When I visited Julie's blog at Julie's Creative Lifestyle, she shared an Instant Pot Split Pea Soup. I thought that sounded perfect for Lent. Then I was at Aldi, and they had lentils for 95 cents a bag, and I bought those, and found a recipe that is so tasty. The soup is vegan when not adding any cheese at the end. However, I added Parmesan cheese and a shredded Mexican blend cheese to add some more protein.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
This soup is so tasty, and a perfect meal for Lent. It's also a vegan recipe, unless you serve with additional cheese . I used my 6 qt. Duo Instant Pot.
ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 of a large onion, diced small
- 4 medium carrots (or the equivalent of baby carrots) , peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- about 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 and 1/2 cups green lentils
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed (about 4 teaspoons)
- 1 (15 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (the next time I will add 2 more cups of broth to make the soup more "soupy")
- Chopped fresh parsley, or a sprinkle of dried parsley flakes, for serving
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and Mexican blend, optional for serving
instructions:
How to cook Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Drizzle the oil into the Instant Pot. Set to SAUTE. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and stir. Continue to cook the onion, stirring often, until the onions are very soft and beginning to brown and break down, about 8 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, thyme, salt, smoked paprika, and pepper. Sauté until the carrots and celery are barely soft, about 2 minutes.
- Add the lentils and garlic to the pot and stir to coat them in the spices. Let cook 30 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth.
- Cover and seal the Instant Pot, making sure that the steam release handle is in "seal" position, and then set to cook on HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes of high pressure, allow the cooker to naturally release (NR). This will take about 10 to 15 additional minutes. for the valve to drop.
- Open the lid and stir the soup. If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin with a bit of water or additional stock until you reach your desired consistency. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Serve hot with a sprinkle of parsley, Parmesan, and grated Mexican blend cheese, if desired.
I didn't show my birthday cake from last week. My daughter-in-law, Kristen made a from scratch Coconut Cake. It was Harper's idea to add all my grandchildren on top. Wasn't that sweet?? My son, Mike, had created these characters several years ago, and Kristen copied them and cut them out.
It's always fun to share a birthday and have the grands help blow out the candles! Harper thinks I'm "17"!! She reversed the numbers on the birthday card that she made for me, but I love it!!
I continued to celebrated my birthday, and this time with my oldest son, daughter-in-law and my two granddaughters at a favorite Italian restaurant. It was a wonderful time to be with all of them.
I am sharing this with these lovely parties:
