too soft, and I don’t think my modifications were radical.

I suspected 3:1 was way too much liquid already so I did 1.5:1 because I’ve never had issues using less water with other recipes. I have the big 8 qt instant pot.

I doubled the recipe, using a 1 lb (roughly 4 cups?) sealed package of what were labeled green lentils, roughly the same size as the ones pictured in the recipe, and 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water.

I pressure cooked on high for 8 minutes and 5 minutes NR.

The lentils are quite soft, still whole, but I think most would fall apart if I tried to rinse them. I was making a soup anyway, so this is fine. I like my lentils more firm than this, though.

I’m at sea level. I have hard water. These are as far as I know the typical grocery store staple green lentils that are brown in color and appear identical to the ones in the recipe. Perhaps mine are smaller and I’m misreading the perspective in the photos?

It looks like you’re using a 6 qt instant pot, maybe the chamber size matters? My green peas cook faster for me, too.

I eat lentils frequently so I will try again with a shorter cooking time next time.

If it matters, I threw a chopped onion and a bunch of cumin and garlic in it before I closed the lid. I got a good soup out of it.

Would love to know why folks are getting such varied outcomes!

I think this was way too much water. I doubled it and now have a giant batch of lentil mush that I definitely can’t use for my salad recipe as planned. I’d suggest finding a different recipe.

I read the comments first so I decided on only 7 minutes total, with 15 minute natural release. I used 1 cup of One Degree organic green lentils RINSED to 3 cups of water and it was PERFECT. (Directions on bag calls for 1 cup lentils/4 cups water). I simply drained some of the excess off and seasoned. I will absolutely be using this recipe again!

Mush! I wonder if some lentils are just different. I read the back of my bag afterwards and it says no need to pre soak? Possible. I added seasoning, carrots and celery and they were tasty. This would be perfect for a soup recipe. I didn’t mind draining them but there were mush and I was unable to use them for my salad.

I made this tonight. A perfect Australian winter dinner with grated Parmesan and sourdough toast. Can’t wait for tomorrow night’s bowl.

Hi. The 3 cups of liquid is too much. I used instapot. 11 mins. It’s like soup…good tasting, but soupy. I’m thinking ratio of 1:2, lentils s to liquid.

Should have check the rating read the comments first. Brown lentils, cooked at 8 min. completely unusable.

I followed this recipe to a T and the lentils turned out perfect! I used them in my ancho-lentil tacos for a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner. This will be my go-to method for cooking brown lentils; thank you!

Should have read the comments before making this: way too much water! I followed the recipe exactly and the lentils were very mushy and there was a ton of water leftover.

Came out way overcooked and mushy.

This recipe did not work for me either however I simply turned it into a lentil soup! A few spices, some dried onion and celery and voila!!

way too much water I do – 1 3/4 cups liquid for 1 cup of lentils

The 3:1 ratio is way too high. The lentils were in a puddle of water after cooking and I had to drain them. I’d recommend modifying to a different water ratio—maybe 2:1?

This recipe turned out awful. I was suspicious of the water to lentils ratio but didn’t listen to myself and instead followed the recipe to a T. They came out soggy, with the ton of extra water over the top of the lentils, and instead of a bean texture, they ended up like a paste (much like refried beans). I ended up having to drain some water off the top and then put the Instant Pot on Saute mode to get the remaining water out.

Awful. Had to throw it out instead of eat it. Instead of lentils I was left with something between creamed corn & mashed potatoes. I tried to ‘drain the excess water off’ but since it was more like applesauce than water it wouldn’t run thru my strainer. The lentil to water ratio seemed accurate- same as on the bag. So I’m assuming cook time was too long or needed to be quick release instead of natural. I’m so sad. 😞

As has been pointed out, there are several varieties of lentils and they require different cooking times. However, I have an additional theory on the mushy mystery. I suspect people having poor results are probably cooking the lentils with broth or bouillon, which tends to have quite a bit of sodium. Salt should be added to lentils after cooking them.
I prepare brown lentils using 5 cups of water for 1 lb legumes, cook 6 minutes HP, NPR for 6 minutes. These are not drained and are added to a pot with a sauteed veggie, fresh spinach and tomato sugo. (ie they will continue to cook a bit)

This recipe works very well for regular whole brown/green lentils.

People who are using French green lentils (puy lentils) need to drastically reduce the cook time or use a recipe made for puy lentils.

1 lb bag (3 cups) of brown lentils from walmart
2 3/4cup veg broth
4 mn high manual pressure with the keep warm button OFF
10 mn natural pressure release
No liquid left, lentils have a bite. Just what I wanted for making a lentil loaf!
Thank you for the assist Minimalist Baker and for the comments everyone. Using your recipes often. I pray you all are blessed and eating and drinking to the glory of God 🙌

I followed the instructions and now I have mush lentils.

good with vegetable broth and bourbon on red lentils 2 minutes.

good with vegetable broth and bourbon

I made two batches. The first I threw away. Too mushy. I cooked them for 10 minutes. The second batch I cooked for 8 minutes. Again very mushy. I would try cooking them for six minutes.
Also the liquid quantity also seems to be off. The second batch I used a half cup less and that helped.

Something with this timing is off. Wish I had noticed the ratings and read the review first. Mily lentils were complete mush. Luckily I was making lentil soup so it’s okay but I do prefer a bite even in lentil soup.

In researching lentil cooking times according to the instant pot website cooking times are as follows; NON soaked (dry) whole green/brown lentils 8-10 minutes; split red/yellow lentils 1-2 minutes. Lentils used in the instant pot pressure cooker are not recommended to have any soak time. This comes directly from the instant pot website. So for all those with beans that are mush this is likely the reason….to long of a cook time. In my lentil cooking in the instant pot I go anywhere from 2-5 minutes cook time. Living in Florida everything cooks drastically faster compared to others not at sea level so adjust slightly depending on altitude, the higher the elevation the longer the cooking time.

I’m having the same issue as many others. I used regular Bob’s Red Mill brown lentils. I tried them once at 8 minutes cook time, 15 minutes natural release and they were mush. I did 8 minutes cook time and immediately released pressure- also mush.

These came out perfect! I did the measurements exactly as you listed. I did the times differently, though. I don’t know which instant pot I have, but I’ve noticed my times need to be adjusted sometimes. I did 8 minutes pressure cooking and 3 minutes natural release. It wasn’t too much broth either, they’re perfect! Thank you so much!!

I had lentil mush which my kids ate on chips… ummm I think they were in too long… I had pork tenderloin in before the lentils! it was good just not right lol! Two stars because they were mush!

I made this recipe with a much larger portion of lentils, a cereal bowl full, and two bowls of water, one of beef broth, salt, pepper, half a stick of butter, onion, garlic, a splash of soy and a few drops of liquid smoke. Cooked it on the “Bean” setting for 12 minutes, and the result is delightful. A bit mushy, a bit chewy, this turned out just right. (Full disclosure: my dad is Pakistani and I grew up eating dál).

Followed the instructions and these were mush. Basically made dahl without the seasoning. I wanted these lentils in tact for a salad. Threw them all away as I don’t really like plain mushy lentils.

I made 1/2 cup dry brown lentils and a tad over 3/4 cup water (14 tablespoons if you want to measure). Perfect at 10 minutes and 9 min natural release. I added 1/2 tsp sea salt. Delicious. Softer side, but that’s how I like lentils.

Thank you for sharing your recipe.

The timing was too long. I set the timer for 8 minutes and let the pressure off after natural release of 10 minutes. My lentils were complete mush.

Followed the recipe with green lentils and it came out super mushy.

I tried this only cooking for 4 minutes on high, and 8 minutes natural release… it still turned out as mush.

Agree 3 to one ratio is wayyy off
Check your recipe it’s not right
Waste of lentils and broth

I usually have great success with your recipes. On this one my lentils came out mushy. I used the eight minute recommendation.I wish I would’ve read the comments first because it seems like a lot of people are having that issue. Next time I will cook them for half the time and then I can cook them a little longer if they need it. This would be OK for soup, but I want to add them to grain bowls so I would’ve preferred them to be firm.

Alright, science mode activated. We have a burger recipe we’re trying to work out that calls for cooked lentils, so we can make lentils over and over and report back and try to work out why there’s this disparity in your comment section D:

Made it as-directed in our 6qt instant pot (duo evo plus). 9 minutes, natural release. Unsoaked brown lentils were mostly from an open-but-tightly-closed bag.
Liquid was mushroom broth (mushroom bouillon is basically salt, msg, and dried mushroom). We have somewhat hard water, and are at 1k feet over sea level (which is nothing).
The hard water/broth/elevation are likely to remain stable across iterations.

I wouldn’t call the results “mush” but it definitely wasn’t fairly clean lentils as pictured. We put them in a strainer and let a sludge leak out.

For what it’s worth, we have a lentil curry recipe that has a significantly lower curry:liquid ratio — 1.5C lentils, 1C water, 1 14oz can coconut milk — and a longer cook time, 15 min/10min release — and I’d say that even despite the other ingredients making a sauce, they come out more discrete than these.

I used brown lentils, cooked for 10 mins with a 10 min natural release. Result – borderline mushy lentils. I was dubious about that 15 minute natural release so I cut the time down. Will do quick release next time. I think that is the problem.

Unfortunately total mush. I think the 15 minute release is too long so they keep cooking during that time.

Used water no salt. lentils were from an unopened package so maybe they retrain nite moisture? I did make a larger quantity thank the recipe but seems like that would make for longer cooking time, not shorter, if it had any effect. I’ll probably go back to stovetop cooking which isn’t longer, and just use IP for dried beans

Thanks for the way to easily make dried lentils. I jsut bought my instant pot mainly for cooking dried beans and rice and of course anything that cooks quick which I’m learning so many other things too. ♡♡♡ Your directions Worked perfectly with my green sprouted dried lentils. Thanks for the share.

I’ve also got hard water from southern Arizona, but I made this twice using the 10-minute cook time (once with 8oz lentils and 3 cups tap water, once with 8oz lentils and “low sodium” vegetable broth), and they were perfect each time. So the experiments continue :)

I just made this in my brand new Instant Pot 6 qt. Ultra, and the lentils came out perfect!

I sorted and wash-rinsed the lentils, added 4 cups of water, 1 tsp. vegetable base, pressure cooked on high for 10 minutes, and used the quick release button.

I live at over 3,000 feet above sea level in Southeastern Arizona, and we have very hard well water.

Perfect every time. My Instapot and Ninja Foodi both automatically turn on the “keep warm” setting; I have to turn them off or my lentils will be mush by the time I complete the natural release. I’m wondering if the people who are reporting mush have the keep warm setting on.

Also, I’m wondering if you could include if that setting should be on or off in your recipes.

I did everything the way the recipe said. It almost completely released the pressure in 15 minutes; there wasn’t a lot left to release with the quick release valve. I hit the valve when the natural release time was down to 30 seconds and set my computer timer to time it. I had perfectly cooked lentils once I drained them. Once my instant pot cools, I’ll wash it, then make the vegan sloppy joes.

I tried instant pot lentils. I read everyone comments before making it. I decided to let it naturally release for 4 minutes. Then immediately removing them from the water and letting them drain. The lentils came out perfect not mushy.

Mushy as mushy could be.

So easy and turned out great! I cooked them on high pressure for 9 minutes and got perfectly tender lentils. Thanks for the recipe!

Mine came out mushy too :( Followed directions exactly, using green lentils (not soaked). Luckily I’m adding them to something the food processor so it’s not a big deal but think I’ll stick with my stovetop method for now.

I followed your directions. I ended up with lentil mush.

So, I just made these for the first time. A N D . . . the are PERFECT! I used them in your vegan Sloppy Joes, which are also perfect! Thanks for the great recipes, ALWAYS!