Make Life Simple, Instant Pot Lentil Soup is vegan and gluten free and can be made on the stove- top or in an Instant Pot ( with only 12 minutes of pressure cooking time!). Flavorful and healthy, this version is seasoned with Middle Eastern Spices.
True abundance is the freedom that comes from wanting less. Yung Pueblo Inward
Happy Weekend! Here’s a fast and healthy recipe my Egyptian father used to make that is nourishing to body and soul and will help make busy lives a little more manageable. Make Life Simple Instant Pot Lentil Soup. Packed full of veggies, this delicious, vegan soup is seasoned with Middle Eastern spices and is satisfying and filling, yet low in calories. Humble yet abundant. Make a big batch and have it on hand for lunches or dinners during the busy workweek. Serve it like my dad would, with a drizzle of olive oil, a little squeeze of lemon, fresh Italian parsley, chili flakes, diced tomatoes and a side of toasted pita bread to mop up all the tasty juices.
Here is a quick video on how to make this in an Instant Pot!
The best part . . . the soup can either be made in an Instant Pot or on the stove top!
Many of you have been asking for Instant Pot recipes, so many in fact, I went out and bought one just to see what all the hubbub was about. If unfamiliar, an Instant Pot is basically a pressure cooker and slow cooker in one, with a saute function. The pressure cooker function comes in especially handy if wanting to cook dried beans or grains very quickly, or make stews out of tougher cuts of meat in under an hour. For people with families who are short on time, I see how this could be a great tool in the kitchen. For me personally, I’ll admit, I guess I’m a little old-school and much prefer to cook meals like this one in a dutch oven on the stove – nice and slow. But I don’t have 4 kids and a 9-5 job. So I get it.
The recipe calls for 4 cups of chopped veggies – any combination of carrots, celery, parsnips, bell pepper, potato, or even cabbage – in this nutrient dense soup.
After 12 minutes in the Instant Pot, the lentils are perfectly cooked, as well as the veggies.
Here I’ve used tiny Caviar Black Lentils, but any lentil will work fine. Smaller lentils cook much faster so keep that in mind. If going with a conventional large brown lentils, increase time to 20 minutes.
Make sure to add the finishing touches – olive oil, lemon, parsley and fresh tomatoes . . . so good!
The leftovers are even more delicious as the flavors have time to meld.
Make Life Simple Instant Pot Lentil Soup – a fast healthy recipe to make our busy lives a little easier.
For more Instant Pot recipes try Instant Pot Moroccan Split Pea Soup
or Cassoulet Vert!
If you try this recipe, be sure to let us know by leaving a comment, rating, and tagging a picture #feastingathome on Instagram.
Cheers, friends!
PrintMake Life Simple Instant Pot Lentil soup
This Middle Eastern-inspired, Make Life Simple Instant Pot Lentil Soup is vegan and gluten free and can be made on the stove top or in an Instant Pot in with 12 minutes of cook time! Flavorful and healthy!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 12
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: vegan main
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: middle eastern
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced (or sub 2 fat shallots)
- 6 –8 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups diced veggies – any mix of carrots, celery, parsnip, bell pepper, potato, cabbage (I normally use 1 –2 carrots, 1 parsnip, 1–2 celery)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, more to taste.
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)
- 1 bay leaf or 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence or Italian herbs
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced with their juices (one 14.5 ounce can, diced)
- 4 flavorful cups chicken or veggie stock (or use 3 bouillon cubes w/ water)
- 2 cups water
- 1 ¼ cup small Black Caviar lentils or French Green Lentils (You can always use bigger, brown lentils, but increase pressure cooking time to 20 minutes.) You can also substitute split lentils for ¼ cup of the lentils for a creamier texture. 🙂
Finish with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped Italian parsley (or cilantro), diced tomatoes and optional chili flakes (Aleppo chili is nice here) and toasted pita.
Instructions
Saute onion and garlic in the Instant Pot in 2 tablespoons oil until fragrant and tender, about 2-3 minutes. (Or cook in a dutch oven on the stove, over medium-high heat)
Add the veggies, spices and salt. Saute 4-5 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and brown it a bit. Add the tomatoes and their juices, stock and water, scraping up any browned bits. Add the lentils, stir and cover, setting the Instant pot to Pressure Cook on Normal for 12 minutes. (Alternately if cooking on the stove top, bring to a simmer and cover, simmering on low for 20-25 minutes)
Let the pressure release either manually or naturally.
Divide among bowls and drizzle with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, chili flakes, fresh parsley and fresh diced tomato (optional)
Notes
Remember little Black Caviar lentils (or French Green Lentils) cook much faster than regular brown lentils. Red lentils have been split and will work here too, and will cook fast, but will give a different consistency. Sometimes I’ll substitute a ¼ cup of split red lentils for the Black Caviar lentils for a creamier texture. The larger the lentil, the longer you will need to cook.
Ali says
October 30, 2017 at 7:47 pmmade this the other day. Husband & child are not fans of curry, but both ate this soup & declared it delicious! I enjoyed it because I love curry. I did use potatoes, carrots, turnips, one can of tomatoes & brown lentils, as that’s what I had. Yum. Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
January 14, 2018 at 4:44 pmGlad your family enjoyed it!
★★★★★
Nicola Maddock says
January 17, 2018 at 11:09 pmOh my gosh just tasted my lentil soup amazing!!
Sylvia Fountaine says
January 18, 2018 at 6:07 amYay!!!!! so glad you like it!
Bill says
January 21, 2018 at 10:48 amWhat is “normal pressure”? My Instant Pot has “low” and “high” settings.
Sylvia Fountaine says
January 22, 2018 at 1:29 pmHigh! Sorry.
UmmBonjon says
February 6, 2018 at 8:05 amNice flavour and super idea to use up some celery sticks. I used a regular pot on the stove, no pressure cooker this time.
Thanks! I took all your toppings to heart delish!
★★★★
S Chin says
February 11, 2018 at 7:02 pmDelicious! My 6 year old daughter loves it and asked that I pack it for lunch! Thank you!
★★★★★
Sandra says
February 13, 2018 at 4:38 pmAbsolutely define.
Freezes beautifully!
Sandra says
February 13, 2018 at 4:39 pmAbsolutely devine.
Freezes beautifully!
Shannon says
March 1, 2018 at 11:49 pmThis recipe quickly became a family favorite. Before I tried this recipe, I found the black lentils…once. I can’t find them anywhere now. Pray tell, where is your source? I am also from Washington state and am grateful to you for sharing the dried chickpea source.
Sylvia Fountaine says
March 13, 2018 at 6:18 pmI get them in the Bulk section of the grocery store. Where in Washington are you?
Denise says
March 14, 2018 at 4:11 pmI’m also in Washington State (Seattle), and when it comes to best price, I end up getting my bean varieties from http://www.vitacost.com direct from the farmers such as at http://www.sunorganicfarm.com — hope this helps!
★★★★★
Rina says
May 11, 2018 at 9:30 pmHi Shannon,
I’m also from Washington state, and I found them at Whole Foods (365 brand). We love this soup!
Jackie says
March 22, 2018 at 4:33 pmI have made this recipe twice already! I made it exactly as written the first time (with 1 c Puy lentils and 1/4 c red lentils) and it came out amazing! I made it again within a week but added cooked Italian Sausage. Thanks for the great recipe! I really love the tip about using red lentils to make the soup creamier!
★★★★★
M E Cameron says
March 3, 2019 at 3:55 amI followed a great recipe using the black Lentils du Puy but did not rinse the lentils well enough and think it needs to be repeated with a new batch. I think it is very important to rinse these lentils very well before using in recipe. They needs to be rinsed with several changes of water before use.
Sharon says
April 1, 2018 at 3:24 pmDoes “let the pressure release” mean wait for it to release naturally, or actively let out the pressure with a quick release?
Sylvia Fountaine says
April 12, 2018 at 10:14 pmEither way, manual or naturally.
Megan says
April 5, 2018 at 4:50 amThis is a GREAT recipe. Made it for my family and my husband and toddler loved it! My husband isn’t a huge fan of curry flavored things but heartily approved of this dish! You have the best soup recipes.
★★★★★
Andrea says
April 5, 2018 at 5:38 pmWe eat a lot of lentil soups and I am always looking for something new. This was delicious! I added grated carrot and cubed yams, 1 1/2 cups black beluga lentils and 1/2 cup red lentils but kept liquid amounts as the recipe called for to make it thicker. Topped with roasted cherry tomatoes and cilantro (I didn’t think it needed any oil).
Jamie says
April 8, 2018 at 7:12 pmThanks for sharing this awesome recipe! It’s so cozy and warming in the chilly weather. This is a super easy and healthy recipe.
I did not use tomato paste because I’m sensitive to the acidity. Diced tomatoes were enough to give full flavors. Instead of using 1 and 1/4 cup of lentils, I used 1 cup of lentils and 1/4 cup of barley, and had 12 minutes in high pressure cooking . With barley the soup has good ‘barley’ texture. As the recipe calls, adding chilli flakes, fresh parsley, olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon give the full flavor to the soup. I’m definitely going to make this again.
I haven’t tried, but if you have garam masala, I think you can use it instead of allspice and coriander.
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
April 9, 2018 at 9:33 amGlad you enjoyed and thanks for adding your adaptations! Good to know barley cooks in 12 minutes- perfect, thanks!!!!
Spacebabe18 says
July 16, 2018 at 6:11 amThis was divine, full of flavour and colour. I put some harissa on it at the end along with the parsley and lemon and it was just gorgeous! Thank,you Sylvia for yet another delicious, healthy dish with some intriguing flavours.
Sylvia Fountaine says
July 16, 2018 at 9:54 pmLovely, the harissa sounds perfect!
CB says
August 11, 2018 at 11:42 pmWhat a great recipe! the only thing I adapt is that I omit the oil. Thank you so much for this great soup.
julia tree says
September 1, 2018 at 12:59 pmThis came out really well the first time. Delicious! flavours integrate really well, and the instructions are clear. I served it with a dollop of greek style yogurt in the middle, and that went really well too. If you eat dairy, the greek style yogurt gives it a really nice tang and creaminess. This is the first of your recipes that I’ve tried. look forward to trying more.
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
September 2, 2018 at 1:59 pmAwesome Julia! Im so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the yogurt tip. 🙂
julia trees says
September 1, 2018 at 4:43 pmwe loved it. so good! I’ll make this again.
At the end, I put a dollop of greek-style yogurt and it was a great addition – a little bit of tang and creaminess in the dish.
★★★★★
Sarah says
October 7, 2018 at 2:51 amMade this for the first time today and cannot believe how yummy it is!!this is going in my family recipe cookbook and will probably be a weekly staple for the coming winter months. So yummy and so hearty!
I don’t havr e an instant pot so cooked it on regular stove top, I also soaked the lentils in water for about an hr, used low salt veggie stock cubes, omitted the all spice powder and oil at the end. The lemon and chilli really enhanced the flavour. We love it! Thanks so much for this. Looking forward to exploring your website for more easy and yummy recipes x
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
October 7, 2018 at 9:21 amThanks for sharing your modifications Sarah, and good to know it works on the stove top too!
ShellieToo says
November 1, 2018 at 5:43 amThanks for the inspiration! I discovered some beluga lentils in the cupboard and just googled instant pot + lentils + the veg I had on hand and discovered this tasty soup. I happened to have a yellow pepper and half a zucchini in addition to carrots, celery and potatoes, plus put a bit of cinnamon and allspice in the pot since I didn’t have curry powder. Served it up with thick yoghurt as per a previous suggestion and topped with chopped coriander/cilantro. Really delicious and easy, plus I have leftovers for lunch today.
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
November 1, 2018 at 6:33 amLove how you adapted this based on what you had on hand! Thanks for sharing!
Annette Harrah says
November 4, 2018 at 10:39 amGreat recipe! Didn’t even taste like I was cleaning extra vegetables out the refrigerator.
★★★★★
Ed Hawco says
December 1, 2018 at 1:29 pmLooks good, but please specify what size can of tomatoes (14oz or 28oz).
Sylvia Fountaine says
December 2, 2018 at 8:36 amSorry about that, I adjusted the recipe! 14.5 ounce can.
Rachel says
December 23, 2018 at 3:03 pmI just made this soup in my instant pot and it is absolutely delicious. I used a mix of carrots, parsnip, celery, bell pepper and potato. I only used one cup of water (instead of two) for a thicker soup. So good!
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
December 24, 2018 at 6:03 amsounds perfect, so glad you liked it!
Gloria Duong says
January 11, 2019 at 12:23 pmAmazing lentil soup! We make it every week since I have found it last year. Thank you for the best lentil recipe!
Sylvia Fountaine says
January 12, 2019 at 10:59 amYou are so welcome! Im glad you are enjoying it!
Karen Stewart says
January 13, 2019 at 8:35 amFabulous!!! Incredible flavors. We have some sensitivity to tomatoes so only included the tomato paste (used Mantova) for the more intense flavors and left out the diced tomaotes and just added more water. Still wonderful. This will become a regular for us.
★★★★★
Jill Rider says
January 21, 2019 at 3:32 pmThis is a delicious lentil soup and I loved the spices and vegetables that changed it from my other lentil soup recipes. I made it on the stove and was still easy and fast.
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
January 22, 2019 at 8:10 amAwww thanks Jill. Great to hear from you and glad you enjoyed!
Gretchen says
February 3, 2019 at 4:47 pmThis recipe was the best thing that I made in 2018. All year, no lie. I did alter the recipe slightly. I substituted 1/4 c. red lentils for part of the lentils and 1 c. regular(?) lentils, and I added ginger, jalapeno, and turmeric. My veg was parsnips, carrots, celery, and baby potatoes. I even have a friend from India that asked for the recipe after eating it. Thank you so much for all of the inspiration.
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
February 3, 2019 at 4:50 pmIm so glad you liked it and made it your own! Thanks for rating and sharing!!!
Kristen Arnett says
February 6, 2019 at 12:15 pmThis is my MOST favorite soup recipe ever now!! Everyone I’ve made it for goes crazy for how delicious it tastes. In fact, I’m going to make it again right now…
★★★★★
Shiloh Donkin says
February 9, 2019 at 7:40 amI made this the other night in my pressure cooker (not an instant pot) and it was amazing! The whole family loved it. It was so flavorful and filling. Simply a lovely recipe. I’ve passed it on to a couple of friends already. Sign of a good recipe is the absolute need to share it with friends!
★★★★★
Caroline says
April 12, 2019 at 6:47 pmI’ve never been a huge fan of lentils but after trying this recipe, I’m hooked. The first time I used red lentils and the second time green. I found adding a little lemon juice (as suggested) to the finished dish gives it a nice tang. PS – don’t attempt doubling the recipe in a 6Q IP, pot is not large enough.
★★★★★
Sylvia Fountaine says
April 13, 2019 at 12:22 pmThanks Caroline, appreciate the comment, so happy to hear you like lentils now…. and thanks for the TIP!!!