Vegan Lentil Soup
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Published Dec 02, 2020, Updated Feb 20, 2023
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This vegan lentil soup is bursting with flavor from roasted garlic. It tastes like it’s been cooking all day, but cooks up in less than an hour in the Instant Pot.
I didn’t grow up eating lentils, but in my adult life I’ve found that I love them. They’re one of the quickest cooking beans (no soaking required) and they’re loaded with protein, fiber, folate and iron. Plus I like their small size and versatility. There are so many different ways to prepare and eat lentils, but one of my favorites has to be soup.
I’ve shared several lentil soup recipes over the years from this cabbage lentil soup and lentil stew with kale to this butternut squash red lentil stew. This lentil soup is a bit different because we’re making it in the Instant Pot! Although, don’t worry… I’m still giving instructions for how to make it on the stove-top as well.
Garlic Lentil Soup Ingredients
- vegetables – sweet yellow onion, carrots, celery and roasted garlic
- French green or brown lentils
- vegetable broth
- canned diced tomatoes
- red wine vinegar
- tomato paste
- olive oil
- seasonings and spices – dried oregano, dried thyme, bay leaves, sea salt and pepper
- optional toppings – sriracha, avocado, fresh parsley
Roasted Garlic = Amazing Flavor
There’s actually a lentil soup on the menu at one of my favorite Greek restaurants in town called Stella’s. I typically order a big bowl of it as my meal with a salad on the side or convince Isaac to split a bowl with me if I’m ordering an entree. I’ve tried several times to make a lentil soup at home that tastes like Stella’s lentil soup and failed. My version has never had the same flavor… until now. And I think I figured out the secret ingredients – roasted garlic and vinegar.
By using a whole bulb of roasted garlic you get a lovely, robust garlic flavor and a hint of sweetness that permeates the whole soup. And the red wine vinegar simply brightens up the flavor of the soup. It’s kind of like salt. Whenever you feel like a dish is missing a little something, you tend to add salt, right? Well sometimes salt can do it, but other times you need something acidic like citrus juice or vinegar. In the case of this soup, vinegar is the winner!
How to Roast Garlic
The first time I made roasted garlic at home I fell in love. If you’ve never roasted garlic, you have to try it! Your entire house will smell amazing and it takes any recipe that calls for garlic to the next level. Here’s how to make it:
- Cut off the top – Cut the top of the garlic bulb off about ¼ inch down from the top. You want to make sure you’re cutting off a bit of each clove around the bulb.
- Prep – Place aluminum foil under the garlic bulb and drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over top to cover the exposed cloves. Wrap the foil around the bulb tightly.
- Bake – Bake the bulb at 400ºF for 30-40 minutes or until the garlic is soft and golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Remove cloves – Once cool, pop each clove out of its paper. Some cloves slide out really easily while others need to be encouraged out!
How to Make This in the Instant Pot
Sauté – Using the sauté function on high heat, heat the oil in the inner pot and then add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and onions are softened. Season with a little salt and pepper while cooking.
Add remaining ingredients + pressure cook – Stir in the roasted garlic, lentils, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and spices. Stir to combine. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
Release pressure – After the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick-release the remaining pressure.
Season + serve – Remove the bay leaves, stir in the vinegar and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve with toppings of choice!
Don’t worry! If you don’t have an Instant Pot you can still make this soup. I’m sharing stove-top instructions in the instructions as well!
More Lentil Recipes to Try
- Lentil Tuna Salad
- Vegan Lentil Loaf (Vegan Meatloaf)
- Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- Cabbage Lentil Soup
- Kale Sweet Potato Lentil Salad
- Lentil Meatballs
Popular Soup Recipes
- Vegan Split Pea Soup
- Detox Soup
- Cabbage Soup
- Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup
- Healthy Brunswick Stew
- Mushroom Barley Soup
Vegan Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 bulb roasted garlic, about 8–10 cloves, chopped*
- 1 – 16 oz bag dry French green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
- 2 32 oz containers of low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- pinch of nutmeg
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper + more to taste
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Optional toppings: sriracha, avocado, fresh parsley
Instructions
Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
- Using the sauté function on high, heat oil in the inner pot for about 1 minute, until shimmering. Add the onion, carrots, celery and cook for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and onions are turning translucent. Season with a little salt and pepper while cooking.
- Stir in the roasted garlic, lentils, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, paprika, cumin, nutmeg, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Once the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick-release the remaining pressure.
- Remove bay leaves, stir in vinegar, taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- Ladle soup into bowls and serve with toppings of choice. I personally love adding fresh parsley and a splash of sriracha.
Stove-Top
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot, stirring frequently for 8-10 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent. Season with a little salt and pepper while cooking.
- Add roasted garlic, lentils, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, paprika, cumin, nutmeg, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring every so often, for at least 1 hour or until the lentils are soft.
- Remove bay leaves, stir in vinegar, taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- Ladle soup into bowls and serve with toppings of choice. I personally love adding fresh parsley and a splash of sriracha.
Notes
- The garlic can be roasted in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. I highly recommend prepping it ahead of time to speed up the cooking process.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made the stovetop version. Super easy and delicious!! I love soup. I could eat it every day. I made the recipe almost exactly as shown. Maybe extra roasted garlic 🥰. I did not have red wine vinegar so used balsamic vinegar. We had BBQ chicken the night before so added some to each of our bowls. It was excellent.
I scooped out a little bit and tried the splash of Siracha. I didn’t like it, but after about a minute it sort of hit me in a good way, so I did add a splash to my bowl. New go-to recipe! Thank you
WOO! I am so happy that this recipe is a hit, Terry. Thank you for coming back and leaving your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
Delicious. Made this recipe with Stove top directions since I don’t have an Instant pot or pressure cooker. It was a hit! Very tasty. Thank you Brittany. Love your recipes. Easy to make too.
Woo! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit for you, Maureen! Thank you for leaving a review and star rating, I really appreciate it.
I’ve made this a handful of times now and it never disappoints! SO good. The vinegar at the end and the roasted garlic make all the difference, and I love to top it with hot sauce. I have a question – can you freeze leftovers??
Hey Lauren – So pumped you loved this recipe!! Isn’t the roasted garlic such a game-changer? You can definitely freeze this – just let it cool completely and place leftovers in a sealed bag or airtight container. Leftovers should last in the freezer for 1-2 months. When ready to eat, take it out of the freezer the night before to thaw and heat up leftovers on the stove or microwave.
I have made a few different lentil soups in my instant pot and this is by far my favourite! It is so flavourful:)
Woo!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this lentil soup, Jen! Thanks for making it and coming back to leave a review. It means the world to me!
Delicious and easy to make. Thank you for all the great recipes!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Susan! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it.
Made this for dinner & served with grilled cheese 🙂
I used minced garlic instead of the roasted and I thought it worked great with some extra addition of salt & pepper.
Hi! I have a question I messed up and added the vinegar along with the other spices at the beginning (not at the end). The soup tastes sour. Do you have any suggestions on how to remedy this? I was thinking of sugar but I don’t know if that will make it taste funny. Thanks!
Oh no!! I think a little sugar would help!
This recipe has awesome flavor, especially for a vegetarian recipe (which I love that you have so many vegetarian recipes, so thank you for that!). I agree that the roasted garlic is a must! Plus it’s so simple and was kind of fun to try for my first time. However, I don’t know what I did but my soup ended up with no liquid when I was done with it 🙈 next time I make it, I’m either going to cut back on the cooking time or add more liquid from the start.
So glad you loved this recipe, Heather! Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!
I made this three times (including this morning) since you first posted it. I was the one who asked if red lentils could be used; I ended up not using them as I know they would not have turned out as good. This soup is such a hit in my house and in my sisters house (sharing is caring). Thank you for sharing!!
Woo!! So glad this soup has been a hit. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, Dawn. I so appreciate it!
I want to make this for dinner tonight, but I only have minced garlic. Do you think it will totally ruin the flavor not having the roasted garlic?
The roasted garlic adds extra flavor, but minced garlic will work in a pinch. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!