Instant Pot Lentil Soup {Vegetarian Lentil Soup}
This easy and healthy vegetarian Instant Pot Lentil soup is incredibly tasty and hearty! You’ll love that there are vegan lentil soup adaptions as well as crockpot instructions. This is the best lentil soup you’ll ever make at home! Lentil vegetable soup is a comforting bowl of healthy goodness. If you’re looking for a simple lentil soup, this is the perfect recipe.
Do you know how ugly lentil soup is? I mean, just downright butt ugly. People say you eat with your eyes first. If that is the case, I would eat lentil soup with my eyes c-l-o-s-e-d.
But if eating visually is the first step, actually tasting food is the next. And when you taste this lentil soup, you’ll forget all about its homely appearance. If you want a pretty (and delicious) soup, check out my Paleo Chicken Pot Pie Soup!
Packed full of veggies and other flavors, this soup is pleased to knock your taste buds proverbial socks off after your initial reaction.
You can make this lentil soup in your Instant Pot, slow cooker, or stove top. You can make it vegan, vegetarian, or omnivarian (<—- let’s call that a thing). It’s versatile and delicious.
If you’re new to your Instant Pot, check out this post on Easy Instant Pot Recipes for Beginners.
Looking for more vegan/vegetarian soup recipes? Check out Spicy Vegan Butternut Squash Soup and Whole30 Tomato Soup.
Check out all my Instant Pot Soup recipes for more inspiration.
How Long Do Lentils Take in the Instant Pot?
You’re going to be cooking your lentils for only 12 minutes in this recipe. You hear that? Probably not because you’re reading this, so…
This recipe uses brown lentils, but you can also use green lentils and cook for the same amount of time. If you are going to be rocking some red lentils in this recipe, reduce the cook time to 10 minutes.
Do I Have to Soak the Lentils Before Cooking?
Heck no you don’t, not when using the Instant Pot! You will want to rinse them and remove any pebbles or debris that snug their way into your bag of lentils.
But no soaking? Your life is about to rule!
Lentil Soup Ingredients
What’s in this soup? Pure heaven and unicorn dust. And um, lentils.
- Brown or green lentils
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Potato
- Garlic
- Broth – your choice veggie or chicken (related: Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth)
- Smoked paprika. Because of course
- Pesto (related: Whole30 Pesto)
- Other yummy herbs
Have you ever seen a soup recipe that includes something like three carrots, one stalk of celery, and a garlic clove? Amateur hour my friends, amateur hour.
I fully believe that the purpose of soup is to warm your body and soul, create the ultimate feeling of coziness, and shove so many vegetables into one pot that you think it shouldn’t be possible.
And garlic? Oh, friends, I laugh at one clove of garlic. I grow garlic each and every year on my microfarm and I consider it one of the most essential ingredients in my kitchen.
If you want to take your chances with the vampires with your one clove of garlic, then by all means.
Do You Need to Saute the Veggies For Instant Pot Lentil Soup?
Ok, so an older version of this recipe had you sauteing some of the ingredients for a few minutes in olive oil. But then I was like “eff that noise, let’s dump everything in and see what happens”.
Guess what happened? It tasted the exact freaking same. So obviously let’s skip that extra step and make some soup!
How to Make Instant Pot Lentil Soup
*Detailed and printable recipe available at the bottom of this post.
Add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Stir.
Place the lid on and switch it to the lock position. Switch the vent to “sealing”. Press Manual then High Pressure and adjust the time to 12 minutes. It will take around 10 minutes to get up to pressure.
Once the time is up, allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Then use a kitchen towel and flip the switch to “venting”, and allow it to depressurize fully. It took 8 minutes total for me.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- No Instant Pot? Crockpot and stovetop instructions are included in the printable recipe card.
- This soup was made in an 8 quart Instant Pot. If you have another sized Instant Pot, the cook time will be the same. Just make sure you don’t fill the inner pot more than two-thirds full.
- As written, this recipe is vegetarian. Use a dairy-free pesto to make it vegan. Add some diced ham, bacon (cooked), or sausage (cooked) if you prefer to include meat.
- Throw in some spinach at the end of the cook time for some added greens.
- This soup freezes like a boss! Pro tip: freeze in wide mouth pint mason jars for easy grab and go meals.
More RECIPES LIKE THIS
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Whole30 + Paleo French Onion Soup {Dairy-Free}
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- Instant Pot Tortilla Soup
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
- Whole30 Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
Healthy, full of veg, hearty, and oh so tasty. This lentil soup is now your new favorite meal.
Surprise!
Instant Pot Lentil Soup WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving of Instant Pot Lentil Soup has 1 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Making this recipe or others?
Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #sustainablecooks. I can't wait to see your take on it!
This easy and healthy vegetarian Instant Pot Lentil soup is incredibly tasty and hearty!This is the best lentil soup you'll ever make at home!
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 7 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 large russet potato peeled and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
- 1 1/3 cup dried brown or green lentils
- 6 cups broth of choice
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp prepared pesto
- salt and pepper to taste
Add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Stir.
Place the lid on and switch it to the lock position. Switch the vent to "sealing". Press Manual then High Pressure and adjust the time to 12 minutes. It will take around 10 minutes to get up to pressure.
Once the time is up, allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Then use a kitchen towel and flip the switch to "venting" and allow it to depressurize fully. It took 13 minutes total for me.
Place all ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine olive oil, carrots, celery, and onions. Cook down for 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook on medium until lentils are soft (about 30 minutes).
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Sooo Good and tasty!
So glad you enjoyed it Elisabeth! Thanks for taking the time to leave the review. 🙂
Is the serving size 1 cup? I could not find it on the recipe! Looks so yummy! 😬