Tasty Instant Pot Lentil Soup {Healthy & Flavorful}

Easy Lentil Soup Recipe

As soon as the weather turns slightly cold I’m all about the soups. It’s one of my favorite ways to eat vegetables too! Usually I like to make them in my Instant Pot since it cooks fast but I still use my slow cooker as well.

This delicious lentil soup can be made in the instant pot or the crock pot, your preference! It’s easy to switch up the veggies or spices to fit your tastes and it’s healthier than a lot of soups. It’s vegetarian and vegan too so long as you stick with the vegetable broth.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of my links I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Lentil Soup Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups carrots (diced or shredded)
• 1 cup of diced celery or other diced/riced veggies
• 2 cups dried lentils
• 1 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 cans petite diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
• 1 cup chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)

Veggies

You’ll love this delicious and versatile soup. It’s a healthier meal but you won’t feel like you’re missing out! Use celery if you like it or replace it with other diced or riced veggies.

I frequently buy a bag of riced veggies that’s a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and sweet potato (may have gotten it at Trader Joe’s). It saves lots of time chopping. You can also use shredded carrots if you want to avoid chopping them as well.

My husband and I are not fans of onions which is why you won’t find it in most of my recipes, but feel free to add diced onions as well if you’re a fan.

If you want to cut down on the sodium be sure to use diced tomatoes that have no salt added.

Broth

Despite not tasting salty this dish is a bit high in sodium, like most soups. You could omit the salt and add extra spices for taste (ones without salt).

If you make your broth with my favorite, better than bouillon, then you can also reduce the amount of paste per cup of water. This will reduce the flavor a bit as well as the sodium as most of the sodium in this dish comes from the vegetable broth.

How to Make Instant Pot Lentil Soup

This recipe is about as easy as it gets so I don’t have much in the way of “process” photos to show you. But that makes it great for a quick and easy one pot weeknight dinner…and it’s clean up too!

1 – Dice all vegetables.

2 – Add all ingredients (except the spinach) to your instant pot and stir to combine.

3 – Set your pot on “manual” for 15 minutes.

4 – Let it do a natural release for 10 minutes before quick releasing the rest of the pressure.

5 – Stir in the spinach and allow it to wilt. I like to use chopped frozen spinach (no need to thaw it first) as I don’t have leftover that goes to waste and I don’t have to chop it! You can also use kale if you prefer.

6 – Serve topped with a bit of parmesan cheese if you like or serve over rice.

I especially like to eat leftovers over rice as it does thicken a bit once it’s been refrigerated.

How to Make Crock Pot Lentil Soup

The crock pot instructions are almost exactly the same.

1 – Dice all vegetables.

2 – Add all ingredients (except the spinach) to your crock pot or slow cooker and stir to combine.

3 – Set your pot of low for 8 hours.

4 – Stir in the spinach and allow it to wilt. I like to use chopped frozen spinach (no need to thaw it first) as I don’t have leftover that goes to waste and I don’t have to chop it! You can also use kale if you prefer.

5 – Serve topped with a bit of parmesan cheese if you like or serve over rice.

I hope you enjoy this delicious soup! Check out my recipe for instant pot potato soup as well.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more easy meal ideas and tag us with #easymommeals

Vegan Lentil Soup Recipe

Sharing is caring!