Who doesn’t love a hearty vegetable lentil soup? This veggie lentil soup is oil free and whole-food-plant-based. It is full of vegetables and because it uses a soup base of vegetable broth, you can be sure it’s vegan. The best part of this vegetable lentil soup recipe is that it’s made in the Instant Pot! That’s right, you can pretty much set it and forget it.
For this veggie lentil soup, in addition to the (obvious) lentils, you will need…
Some vegetables, including onion, carrots, garlic, celery, potato, and canned diced tomatoes. You will also need some seasonings including lemon pepper, Italian seasoning, and thyme. We also add in vegetable broth, some lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. And of course the star of the show – a pressure cooker like an Instant Pot!
After I started eating the plant-based way, I quickly became a huge fan of lentils. Sadly, I never liked lentils much before because I once had a bad experience with undercooked lentils in a thick ketchup-like tomato soup. Yuck! You know, you can’t let one bad eating experience dictate what you are prepared to try for the rest of your life.
Thank goodness I was willing to explore a little. Lentils have since become a staple in my family’s diet. Lentils are an easy way to add a little protein and give a nice texture to any dish one might have previously used meat in. Try my Easy Hearty Spaghetti or my Easy Lentil Shepherd’s Pie.
Tips and Tricks for Making Veggie Lentil Soup (Instant Pot)
- Follow all directions to ensure success.
- Directions are for the Instant Pot brand of pressure cooker. This is the only brand I’ve cooked with and I am not familiar with the others. Make sure you read the directions and know your pressure cooker.
- Start by sautéing the diced/sliced onion and carrot in one cup of vegetable broth on the sauté setting of your Instant Pot for about 5 minutes. You don’t want the vegetables to be mushy, but just start to soften. If your pressure cooker does not have a sauté setting, then sauté before adding. Otherwise, your soup might have crunchy onions and carrots.
Start out by sautéing the carrots and onions in the Instant Pot. - We don’t use added processed oil in this recipe. (See above tip to sauté your vegetables in broth.)
- This recipe calls for 3 cloves of garlic. I use pre-minced garlic I buy at the store. Each clove is about 1/2 a teaspoon.
- Use brown or green lentils. Red lentils will be too mushy.
- I use lemon juice from a bottle. It’s fine:)
- I do not peel my carrots or potatoes. Just clean well and make sure any “weird” pieces are cut out.
- After the vegetables have sautéd for about 5 minutes add in the other vegetables, canned diced tomatoes, lentils, seasonings, and broth and give it a little stir.
After sautéing the carrots and onion, dump all the other ingredients into your Instant Pot. Set it and forget it! - Using the manual mode, set your pot to high pressure for 12 minutes.
- After the veggie lentil soup has finished cooking, allow for a “natural” release for about 10 minutes. Then carefully assist with a quick release. After all of the pressure has released, open your pot. It will be hot!
- This veggie lentil soup works great for meal prep. The lentils and vegetables hold their shape and texture well. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Items I Found Helpful in Making This Recipe
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Veggie Lentil Soup (Instant Pot) Recipe:
Make this plant-based lentil soup in the instant pot. It is full of vegetables, oil-free, rich and flavorful.
Veggie Lentil Soup (Intant Pot)
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced, about 1 1/2 cups
- 2 carrots sliced, about 1 1/4 cups
- 2 celery stalks diced, about 1 cup
- 1 medium white potato diced, about 1 1/2 cups
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils rinse
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 5 cups vegetable broth divided
- salt and pepper to taste
- more broth to thin soup after cooking
Instructions
- Dice slice, and mince all vegetables, set aside
- Sauté onion and carrot in 1 cup of broth for about five minutes. Use the sauté function and sauté in the Instant Pot. Watch the bottom of your pan so that the broth doesn't dry out and vegetables begin to stick. Your pan might not come to pressure if the vegetables stick.
- Add in all other ingredients: lentils, canned diced tomatoes, celery, potatoes, garlic, seasonings, vinegar and lemon juice, and remaining four cups of broth. Give it a stir.
- On manual mode, set your pressure cooker on high for 12 minutes.
- After the veggie soup has come to pressure and counted down, allow a natural release for 10 minutes.
- After you have allowed 10 minutes for natural release, carefully with a long-handled spoon or similar device, continue releasing pressure. Open your pot.
- Depending on how thin you like your soup, you may want to add in a little vegetable broth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition
Start with a few simple ingredients. I like to buy my lentils already steamed. They can often be found in the produce section of the grocery store. If you aren’t able to find pre-cooked lentils, they are actually pretty easy to make on the stove-top. Follow the package directions for a yield of 2 cups, cooked.
Add the dried minced onion and stir around for a minute so that the onion begins to rehydrate. Then add the vegetables on top and sauté for about 5 minutes in the vegetable broth so that the vegetables have mostly thawed. (You will want to watch your pan carefully and add more broth if the vegetables begin to stick.) Add in the cooked lentils and the cup of vegetable broth, arrowroot starch (can sub corn starch) thyme and salt. Stir until well mixed and bubbly. The “gravy” should begin to thicken as well.
