This Middle Eastern Instant Pot Lentil Soup is cozy and comforting! Infused with fragrant Middle Eastern spices, it can be made in your Instant Pot or on your stovetop. Vegan, fast & easy. Includes a Video.
True abundance is the freedom that comes from wanting less.
Yung Pueblo Inward
This Instant Pot Lentil Soup recipe is bursting with Middle Eastern flavors! This is my Egyptian father’s recipe, one that we ate on repeat growing up, not only for its nutrient density but for its affordability. Humble yet abundant! Packed full of healthy, nourishing veggies, this vegan soup is deliciously satisfying and filling, yet low in calories. Make a big batch and have it on hand for lunches or dinners during the busy work week.
Love lentils as much as we do? Check out 30 Amazing Lentil Recipes! For more popular instant pot soup recipes, try: Instant Pot Mulligatawny (Curried Indian Soup) and Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup w/ Spinach & Mushrooms.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this!
- Healthy and Nutritious: Lentil soup is packed with fiber, protein, and essential nutrients, making it a healthy choice. It is plant-based and low in calories, yet it keeps you feeling full and satisfied.
- Affordable: Made with simple and humble ingredients, lentil soup is an affordable option, utilizing pantry staples that you may already have on hand. It provides a budget-friendly way to enjoy a delicious and nourishing meal.
- Fast and Easy: Lentil soup is quick and easy to prepare, requiring minimal effort and time. With just a few basic cooking steps, you can have a flavorful and comforting bowl of soup ready in no time.
- Versatile: Lentil soup offers versatility in terms of ingredients and customization. You can add various vegetables and spices to suit your taste preferences. Whether you prefer a classic lentil soup or want to experiment with different flavors, the possibilities are endless.
- Great for Meal Prep: Lentil soup is perfect for meal prepping. You can make a large batch and store it in the fridge for several days. The flavors actually enhance over time, making it even more delicious as the soup sits.
- Comforting and Satisfying: There’s something inherently comforting about a warm bowl of lentil soup. It’s a soul-soothing dish that can provide a sense of comfort and nourishment, especially on chilly days or when you’re in need of a wholesome meal.
Lentil Soup Ingredients
- Lentils: There are various types of lentils that can be used in lentil soup, such as black caviar lentils, brown lentils, French green lentils, or red lentils. The cooking time may vary depending on the type of lentils you choose, with smaller lentils cooking faster.
- Vegetables: While the recipe recommends using carrots and celery, you can also get creative and add other veggies such as bell peppers, parsnips, fennel, or sweet potatoes, add a handful of spinach just before serving. You can customize the soup based on your taste preferences or what you have on hand.
- Tomatoes: You can use fresh tomatoes in your lentil soup recipe for vibrant flavor if they are in season otherwise canned diced tomatoes are a convenient option.
- Broth: The recipe suggests using vegetable broth or chicken broth for added flavor. You can choose the type of broth based on your dietary preferences.
- Spices: The lentil soup is seasoned with Middle Eastern spices like ground cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Feel free to adjust the spices based on your personal taste.
- Garnishes: To elevate the flavors of the lentil soup, you can garnish it with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro, diced tomatoes, chili flakes for some heat, or grated parmesan if you prefer (not vegan).
See the recipe card below for detailed ingredients and instructions.
How to Cook Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Set Instant Pot to the saute function. (See recipe card for stovetop)Add the olive oil, onion and garlic, and stir until fragrant, about 4 minutes.
Add four cups of chopped vegetables to the Instant Pot.
Any combination of carrots, celery, parsnips, bell pepper, potato, or even sweet potato will work here. Add the vegetable broth, water, lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, and salt and black pepper.
NOTE: Here, I’ve used tiny Black Caviar Lentils for the FASTEST COOKING TIME. If going with conventional large brown lentils, increase the time to 20 minutes- they should hold their shape.
Close the lid, seal and pressure cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Manual release, releasing the remaining pressure valve.
Garnish the lentil soup -it TRULY elevates the soup! Add a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, fresh tomatoes and herbs, and dunk some warm pita bread in it.
Lentil Soup FAQS
Leftovers will keep 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container and are even more delicious as the flavors have time to meld. Freeze Lentil Soup in Mason Jars in the freezer for up to 3 months, leaving an inch of headroom for expansion. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Drizzle of olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Fresh diced tomatoes
Chili flakes (optional)
Grated parmesan cheese (optional, not vegan)
Sure! If you wish you can add extra protein such as sausage, ground beef or turkey and even top with bacon or tofu bacon.
For easier digestibility, it is recommended that you soak lentils for 2-4 hours with ACV or lemon juice to neutralize phytic acid. However, pressure cooking (like in an instant pot) unsoaked lentils reduces the phytic acid. (Phytic acid may impair the body’s absorption of minerals-but this is rarely a concern for those following a well-balanced diet.)
What to serve with Lentil Soup
More favorite lentil soup recipes!
- Red Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot Mulligatawny (Curried Indian Soup)
- Lentil Curry
- Mushroom Lentil Stew with Fennel and Sag
- Moroccan Chicken Lentil Soup with Saffron and Preserved Lemon
I hope you find as much comfort and nourishment from this lentil soup as I have through the years. Food does that… ✨
And before I close, I have to say, there was a time in when I was young, I swore I’d never eat lentil soup again because we had it so often! But 40 years later, it’s strange how much I crave it! It has become my favorite soup recipe, my comfort food, reminding me of home, and a way of bringing my father back to me when I miss him.
Love and Hugs,
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup | 60-sec Video
Instant Pot Lentil Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 cups 1x
- Category: vegan, soup,
- Method: Instant Pot, stovetop, pressure cooker
- Cuisine: middle eastern
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Instant Pot Lentil Soup is cozy and comforting! Infused with fragrant Middle Eastern spices, it can be made in your Instant Pot or on your stovetop. Vegan, fast & easy. Includes a Video.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced (or sub 2 fat shallots)
- 4–8 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups carrots, diced
- 2 cups celery, diced
- 1 1/2– 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
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced with their juices (or 14 -ounce can of diced tomatoes with juices)
- 4 flavorful cups veggie stock (or chicken stock- use 3 bouillon cubes w/ water)
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/4 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 1/4 cup of the lentils for a creamier texture. 🙂
Garnishes: with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, chopped Italian parsley (or cilantro), diced tomatoes and optional chili flakes (Aleppo chili is nice here) and
Serve with warm toasty pita bread.
Instructions
- See notes for stovetop.
- Saute onion and garlic in the Instant Pot in 2 tablespoons oil until fragrant and tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the veggies. Sautéing 4-5 more minutes. Add the spices, salt and 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.
- Let the pressure release either manually or natural release.
- Taste, adjust salt, adding more to taste.
- Divide among bowls and drizzle with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, chili flakes, fresh parsley and fresh diced tomato (optional)
Notes
Stovetop Instructions: Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes, add chopped veggies, lower heat and saute for 5 minutes. Add the spices, salt and tomato paste, toasting them a bit. Add the broth,and water and scrape up any brown bits. Add the lentils, tomatoes bay leaves, bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer on medium-low or low heat until the lentils are cooked through. 20-30 minutes, depending on their size.
Lentils: Small Black Caviar lentils (or French Green Lentils) cook much faster than regular large 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.
For a creamier consistency, feel free to blend the soup or blend partially.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups without garnish
- Calories: 264
- Sugar: 6.4 g
- Sodium: 646.5 mg
- Fat: 8.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.1 g
- Fiber: 7.9 g
- Protein: 11.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Despite the summer heat I am craving healthy, nourishing soups! This looks so colorful and amazing! Thank you for sharing so many good recipes!!:)
The thing about soups is they are hydrating! I crave them too. 🙂
Love this soup. I make it all the time and mix and match veggies and slices. Good staple in my household.
Thanks and happy you enjoyed it!
Absolutely delicious soup and a total meal.
I used black beans by accident… woops! it went super black. not the beautiful brown colour of yours!
This is so delicious! I have made it 3 times and it is now such a quick instant pot recipe! My husband loves it with a dollop of sour cream. I’m vegan so it works for both of us.
Perfect!
Very tasty! I only added about one teaspoon of cumin as I am still afraid of strong spices, but it still turned out great 🙂
Oh great!
Will this recipe freeze okay?
Yes, it should!
Welove lentils at out house and this recipe makes a great, flavorful soup for the whole family. I only used water (I’m not used to cooking with broth) but it was still delicious. Also added parsley, olive oil and tomatoes on top.
Thanks and Im so glad you liked it!
Wow, Amazing! Simple to make and quick! Used an assortment of veggies in the fridge. Used red and green lentils for a creamier texture. Absolutely love it!
Sounds delicious David! Thanks for sharing!
My 8mo, 2.5 & 4.5yo all loved this recipe! And they don’t usually love soup or anything that mixes food together and they’re not used to middle eastern seasoning so I fully expected my husband and I to be the only ones eating it. I did add a few tweaks based on ingredients I had available but the seasoning was just perfect! My only criticism is the amount of time written in the record. It definitely took me closer to an hour with only a few short interruptions and I’m usually pretty fast and efficient. Maybe if all the food and utensils were sitting right there on my counter it would have been that fast but that’s not realistic. (But I find this to be true of most recipes – maybe I’m just slow . . .)
Yay, so happy your kids liked this too!I will update time, sorry about that.
Wonderful recipe! I love how it’s chock full of veggies and very customizable. I used some cabbage for a little sweetness, carrots, celery and bell pepper.
Thanks so much Alanna!
I love this recipe and have made it multiple times. Really good.
Thanks and so happy you enjoyed!
Fantastic! I’ve been looking for a “WOW!” lentil soup. Found it here! I made one change: sauteed with water instead of oil, still amazing. I did the canned fire-roasted tomatoes, used green bell pepper, celery, carrots, and cabbage for the veggies, and did stir in some lemon juice and topped with cilantro. Gonna share this on Facebook.
Thanks so much Leslie- very appreciated!
Fantastic recipe! I made this on the stove top and followed the recipe exactly as written using Sylvia’s suggested vegetables and adding potatoes. I created a relish out of the suggested accoutrements: tomato, parsley, lemon, olive oil and red pepper flakes and topped each bowl – which elevates the stew to even another level.
So glad you enjoyed this Dianne!
Excellent lentil recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Gloria!
I made this for lunch today and it is fantastic. So rich and flavorful. It’s definitely going to be a staple in my. End rotation. Thank you
I made this soup for lunch today – it’s a keeper! Our whole family (including our 3 and 5 year old) loved it. The flavors were amazing – delicious, filling and healthy…yum!
I didn’t have allspice so used 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves and a pinch of nutmeg as a substitution. The taste of cloves was a little strong for me initially but the lemon cut through that nicely.
Great to hear… thank you!!!
I did a search for vegan recipes because I felt that I really needed to give my body a break from the meat, dairy & sugar that I was loading into it and when your site popped up I couldn’t stop reading! I made a huge list of the recipes I wanted to try and went right the store and made 2 the next day (this lentil soup is FABULOUS!!!) had have ingredients to make 2 more this weekend! Not only were they delicious but my body was so grateful! Then just now, I read the”about” section of your blog and it resonates with me COMPLETELY . Your words were exactly what I needed to hear at this time in my life. I have NEVER posted a comment online but I just had to say THANK YOU for inspiring me and for sharing your words of wisdom and your INCREDIBLE gift of flavor. Thank you!
Really appreciate this- thank you!!!
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!!!