Vegan Instant Pot Lentil Soup is the perfect soup recipe to get your fill of veggies! It's loaded with butternut squash, potatoes, carrots, celery, lentils, and kale. Filled with veggies but still super filling from the lentils and potatoes. Cooking in the pressure cooker makes the soup nice and thick and creamy. I highly recommend serving with a piece of crusty bread.

Looking for another vegan Instant Pot recipe? I love making these Instant Pot Curry Lentils.

Ingredients for Lentil Soup:

Butternut Squash
Carrots, Celery, and Onion - you can buy a pre-chopped mix of mirepoix if you'd like to cut down on prep
Russet Potatoes
Brown or Green Lentils
Kale - finely chopped. You can do this yourself or buy it pre-shredded. Also try this Sausage Kale Potato Soup.
Vegetable Stock or Broth - if you are not vegan, you could also use chicken broth or stock
Spices: Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, Salt and Pepper. You can absolutely add some other favorites!
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice

Diced potatoes, mirepoix, lentils, and butternut squash in glass prep bowls

How to Make Instant Pot Lentil Soup

First, add all ingredients except for the kale, olive oil, and lemon juice.
Seal Instant Pot and cook on manual high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow to natural release for 10 minutes before quick releasing remaining pressure.
Stir in shredded kale, olive oil, and lemon juice
Serve and Enjoy!

Can this be made in the slow cooker?

Yes! Follow the steps and add all ingredients, except for the kale, olive oil, and lemon juice to a large crockpot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours until veggies are tender and lentils are cooked.

The Instant Pot breaks down the veggies more than they will in the slow cooker - this is what makes the Instant Pot version so creamy. To make the Slow Cooker version creamy, you can blend a few scoops of the cooked soup with the olive oil and then add back to the soup along with the kale and lemon juice, and stir until the kale is wilted.

Instant Pot lentil soup with kale in bowls

Storage, Reheating, and Freezing

Storage: Leftover soup can be stored in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Reheating: The lentils will soak up some of the liquid overtime causing the soup to thicken. You can add a splash of broth, stock, oven water when reheating. It can be reheated in the microwave or in a pot on the stove over medium until warmed.

Freezing: The finished and cooked lentil soup can be frozen for 3 months! Allow to fully cool then freeze in freezer bags or I love using these Souper Cubes to freeze individual portions. Allow to thaw and reheat following instructions above.

Recipe Notes and Tips:

To cut down on prep, you can buy pre-diced mirepoix (carrot, celery, and onion). Fresh or frozen works! You can also buy frozen cubed butternut squash and potatoes.
Have fun with the spices! Experiment with your favorite spice combinations. Like spice? Add a pinch of red pepper flakes!
Don't like kale? Leave it out!

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