Instant Pot Lentil Fricot

Instant Pot lentil fricot. An old Acadian recipe made vegan. This comforting soup is made with potatoes, carrots, onions, dumplings and in this case, lentils. This recipe can also be made in the Instant Pot or slow cooker for an easy and delicious weeknight meal.

I’m going back to my roots today with a traditional Acadian recipe – Fricot.

As I said, fricot is a traditional Acadian recipe, which I grew up eating when living in New Brunswick. Fricot is a dish made of chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions and dumplings. Of course my version is made vegan thanks to lentils and vegetable broth.

Red lentils add protein to this soup and also thickens the dish to make it stew-like and comforting. It’s then flavored with vegetable broth (instead of chicken broth), summer savory, onions, garlic and a touch of butter.

If you’re not from the Maritimes, then think of fricot as a sort of chicken and dumplings soup.

This recipe has a stovetop, slow cooker and Instant Pot version. Choose the option that works best for you! The stovetop and Instant Pot versions are my personal favorites.

How to Make a Stovetop Vegetarian Fricot

This variation requires the most time, but it’s perfect if you don’t have an Instant Pot and need dinner on the table in less than 1 hour.

Start by sautéing the onions and garlic in butter. Once the onions and garlic are golden and fragrant, add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients, stir it all together and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables and lentils are tender.

Top with the simple dumplings batter and let it cook covered for another 5 minutes. Done!

How to Make Vegetarian Fricot in the Slow Cooker

Toss all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours. Once it’s done, add the dumpling batter and cook for another 5 minutes. Done!

How to Make Vegetarian Fricot in the Instant Pot

This is the easiest and fastest method. All you need to do is sautee the onions and garlic in the Instant pot using the Sautee option for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, seal the Instant Pot and cook for 20 minutes.

Once it’s done, release the steam, add the dumpling batter and cook for another 2 minutes.

Looking for more recipes from the Maritimes? Check out these Nova Scotia Oatcakes.

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Instant Pot Lentil Fricot

A traditional Acadian recipe with a vegetarian twist. This lentil Fricot is a comforting stew made with potatoes, carrots, onions, dumplings and in this case, lentils. This recipe can be made in the Instant Pot or in the slow cooker for an easy and delicious weeknight meal.
Course Main Course
Cuisine vegan
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegan butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 large (or 6 small) potatoes, diced
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup split red lentils
  • 5 cups vegetable broth, no salt added
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons summer savory, dried (or more to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Pepper to taste

Dumplings

  • 1 cup flour (I used all purpose whole wheat)
  • 3/4 cup plant-based milk of choice, plain and unsweetened
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

Instant Pot

  • Set the Instant Pot on the "sauté" setting for 5 minutes. Melt the butter, then add the garlic and onion and sauté until the timer goes off. Turn off the Instant Pot.
  • Add all the remaining ingredients, except for the dumplings, to your Instant Pot. Stir together and cook on soup setting for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the dumpling ingredients.
  • Once done cooking, release the steam. Spoon the dumpling dough on the soup, cover and cook for another 2 minutes using the soup setting.
  • Release the steam once again. Ladle into bowls and serve with pepper to taste.

Slow Cooker

  • Add all the ingredients to the bowl of your slow cooker. Stir together and cover. Cook on high for 4 hours.
  • Once done cooking, prepare the dumplings by mixing the ingredients in a small bowl. Spoon the dumpling dough onto the soup, then cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked.
  • Ladle into bowls and serve with pepper to taste.

Stovetop

  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until fragrant.
  • Stir in the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the remaining soup ingredients (not the dumplings) and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for 15 minutes or until the lentils and vegetables are cooked and tender. Stir occasionally. Taste and adjust salt and herbs to taste.
  • Meanwhile, mix the dumpling ingredients in a medium bowl.
  • Once the soup is done, spoon the dumpling dough onto the soup, then cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked. Serve immediately or let cool slightly and store in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

This fricot is on the thick side. Add liquid as desired. It also thickens when it cools down. If you’re planning on eating some as leftovers, consider adding extra liquid (though it’s still delicious eaten as a thick stew!).
I tried unsweetened soy milk, oat milk and almond milk for the dumplings with success. Choose your preferred plant-based milk.
Try adding 1-2 celery stalks (diced) into the soup when you add the carrots. It adds a great taste!
You can add 1/2 a teaspoon of savory in the dumplings if desired. 
If using salted broth, reduce salt to taste. You can also use water if you don’t have broth on hand.

If you make this lentil fricot, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!

View Comments

  • This sounds delicious? I never heard of it before and am going to try it. It said it's normally a chicken soup. Can I use no-chicken broth instead of vegetable broth then?

    • Hi! Yes, it's well known in Atlantic Canada, but not much elsewhere. You can certainly use no-chicken broth. Just keep in mind that if it's salted, you'll have to reduce the salt added to the recipe. Hope you'll love it!

    • Summer savory is a dried herb, you should be able to find it at any grocery store in the spice section. Hope this helps!

      • I live in Cape Breton and chicken and beef fricot is a regular during the cooler months, especially since I bought an instant pot! I can't wait to try this version of fricot for a meatless option!! Thanks!

  • I live in Cape Breton and chicken and beef fricot is a regular during the cooler months, especially since I bought an instant pot! I can't wait to try this version of fricot for a meatless option!! Thanks!

    • Hi Jenna, I hope you'll love it! Fricot was a regular at our house too and it's so good. Just keep in mind that it will taste a little different without the chicken, but I hope you'll love it for a meatless option! Enjoy. :)

  • Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I have been wanting to make vegetarian fricot for some years now. This was everything I was hoping for and more! I added a lot of savoury (let my heart guide me) and ate it with some fresh homemade buns and butter. The only thing I would like to change would be to thin it out somehow. Any luck with a veg râpé recipe??

    • I'm so happy you loved the recipe! And it does thicken with time, so you can absolutely add more liquid if you want. You could do 6 cups instead of 5, or more as needed. And I haven't tried making veg râpé, but what a great idea! I'll see what I can do. :)

  • I had never heard of fricot, but tried this recipe yesterday and loved it! Summer savory is harder to locate in the Southern U.S. so I used Herbs de Provence. I will make it again when I have summer savory. The "broth" reminds me a lot of southern pot pies -- have you ever considered a recipe that uses red lentils in a pot pie?

    • Hi Camilla, I'm so happy you liked it! It is very similar to a pot pie for sure! It could be adjusted to be used in a pot pie too. Delicious! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. :)

  • I just searched and found your pot pie recipes! Will try those too! Thanks!!

  • Caroline, this was so delicious...even though my hubby forgot to add the baking powder to the dumplings lol! Thank you for sharing :)

    • Hi Heidi, I'm so happy you liked it! And I'm happy it was still good without the baking powder. Hah! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. :)

  • This was delicious! I just made it in the instant pot tonight and it's perfect for this Autumn week. I'm not an onion fan, so I took that out and added a bit of onion powder instead. LOVE THIS! Thanks for sharing!

    • I'm so happy you liked the recipe! It's good to hear that it turned out well with the onion powder too. Thank you for leaving your feedback! :)

  • This recipe was absolutely DELICIOUS! My (Acadian) Husband said it was the best soup I ever made! So cozy and so easy!!! Thank you

    • Hi Michelle, thank you for taking the time to rate the recipe. I'm so happy that you both loved it! That made my day. :)

  • Thank you so much for a great recipe! This is my second time (of many more to come) making it. Our family has always loved chicken Fricot but both my daughters are now vegetarian so they're super excited to have these comforting familiar flavours back on the menu!!

    • Thank you Nicole, I'm so happy that you and your daughters loved the recipe! :)

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Tags: CarrotsDairy-FreeFallGluten-FreeGrain-FreeInstant PotLentilsMeal PrepNut-FreeSlow CookerSoy-FreeVeganVegetarianWinter
4 years ago

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