This Instant Pot Lentil Soup Recipe has bright delicious flavors packed in a light, yet hearty soup! Greek Lentil Soup is a vegetarian soup made with few ingredients and finished with red wine vinegar to give it a little pizzazz! It's ready in a snap, made in the pressure cooker or on the stove top!
Instant Pot Lentil Stew
Now that the weather has been cooling down, I'm excited to be sharing some soups!
The inspiration for this soup comes from our frequent visits to a Greek Restaurant. It serves up kabobs, sandwiches, salads and of course soup! All of their soups are homemade and they are just delicious!
So I made it my mission to recreate their Greek Lentil Soup R
And I'm proud to say I did!
How about you, do you love the earthy flavor of lentils? I do. I had never had lentils until I moved to Fresno and I really love them. Hearty but light and so much flavor. Delicious!
I realized it's been a while since I've shared an Instant Pot recipe. So this easy soup is made in your pressure cooker!
But don't worry, no pressure cooker? No problem! Stove top directions are below as well.
Lentil Soup Instant Pot
It took me a while to figure out what gives this soup the perfect zing and I finally nailed it. A drizzle of olive oil and a bit of red wine vinegar to finish the soup gives it just the right pop of flavor!
Ingredient for Lentil Soup
- lentils
- vegetable stock
- carrots, onion, celery
- garlic
- tomato paste
- bay leaves
- salt and pepper
- red wine vinegar
- olive oil
A few lentil facts:
- Brown and green lentil are the most common. They hold their shape well in cooking because they haven't been hulled.
- Red or yellow split or sprouted lentils are perfect for soup because they have a tendency to disintegrate during the cooking process.
How long do you cook lentils in an instant pot?
Different variety of lentils cook at different times. This recipe calls for sprouted or split lentils and only takes 4 minutes.
Can't find that variety? No problem, substitute with green or brown lentils! Just increase the time in your pressure cooker to ten minutes.
How long does lentil soup keep for?
Lentil soup will keep no longer than 5 days refrigerated. Allow the soup to cool completely, then store in a container in the refrigerator. The good news is if you don't eat this right away, the best option is to tuck it into the freezer.
What makes this Greek Lentil Soup?
Traditionally, Greek Lentil Soup is a light soup with vegetables and herbs. It's a vegetarian soup usually with few ingredients and will be finished with an acid, like lemon or red wine vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil.
For more tips and tricks to make the BEST Soups and Stew - Homemade Soup: A Complete Guide.
Lentil Soup Instant Pot Recipe
Steps to make Instant Pot Lentil Soup Recipe
- Dice the onion, slice the carrot and celery, mince the garlic.
- Set the pressure cooker to saute. Add the olive oil and vegetables and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomato paste, seasonings and garlic. Saute for another minute.
- Add the lentils and vegetable stock. Set the IP on manual and timer to four minutes. Add the lid and seal, close the valve.
- Quick-release and allow the steam to escape. Remove the lid and stir.
- Add two tablespoons of red wine vinegar to finish the soup. Don't skip this part!
Stove Top Directions for Greek Lentil Soup
- Prepare the vegetables as stated above.
- Put a large stockpot over medium heat on the stove. When hot, add the olive oil and next the vegetables. Saute for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and seasoning. Also, add the minced garlic and saute another minute.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and the lentils. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low bubble and simmer until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally - about 15-20 minutes if you're using brown or green lentils. 5-10 minutes if you're using split lentils.
- Remove from the heat and be sure to finish with the red wine vinegar!
Love lentil soup? Here are more soups to tantalize your taste buds!
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There are several pressure cookers available, some cost less - some cost more! Here is the one I recommend - Instant Pot.
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Love this soup? Be sure and comment below with a five star rating! If you're on Instagram and snap a photo, be sure and tag me with #bowlmeover so I can see your lovely bowl of soup! Enjoy!!!
Instant Pot Lentil Soup Recipe
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into coins
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Peel the onion and dice. Peel the carrot and slice into coins, slice the celery, mince the garlic.
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute. When hot add two tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, salt, pepper and garlic. Saute for another minute.
- Add the lentils and vegetable stock. Change the setting to manual and set the timer to four minutes. Add the lid and seal. Ensure the valve is set to seal also.
- When the timer goes off, quick release and allow all the steam to escape. Remove the lid and stir. Add two tablespoons of red wine vinegar and stir. Don't skip this part!
- If desired top each bowl with an extra drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of minced parsley - amazing!!!
