Vegan lentil soup (stove top and instant pot directions)
How to easily make delicious and healthy vegan lentil soup. Perfect, healthy meal for a cold winter’s night. Easy lentil and vegetable soup
Nothing beats a comforting bowl of soup when the weather starts to turn to shit.
Can you tell I’m not a fan of the cold? One thing that makes the darker months more bearable is filling up your house with the smell of a simmering soup.
I absolutely love lentils and one of my favorite things to do with them is make a lentil and vegetable soup. Lentils are full of protein, vitamins and minerals. They’re a super easy way to get protein as a vegan.
Fun fact, lentils are one of the oldest health foods and have been around since 8000 BC. They originated in the Middle East. Makes me love these little majestic legumes even more!
This lentil soup is
Healthy
Vegan
Gluten free
Easy
Delicious
Freezer friendly
Ingredients in lentil soup
Lentils
Celery
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Italian Seasoning
Veggie bouillon
Tomatoes
Kale
Lemon
Carrots
Tips for making vegan lentil soup
Chop up all of your veggies about the same size. I like to be able to have multiple veggies plus lentils in one bite. If you chop anything too big, you might get a big mouthful of just carrot or potato.
If you don’t have veggie bouillon or bouillon paste, you can always use vegetable broth. I like using bouillon cubes because they’re a lot cheaper and store easier.
You can make this lentil soup in an instant pot or on the stove
Feel free to switch out for green lentils. If you use red lentils, you don’t need to cook this as long as the red lentils are more delicate and cook a lot faster.
Top with a squeeze of lemon to bring everything together. The acid from the lemon balances out all of the flavors
Can I freeze this soup?
Yes! This freezes beautifully. I love making a gigantic batch of this soup and freezing it for the days I don’t feel like cooking
Recipes to try next
Easy lentil soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil Seems like a lot, but it makes this soup rich. Feel free to add less
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 celery rib chopped
- 1 medium potato peeled and diced
- 2 small carrots diced
- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 6 cups water
- 2 veggie bouillon cubes
- ½ lemon juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Stovetop instructions
- Add ¼ cup of oil to a large pot on medium heat. Once the oil is warm add the chopped onions and saute for 10 minutes, making sure not to burn the onions
- When onions are soft, add the chopped potato, carrots and celery. Saute for 5 minutes
- Add the chopped garlic, 2 tsp of Italian seasoning, 1 tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp smoked paprika and 1 tsp cumin and saute for one minute
- Add the can of tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to get the tinny flavor out of the tomatoes
- Add a cup of rinsed brown lentil, stirring everything together, then add 6 cups of water and 2 veggie bouillon cubes. Stir well
- Add in the bay leaves , cover with a lid and bring soup to a boil
- Once it's boiling, turn heat to medium low and keep it on a low simmer, with the lid on
- Simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Add a splash of water if needed.
- With an immersion blender, blend the soup for 10 seconds to make it a little more creamy. If you don't have an immersion blender, take a cup of the soup out, add it to a blender, then add the blended soup back to the instant pot.
- Add the chopped kale and let it sit in the soup for a minute or so or until it's wilted and slightly cooked.
- Stir in the juice of half a lemon and salt to taste
Instant pot instructions
- Add ¼ cup of oil to instant pot on medium heat
- When onions are soft, add the chopped potato, carrots and celery. Saute for 5 minutes
- Add the chopped garlic, 2 tsp of Italian seasoning, ½ tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried thyme and 1 tsp cumin and saute for one minute
- Add the can of tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to get the tinny flavor out of the tomatoes
- Add a cup of rinsed brown lentil, stirring everything together, then add 6 cups of water and 2 veggie bouillon cubes. Stir well
- Add in the bay leaves, cancel the saute mode and put the lid on making sure to turn the valve to pressure
- Cook on high pressure for 18 minutes then let it natural release for 15 minutes
- With an immersion blender, blend the soup for 10 seconds to make it a little more creamy. If you don't have an immersion blender, take a cup of the soup out, add it to a blender, then add the blended soup back to the instant pot.
- Add the chopped kale and let it sit in the soup for a minute or so or until it's wilted and slightly cooked.
- Stir in the juice of half a lemon and salt to taste
Nutrition
Delicious vegan lentil soup
Ben Schlatter
Easy, tasty, and filling!