Over the last year we have been cooking up a storm in our Instant Pot and loving every minute of it.
Who wouldn’t want to cook healthier, faster… and better in a fraction of the time? It’s like asking someone if they would rather make food over 9 hours or 30 minutes.
That’s just a no brainer 😉
Amazon sold over 200,000 of them on Prime Day – I call it my crock pot on steroids. This instant pot has made some pretty incredible meals and this is just another one to add to the list.
Lets talk about marinara sauce.
We dump it on pasta, and we use it as a dip for breadsticks. It’s great added to pizza. And it might just taste amazing incorporated with chicken, too.
I don’t know a child who doesn’t love marinara sauce – pasta is a pretty big deal around our house. It’s easy, fast and provided I can snatch up a box of gluten-free noodles, it digests a lot better than the food that we would be giving them if we ate out in a restaurant.
This marinara sauce hides lentils and sweet potatoes within – the lentils provide some protein and the sweet potatoes are a wonderful source of vitamins. We do wonderful with hiding veggies ~ we’ve done something similar with Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce recently too.
My ten year old daughter asked “Mom, did you make this?”
I did – why?
“It’s awesome!”
That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. 🙂
You’ll want to start by using the Instant Pot to saute the garlic in a little oil. Add all of the ingredients (stewed OR crushed tomatoes will work great since you are going to puree them at the end), and then dump the water in the pot to allow the lentils to cook. The pot will cook relatively quickly – just 14 minutes of actual cooking time – allow the pressure to release and then use your blender or immersion blender (LOVE mine!) to blend into a nice, thick sauce.
This recipe makes about 8 cups of sauce – you can opt to freeze in jars, or pour into ziploc bags, lay flat and stack nicely in your freezer. Pull out for dinner as needed.
After seeing how easy this marinara sauce is to make, you will never buy store varieties again. Ever.
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? We have Over 50 Instant Pot recipes including cheesecake, tamales, chicken paprikash, chicken noodle soup, picadillo & more.
This recipe was adapted from Eat Within your Means.
Ingredients
- 4 - 15 oz cans of stewed OR crushed tomatoes
- 1 can tomato paste
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
- 1/2 C. red lentils
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & diced
- 1 1/2 C. water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Optional: 2 drops basil vitality essential oil (we use Young Living
Instructions
- Rinse your lentils and set aside.
- Saute the garlic in the olive oil for a minute or two until it starts to turn soft.
- Mix in the lentils and the sweet potatoes and give them a stir with the garlic to wrap the garlic flavor around the mixture.
- Turn the saute function OFF.
- Add the tomatoes and water. Stir to distribute everything evenly.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and close the valve (seal).
- Place the pot on high (manual) for 14 minutes.
- After the time has passed and the pot beeps finished, allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Use a blender or, immersion blender to blend before serving or, before storing in jars.
Can we omit the lentils or do you have a suggestion for a suitable substitute? This sauce looks delicious, but my son is allergic to lentils so trying to find a work around. Thank you!
Just omit the lentils — it won’t affect the taste 🙂