This Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup with Sausage Recipe is a delicious and hearty soup with tons of flavor. It’s a quick and easy dinner option when made in your electric pressure cooker.
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This Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup with Sausage was inspired by one of our favorite soups from one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Carrabba's. Hubby had been bugging me for months to make a copycat version at home.
For months I blew him off until I finally gave in. I regret not giving in earlier because this soup is amazing and one of my favorites to make in my Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker.
What exactly are lentils?
Lentils can be found in your dry bean aisle of the grocery store. They are known as “pulses” which are the edible seeds of legumes. I love to use them in cooking because they are cheap and nutritious. You can find more information about lentils here.
How long should lentils cook in a pressure cooker?
The Instant Pot Pressure Cooker option is a great way to cook dry beans without soaking and lentils comes as no exception. How long you cook lentils in the pressure cooker will depend on the type of lentils you’re cooking with and the dish you are making.
For this soup recipe, I only use brown or green lentils and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. If I’m making lentils to use in a dish other than soup, for example tacos, then I cut the cook time down to 12 minutes.
Red lentils are a bit different as they have much faster cooktime. 12 or 15 minutes in the pressure cooker will turn red lentils into mush so I do not sub them in this recipe.
How to prepare lentils for pressure cooking?
The great thing about lentils is that you do not have to soak them before adding them to the pressure cooker. However, you should rinse them and inspect them to make sure there isn’t any dirt or debris in your lentils. No one wants dirty gritty soup.
How to Make Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup with Sausage
This soup is made by first sautéing your italian sausage, then adding the vegetables and giving it a quick sauté with the meat. You will then add your lentils and chicken broth and layer the diced tomatoes on top without stirring.
Anytime I make a dish in my Pressure Cooker with tomatoes, like this pressure cooker turkey chili, I layer the tomatoes on top to avoid the Instant Pot becoming scorched on the bottom. Thick sauces, like diced tomatoes, can cause the Instant Pot to scortch and possibly burn. It's better just to lay them on the top and stir once the cooking process is complete.
Can this Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup be frozen?
Yes, yes, and yes! I like to freeze this soup in quart sized freezer bags and save it for those really busy days. When I'm ready to reheat, i just remove it from my freezer and add it to my Instant Pot still frozen. I set it on 10 minutes high pressure and walk away.
Looking for more Instant Pot Recipes? Try these out:
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
- Pressure Cooker Turkey Chili
- Pressure Cooker Shrimp Paella
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup with Sausage {Video}
Ingredients
- 1 lb italian sausage ground
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 1 small zucchini chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup brown or green lentils
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 14 ½ cans diced tomatoes undrained
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- Sour cream optional
- Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Select sauté on your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. Once it says “HOT,” add your italian sausage to the pot and cook until brown, breaking up the meat in the process.
- Add the onion, celery, carrot, zucchini, and garlic cloves and stir until vegetables soften a little, about 3 minutes.
- Press “Cancel” to turn of the Instant Pot. Add the chicken broth, lentils, dried basil, and oregano to the pot and stir.
- Pour diced tomatoes on top of the mixture. Cover Instant Pot and Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes.
- When timer is up, allow to natural release for 10 minutes, then release remaining pressure.
- Add fresh parsley and stir. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with sour cream or parmesan cheese.
Notes
Notes on Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup
- You can substitute dried parsley for the fresh. Sub it by using 2 tablespoon rather than ¼ cup and add it when you add the other dried herbs. I just find that fresh parsley adds so much more flavor.
- This soup is great for leftovers.
Suggested Tools for Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup
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Step by step photos of Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup with Sausage
Nancy says
This is really good. I added my secret soup ingredient Goya chicken and tomato bouillon to my taste and some pinches of red pepper flake. Thank you for the recipe.
Kaia says
Oh my gosh! This was outstanding! This is definitely now my go-to lentil soup recipe. My fiancée loved it, and she is a very picky eater. Thanks!
Tanya says
Thank you Kaia, so glad you both liked it 🙂