Name: Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 43 min
Ingredients: 1 medium onion (chopped); 2 large carrots (chopped); 2 small celery (chopped); 2 cups green or brown lentils (rinsed & drained (uncooked)); 28 ounces can diced or crushed tomatoes (low sodium); 2 teaspoons cumin; 2 teaspoons oregano; 1 teaspoon salt; Ground black pepper (to taste); 2 bay leaves; 10 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or water); 11 ounces box of spinach or kale; 1 large garlic clove (grated); Parmesan cheese (for serving); 1 large onion (chopped); 3 large large carrots (chopped); 2 small celery (chopped); 3 cups green lentils (rinsed & drained); 28 ounces can diced or crushed tomatoes (low sodium); 1 tablespoon cumin; 1 tablespoon oregano; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; Ground black pepper (to taste); 3 bay leaves; 14 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or water); 11 ounces box of spinach; 1 large garlic clove (grated); Parmesan cheese (for serving)

This is the best Instant Pot Lentil Soup full of tender lentils and veggies that hold well during pressure cooking! With only 5 minutes of prep, no sautéing, or pre-soaking, this is the easiest soup recipe perfect for busy weeknights!

Instant Pot lentil soup with spinach served in a bowl.

Reader’s Review

My go-to lentil soup recipe! Never fails to soothe and warm the soul. Thanks for this amazing recipe!
Tasha

394 more comments

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Delicious: This Instant Pot lentil soup is a cross between my stovetop lentil spinach soup and slow cooker lentil soup.
Healthy: Naturally gluten-free and loaded with vegetables to the brim.
Lots of leftovers: This recipe for Lentil soup in Instant Pot makes a lot, especially if you’re making it in the 8 quart Instant Pot.
Budget-friendly: No fussy ingredients. Most of them you probably already have in your kitchen and if not, none of them will break the bank.
Easy to make: There is no sautéing beforehand and no pre-soaking the lentils. With just 5 minutes of prep, the Instant Pot does the work.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Lentil Soup Recipe

Lentils, spinach, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, broth, bay leaves.

Lentils: Use french green lentils or brown lentils, whichever you have. Both will hold their shape under pressure and don’t become mushy. Make sure to rinse and drain them.
Vegetables: Carrots, celery, spinach or kale, low sodium diced or crushed tomatoes. You can play around with the amount and type of vegetables you use, depending on your preferences.
Aromatics: Onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves all work together to give this soup amazing flavor.
Seasonings: Cumin, oregano, salt and pepper are all this recipe calls for in terms of herbs and spices.
Broth: You can use bouillon cubes and 10 cups of water or 10 cups of low sodium vegetable broth or stock. You can also do half broth and half water to cut back on cost.

Variations

Red lentils: Reduce pressure cooking time to 12 minutes because red lentils do not hold their shape as well as green or brown lentils.
Diced ham or sausage: Just add it along with other ingredients. No other changes are necessary.
Fresh or frozen chicken: Throw in a few chicken breasts, thighs or drumsticks with other ingredients to make Instant Pot version of chicken lentil soup. No other changes.
Spice it up: Toss in some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, or just serve with a drizzle of hot sauce.
Fire roasted diced tomatoes: If you can find them, fire roasted tomatoes would add a great smoky taste to your Instant Pot lentil soup.
Chicken broth: If you’re not concerned about keeping this a vegetarian soup and you’d rather use chicken broth or Instant Pot chicken broth, do that instead.
More flavor: Chopped fresh parsley or a squeeze of lemon would be delicious.

How to Make Lentil Soup in Instant Pot

Step by step process how to prep lentil soup in Instant Pot.

Add vegetables: To the Instant Pot, add carrots, celery and onion.
Add everything else: Then add green lentils, diced tomatoes, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper and vegetable broth.
Pressure cook: Close the lid, set pressure valve to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High pressure or Manual button for 18 minutes.

Step by step process how to finish cooking lentil soup in Instant Pot.

Release the pressure: Do a Natural Release which takes just under 1 hour. Or you can do a Quick Release by turning the valve to Venting and releasing the pressure in about 3-4 minutes. Just know there will be some splatters on a counter, so maybe just wait 15 minutes for soup to stop boiling vigorously.
Add the greens: Remove the lid and now is the time to add spinach or kale.
Grate fresh garlic: Nothing brightens up a soup like fresh garlic, says Ukrainian me. There is a huge difference between cooked and fresh garlic flavor. Huge! You have to trust me on this one.
Parmesan cheese: Stir and serve soup hot garnished with Parmesan cheese. If you are strict vegan, you’ll probably skip Parmesan cheese.

Tips for Best Results

If you have not low sodium cans: Add less salt.
For 3 quart Instant Pot: Cut 6 quart recipe ingredients in half and keep the same cooking time.
Make sure pot isn’t more than 2/3 full: If your inner pot doesn’t have 2/3 full marking, it is very important to fill the pot only 2/3 full when pressure cooking. Ignore the cups, L and near the edge Max markers (read more).
To avoid splatters during QPR: Wait about 10 minutes for soup to stop boiling vigorously. Also not having Keep Warm function will slow down boiling sooner.
To make on the stovetop: Here is similar lentil spinach soup recipe.

Instant Pot lentil soup garnished with Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Spoon and towel on a counter.

Serving Ideas

This soup is a complete meal on its own, but there are days when I like to use it as a starter or have a little something extra on the side.

Serving it with crusty bread like baguette or sourdough for sopping up that liquid is a given. To add more protein to your meal, serve with Greek yogurt bread or cottage cheese bread.
As a starter to something easy like air fryer chicken wings.
On its own: Grab a handful of Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, or a drizzle of hot sauce and maybe a glass of wine and you’re all set!

Soup freezer meal in a Ziploc bag and a bowl of finished soup.

Make It a Freezer Meal

Instant Pot: Add all ingredients in the order listed in the recipe minus the water, spinach, and garlic. Freeze uncooked in a gallon size Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen with 10 cups of water or broth if using a 6 quart Instant Pot or 14 cups if using an 8 quart Instant Pot. The instructions for cooking from frozen are to cook for 18-20 minutes with a Quick Release at the end.
Slow cooker: Add all ingredients in the order listed in the recipe minus water, spinach and garlic and freeze uncooked in a gallon size Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen with 10 cups of water or broth on Low for 10 hours or on High for 5 hours.
After cooking: Add the spinach and garlic. Stir and serve hot garnished with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, if desired.

Check out my full list of 20 healthy freezer meals.