Today's recipe is yet another easy and yummy recipe with this newly found kitchen helper: Instant pot Kale Lentil Soup. Why soup? It is one of the best kinds of food for the fall/winter season.
Before I share the recipe for Instant Pot Kale Lentil Soup today, I want to take a minute and say 'Thank you' to my readers for the overwhelmingly positive responses that I have received for the Instant pot vegetable rice and also for the requests for new recipes. So many people have tried preparing the recipes with great success.
A steaming cup of soup with the right mix of vegetables delivers a full serving of vegetables for a day and leaves you warm. With the instant pot, it has become easier than ever to prepare a soup.
I do not think I have ever prepared a sumptuous soup in less than 30 minutes until now. My family loved this soup and I am sure you will love it too.
The goodness in this vegan soup comes from Kale, lentils, Tomatoes, Cloves, turmeric, and other spices. Kale is one of the best vegetables out there for its iron content. If you don't have Kale, you can use any other leafy vegetable like spinach or red chard leaves. Choosing other vegetables to add is really up to you.
Ingredients notes
- Kale: This leafy vegetable is the nutritional powerhouse in the recipe. With several kinds to choose from, it is an easy one to find. I used the common curly kind for this recipe and also used winter kale in the past. They were both equally good
- Lentils: Lentils are the source of protein in this recipe. So be sure not to skip it! With a full serving of protein and fiber in a cup, lentils make the dish stand alone as a meal replacement.
- Onions: Red onions impart a hint of sweetness and flavor to the soup, and that works out very well. But yellow or the white kinds are not a show-stopper. Feel free to use any kind you normally use.
- Bay leaf, Cloves & Cinnamon: This trinity of spices adds a ton of flavor apart from all the nutritional benefits it brings. You do not need a whole lot of it either. Check out my video to see how little you need!
- Broth: Broth helps in bringing all the flavors together. I chose low sodium, vegan version of broth. If you have saved water from boiling vegetables, that works well too.
How to make this recipe
Drizzle the oil into the inner pot. Press saute and when the oil is hot, add bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves. Follow up with ginger, and garlic. Stir constantly for a minute or until the garlic turns golden brown.
Add onions, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add kale and continue to cook for 30 seconds. Now, add carrots and tomatoes. Add all the spices and stir for a minute.
Add lentils, vegetable broth, water, salt, and thyme. Stir for about 30 seconds. Close the lid of the instant pot. Turn the steam release handle to a sealing position. Press the Pressure cooking button and set the time for 10 minutes. When the time is up, open the lid using quick release.
Kale Lentil Soup is ready! Serve hot with crackers or croutons!
Recipe FAQ's
The quantities shown here are good for 6-8 servings.
Yes. 2 small cinnamon sticks are equivalent to half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Yes. After the flavors from the spices infuse the soup, you could take them out of the dish before serving. Leaving the clove is fine too as it is edible.
Top tips
- You could add your choice of vegetables to this soup. Starchy vegetables or carrots are good options to consider. Be sure to adjust the spices accordingly.
- Wash Kale thoroughly before you use them. I recommend going with organic kale.
- Chop the vegetables to bite-sizes to match the lentils.
- Store the leftover soup in an airtight container for upto a week in the refrigerator.
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Kale Lentil Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cup lentils (use brown or green lentils)
- 2 ½ Cup chopped kale leaves
- 2 large size carrots
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ - 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 Garlic cloves (minced)
- ½ inch ginger (grated)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 small cinnamon
- 4 cloves (Indian spice)
- Pink salt
- ½ teaspoon thyme (optional)
- 3 cup organic vegetable broth
- 1½ - 2 cup Cups water
- 2 tablespoon chives (optional)
- 1 Medium size onion
- 2 tablespoon Oilve oil
Instructions
- Follow up with ginger, and garlic. Stir constantly for a minute or until the garlic turns golden brown.
- Add onions, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
Add kale and continue to cook for 30 seconds.Now, add carrots and tomatoes.Add all the spices and stir for a minute. - Add lentils, vegetable broth, water, salt, and thyme. Stir for about 30 seconds.
- Close the lid of the instant pot. Turn the steam release handle to sealing position. Press the Pressure cooking button and set the time for 10 minutes.
When the time is up, open the lid using quick release.
Process Shot
Check above for step-by-step pictures (most of my recipes include pictures)
Video
Notes
- You could add your choice of vegetables to this soup. Starchy vegetables or carrots are good options to consider. Be sure to adjust the spices accordingly.
- Wash Kale thoroughly before you use them. I recommend going with organic kale.
- Chop the vegetables to bite-sizes to match the lentils.
- Store the leftover soup in an airtight container for upto a week in the refrigerator.
YOUR OWN NOTES
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Susan Hill
Wonderful flavor and texture.
Elaine Atlas
I don't care to use store broth. Would water dilute it too much?
Uma Raghupathi
Hi Elaine. You can skip the broth. And mash the lentils if it gets diluted.
molly
i only have red lentils on hand, is that 'bad' to use since you say green or brown onlyu?
Uma Raghupathi
Hi Molly. Using red lentils is not bad. But you won't get the same taste as brown or green lentil soup. And more important the cooking time will be less if you use red lentils. (cook on High pressure for 6 minutes)
Jay
I made this lentil soup tonight. Came out very delicious. My whole house was aromatic with spices and lentils. Thanks for this recipe.
Uma Raghupathi
Thanks Jay 🙂
Patricia Karasek
Really do care for kale, spinach instead at the end to wilt.
Uma Raghupathi
Yes, you can use spinach too.
Ken
Made it today and it was delicious. A little more direction on what to do with the ingredients would help (i.e. carrots, tomatoes, clinamen). Also, what type of oil and how much.
Brenda
Im making this now and it looks like it will be amazing when its done! Yes there are missing instructions as mentioned in Ken’s comment. It doesn’t mention oil in the ingredients list...I used ghee. Also if you only have ground cinnamon on hand how much to use? Are Indian cloves different from regular cloves?
Happy cooking!
Uma Raghupathi
Thank you, Brenda! I Will update soon... Use 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.