Instant Pot Lentil Soup - Lunch Version

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Instant Pot Lentil Soup - Lunch Version

Tricia
The Cook
4 Servings
12 Ingredients
37 Comments

It is full of flavor from cooking lentils with the vegetables in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. It is quite hearty as well for a light, vegetarian soup!

4 Servings
12 Ingredients
37 Comments

Ingredients

  • ¾ cups Lentils, Brown, Dry
  • 3 ¼ cups Water
  • ⅓ cups dice Onion
  • ¼ cups dice Celery
  • ⅓ cups dice Carrot
  • ¾ teaspoons mince Garlic, Cloves
  • ¾ teaspoons Salt
  • ⅛ teaspoons Black Pepper
  • ¼ teaspoons Oregano, Dried
  • 6 ounces Diced Tomatoes, Canned
  • ¾ tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
  • ⅛ cups chop Parsley, Fresh

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Cooking Instructions

Freeze For Later Cooking Day Directions

Prog. Pressure Cooker

These directions help you cook or prepare this meal PRIOR to being frozen for serving later (see Serving Day Directions when you are ready to prepare it to eat).

Why would I want to freeze this?

  1. **Due to the nature of pressure cooking there is always room for inconsistency. The times given here are based on 4 servings fresh. If you are using more servings you may need to increase your cooking time.**
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Make From Frozen Serving Day Directions

Easy Assembly/Ready to Eat

These directions help you cook or reheat this meal AFTER it's been frozen for when you are ready to eat it.

  1. Thaw: In fridge
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Make It Now Cooking Directions

Prog. Pressure Cooker

These directions are for cooking this recipe to serve immediately and NOT to freeze for later.

  1. **Due to the nature of pressure cooking there is always room for inconsistency. The times given here are based on 4 servings fresh. If you are using more servings you may need to increase your cooking time.**
  2. Place lentils in inner pot and cover with water.
  3. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano.
  4. Stir, lock cover into place, set to sealing and high pressure for 20 minutes.
  5. Let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes then release any remaining pressure.
  6. Add tomatoes, red wine vinegar and parsley. Stir to combine.
  7. Heat through for up to 5 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Servings Per Recipe
4 Servings
Serving Size
about 1.5 cups
Amount Per Serving
Calories
154
Total Fat
0g
Saturated Fat
0g
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
0mg
Sodium
463mg
Total Carbohydrates
28g
Fiber
5g
Sugar
3g
Protein
10g
WW Freestyle
0

37 Comments

Join the discussion
  1. This came out really mushy and watery for me, though the flavors were good. I amended the recipe for the second try like this:

    1 whole onion diced, sauteed in the inner pot with some olive oil, the garlic and salt first
    Add 1 cup split red lentils
    20 minute cook time instead

  2. I made it tonight and it was perfect! I like that it makes a small pot since there are just two of us. We added the vinegar at the table because we weren’t sure how it would reheat. Thanks for the recipe!

  3. Why add the tomatoes later? When i make yhis in a slow cooker i add the tomatoes before cooking.

    Also, I make this is large batches; then, pressure can it in pint jars. It turns out great.

    1. Aunt B, that’s a great question! We add the tomatoes after pressure cooking because during the pressure cooking phase, the tomatoes can overcook and turn to mush. To save time, you could definitely add them in, but just know it will become more like a tomato sauce texture. If you decide to try it, let us know how it turns out!

  4. I’ve made this 3 times. I add cornstarch (corn flour) thickener after it is finished. I don’t add the salt. I forgot a few ingredients this last time, but it still turned out really well. I cut my veg thick and added extra potatoes as we love potatoes.

  5. I made this last night and am making again tonight to freeze. I followed the recipe except I put the parsley in before cooking by mistake. It turned out great!

  6. I was glad to find this recipe because I love lentils! A great base–added a leek and increased the carrots and also used vegetable broth instead of water for a bit more flavor. Delicious! Thank you!

  7. when i put this recipe into fitnesspal i get 157 cal per serving. can you help me out?
    i added 36 cal bc i put in a bullion cube.

    1. Amanda, it could depend on the brand of ingredients you are using. If you are counting calories and that it what you got in MFP after entering it, I would definitely suggest using that number to track.

      1. dry lentils are 510 cal- so i cant see how if you divide by 4 you are already over 100 cal per serving?
        are they supposed to be from the can?

  8. I added the tomatoes before pressure cooking and it turned out great. I omitted the celery and added diced yellow potatoes to make it a little more hearty. I lightly sautéed all the vegetables and then deglazed the pot with red wine. Instead of red wine vinegar I drizzled the finished soup with meyer lemon infused olive oil. It was delicious.

  9. What button do I push to start the pot for lentils—sear/sautĂ©, bake, steam, stew, slow cook h, slow cook L, roast,or rice

  10. Made this tonight with what I had on hand – mixed lentils and balsamic vinegar (didn’t have red wine vinegar), no carrots or parsley. Could have used more clear info on settings. Assumed 20 minutes meant pressure cook setting. No idea what to use for “heat through” so did sautĂ© setting. Does “keep warm” mean you let it sit for the 10 minute setting or is that just so it doesn’t get cold? The beans were cooked just right. I’ll use more garlic and onionsnext time (personal choice) and will add carrots and mushrooms. Thank you for the recipe, it’s my first instant pot dish (but even my experienced daughter didn’t know what to use for “heat through”).

    1. Thanks for your feedback Joan! You were exactly right in your thinking, you do the saute feature for 5 minutes or until the soup is heated through with the additional ingredients added. The key warm function is just there so it doesn’t get cold. Put it’s your personal preference. I hope this helps. ~OAMM

    1. We don’t currently have a dinner version of this on our site, but you could certainly freeze and serve all 4 servings at one meal instead of individually!

  11. Note in step 1 in your cooking directions is not entirely correct! With pressure cooking, you do not add more time because making more serving. More serving will merely result in a longer time to reach desired pressure. There is no need to add an extra time. The cooking time setting stays constant. In your instance, 20 minutes on high pressure is same for 4 serving or 8 serving. Just my 2¢ 🙂

    1. Thanks for that feedback. In our experience, sometimes increasing the number of servings does result in the need for increased cook time. Rest assured that all of our recipes have been tested by test cooks prior to publishing to ensure your success 🙂