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 adaptations as well as crockpot instructions. Lentil vegetable soup is a comforting bowl of healthy goodness. If you’re looking for a simple lentil soup, this is the perfect recipe.

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Packed full of veggies and other delicious flavors, this Instant Pot lentil soup is going to knock your socks off!

You can make it in your Instant Pot, slow cooker, or on the stovetop. You can make it vegan, vegetarian, or omnivarian (<—- let’s call that a thing). It’s versatile and delicious and so easy to make!

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. 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 cooking time to 10 minutes.

If you have leftover dried lentils, use them later to make these incredible Lentil Nachos.

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 snuck 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
• Veggies – carrots, celery, onion, potato
• Garlic, thyme, parsley, and Smoked paprika
• Broth – your choice veggie or chicken (related: Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth)
• Pesto (related: Whole30 Pesto)

Make your prep even easier by learning how to freeze celery, how to freeze garlic and how to freeze onions.

Do You Need to Saute the Veggies For This Soup?

No! 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!

Here’s How to Make It:

*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.

If you have any questions about these terms or directions, check out this post on Easy Instant Pot Recipes for Beginners. It will walk you through everything you need to know to get comfortable with your Instant Pot.

When it has finished cooking, allow the pressure cooker to sit for 5 minutes. Then, carefully flip the steam release handle to “venting” and allow any additional pressure to be released. Remove the lid. It took 8 minutes total for me. Serve with a side of Air Fryer Biscuits and your life will be complete.

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 cooking 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. 
• Throw in some spinach at the end of the cooking 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 Easy Soup RECIPES LIKE THIS

• Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
• Instant Pot Matzo Balls Soup
• Whole30 + Paleo French Onion Soup {Dairy-Free}
• Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
• Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup
• Instant Pot Tortilla Soup
• Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Chili
• Whole30 Potato Soup
• Instant Pot Beef Stew

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS

One serving has 1 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.

Print Recipe

5 from 18 votes

Instant Pot Lentil Soup {Vegetarian Lentil Soup}

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time55 mins

This easy and healthy vegetarian Instant Pot Lentil soup is incredibly tasty and hearty!

Servings: 10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lentil soup

Calories: 154kcal

Author: Sarah Cook - Sustainable Cooks

Ingredients

• 8 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 7 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup potato peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 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

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions

• 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.
• When it has finished cooking, allow the pressure cooker to sit for 5 minutes. Then, carefully flip the steam release handle to “venting” and allow any additional pressure to be released.

Slow Cooker Instructions

• Place all ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

Stove Top Instructions

• 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).

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Lentil Soup {Vegetarian Lentil Soup}

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 154 Calories from Fat 18

% Daily Value*

Fat 2g3%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 653mg28%

Potassium 588mg17%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 11g46%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 8748IU175%

Vitamin C 9mg11%

Calcium 60mg6%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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