Spicy Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup (30 Minutes!)

Overhead photo with two bowls of red lentil soup garnished with red pepper flakes

Spicy Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup (30 Minutes!)

This spicy Instant Pot red lentil soup is a longtime favorite for good reason! With dried lentils, brown rice, vegetable broth, and a handful of aromatics, it’s incredibly easy to pull together and deeply satisfying, too! The Instant Pot makes it fast, the spice adds warmth, and the result is a cozy, healthy bowl of soup you’ll want to make again and again.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Pressure / Venting 10

Servings

Calories 262kcal

Author Katie Trant

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion diced
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ½ cups red lentils rinsed well
½ cup short grain brown rice
8 cups vegetable broth or water
salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions

Using the sauté setting, heat the olive oil.
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Add the diced onion, and sauté, stirring frequently, until onion starts to brown.
1 large yellow onion
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and sauté for a few minutes more, until the onion is deeply browned.
2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cancel the sauté function.
Add the rinsed red lentils, brown rice, and vegetable broth.
1 ½ cups red lentils, ½ cup short grain brown rice, 8 cups vegetable broth
Put the lid on the Instant Pot, and seal. Ensure the valve is set to "sealing"
Set the Instant Pot to Manual / High Pressure for 22 minutes.
When the pressure cooking cycle is complete, let vent naturally for 5 minutes. Then, flip the valve to "venting" and release the remaining pressure.
Stir the soup, and season with salt and pepper.
salt to taste

Stovetop Instructions

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then the onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.
1 large yellow onion, 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Add the garlic and the red pepper flakes, and cook for another few minutes until the onions begin to get a nice deep brown colour.
2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Now add the lentils, rice, and the broth.
1 ½ cups red lentils, ½ cup short grain brown rice, 8 cups vegetable broth
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cover the pot. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have blown apart and the rice is cooked.
Taste and season with salt if needed. If you prefer a thinner soup (bear in mind the soup will thicken slightly as it cools) you can add more vegetable broth or water at this point.
salt to taste
Serve bowls of hot soup.

Notes

Nutrition values are an estimate only
Red lentil soup thickens considerably as it cools, so if the soup seems too thin when it first finishes cooking, wait a little bit and see if it thickens with time.
To re-heat soup, you may want to add a splash of vegetable broth or water to thin it out.
This soup freezes really well! Freeze in individual portions and re-heat in the microwave or stovetop.

Nutrition