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This easy vegetarian Instant Pot Lentil soup is incredibly tasty and hearty! There are vegan lentil soup adaptations as well as crockpot instructions. 

two bowls of Instant Pot lentil soup topped with parsley and a bowl of garlic bread.
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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!

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.

veggies, broth, and lentils on a white board.

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 of veggie or chicken
  • Pesto

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

Serve with a side of Cheesy Garlic Bread, Air Fryer Biscuits, or Air Fryer Texas Toast and your life will be complete.

3 photos showing how to make vegetarian lentil soup in an instant pot

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • This soup was made in an 8-quart Instant Pot. If you have a 3 or 6-quart 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 frozen spinach, frozen swiss chard, or frozen kale 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 or 1-cup Souper Cubes for easy grab-and-go meals.
  • You can pump up the flavor by adding a few tablespoons of homemade tomato powder.
an overhead photo of a bowl of lentil soup topped with fresh parsley.
5 from 25 ratings

Instant Pot Lentil Soup

Servings: 10
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Pressurizing/Depressurizing: 15 minutes
Total: 42 minutes
two bowls of Instant Pot lentil soup topped with parsley and a bowl of garlic bread.
This easy vegetarian Instant Pot lentil soup is incredibly tasty and hearty! There are vegan lentil soup adaptations as well as crockpot instructions. 

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

Instructions 

Instant Pot Instructions

  • Add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Stir.
    8 carrots, 7 stalks celery, 1 onion, 1 cup potato, 6 cloves garlic, 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
  • Secure the lid and set the vent to sealing. Press manual>high pressure>12 minutes. It will take around 10 minutes to get up to pressure.
  • When the cooking time is up, do a natural release for 5 minutes and then flip the vent to venting and perform a quick release.

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).

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. As written, this recipe is vegetarian. Use a dairy-free pesto to make it vegan. 
  3. Throw in some spinach at the end of the cooking time for some added greens.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 154kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 8gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 653mgPotassium: 588mgFiber: 11gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 8748IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah Cook

I'm here to help you make easy, seasonal, and no-fuss recipes for yourself and your family.

Whether it's a quick one-pot dinner or if I am teaching you how to can and preserve local produce, you can consider me your elder millennial grandma

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5 from 25 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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