Low-Calorie Instant Pot Lentil Soup (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

This healthy and nutritious Instant Pot lentil soup is low in calories, full of veggies and high in fibre. It's tasty, simple to make and is a vegan-friendly and gluten-free recipe. 

This gorgeous Instant Pot lentil soup is a delicious and healthy meal full of plant-based protein, fibre and nutrients. We wanted to keep it super simple, vegan and gluten-free, however, you can add other ingredients and use this recipe as a template (see some variations below).

Lentils Nutrition

Lentils are a fantastic source of protein and nutrients, while low in calories and fat. 1 cup of uncooked lentils has 50 grams of protein (we're using 1 ⅕ cups in the soup, so you're looking at 75 grams in the whole batch), 59 grams of fibre, plenty of iron, magnesium and B-vitamins. Lentils are not a complete protein, so vegetarian and vegan eaters should ideally have this soup with a side of bread, rice or pasta (grains + lentils = complete protein!). Read more about how nutritious lentils are here.

This particular Instant Pot recipe is quite low in calories yet high in fibre and protein so it's quite satiating and perfect for anyone on a diet or weight loss plan. 

Instant Pot Lentil Soup Variations 

This lentil soup recipe is a great template and you can add many different foods and ingredients to create a new variation of this dish. Here are some suggestions:

Plant-based additions: chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a more intense, tomato and umami flavour; dried porcini mushrooms for that unforgettable earthy flavor (you can obviously add fresh mushrooms too); stir in fresh spinach once the soup is cooked or add frozen spinach when cooking the soup; diced celery, zucchini, pumpkin/squash or leeks will work well in the soup. Fried shallots make a fantastic topping for this soup.

Vegetarian additions: stir in grated cheese or chopped hard-boiled egg when serving this soup; diced grilled halloumi soup or crumbled feta add a fantastic touch of saltiness and texture.

For omnivores: Add diced raw chicken when cooking the soup or shredded cooked poultry when serving; add chopped chorizo or sausage for a massive flavor boost when cooking the soup.

Which Lentils To Use?

In this soup recipe, we're using dried yellow lentils but you can use green, brown or red lentils as well. You don't need to soak the lentils for this particular recipe but do rinse them well before cooking. If you do want to pre-soak the lentils (for nutritional reasons), adjust the cooking time to 7 minutes.

Make-Ahead & Freezer Tips

This is a great soup to make ahead as it freezes well and you can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days as it's vegetarian. Another cool tip is to pre-chop all of the ingredients and add them together with lentils and seasoning to a Ziplock bag (except for the liquids). Then label the bag and freeze it for up to 3 months. Tip the frozen contents into the Instant Pot, add the liquids and set to cook (maybe add 1-2 extra minutes to the cooking time). 

You might also like this Instant Pot Turkish Split Pea Soup or these simple Instant Pot Coconut  Curry Lentils. Plus, Get inspired with the best Instant Pot soup recipes here.

Full Recipe

Find the full list of ingredients, instructions, and a nutritional breakdown below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let us know in the comments, and make sure to rate this recipe so it’s easy for others to find.

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Instant Pot Lentil Soup

This healthy and nutritious Instant Pot lentil soup is low in calories and high in fibre. It's tasty, super simple to make, and is vegan-friendly and gluten-free.

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Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Calories: 302kcal

Author: Irena Macri

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion finely diced
• 1 large carrot diced into cubes or into thin strips
• 1 large red bell pepper diced into small cubes
• 1 long red chilli jalapeño, seeds out and finely diced
• 1 ½ cups dried yellow lentils rinsed and drained (you can use other lentils too)
• 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes 14 oz. / 400 g
• 3 garlic cloves finely diced or grated
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt see notes
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2 vegetable stock cubes + 8 cups water or 8 cups veggie stock see notes
• Juice of ½ lemon
• To serve: fresh cilantro coriander or parsley, or a dollop of Greek yoghurt, sour cream or dairy-free yoghurt and grated cheese.

Instructions

• Turn the Instant Pot. Add all of the ingredients and stir through.
• Close the lid and point the pressure vent to Sealing. Set to Manual, HIGH pressure and adjust the time to 12 minutes. The Instant Pot will take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure and the countdown from 12 minutes will begin.
• Once the timer stops, allow the pressure to release naturally for about 5 minutes and then use the quick release method to let off the rest of the steam (carefully point the top pressure valve to Venting and step away).
• Open the lid and stir in the juice of half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons). Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as you please. Serve as is or feel free to stir in a dollop of yoghurt or sour cream and top with some grated cheese. Fresh cilantro on top is lovely.

Notes

If using low-sodium vegetable stock, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the broth. Otherwise, only add ½ a teaspoon and then taste for salt once the soup is cooked.

We used yellow lentils but you can use any coloured lentils in this soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 943mg | Potassium: 934mg | Fiber: 24g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4447IU | Vitamin C: 77mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 7mg

CourseSoup

CuisineEuropean

KeywordComfort Food, Gluten-Free, Instant Pot Soup, Lentil soup, Soup Recipes, Vegan

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