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
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 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.
Keywords: instant pot lentil soup, best lentil soup recipe, vegan lentil soup, instant pot lentil soup recipes, best instant pot recipes, vegan lentil soup pressure cooker
love this!!!
★★★★★
This soup is delicious! I will definatly make it again.
★★★★★
I absolutely LOVE this soup. I made it last week and again today, even though it is 100 degrees out here in Arizona. I cut up baby kale mix and added it at the end to just wilt the greens. Both my teen age son and husband eat big bowlfuls of this soup. Thank you for your delicious, healthy recipes and your gorgeous pictures, always. My favorite blog to ‘hang out’ and get inspiration.
★★★★★
You are so sweet- thank you Maria!
I’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.
★★★★★
Thanks Caroline, appreciate the comment, so happy to hear you like lentils now…. and thanks for the TIP!!!
I 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!
★★★★★
This 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…
★★★★★
This 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.
★★★★★
Im so glad you liked it and made it your own! Thanks for rating and sharing!!!
This 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.
★★★★★
Awww thanks Jill. Great to hear from you and glad you enjoyed!
Fabulous!!! 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.
★★★★★
Amazing lentil soup! We make it every week since I have found it last year. Thank you for the best lentil recipe!
You are so welcome! Im glad you are enjoying it!
I 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!
★★★★★
sounds perfect, so glad you liked it!
Looks good, but please specify what size can of tomatoes (14oz or 28oz).
Sorry about that, I adjusted the recipe! 14.5 ounce can.
Great recipe! Didn’t even taste like I was cleaning extra vegetables out the refrigerator.
★★★★★
Thanks 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.
★★★★★
Love how you adapted this based on what you had on hand! Thanks for sharing!
Made 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
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing your modifications Sarah, and good to know it works on the stove top too!