Instant Pot Italian Vegetable Lentil Soup is a hearty and filling soup perfect for the cooler months. This soup is easy to make in less than 30 minutes perfect for a quick homemade lunch!
I struggle in the lunch department for myself. My kids always have a fantastic lunch or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the very least.
Many days that is exactly what I’m eating or a salad. Both on the boring side, but let’s face it it does the job.
On the day I created this recipe for Instant Pot Italian Vegetable Lentil Soup I was craving comfort. I made this soup on a Monday and ate it the entire week for lunch.
Even my veggie loving toddler daughter loved this soup. A win-win in my book.
Then I only had to think about what to make for my son for lunch that week.
This soup would also be perfect for a cold winter night! I love making a big pot of soup at the beginning of each week.
This soup has officially made it into my soup rotation!
For this recipe, I used a harvest blend lentils, which is a combination of brown lentils, green lentils, and red lentils.
All three of these lentils are great for soups. The green and brown lentils tend to hold their shape a little more where the red lentils and even yellow will break down much quicker.
Lentils are one of the most nutritious and versatile plant-based proteins, and perfect for the vegetarian in your life.
Making this soup in the Instant Pot is very easy. I love that the Instant Pot has a "sauté" function.
This is key when making quick cooking soups. It not only softens them quicker, but also brings out the flavor profile.
I like to cook the carrots, onions, celery and garlic first in the sauté mode. Then add in the bell peppers, seasonings, lentils as well as the liquid a few minutes after the main veggies have cooked.
Then, all you need to do is close the lid and let the Instant Pot do its job.
Once the soup is done, I add in freshly chopped tomatoes and spinach.
They don’t need any cooking time and by the time you’ve stirred the soup and ladled it into bowls the spinach will be wilted, and the tomatoes will be just soft enough you’ll never know that they weren’t cooked in the soup.
I also love to give a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top as well as a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano cheese and cracked black pepper.
Here are a few side suggestions to serve with my recipe for Instant Pot Italian Vegetable Lentil Soup:
Clementine Arugula Salad Recipe
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Feta and Avocado Recipe
Harvest Quinoa Salad with Pumpkin Yogurt Dressing
If you love soups and looking to try out a new soup recipe in your Instant Pot. I hope you’ll try this delicious recipe for Instant Pot Italian Vegetable Lentil Soup.
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Instant Pot Italian Vegetable Lentil Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil + additional for garnish
- 2 Carrot peeled and diced
- 2 stalks Celery diced
- 1 small White Onion diced
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper diced
- 1 1/2 cups Autumn Blend Lentils
- 2 cubes Chicken Bouillon or Vegetable Bouillon Cubes for vegetarian
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/8 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 6 cups Water
- 2 Fresh Tomato diced (I used the Ugly variety)
- 2 cups Spinach chopped
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese divided
Instructions
- Place Instant Pot to “sauté” mode. Add olive oil, carrots, celery, onions and garlic.
- Sauté for 5 minutes until instant pot reaches “hot”. While sautéing chop the bell pepper, tomatoes, and spinach.
- Add the bell peppers to the Instant Pot and keep the tomatoes and spinach to the side.
- Add the lentils, chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, and water to the Instant Pot. Mix well, close lid, and place the valve to “sealing” mode.
- Turn the Instant Pot off and select “manual” mode. Set the IP for 12 minutes (it will take 10-12 minutes to come to pressure then the countdown begins).
- Once the soup is done cooking let rest for 5 minutes. Using a kitchen towel and insulated potholder, carefully force the remaining pressure.
- Carefully, remove the lid, stir and stir in the chopped tomatoes and spinach.
- Ladle into bowls and drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.