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.
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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 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 and meal prepping
- made with easy to find pantry staples
🧂Ingredients and substitutions
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.
- Onion – I love using red onions for their sweeter flavor and higher antioxidant amount.
- Fresh garlic
- Red lentils – 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.
- Vegetable broth – for a more affordable version, I love using vegetable bouillon cubes or bouillon paste. A pack of 8 bouillon cubes is almost the same price, but will make 8x more food.
- Potato and carrots – 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.
- Spices – I use a mix of cardamom, cumin, bay leaf 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.
- 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
👩🍳 Expert tips
- Always make sure to rinse your red lentils. I love using a whole one pound bag.
- 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 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.
- If you’d like more info about cooking with red lentils, check out this post about how to cook red lentils.
🔪 Directions
Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and instructions!
- 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.
- Set your instant pot to sauté and add oil. Once the pan is hot add in the diced onions and sauté for 1 minute or until onions are translucent.
- Add in the diced carrots, potatoes, garlic, cardamom, cumin, turmeric and garam masala and saute for two minutes.
- Add in the water and scrape anything that got stuck on the bottom. Add in the rinsed lentils and bouillon cube.
- Cancel saute and put the lid on, making sure to turn it to seal.
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Let it natural release for 2 minutes then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Squeeze the juice of two lemons into the soup and stir well. Taste and add salt, it will need it. I also love adding a tablespoon of soy sauce at this point. It adds a nice depth of flavor to the soup.
🍅 Variations
- Coconut milk – 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.
- Spinach or kale – Add in a small handful of baby spinach or chopped kale at the end. It makes a healthy, great addition. Let it wilt in the soup for about three minutes.
❄️ 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.
♨️ Serving suggestions
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. You can also serve it with:
- Warm, crusty bread
- White rice
- Brown rice
- Quinoa
- Baked potato
- Baked sweet potatoes
❓ FAQ’s
Yes. This lentil soup freezes very well. It will last in the freezer for up to three months. Just thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating on the stove, microwave or instant pot.
Absolutely. This recipe can easily be made oil free by sautéing the onion in vegetable broth instead of oil.
Red lentils are one of the fastest cooking legumes and don’t need to be soaked before cooking.
Brown or green lentils wouldn’t be good for this recipe, since the texture would change dramatically. Yellow lentils would be a good swap for the red lentils.
🍛 More vegan instant pot recipes
If you loved this recipe, leave a 5 ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and comment below!
📖 Recipe
Instant pot red lentil soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 lb lentils (-make sure to rinse the lentils )
- 8 cups water
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- 1 small potato (peeled and diced small)
- 2 small carrots (peeled and diced small)
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 lemons (-juiced)
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional)
Instructions
Instant pot directions
- Peel and cube your carrots and potatoes. Rinse off your lentils. Dice your onions and mince your garlic.
- Set your instant pot to saute and add 2 tablespoon of oil. Once the pan is hot add in the diced onions and saute for 1 minute or until onions are translucent.2 tablespoon oil, 1 small onion
- Add in the diced carrots, potatoes, garlic, cardamom, cumin, turmeric and garam masala and saute for two minutes.4 cloves garlic, 1 small potato, 2 small carrots, ½ teaspoon cardamom, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Add in the water and scrape anything that got stuck on the bottom. Add in the rinsed lentils and bouillon cube.1 lb lentils, 8 cups water, 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- Cancel saute and put the lid on, making sure to turn it to seal.
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Let it slow release for 2 minutes then quick release the rest of the way.
- Squeeze the juice of two lemons into the soup and stir well. Taste and add salt, it will need it. I add 1-2 tsp. I also love adding a tablespoon of soy sauce at this point. It adds a nice depth of flavor to the soup.1-2 lemons, salt to taste, 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Stove top directions
- Peel and cube your carrots and potatoes. Rinse off your lentils. Dice your onions and mince your garlic.
- Add oil to a large soup pot and set on medium high heat. Once the pan is hot add in the diced onions and sauté for 1 minute or until onions are translucent.2 tablespoon oil, 1 small onion
- Add in the diced carrots, potatoes, garlic, cardamom, cumin, turmeric and garam masala and saute for two minutes.4 cloves garlic, 1 small potato, 2 small carrots, ½ teaspoon cardamom, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Add in the water and scrape anything that got stuck on the bottom. Add in the rinsed lentils and bouillon cube.8 cups water, 1 vegetable bouillon cube, 1 lb lentils
- Add the lid and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down to medium low simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the lentils and vegetables are cooked through.
- Squeeze the juice of two lemons into the soup and stir well. Taste and add salt, it will need it. I add 1-2 tsp. I also love adding a tablespoon of soy sauce at this point. It adds a nice depth of flavor to the soup.1-2 lemons, salt to taste, 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Notes
- 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.
- 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 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.
- I love adding in a handful of baby spinach at the end to add some extra nutrients.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Patti
Amazing easy recipe
Maria Fournier
So glad you enjoyed it! I love making this once a week