Description
Instant pot lentil soup is loaded with a variety of veggies, and plant-based protein from the lentils – it will keep you full for hours. It’s easy to make, inexpensive, healthy, and comforting.
Ingredients
- 1 medium white, or yellow onion, chopped
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
- 2 cups cauliflower florets, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 1/2 head of cauliflower)
- 1/2 pound (4 to 5) baby Yukon potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 1/4 cups green, or brown lentils, rinsed and picked through for any debris
- 1 15 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth)
- 1 cup filtered water (or more broth)
- 3/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 head of kale, washed, leaves removed from stems, roughly chopped
- Optional: 3 to 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
Optional toppings
- freshly grated, or shaved parmesan cheese (it can be pre-shredded, just get the good quality kind from the deli/cheese section, rather then the stuff in a can).
- parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients: Chop the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, cauliflower, and potatoes as instructed above and add them to a 6 quart instant pot (or other electric pressure cooker) – notes below for slow cooker directions. Also add the rinsed lentils, canned tomatoes, broth, water (or extra broth), and dried sage. Stir everything together. Note: we will add the salt, pepper, and kale at the end of cooking. Adding salt to lentils while they cook makes them tough.
- Cook: Lock the lid onto the instant pot. Place the nozzle in the “sealing” position. Set the pressure cooker for “high pressure”, and adjust the timer for 10 minutes. Once the instant pot is done cooking, carefully force release the pressure. Remove the lid and stir in the salt and pepper. Set the instant pot to the “keep warm” setting
- Prepare kale: While the instant pot is doing it’s thing, you can prepare your kale at this time, as instructed above.
- Blend: returning to the soup carefully ladle 3 cups of the soup into a blender and blend until nice and creamy. Note: if you don’t have a blender that works well with blending hot liquids, then, it is important to let the amount of soup you’re blending cool slightly before blending to avoid an explosion. Once blended stir the blended portion back into the instant pot.
- Add the kale: At this time stir in the chopped kale and allow it to wilt for 1 minute.
- Taste: Taste your soup and adjust flavors as needed. It may need more salt. if under salted this soup can really be lacking in taste. If desired you can stir in a few tablespoons of red wine vinegar (or to your taste), it adds a really nice tang.
- Serve: Serve the soup immediately. Top with good quality parmesan cheese, as desired.
- To store leftovers: This soup is great leftover. Once the soup has mostly cooled to room temp transfer it into airtight containers and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Reheat gently in the microwave, or in a sauce pot.
Notes
Dairy free: to keep this recipe dairy free omit the parmesan cheese topping.
Vegan: to make this recipe vegan omit the parmesan cheese, and sub the chicken broth for veggie broth.
Chicken broth: Of course you can use store bought chicken broth for this recipe (that’s what I used), but I like to remind you of my super easy instant pot chicken broth, if you’re interested in a homemade version.
Note on salting: I have always heard that lentils get tough if you salt them while cooking, so you should only salt them after they are cooked. I have made this recipe many times, and usually end up forgetting that rule, so I salt the soup before it’s cooking. Honestly, I never notice the lentils being tough – at least in this recipe. Do what feels right, I guess.
Stove top directions: 1) Prep the ingredients the same as above. 2) Heat a large Dutch oven, or soup pot on medium high heat. Once the pot is hot, add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil (or other high smoke point oil). Sauté the onions for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender. Add the broth in along with the canned tomatoes, and the remaining veggies, along with the lentils. 3) Cover and bring the pot to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes, and the lentils are fork tender. The rest is pretty much the same directions as the recipe above. You will blend 3 cups of the soup, stir it back into the soup and add the salt and pepper – taste to adjust seasoning. Then, stir in the kale and allow it to wilt a little. Serve up the soup the same as you would for the instant pot recipe above.
Note on stovetop directions: I did test the recipe on the stovetop, and it was just as easy and pretty much took the same amount of time as the instant pot version. The main difference is that you have to check the pot to make sure it’s still simmering, on occasion. I did decide to sauté the onions, because of habit – but, you can skip this step as I don’t do it in the instant pot version and it turns out fine. This is the reason for the 1 tablespoon of oil added into the recipe. I tried to keep the stove top version pretty similar – a dump-everything-in-recipe!
Slow cooker directions: NOTE: I recommend this soup in the instant pot – or on the stovetop, if you can. The slow cooker will make everything a lot more soft, whereas the instant pot allows the veggies and lentils to retain a lot more texture. Here are rough directions: Place all ingredients (except the kale, and salt and pepper) in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours, or on low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the lentils and veggies are tender. Follow the remaining directions starting from step 3. Keep in mind that I did not test this recipe using a slow cooker, so this is a rough estimate of cooking time. Let me know in the comments if you make it using a slow cooker.
This recipe is inspired from Pinch of Yum’s detox crockpot lentil soup.
