This delicious, rich and satisfying Instant Pot Lentil Soup is full of flavor and is very easy to make. It's vegan and gluten-free and takes only 30 minutes to be ready!
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.