Healthy, delicious and creamy lentil stew made in the Instant Pot in less than 30 minutes! This family-friendly recipe will be your new favorite easy weeknight meal.
I have been making this lentil stew for many, many years now. It is my daughters most requested soup/stew. It is so hearty, warming and comforting and the family devours it every time. We love to serve it with some fresh bread (always GF for Abby) and top it with a little pecorino romano. (Abby is mostly dairy-free, but she can tolerate this sheeps milk cheese) You can also use parmesan if you prefer the taste. I love that this stew is loaded with so many veggies and the kids don’t even know the difference.
You can do this as a dump and go meal or take a take a little extra time to sauté the veggies first. I love that you can sauté right in the Instant Pot! The recipe is absolutely delicious both ways but I love the extra boost of flavor that sautéing the veggies gives the stew.
To keep this Instant Pot lentil stew vegetarian, you can use veggie stock. I prefer to use chicken broth or homemade bone broth to add more flavor and a boost of nutrients. This meal is also perfect for meal prep. It holds up really well in the fridge and the flavor only gets better!
Used in this Recipe:
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Instant Pot Lentil Stew
Ingredients
- 1 Tbls Avocado Oil
- 1 Carrot peeled & diced
- 2 stalks Celery diced
- 1 Small Yellow Onion diced
- 1 Russet Potato peeled & diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1.5 cups Brown Lentils
- 14.5 oz Can of Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
- 1/4 Grated Pecorino Romano * optional
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute mode and add in the avocado oilOnce it is heated up, add in the carrots, onion, celery and garlicSaute for 2-3 minutes
- Add in the remaining ingredients (except the cheese) and stirPlace the lid on the Instant Pot and move valve to seal Hit manual pressure (high) and set timer for 15 minutes
- Once timer goes off, do a quick release of the steamRemove the bay leaves from the stew and stir in the pecorino romano (if using) Serve and enjoy!
This is a great recipe as written. I’m a garlic lover and rarely salt anything so I added a little more garlic and a little less salt. Per the suggestion, I also used homemade vegetable broth (no salt added) and omitted the cheese to keep it vegan. My husband and I agreed the flavors weren’t bland or overwhelming and everything was cooked perfectly. Next time, I might even add some spinach after it cooks and let it wilt before serving to get even more nutrients (even though there are already plenty in this recipe as it is!) This one’s a keeper for us!
So glad that you and your husband enjoyed the recipe Michelle, thank you for sharing!
Yummy! Thank you!
Good flavors, but it was way over cooked and turned into a dal, not a stew.
Skipped the oil, skipped the salt but the veggie broth i used had sodium in it anyway so it wasn’t completely bland. Believe it or not- it was still fabulous. Thank you so much for posting.