This Instant Pot Spiced Red Lentil Sweet Potato Soup is one of my favorite easy recipes, and it’s one that you all like so much too!
It’s a creamy and thick spiced soup that gets its natural creaminess from red lentils and sweet potatoes. No coconut milk needed to thicken it up because red lentils get mushy when cooked, plus the Instant Pot melts the sweet potatoes into the soup.
For a visual on how to make this recipe, check out the video on Youtube! It’s the first recipe in the video and starts around the 00:55 mark.
Why you’re going to like this recipe
10 main ingredients. Okay, I’m not counting oil, salt and pepper. But yeah, 10 main ingredients, yay!
Weeknight-friendly. It requires just 5 minutes of hands-on cooking, so it’s definitely an easy option for those busy weeknights.
Hearty yet wholesome. This recipe is hearty and comforting, the kind of soup that’s more stew than soup and that’s super satisfying, thanks to its creamy texture, the protein-packed lentils, and the complex carbs from the sweet potatoes. This makes it a great meal for the whole family!
Perfectly spiced. If you’re tired of the same old meals, this is a recipe to try! It features Indian spices but it’s still very accessible and doable, even for novice cooks. The Indian spices pair perfectly with the red lentils (a classic combo), and are balanced nicely by the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
This recipe is super easy to make so there’s not much to say, but keep in mind that this soup is quite thick and creamy, almost like a stew or dal. If you prefer a soupy texture, just add more vegetable broth or water.
You can add the extra broth/water before pressure cooking (in step 3), or after pressure cooking once you see the finished texture so you can add as much liquid as needed.
More delicious vegan soups
Hungry for even more delicious vegan soups, stews, and curries? Give these a try:
- Vegan Red Lentil Curry
- Instant Pot Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Soup
- Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Soup with Sausage and Kale
- Creamy White Bean Soup with Kale and Gremolata
If you give this Instant Pot Spiced Red Lentil Sweet Potato Soup a try, be sure to tag me on Instagram with your recreations and please comment with your feedback below!
Instant Pot Spiced Red Lentil Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or oil of choice)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated or minced ginger
- 1 serrano pepper, diced (optional, adds some heat)
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into a large dice
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth*
- 1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt + more to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
- For serving (optional): coconut yogurt, fresh cilantro, and flatbread or rice
Instructions
- Select the Sauté setting on your Instant Pot and heat up the coconut oil. Once it’s shimmering, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly softened.
- Add the garlic, ginger, serrano pepper (if using), garam masala, curry powder (if using), cumin, and turmeric and stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
- Pour in the vegetable broth to deglaze the pot, using a wooden spoon or scraper to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the lentils, sweet potatoes, sea salt, and pepper. Stir to combine all of the ingredients. Select the Cancel setting.
- Secure the lid of the Instant Pot and seal. Select the Pressure Cook (or Manual, depending on your model) setting and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once the 10 minutes is up, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes before switching the pressure release valve from Sealing to Venting. Open the Instant Pot and give the soup a stir. Taste for seasonings. You may want to add more salt, or to balance the acidity, you may want to add a teaspoon or two of maple syrup or sugar.
- Once the soup has slightly cooled, top with coconut yogurt and fresh cilantro. If desired, serve with flatbread or rice.
Notes
Nisha!
I feel like each recipe I try becomes “my favorite” …this IS A SUPERLATIVE feast!
I made it yesterday IT’S GONE!!! And a friend is coming over today and asked me to make something special…I am making this again! I ate it yesterday for lunch and dinner. My 16 yr old defensive line football “carnivore” at first said “Naawww” but after trying “just a bite” he chose to eat a huge helping on top of his Raman! (For the record he doesn’t even eat the broth with the Raman…) he devoured the portions (yes – plural).
I am loving your recipes and your videos
Thank you for changing your practice from law to food!!!
Ps…the stars didn’t show up…can I give it 10?
So happy everyone loved the soup, Darci! :) And thank you for leaving such a wonderful review. Cheers!
Soooooo good and so satisfying! Perfect winter dinner. The sweet potatoes were not quite melted (we probably cut them too big), so we just pureed the soup slightly and it came out perfect. I love this recipe so much that I wish it was in your InstantPot cookook for easy reference! I’ll have to print it out and add it in :)
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Mirabelle!
Delicious! We made a second batch and added some chicken thighs to it and that was amazing too!
Glad you loved the recipe, Lori!
I have just finished making it, am eating it now. It is delicious.
Awesome, Donnie. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
The easiest recipe! And so tasty. The flavor totally rides on your curry and garam masala blends. We love ours and loved the kick from all the spices. I served over rice with some crusty bread. This is going into our regular weeknight rotation for sure!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Colleen!
Taste was okay, tasted more like a curry. The colour was not the same as the photo either because all of the spices it’s like brown. It was too mushy, almost too much broth, the lentils were not whole like the photo.
Sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t a success for you, Jasmine. Thank you for your feedback nonetheless.
I am slowly but surely cooking my way through your whole website. This is 3rd or 4th red lentil recipe from it. I can’t choose a favourite, but I CAN say this is absolutely delicious. I’m so pleased I found your website. My 8 year old son thinks your lentil bolognaise is the best thing he’s ever eaten… he asks for it for breakfast, lol. xx Lisa
Aw, thank you for sharing Lisa! We are so glad your family has been enjoying the recipes.
Thank you for the recipe, it was very very good!
Joanne, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
So delicious I added a can of canned coconut to make it creamy .
Tasty, Lydia! Thanks for sharing!
Really good! My husband and I made it together along with fresh Naan and it was delicious. I recommend grating the ginger or using paste as the bits I chopped were a little too big. I don’t have an instant pot, but I have an electric cooker with other modes so I cooked it on a mode for stews for the time the lentals said. So I imagine you can do this easily on the stove too. It was very thick, more like a dhal, but yummy!
Glad you enjoyed the soup and naan, Dani!
Followed your recipe exactly and I wouldn’t change a thing. Delicious. Meal prepped this for my lunches this week at work. Looking forward to going to work tomorrow :)
Thanks for sharing, Robin! Glad we can help you with your weekly meal prep!
Loved it!! I made this dish according to the recipe except for substituting a jalapeño for the serrano. I couldn’t believe how fast this was to prepare and how delicious it was. The leftovers were even better!
Awesome. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
This stew is delish!! I have tried it with butternut squash even pumpkin if i don’t have sweet potatoes on hand. It is always delish. Love it!
Thanks for sharing, Cheyla!
the cooking time was too long, it ended up very, very mushy. The taste was good, but not so good like other dishes from you. I’ll try it again with the half of the cooking time, or the rest time and write again. and i take an other garam masala, maybe it was’t a tasty one. Also the colour was like mod, but this doesn’t matter😂
Sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you very well, Michaela. Thank you for the honest review nonetheless!
This honestly might be one of the best dishes I’ve ever tasted! Added bonus, it’s super easy, too! Based on a few reviews, I added 2-3 big handfuls of spinach at the end and topped with yogurt and cilantro…delicious!
I love your recipes so much…thank you!
Thanks for sharing, Courtney! Glad you love the recipes!
We made this last night exactly as the recipe says including the Serrano and curry powder. It turned out extremely well! Loved the flavors and stewie texture. This will be on our favorites list. Thanks so much!
Hi Sunie, we’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
You must have the 6 quart InstaPot! I have the 3 quart so this recipe didn’t fit, it made a big mess. I also made the Chana Masla but was smart enough to just use a big pot. I love all your recipes. Thanks for sharing them. I also enjoy your sense of humor. Love n’ stuff to you and yours.
Hi Kallau, yes all of these recipes are formulated to fit in a 6qt instant pot. Hopefully you can try halving this recipe to fit your instant pot!
Amazing recipe, so fast and super delious! I don’t have a instant pot so i just used a normal pot haha. I’ve been a fan of your YouTube for a while, but that’s the first time I actually make something. And I’ll definitely make more!
Glad you finally got to try one of the recipes, Tina! Thanks for the review!
OMG this is my new favorite recipe. SO yummy and easy. I used chicken stock and real yogurt, though. I also simmered everything in a Dutch oven for about 25 min, as I don’t own an instant pot. At the end, I used a potato masher to break up the sweet potato. I had a particularly hot serrano pepper, but a little extra yogurt cut the heat perfectly. Bravo!!
This recipe is amazing, although I changed it a bit (it’s almost like a disease, haha). I cooked it in a normal pot because I don’t have an instant pot.
Because I love coconut milk, I used only 3 cups of vegetable broth and substituted the remaining cup with a can of coconut milk.
I also added 1 tbsp of cashew butter – the tip you made in another recipe and I really loved it.
In the end, I blended just a bit of soup (tried to catch potatoes) to make it creamier.
For some reason this ended up tasting quite bitter. Where did I go wrong?