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This comforting Instant Pot Lentil Soup is a hug in a bowl! The broth is made up of a creamy coconut curry broth, and it’s chock full of nourishing veggies like sweet potatoes, carrots, and zucchini.
You’ll love digging into this Instant Pot Lentil Soup this fall and winter. It’s the epitome of comfort food! It’s a hearty soup that gives stew vibes, and the coconut curry flavors are incredible. This is one of those meals that fills you up and makes you feel good.
And if you can’t get enough of those cozy curry coconut flavors, you HAVE to try this Chicken Curry Ramen Soup—it’s the things dreams are made of. You’ll also love this Chickpea Curry With Coconut Milk, and this Curry Salmon With Coconut Milk will become an instant favorite.
Why You’ll Love This Soup
- It’s healthy—There’s so much going on as far as health benefits in this soup. It’s got heart-healthy lentils, veggies, turmeric and ginger, and curry. A lot of anti-inflammatories!
- It’s comforting—With the warming flavors, the rich and creamy coconut broth, and the hearty stick-to-your-ribs lentils, this recipe is a hug in a bowl.
- It’s flexible—You can choose a different medley of veggies anytime you make it. Add spinach, swap sweet potatoes for golden potatoes, bring in squash, etc. You can also swap lentil or curry varieties as well!
Ingredients
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Curry paste—There are a lot of different curry pastes out there. Though I typically go for Thai yellow curry paste (I love this one), any will work. Note that they all bring different flavors to the soup, but I’ve yet to meet a curry that didn’t work with the rest of the flavors here.
- Coconut milk—Be sure to stick with full fat coconut milk. You want that rich creaminess in your broth!
- Lentils—Must like curry paste, there’s a variety of lentils out there. I like using green lentils here because they tend to retain their shape and offer a bit of texture, but you can use any type of lentil. Red and yellow lentils lose their shape, but that just adds to the buttery creamy texture of this soup, so no harm done. Go with your preference!
How to Make This Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Step 1. Activate the Sauté on normal/medium (not high). When the pot is warm, drizzle in the oil and add the onions. Let them cook for about 5 minutes or until they’re soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
Step 2. Add the garlic, sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, ginger, curry paste, turmeric, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir everything until mixed and sauté the vegetables for another 5 minutes or so, stirring often.
Step 3. While the veggies are cooking, dump your uncooked lentils into a colander and rinse them under cool water, going through them with your hands to look for any hardened bits or small rocks (it happens).
Step 4. When clear, stir the lentils into the Instant Pot coating them in the spices.
Step 5. Cancel the Sauté function. Now, stir in the coconut milk and vegetable broth; stir everything well until it’s all blended. Lock the lid into place, set the valve to “Sealing”, and cook on HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. When it’s done, let the pressure release naturally (about 10-15 minutes, but after 15 minutes you can manually release if needed).
Step 6. Open the lid and give everything a good stir. Serve with fresh bread and a lime wedge. (I love adding a spritz of fresh lemon juice to my soups, but lime works really well with these flavors!)
What to Serve With This Soup
With a fresh hunk of bread or naan, this soup eats like a meal. But if you’re looking for a little something extra on the side, some oven-roasted mini potatoes or oven-roasted broccoli are a great choice.
Pro Tip
If you find the soup to be thicker than you’d like once the pressure cooking is done, simply stir in some broth until you get the consistency you’d like, then adjust the seasoning to your preference.
Storage, Reheating, & Freezing
- Leftovers can be stored in airtight containers in the fridge for about 5 days.
- To reheat leftovers, transfer them to a microwave-safe bowl and reheat for about a minute, or until warmed through.
- To freeze, transfer leftovers to a freezer-friendly container and pop in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you shouldn’t soak lentils prior to making soup, but you still do want to rinse them.
Rinsing lentils gets rid of any dust, residue, and/or debris that may be accidentally be picked up during harvesting. So though you can eat lentils without rinsing, is best to clean them up.
Yes! A DASH study has reported that including pulses in your regular diet can help lower blood pressure.
Yes, lentils act as an anti-inflammatory and have antimicrobial effects.
More Comforting Soups to Curl up With…
If you try this Coconut Curry Instant Pot Lentil Soup, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Coconut Curry Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Equipment
- InstantPot
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP olive or avocado oil
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup dry French green lentils, rinsed
- 1 cup peeled and cubed sweet potato (about 1/2 of a sweet potato)
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 cup peeled and diced carrots
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 TBSP yellow curry paste
- 1 TBSP freshly grated ginger
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp sea salt, more to taste
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper, more to taste
- Lime wedges, for serving
- Fresh chopped parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Step 1. Activate the Sauté on normal/medium (not high). When the pot is warm, drizzle in the oil and add the onions. Let them cook for about 5 minutes or until they’re soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, ginger, curry paste, turmeric, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir everything until mixed and sauté the vegetables for another 5 minutes or so, stirring often.
- While the veggies are cooking, dump your uncooked lentils into a colander and rinse them under cool water, going through them with your hands to look for any hardened bits or small rocks (it happens). When clear, stir the lentils into the Instant Pot coating them in the spices.
- Cancel the Sauté function. Now, stir in the coconut milk and vegetable broth; stir everything well until it's all blended.
- Lock the lid into place, set the valve to "Sealing", and cook on HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. When it's done, let the pressure release naturally. This should only take about 10-15 minutes, but after 15 minutes you can manually release if needed.
- Open the lid and give everything a good stir. Serve with fresh bread and a lime wedge. (I love adding a spritz of fresh lemon juice to my soups, but lime works really well with these flavors!)
This IP lentil soup turned out perfect. The curry flavors are amazing. I can’t wait to enjoy for lunch tomorrow.
Oh my goodness, this soup is so perfect and cozy and comforting! I love how quickly it comes together in the Instant Pot and there’s SO much flavor. Really appreciate all the step by step photos too!
I am definitely making this curry recipe again! The instant pot made it an absolute breeze.
This is literally the best soup I’ve ever had. It’s hearty, has a spicy kick, and the textures are fabulous. I added some diced ham for my carnivorous husband, but it would be equally as excellent without meat. This will be a weekly meal for us this fall!
I’ve made this soup several times and it always turns out perfectly! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Thanks for all your great tips about picking the right lentils for this soup. I love cooking with lentils, since they add so much protein to any meal.
Ah soup never looked more appetizing! Thank you for such an easy and perfect recipe.
Loved this soup so much! Packed with flavor and super easy to make. Will be on repeat this fall.
Love this lentil soup! So hearty and so easy to make.
This is just a big bowl of feel good. Can you freeze it? Would love to make another big batch and freeze some to have on hand. Thanks!
Yes! You can definitely freeze it. I have before and it turns out well.