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, itโs 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 youโll 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, thatโs your best option from a taste and affordability perspective! But for those of you who donโt 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. Itโs especially delicious paired with some whole grain bread or a baguette!
Watch! How to make Instant Pot Lentil and Cabbage Soup
EASY VEGAN INSTANT POT RECIPES (Budget-Friendly)
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Vegan Instant Pot Lentil and Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral cooking oil of choice
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt + more to taste
- ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup green lentils
- 1 head green cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly sliced or chopped
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube (can use 2 for more flavor)
- 4 cups water
- 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 Sauteฬ 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 browned and completely soft, about 6 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 Potโs 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.
- Open the pot and stir in the vinegar and taste for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Serve with bread.
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 ๐คทโโ๏ธ). I also cooked the soup in my stove top pressure cooker with no weights (lost them years ago ๐คฆโโ๏ธ) hard simmering for 20 minutes. Cooked to perfection and deeeeelliccccioooouussss. ๐๐
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 didnโt 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 havenโt tried this ourselves, but this is what weโd 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 (thatโs all I had) and added some celery. I could have added more lentils! Canโt wait to have it tomorrow after the flavors meld. Great recipe! Iโm 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.
Very average to me. I had some leftover cabbage and wanted to use it so I made this recipe. It was okay, but I expected more. I guess I am used to very flavourful recipes from Nisha but this one was very plane and a bit boring.
Sorry to hear the recipe didn’t turn out as well as you’d hoped, Santiago. We appreciate the feedback nonetheless.
I like how healthy this is– while still satisfying and hearty. Great weeknight meal. Needed more spices for my taste– I added cayenne, turmeric, pepper, and old bay seasoning to give it a little extra something. Used cans of diced tomatoes instead of the whole peeled and only 3 cups water. I would make this again.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us, Liz. Your review is much appreciated.
Soup came out delicious. Easy to make and perfect for a good day.
Hi Suzanne, weโre 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!
Can this soup be frozen and reheated? :)
Hi K, we havenโt tested this out at RPL but it seems like a soup that would freeze well. You might want to zhuzh it up with a squeeze of lemon or vinegar and a little salt plus chopped fresh herbs to revive it after thawing.
I did not have carrots so I used potatoes. Absolutely delicious and very easy to make. Everyone had seconds. I will be making this again.
Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth! That makes us very happy to hear!
Pretty sure this is the yummiest soup I’ve ever had. The fact that the ingredients are so cheap is the cherry on top!
Caitlin, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
Soup was yummy, easy to make.
Hi Sunitha, thank you so much for your kind review!
Delicious and so easy to prepare! Can I freeze this?
Hi Marlee, weโre so glad you enjoy it! We havenโt tested this out at RPL but it seems like a soup that would freeze well. You might want to zhuzh it up with a squeeze of lemon or vinegar and a little salt plus chopped fresh herbs to revive it after thawing.
Made this yesterday and can’t wait for lunch today ๐
Hi LynD, thank you so much for your kind review!
I needed comfort food today. So instead of resorting to my โgo-toโ dal from your Instapot cookbook, I tried something new and so happy I did. I only had 1/2 of a cabbage and used that but I can see using an entire head since I love cabbage. I was so smitten by the aroma coming out during the natural release that I totally forgot about cutting the crusty bread and just stood there in anticipation of the goodness about to come out of the pot. Thank you for sharing such a delicious, comforting soup!
So great to hear the soup went well for you, Maria! :) Thanks for giving it a shot!
Hi there! I’m looking to use this recipe but I’m wondering if you have any advice on how to make this if you don’t have an instapot?
Loved it!! i also used half of a cabbage. it was too much for my taste but overall DELICIOUS
Good to hear you enjoyed the soup, Looch!
Hi,
I made this tonight, but I just noticed your cooking time for 50 minutes. I donโt see how thatโs correct.
Mindy Richmond
Hi Mindy, thanks for letting us know! We’ll take a closer look :)
Hi Mindy, Because there’s a large volume of liquid, it often takes the instant pot quite a bit of time to come to pressure. then there’s the natural pressure release time, which can be 15 to 20 minutes given this volume. Both of those times are built into the 50-minute cook time in the recipe card. Hope that helped clarify!
Very hearty soup. Very cabbagy. I couldnโt use the whole cabbage, it was too big. It was very thick, like a stew. Is it supposed to be? What quantity did you use to calculate the nutritional I for below? Over 300 calories seems like a lot for such a vegetable dense soup but I donโt know how much you were calculating. This is my third soup I try from your group of recipes โ17 Vegan soupsโ and they are all delicious!
Hi Susan, Yes this soup is on the thicker side. It has vegetables, tomato and lentils which account for the 300 calories. Thanks for going through the vegan soup roundup, we’re so happy you’ve found value in it!
Thanks Kaitlin, 300 calories for 1 cup?
Hi Susan, the nutrition facts are for one serving. Which is 1/4 of the full recipe yield.
Ok thanks. 1/4 is a lot of soup.