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The best instant pot Red Lentil Soup with lemon! It is healthy and easy to make in a pressure cooker. Loaded with red lentil, lemon juice, carrom seeds, garlic and spinach. This lemony lentil soup will have you make it again and again!
Love hearty lentil soups? Check my Instant Pot Red lentil soup with lamb and chickpeas or Turkish red lentil soup.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Mastering how to cook lentils in the Instant Pot can change your life. I am not exaggerating. If you are a proud owner of a new Instant pot, you should learn how to cook lentils in it. It will take your meal preparation to the next level. Especially, this is true when it comes to lentils and rice. A pressure cooker will save you from soaking them overnight and babysitting on the stove. And it takes usually 5-10 minutes to cook the legume until tender. It is seriously amazing!
Simply throw the lentils in the pot with liquid (chicken stock, vegetable stock or water) and let the pot do the job.
For home cooking, I recommend 6 quart DUO60 or DUO60 Plus. However, any model will cook the lentils perfect. If you are looking for fancy features, DUO EVO PLUS is the best option.
Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup
Red lentils are my absolute favorite! They cook quickly and perfect for soups because they make soups creamy without cream. I pressure cook red lentils for 5 minutes on โHighโ for a mushy texture. I like to cook them in chicken stock. But, you can substitute it with vegetable stock or water for a vegan lentil soup.
The cooking time will depend also on the type of red lentils. There are red lentils without skin (usually split) and they cook faster and whole red lentils. I usually use the first type. Both types provide a thick mushy soup.
Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup Ingredients
- Red lentils– break down easily resulting in a mushy soup.
- Chicken stock– use whatever you have on hand: chicken stock, vegetable stock or water).
- Carrom seeds (ajwain) – they smell like thyme and provide a fantastic flavor. Donโt leave them!
- Turmeric– it gives a bold yellow color to the soup. Moreover, it is anti-inflammatory and has lots of health benefits.
- Spinach– both mature and baby spinach work well.
- Lemon juice– add fresh lemon juice to the soup and serve it with charred lemon slices.
- Garlic– 6 garlic cloves seem to be way too much. But, believe me, they will melt through the soup and you wonโt feel it.
- Cloves
- Whole peppercorns
How to Cook Lentils in Instant Pot
Instant Pot makes cooking lentils a breeze. You donโt need to soak them for a few hours or overnight. You donโt have to babysit them on the stove to make sure there is enough water and they wonโt burn. Throw all the ingredients, chose the โPressure Cookโ mode, set time for 5 minutes and come back when the soup is cooked.
Do a quick release or allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes. When the floating valve has dropped ( means that the pressure has been released), you can open the pot.
Red Lentils Instant Pot Water Ratio
For a thick soup:
2 cups of liquid (chicken stock, vegetable broth or water) for 1 cup of lentils
For a thin soup:
4 ยผ cup of liquid for 1 ยผ cup of lentils
How to make lentil soup more flavorful
To make it even more flavorful, you will need to add additional flavorings. I used carom seeds, garlic and green chilies (if you canโt bear spicy soups, leave them out). Heat vegetable oil in a medium pan and sautรฉ green chilies and garlic first until fragrant, about 40 seconds. Then add the carrom seeds and cook further until garlic are nicely browned for additional flavor. You can experiment with aromatics and use thyme, cumin seeds, oregano or rosemary. They all work well, but provide different flavors.
What to serve with lentil soup
This is an amazingly hearty and nourishing soup that is loaded with fiber and protein. I recommend to serve it with Naan bread or over Instant Pot Basmati rice.
If you make this red lentil soup with lemon be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating! I will be happy to hear from you!
Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup Video
Red Lentil Soup with Lemon
Ingredients
- Red lentil – 1 1/4 cup
- Chicken stock- 4 1/4 cup
- Carrom seeds, ajwain- 1 1/2 teaspoon, divided
- Cloves- 4-5
- Whole peppercorns- 8
- Turmeric- 1 teaspoon
- Salt- as needed
- Spinach- 3 cups
- Lemon juice-3 tablespoons
- Vegetable oil- 2 tablespoons, for frying
- Garlic cloves, sliced-6
- Green Chili- 4
- Fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped- 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Wash red lentil until the water runs clear and drain.
- Add the lentil, chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of carrom seeds, cloves, turmeric, peppercorns and salt into the Instant pot. Give a nice stir. Lock the lid and seal the vent.
- Choose Pressure Cookย and set time -/+ for 5 minutes. Make sure “High” Pressure is chosen. Actual cooking time will be more than 5 minutes because it takes about 5-10 minutes for the pot to build pressure.ย ย
- Quick release: When the pot finishes cooking, turn the venting knob to venting position. This will release the steam quickly. Once the steam has stopped and the floating valve has dropped, open the lid.
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan, add the green chilies and garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 40-50 seconds. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of carrom seeds and cook further for a minute. Remove from the heat and add into the soup immediately.ย
- Add also the spinach and lemon juice into the soup. Chose “Soup” mode and set time for 3 minutes. Cook until spinach wilts ( baby spinach wilts faster). Press ” Cancel” button”
- Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve immediately with lemon slices.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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