Thai-inspired red lentil soup cooked in the Instant Pot is the perfect vegetarian and gluten-free dinner for the whole family. This dish keeps and freezes well making it great for batch cooking.
A handful of cilantrostems chopped and leaves reserved for garnish
1.25cupsred split lentilsdry
2tablespoonsred curry paste
1vegetable stock cube
1tablespoonsoy saucefor gluten-free, use Tamari or fish sauce
4.5cupswater
To finish:
1cupcoconut milknot the diluted drink
3-4cupsroughly chopped spinach leaves or baby spinach
2-3tablespoonslime juice
To garnish:
Fried shallots
Seeds
Extra fresh cilantro/coriander
Chopped scallions/spring onions
Instructions
Turn the Instant Pot on and set to Saute. Add the oil, onions, carrot, ginger, garlic, and cilantro and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the red curry paste. Turn the Sauté function off.
Add the rest of the cooking ingredients, stir and close the lid. Set to Pressure Cook/Manunal, HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. After 3 beeps, the Instant Pot will begin to build the pressure and then the timer will start (note that cooking begins even during the pressure build up).
Once cooking time comes to an end, release the pressure naturally for really soft, purée-like lentil soup and do a quick release for more textured, firmer lentils.
Open the lid and stir in the coconut milk, baby spinach and lime juice. Set to Saute for 2-3 minutes to cook the spinach.
Taste for seasoning and add more salt if you like. If the soup seems too spicy, add more coconut milk.
Serve with preferred toppings and extra fresh cilantro.
Notes
Split lentils vs. whole lentils: please note that the split lentils will cook quicker than whole lentils. If cooking larger lentils, add 5 more minutes to the cooking time.Spinach: you can add fresh spinach or defrosted frozen spinach to the soup.Coconut milk: we used full-fat canned coconut milk (not diluted coconut milk drink); either shake the can really well or use the thickened part of the coconut milk and discard the really watery liquid.