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Instant Pot Lentil Soup is a rich, healthy, and delicious medley of brown lentils, carrots, celery, spices, and bacon. Can also easily be vegetarian lentil soup. This pressure cooker lentil soup is hearty without being heavy. A very popular Instant Pot soup recipe.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
This lentil soup recipe dates back to when I was 16 years old. I have shared several recipes from when I worked at the Deutsches Altersheim. I was a prep cook/dishwasher/server. There were a couple of wonderful ladies that I was privileged to work with, and they taught me to love cooking for others. I already cooked with my Nana and my mom, but this was different.
Chrystal was one of the cooks, and she shared this recipe with me. Sort of. I lost the written recipe but remembered most of it as I made it several times. It is really delicious!
I adapted her recipe for the Instant Pot® so I could share it with you!
Instant Pot Lentil Soup has plenty of gorgeous smoky bacon, however, if you are vegetarian or just don’t want bacon, omit it and use veggie broth. You could throw in some cut up chicken pieces and it will be very good as well.
The pressure cooker is great for soups, especially ones with beans and lentils as they cook faster and get all nice and creamy. Check out my Instant Pot Split Pea Soup, which is a Top 10 favorite recipe on my blog!
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Sausage Potato Soup
Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup with Chicken
Instant Pot Taco Soup
Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
Feeding others is an honor. It’s sharing a part of yourself and giving it as a gift. That’s what I learned.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- ½ lb Thick Sliced Smoky Bacon (about 6 slices cut in 1/2” pieces)
- 1 large Onion, diced
- 4 Carrots, diced
- 3 Stalks of Celery, diced
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 5 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes in Puree
- ¼ tsp Oregano, dried
- ¾ tsp Coriander Powder
- ¾ tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Sweet Paprika
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 4 inch sprig Fresh Rosemary
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 T Fresh Lemon Juice
- 5 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 ½ cups Brown Lentils, picked over and rinsed
Instructions
- Before you cook, have all of your ingredients prepared; veggies chopped, cans opened, spices measured, etc. This will make the process a lot easier for you!
- Turn on the pot's Sauté function and add the bacon. Cook bacon until done, but not crisp. Remove from pot and set aside on a paper towel. Discard all but 2 Tbsp of the fat.
- Add onions, carrots, celery, and bay leaf. Cook until vegetables are just getting tender, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze (get those brown bits off the bottom).
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add tomatoes, oregano, coriander, cumin, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, vinegar, lemon juice, and broth. Stir well to combine.
- Add rinsed lentils. Stir.
- Place the lid on the pot and set the Steam Release Knob to Sealing.
- Cancel the Sauté function.
- Press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button, or dial on Ultra. Set time to 4 minutes using the + or - button, or dial.
- When cook cycle ends, let pot naturally release pressure for 13 minutes. Then manually release the remaining pressure by turning the knob to Venting (or push the button on the Ultra).
- When the pin in the lid drops, it is safe to open the lid. Open and carefully stir the soup. Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
- Add the bacon back in and stir.
- Serve as is, or garnish with sour cream, cilantro, or whatever you like!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Lentil Soup recipe and more
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What happens with the bacon you take out?
Add it back in after pressure cooking.
Hi Sandy what size IP is this for , I have a 3qt duo mini . Do I need to cut this in half.
This is for the 6 qt. You can cut it in half.
Hi Sandy
I’m dropping you a line to let you know that your IP potato and leek soup was a tremendous hit with my hub.
I’m new to Instant Pot and have never made soup in all my 60 plus years. Well, let me tell you I love my Instant Pot and it’s versatility. I’ve only had it for 4 days and have used it every one of those days. I’ve also made your recipe for beef stew and it too was awesome! Your recipes are very user-friendly. I love how they are so simple. Just simple, comfort foods that we all love to make and eat. I found that there are tons of sites out there but the recipes are too gourmet for my family of simple eaters. So thank you so much for your wonderful site with your awesome recipes!!
Thank you, Yvonne! I’m so glad you liked it!
Thank you, Yvonne, for saying exactly what I was thinking about Sandy’s soup recipes! I haven’t had one single soup that wasn’t super delicious!