Moroccan Instant Pot lentils made with sweet potato, tomatoes, carrots, and a variety of warm spices! Vegan comfort food at it's finest, this recipe is gluten-free, freezer-friendly, and delicious.
The Instant Pot is the true hero when it comes to meal prep, making it easy to bulk prep many recipes - from Moroccan Instant Pot lentils to Instant Pot dal, and this incredible Instant Pot lentil soup!
Moroccan Instant Pot lentils are perfect for meal prep, and they BEYOND easy to make! With no sauteeing and minimal chopping, you can make a big batch for leftovers, and stock up the freezer. No sauteeing means that we can assemble ahead and freeze as an Instant Pot freezer meal, or get it into the pot cooking as quickly as possible.
Made with spices including ginger, cayenne, cinnamon, and paprika - this recipe is bursting with flavor. Perfectly balanced with sweet and savory flavors thanks to the sweet potatoes, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Best of all, this recipe is vegan, gluten-free, meal prep friendly, and freezer friendly!
reasons you'll love this recipe
- the spices pair perfectly with the sweet potatoes and lentils
- it can be meal prepped two ways: as a freezer Instant Pot meal, or cook and portion out leftovers for lunches!
- there's no sautéeing required, and minimal chopping
ingredient notes
- Lentils - This recipe was tested with both whole brown lentils and green lentils. Either one works great! We have not tested with red lentils and suspect that they would overcook and become very mushy in this recipe.
- Sweet potato - add some subtle sweetness. They break down while cooking and add thickness and body to this recipe.
- Veggies - we're using carrot, celery, onion. You could try adding other veggies, although they may break down due to the longer cook time.
- Spices - a blend of paprika, cumin, cinnamon, clove, ginger, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne adds depth of flavor and warmth to this recipe!
- Maple syrup - for some sweetness without any refined sugar. You can swap for honey, but note that it will no longer be vegan.
step by step directions
combine
Combine all ingredients except the lemon juice in the base of a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot.
Note - this recipe works in either a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot
Cook
Put the lid on, set the valve to 'sealing', and pressure cook on high for 15 minutes.
Natural Pressure Release
Allow the Instant Pot to naturally depressurize for 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
Serve
Stir in lemon juice and serve with rice, naan or quinoa.
To assemble Instant Pot freezer meals
Instant Pot freezer meals are a staple in our freezer and they make cooking dinner SO easy! Here's how to assemble Moroccan Instant Pot lentils as a freezer meal:
- assemble all ingredients in a sturdy gallon freezer bag or large glass meal prep container (Ikea has 3 quart ones that will fit this meal!)
- freeze for up to 3 months
- thaw completely before cooking as directed above
FAQ
Disclaimer here, we have not had a chance to test this in the slow cooker. But, reader Kyle reported, "I made this in the slow cooker...6 hours low, 2-3 hours warm and only used 1 cup of water and consistency was perfect!" Please let us know in the comments if this works for you!
You can, but you'd want to add them in after cooking, since 15 minutes will disintegrate most veggies 😉 Try stirring in a few handfuls of spinach, kale or frozen peas after cooking. Alternatively, you could cook ingredients like cauliflower, green beans or zucchini separately, adding them in just before serving.
While we haven't tested it, it should work out no problem and some readers have reported back that they had success with preparing this recipe on the stovetop. Unfortunately, we do not have cook times for you. Leave us a comment below if you give it a try!
storage + meal prep
- Fridge - let leftovers cool completely, then portion out into 2 cup meal prep containers and store in the fridge for up to 4 days
- Freeze - cool leftovers completely, then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months
- Thaw - completely overnight in the fridge
- Reheat - until steaming hot in the microwave
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Moroccan Instant Pot Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole brown lentils or green lentils; uncooked; note 1
- 19 oz can of diced tomatoes juices included
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 onion diced
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 4 cups sweet potato cubes 1 inch; 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes; note 2
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne increase it for spicy, omit for non-spicy
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup brown sugar or honey work as well
- 2 cups vegetable stock
Add after cooking
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- parsley optional
Instructions
- Combine - all ingredients except the lemon juice in the stainless steel insert of a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot.
- Cook -Put the lid on, set the valve to 'sealing', and pressure cook on high for 15 minutes.
- Natural pressure release - Allow the Instant Pot to naturally depressurize for 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure.
- Serve - Stir in lemon juice and serve with rice, naan or quinoa.
Tips:
- red lentils will not work for this recipe
- we leave the skin on, but feel free to peel if you'd prefer
- Assemble all ingredients except for the lemon juice in a heavy-duty freezer bag, reusable silicone bag, or large meal prep container.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw completely before cooking as indicated above.
- Fridge - let leftovers cool completely, then portion out into 2 cup meal prep containers and store in the fridge for up to 4 days
- Freeze - cool leftovers completely, then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months
- Thaw - completely overnight in the fridge
- Reheat - until steaming hot in the microwave
Nutrition Information
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Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.
Mel says
Can I used canned lentils instead of dry?
David says
Delicious and easy to make, great with rice
Allison says
Cooked this last night for lunch meal prep for myself and my daughter. Absolutely delicious! I did substitute frozen butternut squash for sweet potatoes since I needed to use the squash and it still turned out great!
Cynthia says
Hi!
I have not made this recipe yet; however, I'm going to say it will be a "5" given the amazing ingredients you have included!!! I do have a questions; I don't have an instapot; can I make this stove top or crockpot? Thank you!! 🙂
Jaime says
Can you add chicken to this for protein? I’m not vegan 😊
Annie says
Hi Jamie, yes! You can add chicken or another meat of choice to this dish. Enjoy!
Anna says
Wow! This came together super easy and turned out delicious! I didn’t have enough sweet potato so I added a regular potato as well. Yum! I’ll definitely be making it again.
Terri says
This was so incredibly good. I googled lentils and sweet potoatoes as I wanted to use them up. I am so surprised how great this was. I had no celery and I added spinach after it was done
Allie says
This looks delicious, can’t wait to try it. Have you ever used smoked paprika instead of regular paprika ? We really love the Smokey flavour but I’ve never tried it with using the warm spices mentioned so I am
Curious. I look forward to hearing your response.
Deborah Lambert says
We thought it was delicious and took minutes to make. My husband liked the cinnamon, I did not.
Rose says
this is divine, made it on the stove top and worked great! thank you
Chris M says
Really enjoyed the flavors and it was super hardy. Next time I would add more lentils and less sweet potato. I was hoping that the lentils would be the star but the sweet potatoes dominated the dish. With a little tweaking for our preferences, this will be a go-to family meal.
Adrienne says
Thank you for this recipe! It is full of wonder flavor and so nutritious! I absolutely love making this dish for my family.