Israeli Couscous and Lentils
By :Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook By Nisha Vora
There are many reasons why I love this recipe and think you will, too. For starters, it’s a dump-everything-in recipe that requires no hands-on cooking. I think that’s reason enough, but I have more reasons to share. Second, it’s hearty enough to feel like a main dish thanks to the protein-packed lentils, but still feels light and refreshing, in part due to the grassy flavor of fresh dill. And finally, this recipe yields a lot of food, so it’s an ideal weekly-meal-prep-with-individual-containers situation. Or if you’re feeling generous, you can bring it to a potluck, summer picnic, or barbecue.

I use French green lentils in this salad (and most lentil-based salads) because they hold their shape during cooking. Typically, there is no need to soak lentils, but soaking them here reduces the cook time to just 3 minutes, allowing you to cook the lentils at the same time as the Israeli couscous.

This is one of those dishes that gets better the next day, as the lentils and couscous will have had a chance to thoroughly absorb the flavors of the vinaigrette and herbs.
Votes: 42
Rating: 3.86
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine Israeli
Difficulty Medium
Browse Category Salad, Vegan & Vegetarian
Duration 30-60 min
Diet Plant-Based, Vegan, Vegetarian
Cooking Technique Pressure Cook
Main Ingredient Broth, Cherry Tomatoes, Couscous, Dill, Green Olives, Olives, Onion, Peppers, Red Wine Vinegar
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
COUSCOUS AND LENTILS
  • 1 cup French green lentils Puy
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 red yellow, or orange bell peppers, diced
  • 2 carrots diced
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup Israeli or pearl couscous
  • 3 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 leaves bay
  • Handful of fresh thyme sprigs
TO FINISH
  • 2 1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup fresh dill finely chopped
  • 1 cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
  • 15 pitted green olives sliced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine Israeli
Difficulty Medium
Browse Category Salad, Vegan & Vegetarian
Duration 30-60 min
Diet Plant-Based, Vegan, Vegetarian
Cooking Technique Pressure Cook
Main Ingredient Broth, Cherry Tomatoes, Couscous, Dill, Green Olives, Olives, Onion, Peppers, Red Wine Vinegar
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
COUSCOUS AND LENTILS
  • 1 cup French green lentils Puy
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 red yellow, or orange bell peppers, diced
  • 2 carrots diced
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup Israeli or pearl couscous
  • 3 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 leaves bay
  • Handful of fresh thyme sprigs
TO FINISH
  • 2 1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup fresh dill finely chopped
  • 1 cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
  • 15 pitted green olives sliced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Votes: 42
Rating: 3.86
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Instructions
  1. Soak the lentils in water to cover for 8 hours or overnight. Drain the lentils.
  2. Place the soaked and drained lentils, onion, bell peppers, carrots, garlic, couscous, vegetable broth, salt, pepper to taste, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs in the Instant Pot and stir well to combine.
  3. Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Select the Pressure Cook setting at high pressure and set the cook time to 3 minutes.
  4. Once the 3-minute timer has completed and beeps, allow an natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then switch the Pressure Release knob from Sealing to Venting to release any remaining steam.
  5. Open the pot and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
  6. Transfer the couscous-lentil mixture to a large bowl and allow to come to room temperature.
  7. To the couscous-lentil mixture, add the extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, dill, parsley, olives, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and taste for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as needed, or a splash more vinegar for acidity.
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50 replies
  12. KConzen
    KConzen says:

    Followed recipe exactly but it came out mushy. Next time will use way less broth. Tasted good though

  14. Monicalyn1
    Monicalyn1 says:

    Mine didn’t turn out as pretty as the picture (looked like lentil stew, lol), but it was very tasty! I’ll use less broth next time.

  15. Cskortz
    Cskortz says:

    I reduced liquid to under 3C abd it was still a little soupy. I couldnt find Ftench Lentil so they got mushy. Still tastes good!!

  16. Emdoc80
    Emdoc80 says:

    Way too much water! I halved all ingredients including the broth and everything was mush and I poured at least 1.5 cups of liquid off

  23. laurarashley
    laurarashley says:

    Aftet reading other reviewers’ recommendation to include less vegetable broth, we only use 2 1/2 cups. This was still a little runny, so before I transfered the cooked dish to a bowl to cool I strained it. I also didn’t soak the lentils overnight, but brought them to a boil and let them cook for about 25 minutes. The couscous I put in dry. Both came out quite well. My major complaint is that a full cup of both dill and parsley was so overpowering we had to give up after a couple of bites.

  28. Shelleypigeon
    Shelleypigeon says:

    I should have read this before attempting to make it twice. Way too much liquid. The 3rd time i cooked the old fashioned way in a pot. Takes the same amount of time if you soak the lentils. You can control the liquid and i only used 2 cups and added the cous cous after turning the heat off. Now i don’t have a pot of mush.

  29. gpmatthews@bellsouth.net
    gpmatthews@bellsouth.net says:

    We took the advice of others and cut the liquid down to 2.5 cups and it did not come out watery. It was mushy but i think that comes from the lentils so next time we are going to 1/2 the lentils and up the coucous and see if that helps the texture. Taste was very good. We are not Vegan so we are going to try low sodium chicken broth next time to see how it changes the flavor….

  33. SuzannePrior
    SuzannePrior says:

    I took others’ advice and reduced the broth to 2 cups and i liked the consistency. Very good!

  34. Bbdbea
    Bbdbea says:

    Are you supposed to add olive oil at the beginning? I didnt and it came out OK but it burnt a little

  35. ebaimbridge
    ebaimbridge says:

    Family loved it. I didn’t read the comments before making but the liquid amount was fine as-is on the recipe. I did not pre-soak the lentils though as I bought ones that don’t require it. I’ll be making this again.

  36. moorefitnesswv10
    moorefitnesswv10 says:

    Sooo good!! Easy to make and stores well for several days in the fridge. Have made a couple times.

  37. Crlawrence9
    Crlawrence9 says:

    It tastes good, but even with half the liquid, it’s mushy. I used regular lentils. I’ll try French lentils next time.

  39. Ruffjm
    Ruffjm says:

    Made a few changes based on the reviews, 1/2 the herbs and the broth. Also didn’t presoak the puy lentils. Turned out perfect.

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