Looking for a quick and easy way to meal prep healthy meals in the Instant Pot? In this post I share how to cook rice and red lentils in Instant Pot. Keep reading to see my video tutorial and get this recipe.

YouTube video

Here’s my video tutorial for how to cook brown rice and red lentils in a pressure cooker, specifically an Instant Pot Pro:

 

Watch this video on YouTube

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Why meal prep with an Instant Pot Pro?

I follow the Daily Dozen dietary recommendations by Dr. Greger which includes daily servings of legumes and whole grains.

Both of these types of foods can take a good amount of time to cook from scratch on the stove top.

However, in a pressure cooker like the Instant Pot Pro, I can cook a big batch brown rice in about 20 minutes, and red lentils in about 7 minutes.

This makes healthy meal prep quick and easy! It’s also a great way to make one pot meals and dump and go meals.

Instant Pot Pro

My recommended purchase option for an pressure cooker is the Instant Pot Pro. Unlike other models, this one includes several great features perfect for meal prep:

 

Premium stainless steel inner pot

I prefer to cook with stainless steel and this model comes with a premium grade inner pot. It’s the ideal material for high heat cooking and easy to clean.

Handles on the inner pot

Most pressure cookers to do not include handles on the inner pot.

This means when you go to take out the inner pot from the cooking appliance, you have to get pot holders and be extra careful. However, the new Instant Pot Pro includes an inner pot with heat resistant handles!

You can simply pull the pot out of the appliance without the need of pot holders.

8 quart size

I like to batch prep basic staples of the Daily Dozen. This saves time and effort at meal time if I already have foods like lentils and rice precooked. I use the 8 quart size because it’s large and I can cook a lot of food at one time.

To store extra food, you can divide it into your desired portion size and freeze. Simply reheat at meal time!

10-in-1

The Instant Pot Pro comes with 10 great cooking features. My favorite to use include:

• Pressure Cooker
• Rice Cooker
• Yogurt Maker
• Saute
• Slow Cooker
• Bread Proofing

Brown Rice and Red Lentils in Instant Pot

Pressure cooking brown rice and red lentils is easy.

• Brown rice cooks up nicely in just about 20 minutes.
• Red lentils cook very quickly, compared to stovetop cooking, in just 5-7 minutes.

How to cook red lentils in Instant Pot

To cook red lentils in this pressure cooker simply:

1. Rinse 1 cup red lentils.
2. Combine rinsed red lentils with 3-4 cups water. Use 3 cups water for firmer lentils or 4 cups water for stew consistency.
3. Cover with lid.
4. Set to High Pressure with Vent closed for 7 minutes and press Start. Or, 5 minutes for firmer red lentils.
5. When finished cooking, let Instant Pot Natural Release for 10 minutes. Then, open vent.
6. When all pressure is released, open lid. Serve hot.

Seasoning red lentils in Instant Pot

For this recipe, I like to season the red lentils with Indian spices and add baby spinach. Here’s how:

1. 1 Before cooking the red lentils, add 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder.
2. After lentils are finished cooking, open lid and stir in 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes, 1 pinch Asafeteoda (Hing) along with 2 cups Baby Spinach.
3. Use the Saute function on the Instant Pot and simmer lentils with flavorings for 5 minutes on High Heat, stirring frequently.

Here’s links to my recommended ingredients on Amazon for this dish:

Anthony’s Organic Split Red Lentils

 

Rani Asafetida (Hing) Ground 3.75oz on Amazon.

More recommendations:

• Micro Ingredients Organic Garlic Powder, 3lbs
• Anthony’s Organic Turmeric Root Powder, 2 lb

How to cook brown rice in Instant Pot

To cook long or short grain rice in this pressure cooker simply:

1. Rinse 2 cups brown rice.
2. Combine rinsed rice with 2 cups water in the Instant Pot.
3. Cover with lid.
4. Set to High Pressure with Vent closed for 20 minutes and press Start.
5. When finished cooking, let Instant Pot Natural Release for 10 minutes. Then, open vent.
6. When all pressure is released, open lid and fluff rice. Serve hot.

Here’s the long grain brown rice I used in this dish for sale on Amazon:

 

Further reading:

• Beginners Guide to Daily Dozen Meal Prep