Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Happy New Year!! Since we’re all trying to be extra healthy this month …. Riiiight?? 😉 … here’s one of my family’s most favorite recipes! ALLLLL the kids are super excited to eat it and ask for seconds plus leftovers for days. Lentil soup is comfort food at its finest & this is loaded with veggies and lots of healthy ingredients. Pair with a green salad & a crusty bread for a dinner your family will love! ❤️
This recipe is naturally gluten-free & dairy-free and can easily be made vegan by using a vegetable broth. I’ve used both chicken and vegetable broths and have never noticed a change in the flavor. The veggies, lentils, & seasonings are the stars of this show!
We make a large amount of lentil soup in our 8-quart instant pot. It makes amazing leftovers! (Add a little more broth to the leftovers if it thickens too much while sitting in the fridge.) If you own a smaller instant pot or don’t need to feed a small army, you can definitely cut the recipe in half.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 4 Cups cubed butternut squash fresh or frozen
- 4 Cups sliced carrots
- 4 Cups diced potatoes gold potatoes are my fave!
- 4 Cups chopped celery
- 2 Cups lentils
- 1½ Cups split peas
- 1 large onion, diced
- 10 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Quarts broth (or more – see notes) chicken or vegetable
- 4 Teaspoons herbs de Provence
- 4 Teaspoons Redmond or pink salt
- 1-2 lemons juiced
- 2-3 Handfuls Swiss chard, roughly chopped optional
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients except the Swiss chard, lemon juice, & 2 quarts of the broth in an EIGHT quart instant pot. I recommend putting lentils and split peas towards the middle or bottom of the pot to ensure they soften.
- Cook the lentil soup on the soup setting (or high) for 30 minutes & do a quick release at the end … meaning cover the nozzle with a washcloth or hand towel, turn the nozzle, and release all the steam.
- Give the soup a good stir & mix in additional broth (to the consistency that you like), lemon juice, and Swiss chard, if desired. Taste the soup and add more talk, if desired.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. When I reheat leftovers later in the week, I find that I usually need to add a little more broth & salt to refresh the soup.