Instant Pot Mujadara – a nourishing vegan meal of lentils and rice, infused with fragrant Moroccan spices, served with caramelized shallots and seasonal veggies. Â This can also be made on the stove top! See Recipe notes!Â
Few desires, happy life. ~Moroccan Proverb
While in Morocco last winter, we hired a guide to take us high up into the Atlas Mountains to visit the beautiful old Berber villages. Our guide, Rachid was not eating meat during this time and would often stop at roadside cafes for a quick bowl of Mujadara- a humble, nourishing meal of lentils and rice, seasoned with flavorful Moroccan Spices. Â He described it as Moroccan comfort food – filling, nourishing and very affordable.
This meal was very similar to what my Egyptian father used to make, but he called it “Kushari”. He would tell me stories of growing up in his tiny village, and how my grandmother, a Copt (old Christian religion) would make this lentil -rice dish for them during their “Holy Great Fast”  which lasted almost two months. Years later, after moving to America, my dad would often make his version of lentils and rice, because it reminded him of his mom, and was his comfort food and very affordable when times were lean.  Now that I think about it, this is actually very similar to Khichari, the healing Indian Ayurvedic Bowl I posted about a few years back. It seems many regions of the world have very similar versions of this!
The Mujadara we experienced in Morocco was different from my father’s – it was flavored with fragrant Moroccan spices and this recipe here is inspired by the Moroccan version.
This Mujadara recipe can be made quickly and easily in an Instant Pot. I like to make a batch and have it in the fridge for midweek lunches. I thought my husband Brian would shun the Mujadara, but to my surprise, he happily gobbled it up and wanted seconds – the true test.
The basic recipe is easy and quick, and feel free to add any seasonal veggies you like. Tomatoes are delicious in summer, but roasted root veggies or winter squash would be nice in winter.
The shallots are a must – so don’t leave them off.
I added pine nuts but feel free to leave them off or sub other nuts or seeds. Â A little crunchy texture is nice.
Then simply drizzle with olive oil, and add a squeeze of lemon. You can also serve this with yogurt or tahini sauce.
This can be made ahead and reheated for easy healthy midweek meals. A healthy delicious base. To keep this vegan, top with tahini sauce instead of yogurt. Or add avocado!
During the colder months, add seasonal roasted veggies, ( cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, butternut)  instead of tomatoes. You can also add shredded raw veggies like carrots, beets or cabbage.  So a warm base of lentils and rice, topped with cool, crunchy raw veggies. Add tahini sauce or yogurt or  zhoug yogurt!Â
An energizing  healthy bowl!
The fresh herbs and olive oil really elevate the Mujadara, so don’t skip this step.
Moroccan -style Mujadara! A quick and easy vegan meal that can be made in an Instant Pot. Â You will love this!
PrintInstant Pot Mujadara
Instant Pot Mujadara – a comforting, healthy vegetarian meal of lentils and rice, with fragrant Moroccan spices, served with caramelized shallots, fresh veggies, pine nuts and optional yogurt. Gluten-free and Vegan adaptable. To make this on the stove top…see recipe notes.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Main, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, instant pot,
- Method: instant pot
- Cuisine: middle eastern
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown lentils ( do not split lentils)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2–3 fat shallots, thinly sliced ( or 1 red onion)
- 4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 2 teaspoons  cumin
- 1 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon turmeric, optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried mint or parsley ( or use a tablespoon of fresh)
- lemon zest from one small lemon
- 3 ½ cups water (be accurate)
- 1 cup brown basmati rice (rinsed and drained)
Garnishes: caramelized shallot or onion, diced tomato, simple roasted veggies, diced avocado, sprouts or greens, sliced cucumber, pine nuts, drizzle of olive oil, yogurt,  vegan yogurt, zhoug yogurt (amazing),  lemon wedges, fresh parsley, aleppo chili flakes. (In winter, serve with roasted root veggies, shredded kale, carrots, or cabbage or beets!
Instructions
Place lentils in a bowl and cover with hot tap water (or boiling water), letting them soak until time to add to the instant pot.
Set Instant Pot to Saute function. Saute shallots  in the oil, 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly,  until tender and fragrant and slightly caramelized. Remove half, saving for the topping. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add all the spices, salt, lemon zest and water.  Stir. Drain the lentils and add them along with the rinsed rice to the instant pot.  Give a good stir.
Cover the instant pot and set to Normal Pressure, High for 14 minutes. Let naturally release for at least 10 minutes.
In the mean time, prep any garnishes you like.
To serve, gently fluff Mujadara with a fork (do not over mix, or it will get mushy ). Â Divide among bowls, drizzle with olive oil, add tomatoes, avocado, caramelized shallots, sprouts, a spoonful of yogurt or zhoug yogurt, or tahini sauce – and fresh parsley or mint. Feel free to serve with other seasonal veggies ( roasted root veggies, shredded cabbage or carrots, etc).
Enjoy!
Notes
This can be made ahead and refrigerated, and used as a healthy base for mid-week lunches.
In fall, winter you could serve with roasted winter squash or root veggies.
If using white basmati rice, shorten cooking time to 12 minutes and reduce water by 1/4 cup.
To make this on the stove top, and if using large brown lentils, par-cook them in boiling water for 15 minutes. Â While the lentils are boiling, heat oil in a dutch oven and cook the shallots, stirring often until golden and caramelized. Remove half and continue with the recipe. Drain the lentils and add it along with rice, spices, salt, water to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Check to see if lentils and rice are tender. If not, continue to cook a few more minutes, adding more water if necessary. If using small black or green lentils, check cooking directions for cooking time. Adjust par cooking time according to the size of a lentil. For example, tiny black beluga lentils take 20 minutes to cook, so you would not need to par cook. Â Please leave your adjustments below to help other users, thanks!
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Made this to your specs on stovetop, and it was delicious, thank you! My Moroccan grandma made a slightly sweeter version of this and I’ve missed it so much; this brought it all back. Main difference with your take is that she would boil the lentils in a weak broth + all of the dry spices + garlic for a few minutes before adding the rice. Her ‘secret mix’ for the spices was more or less yours, but she’d crush fresh mintleaves+a fresh chili+lemon zest+fresh ginger together in a pestle with half a tablespoon of course darkbrown sugar, add a bit of hot water and then pour everything in with the boiling lentils and the rest of the spices. She’d also always throw in raisins and use much (much!) more olive oil than you. Yours tastes lighter, hers more comforting 😉 I think of your version as a nice spring variation of this now, so thank you again! We’d usually eat it with several vegetable side dishes (carrot salad, raw courgette, large white beans), preserved lemon, and olives.
Thanks for this Yasmine- hers sounds so good!
Me and my husband started plant based eating January 1 2020. His struggle has been this aversion to beans. When I told him that I was making a Middle Eastern lentil dish for dinner he was not happy. I told him he needed to keep an open mind and try it before judging. He was hooked from the first bite and so was I. Bravo. New favorite recipe. Thanks for this.
★★★★★
Awwww, warms my heart! Thanks for sharing and maybe he’ll venture out and try other beans!
This recipe looks amazing! This may be a stupid question, but do you cook the rice before putting it in the instant pot?
No! The instant pot will cook it. 🙂
Thanks for the instant pot version of mujadara!! So easy and so tasty!!
★★★★★
Thanks Olga!
I am Lebanese, and while this recipe has some significant differences from my family recipe (much more rice, different spices, shallot instead of yellow onion etc.), I look forward to trying it and experiencing the different flavor profile! Unfortunately, when I printed this recipe out, the text bar for subscribing to your blog completely obliterated a couple of essential steps of the recipe. Not sure if that’s something you can fix on your end.
★★★★★
Ok Hopefully fixed now- please let me know.
Glad I read the comments before I made this! I use a 6-qt. Instant Pot and to avoid the mushiness, I cut the water down by a cup — so, used only 2.5 cups water — and kept the cooking and natural release times the same. It’s still a bit too mushy for my liking, but otherwise it tastes delicious. Cooks, I would really recommend using only 2.5 cups water!
Great to hear, thanks for sharing your adaptation!
The flavours in this dish are fantastic, restaurant quality! I followed the recipe to the letter though and it came out mushy, although this did not prevent us from devouring it! Will absolutely make it again but with a bit less water!
★★★★
Not sure if the water consistency is correct. Mine came out completely mushy and inedible. The flavor was good but the consistency was not good at all. Any thoughts?
What size instant pot did you use?
The exact same thing happened to me! The recipe came out too mushy although the flavor was so good, we ate it anyway. Are used an instant pot Duo that holds 6 quarts.
Ok good to know- will have to retest this one.
Same thing happened to me with a 8qt instant pot. Way too much water 😢
Sorry about that. I will note the recipe- It may be the type of rice too.
So good! One of my favourite recipes. Definitely a weekly staple in our house now.
★★★★★
Yay! I like this one too!
Great protein base. I’m trying to eat less meat for inner and outer environmental reasons, but want want the protein for gym training. I love Indian but and never knew about this dish. Delicious and easy to make. It’s a win-win-win!
★★★★
Taking this to a veg potluck and Friendsgiving as a main. It smells divine and I can’t wait to try it! I doubled it in my 8qt.
This was easy and delicious. Even better – my kids ate it up and asked if they could have it for dinner again tomorrow night!
★★★★★
Awesome! Great to hear kids like this one!
This recipe came up in one of my other groups so I made it for dinner. It was yummy. I will certainly make this again.
Sylvia, why did you cook this for 14 minutes? I only did 5 minutes and it was fine. My rice and lentils soaked for a fairly long time so maybe that was the difference in cook times.
Thanks Leslie… and I’m not sure? It took that long for me.