This Instant Pot Lentil Soup comes together so quickly using simple pantry ingredients. It’s very healthy as it’s packed with vitamins and nutrients. Serve it with crusty bread for a hearty and warming meal. It’s naturally vegan and gluten-free and takes just 30 minutes to be ready.
This soup is the best thing that you can make for yourself and your loved ones to instantly feel better on a cold day. It’s not your average lentil soup, it’s actually full of flavor as nobody likes bland lentil soup!
It’s so easy to make. Just dump all the ingredients in your instant pot and let it cook. When you are ready to eat, serve with bread or crackers for a cozy meal!
Why This Recipe Works
- Basic Pantry Ingredients. If you have lentils in your pantry, a can of diced tomatoes, mirepoix vegetables (onion, carrot, and celery), a few seasonings, and vegetable stock, then you’re good to go! Spinach adds a nice touch if you happen to have it.
- Filling. I love soups that are so satisfying and can be served as a main meal. Trust me, this soup will keep you full for a few good hours.
- Dump and Start Recipe. So you have the option to sauté the mirepoix vegetables, but do you really have to? The answer is no! If you’re in a hurry, just dump everything in the Instant Pot and come back to a bowl of hearty warm soup.
Ingredients Needed
To make this Instant Pot Lentil Soup, here’s what you’ll need:
- Lentils – The lentils that I used are brown lentils. Feel free to use French green lentils (also called “Puy lentils”) or red lentils. However, if you use red lentils, consider cutting the cooking time for a few minutes as they cook faster and you will end up with creamier texture. I love lentils because they are packed with protein, iron, potassium, magnesium and B vitamins.
- Vegetables – Adding carrots, celery and onion makes the base for any soup (known as mirepoix). This is what makes any soup so flavorful!
- Tomatoes – I used a can of diced tomatoes for the convenience (I always have a few cans in my pantry!) but feel free to use fresh diced tomatoes if that’s what you have available. The tomatoes add to the liquid needed for this recipe.
- Vegetable stock – I used vegetable broth/stock for a plant based version of this soup, but feel free to replace it with with chicken broth/stock if that’s your preference.
- Spinach (optional) – I stirred in some spinach leaves at the end of the cooking process to add more nutrients and richness to the soup. You can also change this up, and use kale instead.
- Herbs and spices – what makes this soup so delicious! I used dried oregano, ground cumin, salt and pepper to taste.
How to Make Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Add All The Ingredients To The Pot – excluding spinach. And give them a stir.
- Pressure Cook. Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 15 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 7-8 minutes until it comes to pressure and starts cooking.
- Natural Release. When the cooking time ends, allow for natural release of the steam for 2-3 minutes before quickly releasing the remaining of the steam.
- Carefully Remove the Lid. Stir in the spinach leaves and close the lid again and let the soup sit for a few minutes to allow the spinach leaves to wilt. Then adjust the seasonings and the texture to your preference.
- Serve. Ladle into soup bowls. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy!
Top Tips
- You can substitute the brown lentils with French green lentils (Puy lentils) or red lentils. However, if you use red lentils, consider cutting the cooking time for a few minutes as they cook faster and end up with creamier texture.
- You’ll need to rinse the lentils before cooking them, but there’s no need to soak them for this recipe.
- To reheat the soup, use the sauté setting and stir the soup often so it doesn’t scorch at the bottom of the pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
While the total cooking time in the Instant Pot and on the stove top is pretty comparable, it is completely hands off in the Instant Pot. Plus, the texture of the Instant Pot Lentil Soup is superior.
Because we are using an electric pressure cooker, there’s no need to soak the lentils before cooking.
If you end up having leftovers, pour them into airtight containers and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep in mind that this soup gets better on the following days.
To reheat the soup, use the sauté setting and stir the soup often so it doesn’t scorch at the bottom of the pot.
You can safely freeze this soup in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. This makes it ideal for meal prep. But remember to let the soup cool down to room temperature first.
Thaw frozen soup completely in the fridge the night before you plan on serving it.
How To Serve Instant Pot Lentil Soup
This soup is amazing on its own. It’s satisfying, filling and full of flavor. But it also goes very well with:
- Bread – crusty French bread, Italian bread, or your favorite type of bread!
- Crackers – saltiness anyone?
- Croutons – make your own homemade croutons at home, they’re SO simple to make! I have a great croutons recipe if you want to check it out.
- Air Fryer grilled cheese – when paired with soup, it’s a match made in heaven!
- Air Fryer parmesan chicken – for a complete meal.
- Breadsticks – these Olive Garden breadsticks are amazing!
- Pasta salad – for a tasty soup and salad combination that is so filling and satisfying!
For more delicious and nourishing recipe ideas, click here. Also, make sure to check out my other Instant Pot recipes. Find my other soup recipes here.
I hope that you enjoy this instant pot lentil soup as much as I do! Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my recipe. Happy cooking and stay warm!
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1½ cup brown lentils or green lentils
- 1 (14.5oz-400g) can tomatoes diced
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves optional
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Add All The Ingredients To The Pot – excluding spinach and lemon juice. And give them a stir.
- Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 15 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 7-8 minutes until it comes to pressure and starts cooking.
- When the cooking time ends, allow for natural release of the steam for 2-3 minutes before quickly releasing the remaining of the steam.
- Carefully Remove the Lid. Discard the bay leaves and stir in the spinach leaves and close the lid again and let the soup sit for a few minutes to allow the spinach leaves to wilt.
- Stir in lemon juice, then taste it and adjust the seasonings and the texture to your preference by adding more liquid if needed.
- Ladle into soup bowls. Serve with an additional squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and crusty bread on the side.
Notes
- You can substitute the brown lentils with French green lentils (Puy lentils) or red lentils. However, if you use red lentils, consider cutting the cooking time for a few minutes as they cook faster and end up with creamier texture.
- You’ll need to rinse the lentils before cooking them, but there’s no need to soak them for this recipe.
- To store the soup, pour leftovers into airtight containers and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. The good news is that this soup gets better on the following days!
- To reheat the soup, use the sauté setting and stir the soup often so it doesn’t scorch at the bottom of the pot.
- To freeze this soup, pour it into freezer-safe containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. This makes it ideal for meal prep. But remember to let the soup cool down to room temperature first.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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Comments & Reviews
Pamela says
Delicious and easy! The recipe made enough for a couple of meals this week plus some for later in the freezer.
Kristen says
This lentil soup is seriously so flavorful and delicious! I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, and diced tomatoes with jalapeños instead of regular. Also tossed in a half bag of frozen white corn at the end. Super yummy!