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Red Lentil Soup with Sumac
Red Lentil Soup with Sumac
| By : |
I used to make this on the stove top all the time, but now I prefer to use
the Instant Pot. Whip up a batch whenever you have a few minutes to spare, and it will stay piping hot until you’re ready to enjoy it. The soup is brightly flavored from the squeeze of lemon juice stirred in at the end of cooking. That addition really makes the dish, so don’t skip it! Serve the soup drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with sumac (a lemony Middle Eastern spice) for a fresh, peppery finishing touch.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
4 servings
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 large stalks celery diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup red lentils
- 4 cups Water or vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- extra-virgin olive oil for serving
- ground sumac for serving
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Select the Sauté setting on the Instant Pot and heat the olive oil. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and salt and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion has softened and is translucent.
- Add the lentils, water, and bay leaf and stir well.
- Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Press the Cancel button to reset the cooking program, then select the Select the Soup/Broth setting and set the cooking time for 15 minutes at high pressure.
- Let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes, then move the Steam Release to Venting to release any remaining steam.
- Open the pot and stir in the lemon juice, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt if needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top each serving with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sumac, and serve right away.
Recipe Notes
If you like, add 1 teaspoon of a favorite spice blend to the soup when you add the lentils. Garam masala, ras el hanout, and berbere are three of my favorites.
I started blogging in 2011, when my college friends kept asking me for my recipes. These days, I’m freelancing in food writing and recipe development, and living on the Peninsula with my husband and our beagle.
I cook for health as well as for flavor, so you’ll find dishes here that are paleo, vegan, and everything in between. I’m not a vegetarian but I do love vegetables, and my pantry consists of mostly whole foods.
My palette of ingredients includes fruits and vegetables, sustainably raised animal proteins, nuts and seeds, grains, legumes and natural sweeteners in moderation, as well as the occasional serving of dairy. Nothing is verboten, but things tend to skew healthy around here. What can I say? I’ve lived in Northern California all my life. Kale juice runs in my veins.
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This is an excellent soup for a chilly autumn meal. It needs the stock instead of the water as well as the garam masala – otherwise, it would be too bland. A good rustic bread for sopping is also advised.
This (as with most instant pot recipes) is midleading in the timing. Allow 60 minutes from start to finish for this.
Omggg!!! So good!!!
Made half recipe in mini 3-quart Instant Pot, substituted a can of diced tomatoes for some of the water, added sausage, no sumac. Delicious!!
A great vegetarin soup! Hearty and filling. I did ot use the Sumac, ut did use Chicken broth and stirred in spinach instead of corn. .
Healthy, vegan, delicoius, super easy.
Creamy & tasty. I used vegetable broth as suggested above & used berbere for the stir-in spice. I only had one carrot & the soup was quite good even so. Very favorable work-to-deliciousness ratio.
Dried or canned beans?
Tasty and easy but longer than 20 minutes. I’ll make it again.
Really bland when only water used even with garam masala. I didnt like the texture of the lentils either, it was more like a dahl.
Hi Lolavr,
When a recipe calls for water you can add a broth to increase the flavor.
Great recipe! A friend suggested using garam marsala (did not gave sumac) – yum! Such a glexible recipe!! Great with chucken too 😉
Very easy recipe and easy to follow. Great soup, too. Thank you.
So easy and tasty! I’ve followed this recipe to make lentil soup more than 10 times! It’s always good!