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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!
About the lentils:
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.
I love all types of lentils now! Use any kind of lentil but red in this recipe.
For more awesome lentil recipes:
Try my:
- Vegan Taco Meat with Lentils (also an Instant Pot Recipe),
- Easy Hearty Spaghetti
- or my Easy Lentil Shepherd’s Pie.
Pin now to save for later:
Tips and Tricks for Making Veggie Lentil Soup (Instant Pot)
Follow all directions to ensure success.
Directions are for the Instant Pot brand of the 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.
Sauteeing the vegetables with broth:
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 3 minutes – just to get them going.
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.
We don’t use added processed oil in this recipe. (See above tip to sauté your vegetables in broth.)
Some shortcuts:
I use lemon juice from a bottle. No need to squeeze a lemon unless you really want to.
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.
I do not peel my carrots or potatoes. Just clean well and make sure any “weird” pieces are cut out.
Adding the rest of the ingredients:
After the vegetables have sautéd for about 3 minutes add in the other vegetables, canned diced tomatoes, lentils, seasonings, and broth and give it a little stir.
Cooking in the Instant Pot:
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 do a quick release by using a long-handled wooden spoon or spatula. After all of the pressure has released, carefully open your pot. It will be hot!
Serving suggestions:
This soup will be quite thick. I always add in extra broth and thin it to my liking. The extra broth is added at the end because we don’t want to fill up the pot beyond 2/3 full. Also, different people like their soup a little thinner…or thicker.
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.
Do you wanna know what makes this veggie lentil soup even better?
- Top it with my parmesan cheese with cashews
- Serve with a slice of warm beer bread with garlic and herbs
- Pair with a yummy berry salad with raspberry vinaigrette – a little sweet/tart to offset the savory!
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One of our community members suggested topping with the Sausage Tofu Crumbles. This was a great idea!
Items I Found Helpful in Making This Recipe
The Recipe for Veggie Lentil Soup:
Did you love this recipe? I’d appreciate hearing about it! It would thrill me to no end if you could leave a review with stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ It would also help others who are looking for an awesome veggie lentil soup recipe find it! Thanks, Cindy 💜
Veggie Lentil Soup (Instant 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 three 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.
Meggan says
Super delicious! My non-vegan family requested this soup when they saw me share the recipe post oh my Facebook. I made it and it absolutely blew everyone away. AMAZING.
I added in some of your tofu sausage crumbles to the bowls when I served it and no one could believe they were eating a healthy, completely plant based soup.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Cindy Rainey says
That is amazing! I never thought to add the sausage tofu crumbles. Brilliant idea! And I’m so happy your family liked it too:)
Nettie Predieri says
Can this be made on the stove top?
Super Mom - No Cape! says
This sound like it would be delicious!
Cindy Rainey says
Thanks, I hope you try it!
SJ says
Can this be made on the stove?
Cindy Rainey says
Hello – I have not made it on the stovetop before. I will definitely try it myself very soon. In the meantime, please let me know if you make this on the stove-top and how it worked out for you.
baccarat says
Love to eat some spicy soup ! !
Dianne says
Is there anyway to make the sodium lower?
Cindy Rainey says
Hi – You could try using lower/no sodium canned goods and vegetable broth. Please don’t skip on the lemon pepper though as it really adds to the flavor.
Lisa says
This recipe looks delicious and I would love to try it, but I can’t eat tomatoes. Is there something else that I could use in place of the tomatoes and still have it come out when made in an instant pot? Thank You
Cindy Rainey says
Thanks for your great question! Since they are canned tomatoes in liquid, just use an equal amount of veggie broth with some extra onion perhaps for flavor and texture. I have not tried this substitute yet though, and so there are no guarantees! I’d love to hear how it turned out for you. Cindy 💜
Cindy Rainey says
Also – I was talking with some of my blogging friends about this, and they recommend perhaps some bell peppers and smoked paprika for added flavor since you will be omitting the tomatoes. Again though, no guarantees as I have not made it this way before but as long as the liquid is replaced then it should come to pressure.
Sarita Hammond says
Made this last night and my whole family loved it, even the kids!! My hubby even went back for seconds. This was my first meal using lentils so we all were a little insure. Thank you so much, we loved it!
Cindy Rainey says
I am so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know. Lentils are really a versatile little legume. I’ve come to really appreciate them.
Dorothy Wilson says
I made this a few days ago. Did not include the celery and I cooked it on the stove top. It was so good! Shared it with family and they loved it too. Also, served it with garlic bread.
Cindy Rainey says
Thanks for letting me know. I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it and that it worked for you on the stove-top. I love beluga lentils as well but have never added them to this recipe. I’ll have to give it a try!
Barb Luebke says
That was one of the best soups I’ve ever made. I used beluga lentils, that’s what I had. And added some peppers. Otherwise I followed the recipe. Delicious!
Gayle Hopkins says
This soup is very tasty and satisfying. My husband likes it too!
Cindy Rainey says
Thank you for letting me know:)
Luis Gravier says
I have made this a few times. The last time i used sweet potato instead of the white potato and it was delicious. Actually every time i always think to my self man this is good. The only thing i would like to know. I like my veggies and potatoes to have a little more bit in them. Do you think knocking off 2 mins of the pressure cooking or maybe instead the natural release would give me that texture?
Thanks for your time and the recipe!
Cindy Rainey says
Oh sweet potatoes sound yummy! If the veggies are a little too mush for you then go ahead and knock off a couple of minutes. You can also reduce the release time by half. See if that helps.
Jade says
It looks delicious! I have sodium restrictions so I’m thinking if I leave out the salt & use no salt added tomatoeJs, I should be good. Made as is, one serving is over my daily intake of sodium.
Cindy Rainey says
Hi! So your palate is already accustomed to low sodium and so it should taste just fine to you. Also use low sodium vegetable broth and be aware that your lemon pepper might have salt in it. If that is the case then leave it out and use a little lemon zest instead. Happy cooking!
Crystal says
First lentil recipe I actually liked! Very tasty soup.
Cindy Rainey says
So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Amy bagley says
I can’t wait to try this! Do you think I could add zucchini or summer squash? Thank you!!
Cindy Rainey says
Ohhhh I think that would be soooo delicious! And appropriately seasonal too.The only problem is that the cook time to get the lentils soft will turn the zucchinis to mush. Much as I hate using a second pot, I recommend you steam the summer squash first – either on the stove-top or in the microwave – and then add afterwards. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
Laura says
This is in my IP now♥️ However prep time for me was almost an hour. Maybe update the amount of time in case someone whos super short on time doesnt adjust for all the chopping and measuring and can opening. Maybe closer to 20 min for prep. Just being honest here. Cant wait to try this!!
Yvonne says
Could I use fresh tomatoes in place of the canned? The garden’s bounty has been generous and I’d like to use up a few more tomatoes. 😉. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer! I love your site.
Cindy Rainey says
Wow you are so lucky! I’m definitely no home gardener, but my tomatoes never set this year:( I’ve never made this recipe with fresh tomatoes before; but as long as you are confident in the quality and flavor of your homegrown tomatoes, you should be able to use them. From what I’m reading online, you will want to skin them with the blanch method and then dice them small. A 28 ounce can is about 3 1/2 cups so keep that in mind. I’d also add in a little more veggie broth too. Measure your diced tomatoes in a container and then add in some broth to fill in the spaces. Good luck and I’d love to hear how it turns out.
Lara says
Easy to follow instructions that resulted in the most delicious soup! Love the subtle flavour added by the balsamic. Yummy!!
Cindy Rainey says
Thank you so much for letting me know!
Mattie says
My first time eating lentils, it was very good! I was worried the lentils would be mushy, but nope, they came out perfectly al dente in the Instapot. I left out the lemon because I forgot to buy one, but I felt the vinegar, tomatoes, and lemon pepper were just the right amount of acid for me. This will be a fall staple, thanks for such a healthy flavorful recipe!
Cindy Rainey says
Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it – and you gotta do what works for you:) Cindy
Tracy Sivak says
This soup is awesome! So hearty and many great flavors.
Cindy Rainey says
Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m glad you enjoyed it:) Cindy
Cindy says
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. So glad i found another great instant pot recipe and one that I can use my lemon pepper with. This was sooo gooood.
Cindy Rainey says
I am so thrilled to hear you liked it! And thanks for the comment about the lemon pepper. I’m afraid that so many people leave it out because it only uses such a small amount, and this is not a seasoning already in their pantry. It really does make a difference though! And lemon pepper is such a versatile little seasoning.
Diane Hillman says
Absolutely delicious! We love this recipe, easy to make, lots of flavour… thank you for sharing 😊
Cindy Rainey says
So glad to hear you liked it:) Thanks for letting me know, Cindy 💜
Wendy says
This was ahhhhmazing!! And so easy! Took like 15 min to prep and 5 to clean up. I crumbled the vegan tofu italian style sausage into the soup before pressure cooking. I was worried that it wouldn’t come out because when I reread the comments it said to do it afterwards… but, it came out sooooo good I will do it this way every time! My daughter doesn’t like soup too chunky so I used an immersion blender and pureed a little of it. It’s definitely one of the best soups I ever had! AND… I’m not even vegetarian!! LOL. My kids are so I’m always looking for recipes we can all enjoy together! Thanks for this one, it’s a winner!
Cindy Rainey says
Thank you so much for taking the time to review this recipe. I’m glad you enjoyed it! And that’s a great idea to puree a bit:)
Cindy Rainey says
Oh my goodness thank you so much for the comment! It always thrills me to know when a reader has success. That is my goal! Cindy
Dana Casella says
I made this last week for my husband and me!~ It is incredibly good. I cut the recipe in half, knowing that it would feed a crowd for days if I didn’t. Even cutting it in half, we had it for several nights. I added a little water each night to thin it out a bit, but one night, I scooped out portions without broth, and put them on top of baked potatoes for a full and filling me. Delicious recipe!
Cindy Rainey says
Thank you so much for the review and for the excellent tip! Hopefully someone else can benefit:)
Suzanne says
Can you use a crockpot for this or even do this on the stove. If so what are the cooking instructions. Thank you this looks great.
Danielle Milln says
Fantastic recipe – I blended it with my immersion blender to get a smooth texture and it was delicious. Have made twice now.