I recently shared three Budget-Friendly Easy Vegan Instant Pot recipes over on Youtube, and one of them is for a Vegan Instant Pot Lentil Cabbage Soup.
I love making lentil soups and stews. They are one of the easiest recipes to make in the Instant Pot and usually affordable. As with most of my dried ingredients, I usually purchase lentils in bulk to save money. And I use a ton of cabbage in this recipe because cabbage is one of the cheapest vegetables per pound you can find! Plus, it’s rich in nutrients and fiber, which helps you stay full.
I use standard green lentils in this recipe to save money, but if you have a bit more room in your budget, you can also you use French green lentils. They tend to hold their shape more under pressure cooking so you’ll have more distinct pieces of lentils, as in this recipe.
Another money-saving trick is to use a vegetable bouillon cube instead of buying vegetable broth. Of course, if you make homemade vegetable broth using veggie scraps and water, that’s your best option from a taste and affordability perspective! But for those of you who don’t have homemade broth on hand, using a vegetable bouillon cube with water instead of using vegetable broth can save you a couple dollars.
I love making this soup on Sunday and eat leftovers throughout the week. It’s especially delicious paired with some whole grain bread or a baguette!
Want more lentil soup recipes? Try this Mediterranean Lentil Soup or Instant Pot Lentil Soup! Looking for a red lentil soup? This warming, spiced Red Lentil Soup is a must-make!
Watch! How to make Instant Pot Lentil and Cabbage Soup
More great cabbage recipes
- Creamy Cabbage Curry: think my Red Lentil Curry with silky sweet cabbage!
- Napa Cabbage Salad: crisp napa cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers meet a sizzled garlic-sesame dressing
- Noodle Salad with Rainbow Veggies: red cabbage & carrots mingle with a tangy-sweet Vietnamese sauce, crispy tempeh, and peanut sauce.
- Gochujang Noodles: napa cabbage gets folded into noodles with a savory-sweet-spicy Korean sauce
And if you want more than 90 incredible vegan Instant Pot recipes, be sure to order my cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook!
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Vegan Instant Pot Lentil and Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt + more to taste (see Note 1)
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup (200g) green lentils
- 1 medium green cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly sliced or chopped
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube (can use 2 for more flavor) (see Note 2)
- 4 cups (960 mL) water (see Note 2)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- For serving: whole grain bread or baguette
Instructions
- Crush the canned whole tomatoes by hand into a bowl.
- Select the Sauté setting on the Instant Pot and let the pot heat up for a few minutes before adding the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is lightly browned and completely soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the carrots, garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Cook until the carrots are just starting to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the lentils, cabbage, water, vegetable bouillon cube, remaining salt, and bay leaves. Stir to combine, pressing the cabbage down with a long spoon to ensure everything is below the Instant Pot’s maximum capacity line. Select the Cancel setting.
- Pour the crushed tomatoes on top and stir to combine.
- Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Select the Pressure Cook setting at high pressure and set the cook time to 10 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release.
- Once the pressure has released naturally, open the pot and stir in the vinegar. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Serve with bread.
Video
Notes
- If using table salt, use 1 teaspoon salt total instead of 2 teaspoons. If using sea salt or Morton's kosher salt use, 1 heaping teaspoon salt instead of 2 teaspoons, then add more to taste.
- Or, use 2 to 3 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon, no chicken base. Or, skip both and use 4 cups (960 mL) vegetable broth instead of the bouillon and water.”
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!
Plus:
Cheap
Filling
Easy to make
Gets better the next day
Minus:
One boullion cube isn’t enough (at all. If you ask me, and neither is 2 tbsp vinegar or 0,5 tsp pepper)
A bit bland, but I guess maybe that’s because I just expect more depth of flavour from RPL? One does get spoiled. 😉
Delicious! I finished it with preserved lemon also from RPL!
That’s so great to hear, Genac! 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!
What size Instant Pot are your recipes for? I.E. 6 quart or the 8 quart?
Thank you – I’m very new to the Instant Pot.
Hi Lisa, we use the 6 quart duo or duo plus model for our recipe testing! Best of luck with the recipes 🙂
Just made this while I had the flu. The recipe was easy to prepare, so delicious and great comfort food; feeling better already! It was perfect with French lentils and a dollop of yogurt when serving for extra creaminess. Would not change anything. You’ve done it again: My favorite vegan teacher!
Scott, we’re delighted this recipe came in handy when you had the flu! Thanks for sharing your experience with us 🙂
Made this for my family when they came to visit and everyone loved it!
Those words are music to our ears, Chelcia! 🙂
Well done, Nisha. I had my doubts before starting but this came together perfectly and was so easy with the InstaPot. I’m not vegan, or even vegetarian, but I like to eat healthy, balanced food. It seems we have to rely on the vegans to show us all the options and to provide recipes that are healthy and balanced.
This soup is the one soup that we enjoy once a month. It freezes well.
Changes I do:
– caramelize double amount of onions for umami
– darken cabbage in a pan for more
– a table spoon of gochujang
– a sliver of ginger
– occasional table spoon or two of tamari
Thanks for sharing, Mikko!
We appreciate the wonderful review, Jay! We hope you have a chance to try many of the other delicious recipes on the blog 🙂
This was OK but nothing exceptional. (I think I just don’t like cabbage soup.)
The whole time I was eating it I kept wondering what I could add to improve it.
Hi there, sorry to hear this recipe wasn’t your favorite. We hope you’re able to enjoy the other recipes more going forward!
So easy to make… and lots of flavor! I added some diced celery because I had it and served with bread and avocado.
Hi Elizabeth, Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! Appreciate you taking the time!
Your positive feedback is the best reward for our hard work. Thank you, Elizabeth!
I knew this was going to be healthy so I didn’t know how the flavour would turn out, but it’s absolutely delicious!! The combination of all the ingredients makes for a hearty, healthy, flavourful soup! I’m so happy with it and how simple it is!
We’re over the moon to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Anna. Thanks for your kind words!
This soup is so delicious!!! Extremely flavorful! The only thing I added was lemon at the end! Thanks for a great recipe!
Your positive feedback is the best reward for our hard work. Thank you, Deepa!
Great soup! I used purple cabbage (about half a large head) and red wine vinegar (instead of apple cider vinegar) but both swaps worked well! It made about six portions.
Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Lydia!
This soup is sooo delious! Thanks for mazing recipe <3 I made it because I had a lot of cabbage I needed to use up so this recipe was perfect for that. Served it with toasted crispy sourdough bread – really recommend to not skip it!!
This soup is sooo delious! Thanks for mazing recipe <3 I made it because I had a lot of cabbage I needed to use up so this recipe was perfect for that. Served it with toasted crispy sourdough bread – really recommend to not skip it!!
That’s so great to hear, Zivile! 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!
This recipe is great! I made it the other day and I’m really enjoying it with a nice hunk of bread as the temperatures start to drop. I did make one modification – I added two small cans of lima beans. Perhaps not everyone’s taste, but lima beans and cabbage go together like peanut butter and jelly for me. Definitely a great recipe to have on-hand!
Thanks for the lovely comment, Cindy! It’s wonderful to hear you enjoyed the soup.
I used 1/2 green and 1/2 red cabbage (it’s what I had in the fridge) and also added some button mushrooms as well (they were in the fridge too 🤷♂️). I also cooked the soup in my stove top pressure cooker with no weights (lost them years ago 🤦♂️) hard simmering for 20 minutes. Cooked to perfection and deeeeelliccccioooouussss. 😁😁
Hi Steve, thank you so much for your kind review!
Excellent! although i did tweak a few things. Instead of just adding the cabbage straight into the soup, I roasted it with olive oil, garlic and spices until charred. Also I didn’t use the tomatoes, it was delicious as is <33
Hi Amira, Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! Appreciate you taking the time!
Can this recipe be made in a slow cooker/ Crockpot?
Hi there Tayler, We haven’t tried this ourselves, but this is what we’d try if we did:
1. Follow step 1 as written
2. Complete step 2-3 on stovetop in pot
3. Transfer mixture to slow cooker along with the lentils, cabbage, water, vegetable bouillon cube, remaining salt, bay leaves, and crushed tomatoes. Stir to combine, pressing the cabbage down to ensure it’s well mixed.
4. Cook on High for 4-6 hours or Low for 7-8 hours, until the lentils and carrots are tender, and the cabbage is fully cooked.
5. Once the cooking time is complete, stir in the vinegar and taste for seasonings. Add more salt and pepper if needed.
Just made this recipe today and both my husband and I loved it. The changes that I made were I use a chicken stock that I made from a chicken carcass and I added some chicken bouillon instead of vegetable.I only used half a cabbage (that’s all I had) and added some celery. I could have added more lentils! Can’t wait to have it tomorrow after the flavors meld. Great recipe! I’m sending it to my 3 sisters!
Good to hear you enjoyed the soup, Cuda! 🙂
I really liked this! I had to modify it though because I realized after I had already started that it wouldn’t all fit in my Instant Pot Duo Mini. So I had everything except the cabbage and crushed tomatoes in, and I realized I was near the max fill line. I put in a quarter of the chopped cabbage and about a quarter of the crushed tomatoes. The apple cider vinegar went in too. I thought it was delicious! Especially with that apple cider vinegar in there. I ate it with some multigrain baguette slices. I also added some nutritional yeast when serving – I couldn’t taste it, but it’s for the extra B vitamins and protein, etc.
Thanks for sharing, Denise! 🙂 Great to hear the soup was a huge success!
This recipe works on the stove too. Sautee the veggies per steps 1-3, deglaze the pan with the vinegar instead of adding it last, then continue with steps 4 and 5. Just simmer it until the lentils are thoroughly cooked.