Bent scored twice to take his total for the season to eight as Burnley were brushed aside.
Ipswich have not lost since the middle of September and have scored at least once in their last 30 outings.
Bent made the most of a mistake by former Ipswich defender John McGreal to give Ipswich a 15th minute lead following a long punt downfield by Kelvin Davis.
Bent then secured the points with an unstoppable left-foot shot in the 65th minute - a real goal of the season contender.
Ipswich almost scored twice in the first 10 minutes as Shefki Kuqi shot over form a good position and Kevin Horlock hit a free-kick against the Burnley bar.
Ironically Burnley had the best spell after going behind and skipper Robbie Blake was unlucky to see an effort disallowed for offside.
Blake also hit the crossbar but any hope Burnley had of making a game of it disappeared when Bent smashed home his second.
Bent was denied a hat-trick by a good block form Brian Jensen who also did well to push away a shot form Tommy Miller.
Ipswich had opportunities to win by a more convincing margin against a poor Burnley side hit by injuries and very low in confidence.
Burnley were without the likes of goalkeeper Danny Coyne and striker Ian Moore, while several others played on through the pain barrier.
Burnley may find it hard to find anything resembling a first team for the Carling Cup clash with Spurs on Tuesday.