Instant pot red lentil soup

Best instant pot lentil soup

Easy instant pot red lentil soup that can also be made stove top. Makes a healthy, high protein plant based dinner that is perfect for busy weeknights.This easy recipe is a great one pot meal idea.

Need a quick and delicious soup recipe? This Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup is perfect! I love this Lebanese recipe so much, I make it at least once a week, especially on chilly winter days. It’s a great way to get warmed up.

This recipe was inspired by this amazing video . I love how it is a mother and daughter cooking in the kitchen. So, this recipe was inspired by their video.

This soup is made with red lentils (the quickest cooking lentil) which are a type of pulse. Pulses are a part of the legume family, and are a great source of plant-based protein. They’re also high in fiber and other nutrients, making them a healthy addition to any diet.

This soup is also made with a few simple ingredients, like onion, garlic, and carrots. You can easily find these ingredients at your local grocery store.

To make this soup, simply add all of the ingredients to your Instant Pot, and cook on high pressure for four minutes. Once the soup is done cooking, let it natural release for two minutes, then release any remaining pressure.

This delicious soup is

• high in protein
• a one pot meal
• quick and easy
• healthy
• high in fiber
• vegan and vegetarian
• gluten free (if you don’t add soy sauce or use a gluten free soy sauce instead)
• great for easy dinners
• made with easy to find pantry staples

Ingredients and substitutions

• Onion – I love using red onions for their sweeter flavor and higher antioxidant amount.
• Fresh garlic
• Red lentils
• Vegetable broth
• Potato
• Carrots
• Spices – I use a mix of cardamom, cumin and turmeric powder. You can also use a generic curry powder if you don’t have these individual spices on hand. Add some red pepper flakes if you love some spice. Turmeric is also high in antioxidants and can help with joint pain as it’s an anti-inflammatory.
• Lemon juice – you can also use lime juice, if that’s what you have on hand.
• Soy sauce – I love adding soy sauce to plant based soups. Soy sauce adds an amazing depth of flavor to the soup base.
• Bay leaf
• Oil – you can use olive oil or vegetable oil. Anything that sautés well and doesn’t have too strong of a flavor.
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Recipe tips

Have all of the vegetables chopped up and ready to go before you warm up your pot. It makes cooking this recipe a lot more smooth.

Make sure the carrots and potatoes are on the smaller side, and are the same size. We want to be able to fit them on our spoon.

You can swap out yellow lentils for red lentils. They’re pretty interchangeable. Brown lentils or black lentils would make this recipe taste completely different though.

Always make sure to rinse your red lentils. I love using a whole one pound bag.

I love using vegetable bouillon cubes instead of a carton of vegetable stock because it’s a lot cheaper. A pack of 8 bouillon cubes is almost the same price, but will make 8x more food.

This soup tastes delicious topped with some fresh herbs like cilantro or fresh parsley and a little bit of olive oil drizzled on top with some freshly cracked black pepper.

If you’re trying to cut back on salt, wait until after the soup is cooked and you’ve taste tested it, to add salt in. Add in more lemon juice instead. Lemon juice will add a lot of flavor, just like salt does.

If you’d like a richer, creamy soup add in about a half to one cup of canned, full fat, creamy coconut milk. It’s not in traditional red lentil soup, but it tastes great.

If you’d like a creamier texture, use an immersion blender, or hand blender to blend up some of the soup after it cooks. If you like a chunky texture, then skip this step.

Add in a small handful of baby spinach at the end. It makes a healthy, great addition.

If you’d like more info about cooking with red lentils, check out this post about how to cook red lentils.

Storing

Fridge – This lentil soup lasts about a week in the fridge in an airtight container.

Freezer – Lentil soup freezes very well. Just put it in a freezer friendly container and it will store for 3-5 months.

Just thaw it out in the fridge the night before you want to cook it.

What to serve with red lentil soup

• Warm, crusty bread
• White rice
• Brown rice
• Quinoa
• Baked potato
• Baked sweet potatoes

More vegan instant pot recipes

• Instant pot vegan taco meat
• Creamy vegan butternut squash soup
• Vegan chicken noodle soup
• Vegan instant pot chili
• Panera bread black bean soup
• Lentil and chickpea curry
• Spinach and chickpea curry
• Israeli couscous salad
• Vegan clam chowder

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Pressure cooker lentil soup recipe