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Veggie Lentil Soup (Instant Pot)

Name: Veggie Lentil Soup (Instant Pot)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
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

by Cindy Rainey

5 from 29 votes

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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!

two carrots — I just wash, scrub, and cut my carrots. I do not peel.

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.

lentil soup in white bowl — This hearty vegetable lentil soup is full of vegetables and delicious!

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.

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.)

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!
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 💜