Instant Pot red lentil soup is a healthy vegetarian recipe packed with protein, butternut squash, and vegetables. Using a pressure cooker takes half the time compared to a stovetop recipe. Pureeing the lentils makes this soup incredibly creamy without adding any dairy.
Have you taken the plunge and are a proud owner of a shiny new Instant Pot? This red lentil soup is an easy beginner recipe to give the pressure cooker function a try. Typically it takes a long time to cook dried beans. However, preparing it using high pressure takes only 10 minutes to tenderize the legume, it’s pretty amazing.
This red lentil soup is a nutritional powerhouse because each serving has a generous amount of vegetarian protein and vegetables. Ingredients like onions, garlic, celery, bay leaf, and thyme add a wonderfully fragrant aroma to the soup. Each spoonful is made extra creamy by pureeing the lentils and butternut squash together right in the pot.
It’s quick to prepare a healthy and satisfying meal even on the weekdays!
The best part about making soup in the Instant Pot versus a slow cooker, is that the saute function allows you to brown the vegetables before pressure cooking. The pleasant aromas from the mirepoix, a classic combination of onions, carrots, and celery get a chance to soften and develop flavor right away.
If this is your first time trying red lentils, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to prepare! The miniature spherical and flat legumes have a lot of surface area, so they cook more quickly compared to other dried beans.
Red lentils have a very mild flavor with a subtle sweetness. They break down easily when cooked, losing some of their circular shape. A quick puree using an immersion hand blender makes for a super smooth and creamy soup texture.
From a nutritional standpoint, a ¼ cup serving provides 13 grams of protein and a whopping 14 grams of fiber. This soup contains 1 cup of dried lentils, making each bowl very satiating. Lentils are an excellent source of protein for the vegetarian and vegan diet.
Butternut squash is also added to the soup to not only provide nutrients like beta-carotene and fiber, but it also contains starches that release and naturally thicken the soup. This ingredient also offers a lovely sweetness to the dish.
I like to serve this Instant Pot red lentil soup topped with a little bit of greek yogurt, thinly sliced radishes, chives, and pepitas. This soup stores well in the refrigerator and freezer, so you can make a big batch and have them as individual servings whenever you need a grab and go meal.
More soup recipes
Use red lentils for pressure cooking soup
Red led lentils are brown lentils hulled so that the protective coating is removed, which means it cooks relatively quickly, in about 15 minutes. When cooked, these delicate pulses breakdown to create a pureed like texture. Therefore lentils are great for soups and stews where keeping the round shapes intact is not as important.
Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, ¼-inch dice
- ½ cup carrots, ¼-inch dice
- ½ cup celery, ¼-inch dice
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup butternut squash, ½-inch dice
- 1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed
- 4 cups unsalted vegetable broth, plus more as needed
- 1 bay leaf, dried
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Instructions
- Select "Saute" on the Instant Pot. Allow pot to heat, it will indicate "Hot" on the display when ready.
- Add olive oil, once hot add the onions. Saute until fragrant and tender, 2 minutes.
- Add carrots and celery, saute until tender, 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute until fragrant, 30 seconds.
- Add butternut squash, saute for 2 minutes.
- Add lentils, vegetable stock, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and thyme. I find that once you add the cooled stock the saute function turns off.
- Make sure that the release valve is in the "Sealing" position.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn and lock.
- Press "Manual" button on the Instant Pot on high pressure, and then set the timer to 10 minutes using the "+" or "-" buttons. It will take about 10 minutes for the pot to heat and build up pressure. You will see some steam release from the lid, and then the time will start on the display.
- Once the cook time is complete, use the quick-release method to release the steam by pressing "cancel" on the Instant Pot.
- Use an oven mitt or towel to slowly and carefully twist the steam-release handle on the lid to "Venting" position. The initial release will spray some moisture around the pot so be careful.
- Remove the lid, opening the top away from you as steam will be released from the pot.
- Remove and discard bay leaf.
- Use a hand immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth, or transfer to a blender and puree. Leave some pieces of vegetables and lentils whole if desired for a chunkier consistency.
- Add more stock if desired to thin the soup.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper as desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Optional Toppings: Sour cream, greek yogurt, coconut milk, pumpkin seeds, chives
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Stovetop Directions:
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Follow steps 2 through 6 above.
- Turn heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until lentil and vegetables are cooked through and tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Follow steps 13 through 16.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Ozzi Ramirez says
I would love to try this. Can you substitute the butternut squash with sweet potato? And if so, do the same measurements apply? Thank You.
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, you can add the same amount of sweet potato instead of butternut squash.
Victoria Rose says
Super tasty! Swapped the butternut for a sweet potato, and doubled the water and lentils, and it was creamy enough without blending. My wife is delighted by the taste and I am delighted by how easy it is
Jessica Gavin says
I love that you added sweet potato and upped the lentils. I’ll have to give that a try!
Lynda Watkins says
Very tasty!!
Carolyn says
This is outstanding! The ingredient list is so simple but the result is so delicious. I left it kind of chunky. It’s nice to have a soup with squash that’s not fully puréed.
Thank you for these healthy and delicious recipes.
Tami Van Buren says
I have all the ingredients minus the butternut squash -will it still be yummy ?
any other suggestions -trying to use what I have Thank you
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, you can skip the butternut squash if you don’t have any. Any type of potato or sweet potato would also work.
DB says
Amazingly delicious soup! This is the best lentil soup I’ve ever made. I’ve shared the recipe with many friends.
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your feedback and for sharing the recipe with others!
Grace DiTommaso says
This has become a routine soup for us. Thank you!!!
I cook it in my Dutch Oven just because we like it so much, and my instant pot can’t fit quadruple the recipe.
I usually give so much away, because everybody loves it! But we are keeping this batch.
In these stressful times it is comfort food, and so ridiculously healthy!
Stay well.
Gracie
Bosh says
Just made this for Coronavirus sequester meals. Great recipe..I forgot to remove the bay leaves before puree’ing, but didn’t overwhelm, luckily.
Jessica Gavin says
Glad to hear the bay leaf still tasted okay!
Yolanda says
I made the red lentil soup today. It was really good! I will be making some more and freezing it. Thank you for the recipe.
Jackie McGuire says
I made this tonight. I followed the recipe except used 2 cups homemade chicken broth that I had on hand and two cups water with some organic boullion paste-I guess making it less vegetarian, but it was what I had. I transferred some to the blender, added it back and re-pressured for 3 minutes t get it all hot again. Sooo yummy!!! Thank you. My husband (who is soup fussy and doesn’t do squash) enjoyed it and had 2 bowls! Thank you for the recipe. All the best.
Jackie
Margaret says
Yum. I just made the red lentil soup – delicious. But I didn’t have any squash so I used a yam and added some cumin and coriander. Thanks for the recipe.
Dee says
Hi- I have a sweet potato and no butternut squash so I was happy to see your post. How much cumin and coriander did you use? TIA.
MJ Thompson says
Can I use frozen butternut squash?
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, you can use frozen butternut squash.
Laurie Kirk says
Could you use a crockpot instead?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Laurie- Yes! I would try high for 5 to 6 hours or low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the lentils are tender.
Mary Koss says
I have several older pressure cookers and am not ready to give them up. Since the old Mirros give me a pressure choice, I would like to know what pressure the instant pots use. Can you tell me?
I am enjoying reading your recipes and plan to adapt and try some.
Thanks.
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Mary- Great question! I checked out the instant pot manual and the working pressure is 10.15-11.6 psi. It has a max working pressure of 15.23 psi, but does not maintain that level. If your stovetop pressure cooker operates at 15 psi, decrease cooking time by 7-15%.
Mary koss says
Thanks, Jessica.
That is good information and I appreciate your finding it for me.
This lentil butternut soup should be very forgiving as I experiment.
Andrea says
Would green lentils work ok in this recipe?
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, I think green lentils should work as well!
Lynlyn says
I tried this recipe for the first time because I had a butternut squash that I needed to use up and it was fantastic, one of my favorite lentil soups. Thanks!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you for your feedback!
Maria says
I so enjoyed this soup especially since it was so easy to make in the Instant Pot. I followed the directions exactly but added a little hot sauce at the end.
The next day it was thicker which was great because I put it with rice for lunch.
Please keep those Instant Pot recipes coming ! Also, it was wonderful to have the option of grams.
Evelyn says
Mmmmmm, just the recipe for me to make this weekend. Red lentils & soup are two of my favorite things. I like how you think!