Hearty Brown Lentil & Vegetable Soup in the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. Make this warm soup on a cold & rainy (or snowy) day. Get cozy with this nutritious and easy to make vegan soup.
This is a great soup for detox as well....You know we all will need that right after the Thanksgiving meal, which is right around the corner! So prep yourself to detox and heal your body with this hearty and healthy lentil soup.
Brown lentils are called Sabut Masoor Dal in Hindi. In Indian cuisine, we love lentils. Growing up, there was always a lentil along with some veggie stir fry for dinner. However I am now more and more wanting veggies along with the lentils. Well, mainly to make my life easier by cooking one dish rather than two.... So voila, we get lentil soups with lots of veggies. Get the proteins along with loads of other nutrients from the veggies. And we can skip the flatbread (roti, mostly carbs) and just enjoy the soup.
Why make this soup in the Instant Pot?
- because you want the soup quickly and don't have the patience to wait 6 hours to make this in a crockpot.
- because you did not plan before and want to whip up a meal in no time (for some before the kids start to get crazy...read hungry)
- because you want to use the Instant Pot SOUP function. I am tired of all recipes using the MANUAL mode (Okay...I get it, not a real reason!)
How to make Brown Lentil Soup in the Pressure Cooker?
The pressure cooker is changing our lives. I would not say faster, but much less monitored cooking, which is what I really need. Add all ingredients, press some buttons and forget. Just remember to come back to perfectly cooked dishes 🙂
We start with a base of onions, garlic...then add in some veggies. Of course, of your choice. I used carrots & celery. Other options are butternut squash, zucchini or potatoes. Then adding in the spices, lentils and broth...any whole lentils. I used brown lentils. Green Moong lentils work great too. If you want to use split lentils, then reduce the cooking time accordingly.
Once it is cooked, top the soup with some spinach. Oh...and a dash of lemon juice and a pinch of sugar. The easiest and the best soup is ready for you!
Enjoy it with a side of toast, crackers, naan or rice. If you like, top it with some parmesan cheese. This soup is a perfect pack ahead lunch and trust me, tastes even better the next day..or the day after!
Check out this collection of 17 Instant Pot Vegetarian Soup recipes for more delicious soups!
Instant Pot Hearty Brown Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup Brown lentils (Whole Masoor Dal) rinsed
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Onion small, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon Garlic minced
- 2 Carrot cut into small pieces
- 2 stalks Celery cut into small pieces
- 3 cups Vegetable Broth or Water
- 2 cups Baby Spinach packed
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Sugar (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Red Chili flakes (optional)
Spices
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin (Jeera powder)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- ½ teaspoon Sumac (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Thyme dried (optional)
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and heat oil in it.
- Add onions and garlic. Mix and saute for 1 minute.
- Add carrots, celery and all spices along with thyme.
- Add the lentils and broth. Stir it all up. Press Cancel and close the lid with vent in sealing position.
- Set the instant pot to SOUP mode for 20 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, release the pressure naturally. Press Cancel.
- Add in spinach, lemon juice and sugar. Add some red chili flakes if you like. Stir it all up. Brown Lentil Soup is ready to enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can also use kale or collard greens. You can use a hand blender if you like. We like it chunky.
- If you don't have Sumac, skip it. It will still taste delicious.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Check out other Instant Pot Soups you might enjoy – Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Minestrone Soup or Creamy Tomato Soup. Want another lentil soup, stop by the Yellow Lentil with Spinach soup.
Wanting to try this, wondering if I should skip the spinach if I plan to freeze the leftovers? Or will the greens freeze OK?
Hi Tracy - I agree skipping the spinach will work well when freezing. And when you are reheating the soup, add in the spinach. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Late to the party but had to stop by to comment. I made this tonight which was my fifth time using my IP. This recipe is delicious! My husband raved about it too so good thing I made some extra. I stuck pretty close to the recipe. I wanted enough for 6 serving so I used a cup and a half of lentils, 4 and a half cups of broth and 3 carrots. Didn’t have any celery but added both kale and spinach from my garden bed (after reaching through the snow to snip the leaves.) Natural release took 25 minutes. Came out super creamy but not mushy. Thanks, this recipe is a keeper!
Hi - So glad to hear that. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
Great recipe!
Thank you! 🙂
So flavourful and filling! It was an easy recipe to start trying out my first Instant Pot! I didn’t have coriander powder, thyme, or spinach and it was so delicious.
Hi Jenn - So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
This is the first time that I have ever used my new Instant Pop. Great, easy receipt that I will use over and over again.
I made this for my vegetarian boyfriend and he loves it. New favorite recipe for the instant pot! Will double ur next time for more leftovers 🙂