Velvety Lentil Soup with Mint and Sumac Butter (Instant Pot Friendly)

Quick to make, nourishing, velvety, and spiked with a lemony mint and sumac butter just before serving, this plant based red lentil soup is a comforting balm to soothe what ails you.

Someone should write a whole book about lentil soup, and it should be called “Lentil Soup for the Soul.” All kidding aside, for me, lentil soup is absolutely a healing potion, the comforting bowl that I long for when I don’t feel well, when I need to feel deeply nourished, or when I am craving something quick cooking that gives back more in flavour and sustenance than it requires to make. 

Minimal prep and quick cooking

In this version, quick cooking red lentils, vegetable stock, a handful of roughly chopped staple vegetables, and a few seasonings are cooked in an instant pot, although of course you could just as easily cook this in a pot on the stove with only a modest amount more time added.

Once the soup is cooked and left to cool down, the spiced butter can be made by simply sizzling some spices and herbs into hot butter, which can be dairy or vegan as is your preference. The soup is then quickly blitzed with an immersion blender right in the pot, or can be transferred to a blender for pureeing. When ready to serve, the soup can be heated up again, the spiced butter rewarmed, and velvety deep comfort will be on the table in no time.

The magic of red lentils

Red lentils are a staple in my kitchen because they cook so quickly, and have a pleasing mild earthiness and a starchy consistency when cooked that cozies up so well to other flavours, especially mint, warm spices, and lemony sumac. I especially like to source my red lentils, when I can, from one of my favourite Turkish grocery stores. I’m not sure exactly why I think these particular lentils are better - maybe it's because they are smaller, have a more intense orange-red hue, or seem less dusty - but in any case, I use them when I can, and revert to standard supermarket lentils otherwise.

Sumac: an indispensable Food Find for lemon lovers

Tart, lemony, crimson hued sumac is a much used Food Find in my pantry for good reason; a dried spice that packs a sour and fruity punch, similar but less acidic than lemon or vinegar, sumac has as many uses as you can dream up. Find out more about sumac, ways to use it, and where to find it.

A note on broth, salt, and soups

As I often use commercially prepared vegetarian broth to save time, I find that salting the soup before it is done can lead to overly salty results, as many broth and bouillon products are generously salted. Unless you are using homemade broth, or salt free broth, make sure to salt the soup at the end of the cooking process.

A must have accompaniment: “The” Garlic Toast

Mere moments stand between you and perhaps the most delicious, and the easiest, slice of garlic bread that can be had. Simply toasted or grilled, a thick, crunchy slice of golden sourdough or country bread is anointed with fresh garlic in a perhaps unusual but simple as can be method; a generous sprinkle of extra virgin oilve oil, a touch of flaky sea salt, and bread-in-soup-dipping nirvana awaits. Find out more about how to make “The” Garlic Toast.

Storage

This soup is a great meal prep helper and is the perfect contender for freezing in glass jars. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week I find, and in the freezer for ages. Just note that whether frozen or refrigerated, lentil soup has a tendency to thicken when cooled and will likely need an additional splash of vegetable stock when reheating

Looking for recipes to turn soup into a meal?

Print Recipe

Velvety Lentil soup with Mint and Sumac butter (Instant Pot Friendly)

Quick to make, nourishing, velvety, and spiked with a lemony mint and sumac butter just before serving, this plant based red lentil soup is a comforting balm to soothe what ails you.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil I use olive or sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 garlic cloves smashed
• 1 heaping tsp ground cumin
• 1 heaping tsp ground coriander
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small or ½ large sweet onion roughly chopped
• 2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
• 1.5 cups red lentils rinsed just before using
• 6 cups vegetable stock or broth extra may be needed
• 1.5 lemons squeezed for juice
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon dried mint
• 1 teaspoon ground dried sumac
• salt to taste

Instructions

For the Instant Pot:

• Add the oil to the stainless steel inner pot of your Instant Pot. Set your Instant Pot to the saute function on low/medium and add in the tomato paste and the smashed garlic cloves, stirring and letting things sizzle in the oil for a few minutes until the tomato paste starts to darken in colour. Stir in the cumin, coriander, and a nice grind of black pepper and let sizzle for a moment until fragrant. Add the onion, carrots, lentils, and stock, and give everything a good stir.
• Secure the lid, with the pressure release valve set to “sealing”, and set your Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.
• Important note: Once your Instant Pot has completed its cooking time, DO NOT release the pressure manually (as this will put you at risk of releasing boiling hot liquid out of the pressure release valve). Let the pressure release naturally on its own, making sure the locking pin has released (dropping down) before you unlock the instant pot and remove the lid.

For stove top:

• Follow the instructions above, using a heavy bottomed soup pot on the stove, and cook your soup for approximately 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the lentils are almost dissolving.

For both methods:

• Once your soup is cooked add in the lemon juice and puree the soup either using an immersion blender or in an upright blender, see note. Taste, and add salt as needed.
• When ready to serve the soup, heat the butter over medium low heat (vegan or dairy, or substitute olive oil) in a small pan. When melted and starting to foam up, add in the dried mint and ground sumac, and let sizzle for about 10 seconds, making sure to stir. Ladle the soup into bowls, and then top each bowl with a generous teaspoon of seasoned butter and enjoy!
• If you have leftover soup, if you want, you can stir the butter into the leftovers and skip the garnishing step for the remaining portions.

Notes

A word of caution on pureeing hot soup. Theoretically, you are not supposed to blend hot liquids in an upright blender, but I often do - just be extra careful when opening the lid to your blender - if you take the top off too quickly with hot liquid inside, the liquid can splash up towards you. Taking the lid off quite slowly lessens the chance of this happening, and I guess I like to live on the edge because I do blend the soup while it is still quite warm. If you prefer not to blend a hot liquid for sensible safety reasons, let the soup cool to room temperature, then blend as desired, or use an immersion blender.