My Instant Pot Lentil Soup is a warm and cozy meal that’s easy to make in the Instant Pot. It’s filled with vegetables and lentils in a richly flavored broth.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup is a Cold Weather Champion
Instant Pot lentil soup is a warmly spiced soup that’s filled with tender lentils, vegetables and tomatoes. It’s been warming us up on these cold winter days! I love that this recipe is nourishing, hearty and delicious.
This lentil soup recipe is simple to make, using fresh veggies and pantry ingredients. It’s one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes because it’s quick to prepare and perfect for lunch or dinner. The leftovers reheat wonderfully for quick meals throughout the week!
This winter we’ve been loving full-flavored, comforting Instant Pot soup recipes, including my Instant Pot Minestrone, Instant Pot Vegetable Soup and Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup.
This is the BEST lentil soup ever!! I literally make it once a week.
Imsen
Cooking with Lentils
Unlike dry beans, you do not need to soak lentils before cooking. It is a good idea to give lentils a good rinse and pick over them to check for unwanted debris before adding them to your recipes. I’ve found a small pebble in packaged lentils on more than one occasion, which is easy to remove, but not something you want in your soup!
Lentils cook quickly so they are perfect for adding to soups and other dishes, including Lentil Tacos, Instant Pot Lentil Sloppy Joes, Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili.
Learn more about the types of lentils and how to cook them in my Instant Pot lentils recipe.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup Ingredients
- Olive Oil: Olive oil adds richness to the soup. Extra virgin olive oil is recommended. You’ll sauté the vegetables in olive oil.
- Onion, Carrots & Celery: These form a flavorful base for the soup.
- Garlic: Minced garlic adds delicious flavor to the soup.
- Spices & Seasonings: This soup is seasoned with dried thyme, ground cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. This blend of spices brings a slightly smoky, warm and earthy flavor to the soup that is just irresistible.
- Vegetable Broth: I recommend using low sodium vegetable broth so that you can better control the amount of salt in the soup. Use a good quality vegetable broth for the best flavor.
- Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes: I highly recommend using fire roasted tomatoes because they add so much flavor to this lentil soup. If you can’t find fire roasted crushed tomatoes, you can use fire roasted diced tomatoes instead.
- Lentils: Use either dry green lentils or dry brown lentils in this recipe.
- Fresh Spinach: Chopped fresh spinach adds a beautiful pop of color to the soup! You’ll stir the spinach into the soup after pressure cooking.
Stovetop Method
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can follow my stove top Lentil Soup Recipe.
How to Make Lentil Soup in the Instant Pot
Here’s an overview of the recipe steps. Find the full recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Sauté veggies. Use the Instant Pot sauté function to cook the onion, carrots and celery until they start to soften.
Stir in the garlic and seasonings. Giving them a quick 30 second sauté develops their flavor.
Deglaze pot. Pour in the broth and scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot. Then stir in the tomatoes and lentils.
Pressure cook for 8 minutes at high pressure. Then let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure.
Finish and serve. Stir in the fresh spinach. Serve, with grated Parmesan, if desired.
Pro Tip
I love this soup served with a squeeze of lemon juice. It really brightens up the flavors!
Recipe Variations
- French Lentil Soup: For a more classic French lentil soup flavor, you can omit the cumin and smoked paprika and make the soup with French green lentils. For extra flavor, start the soup by sautéing chopped bacon before you add the onion, carrot and celery to the pot.
- Red Lentil Soup: I recommend making this soup recipe with green or brown lentils, as they hold their shape best when cooking. If you only have red lentils, you can use them, but know that they will fall apart when cooking, so the texture of your soup will be different.
- Sausage: To add chicken or pork sausage, remove it from the casings and brown the sausage on sauté before adding the onion, carrot and celery to the pot.
- Ground Beef or Ground Turkey: You can also add more protein to this lentil soup with ground beef or ground turkey. Brown the meat using the sauté setting before adding the onion, carrot and celery.
- Ham: You can add diced ham when you add the lentils and tomatoes.
- Potatoes: To add potatoes, cut Yukon gold potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and add them when you add the dried lentils to the soup. Yukon gold potatoes hold their shape better than Russet potatoes in the pressure cooker.
- Other Greens: You can substitute the fresh spinach with other greens, such as kale or chard. Stir chopped fresh greens into the soup after it cooks.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Soup and bread are a perfect pair. I recommend French bread, yeast rolls, dinner rolls, or even cornbread for serving with lentil soup. Adding a salad is a great way to round out the meal. My simple green salad, kale salad, kale avocado salad, and spinach salad are all delicious options.
To Store and Reheat
This soup reheats really well. I love to enjoy the leftovers for lunch!
- Store Instant Pot lentil soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Thaw frozen soup overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheat leftover soup in the microwave or in a pot on the stove over medium heat. You may need to add a little more broth when reheating, since the soup thickens up over time.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped into ¼-inch thick rounds or half-rounds
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 15 ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups dry green or brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
- grated Parmesan cheese, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot using the sauté function. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté until softened, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, dried thyme, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds and then press Cancel to turn off the Saute function.
- Pour in the broth and scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the crushed tomatoes and lentils and stir.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and move the steam release valve to the sealing position. Set the cook time to 8 minutes at high pressure using the Pressure Cook or Manual function. The Instant Pot will take about 25 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down.
- When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes by leaving the Instant Pot alone. Then carefully move the steam release valve to the venting position (I use the handle of a long spoon to do this).
- Wait for all of the steam to escape and the pin to drop down and then carefully open the Instant Pot lid. Stir the chopped spinach into the soup. Serve with grated Parmesan, if desired.
Notes
- For a brighter flavor, stir in a squeeze of lemon juice to each bowl of soup when serving.
- Store leftover lentil soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I originally shared this recipe in March 2021. Post updated February 2025.
This is the BEST lentil soup ever!! I literally make it once a week.
I’ve always liked lentils but could never cook them right. Instapot makes it easy and this recipe makes it so tasty! DH likes it with ground beef so I saute and crumble the beef first, add everything else after and proceed. Perfect every time. Thank you so much.
Yum! Easy to follow recipe and it turned out great. May try with added protein like turkey and/or potatoes next time.
I love this soup! I used rotel, and added ham. Perfect for this time of year.
Delicious! I needed to add a hearty vegetable soup to my meal plan for the week and this was perfect. Gave up meat for lent and didn’t even miss it with this. Whole family loved it. Thanks!
This site is my go-to for recipes! Ive made this a bunch of times now. Always delicious and a nice quick, easy recipe! I find sauteeing the veggies a bit longer (8-10 minutes) is what I prefer. I also add a splash of good quality red wine vinegar at the end, about a tablespoon. Gives it a little kick. Thank you for this recipe!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear you are enjoying my recipes! Thanks for sharing your modifications. 🙂
Super tasty and very easy to make. It’s in my regular soup rotation