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I’m a huge fan of lentils, especially lentil soups. But since I adore my Instant Pot, could I adapt my favorite red lentil soup recipe for it? Why yes, I could totally make Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup and it came out fantastic. This is based on a recipe that my mother gave to me from Annemarie Colbin, plus I changed it slightly and now I’ve adapted it for the Instant Pot (because I love cooking in it!). Read on to see how to make this delicious and healthy Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup with Kale!
You’re going to gather onions, carrots, and celery, olive oil or oil spray, basil, oregano and thyme, red lentils, kale and water. That’s pretty much it. You can add garlic if you like (I like). If you don’t have kale, spinach or any kind of green will do — or you can even leave it out.
Ingredients:
One 2 quart container Trader Joe’s Mirepoix (or use one onion, 2 large carrots, 5 ribs of celery, chopped up).
Olive Oil (to coat pan)
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt (I like kosher or sea salt)
2 cup red lentils (I rinse them in a mesh colander)
8-10 cups water
1/2 lb of kale, or substitute fresh baby spinach or frozen chopped spinach, escarole or swiss chard (cut into bite size pieces).
One bag of Trader Joe’s Kale (fresh or frozen) will work well.
Instructions:
Rinse your red lentils well.
Put your Instant Pot on the Sauté setting. Add some oil or oil spray and let it get hot. Then sauté the onion, carrot and celery (a classic mirapoix– which to make it easier I pick it up at my local Trader Joe’s) and let it get fragrant.
You can add a cube or two of garlic while you’re doing this. Turn your Instant Pot off. Make sure there are no burned bits.
Then add your spices, rinsed red lentils, and 6 cups of water. Turn your Instant Pot on to manual and and set for 10 minutes. Make sure your knob is set to sealing.
As soon as it’s done, hit the off button. Release the pressure.
Open your Instant Pot and stir – make sure it hasn’t burned and the soup hasn’t stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add 2 to 3 cups of water with the salt and cook for 6 minutes more. Let the soup sit for 5-6 minutes and then slowly release the pressure.
Optional: Stir in the kale or greens. Serve with some crusty bread or crackers.
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Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup with Kale
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 2 quart container Trader Joe's Mirepoix (or use one onion, 2 large carrots, 5 ribs of celery, chopped up).
- Olive Oil or oil spray
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups red lentils
- 8-10 cups water
- 1/2 lb kale (or 1 bag – You can substitute fresh baby spinach or frozen chopped spinach, escarole or swiss chard (cut into bite size pieces).
Instructions
Rinse your red lentils well. Put your Instant Pot on the Sauté setting. Add some oil or oil spray and let it get hot. Then sauté the onion, carrot and celery (a classic mirapoix– which to make it easier I pick it up at my local Trader Joe's) and let it get fragrant.
You can add a cube or two of garlic while you're doing this. Turn your Instant Pot off. Make sure there are no burned bits.
Then add your spices, rinsed red lentils, and 6 cups of water. Turn your Instant Pot on to manual and and set for 10 minutes.
Make sure your knob is set to sealing. A
s soon as it's done, hit the off button.
Release the pressure.
Open your Instant Pot and stir – make sure it hasn't burned and the soup hasn't stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add 2 to 3 cups of water with the salt and cook for 6 minutes more.
Let the soup sit for 5-6 minutes and then slowly release the pressure.
Optional: Stir in the kale or greens. Serve with some crusty bread or crackers.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot:
Related Posts:
https://www.themamamaven.com/hearty-5-ingredient-lentil-soup-vegan/
This looks so delicious! I recently got an Instant Pot, so I’ll definitely have to try this!
This Instant Pot recipe looks so good! I was looking for easy soup recipes and came across this one. I can’t wait to make it!