Skip to main content

Lentil Spinach Soup - Instant Pot

I'll replace the ugly steamy picture if I remember one day.

I have spent a lot of time searching Pinterest for more Instant Pot recipes, and this one came up with good reviews.

The flavors are super vibrant and it's so, so healthy. And much to my surprise, it's toddler-approved! I served it alongside latkes, and he ate absolutely none of his latkes but finished his soup. Go figure.

I minced all of the vegetables in the food processor to get them very very fine, because I'm opposed to having pieces of mushy vegetables in my soup.

My only change to the original recipe is that I lowered the amount of salt because I used regular (not low-sodium) vegetable broth. 

The Recipe (taken from Kitchen Treaty):
2 tb olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
2 carrots, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1c dry brown lentils, rinsed
4c vegetable broth
8oz baby spinach

  • In Saute mode, saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in olive oil until softened.
  • Add cumin, turmeric, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir for one minute.
  • Add dried lentils and broth. 
  • Pressure Cook for 12 minutes, then quick release.
  • Stir in spinach, and more salt to taste.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A
Overall reason: Healthy, cheap, easy, flavorful. It would be A+ if I liked lentil soup more.
Time to prepare: 30 minutes
Husband quote: (Coming soon)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my  new jar of curry powder  was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at  Korea House  and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...

Samosa Burritos

Imagine a pile of plain yogurt and some Indian pickle for dipping I saw a Pinterest recipe for samosa-filled quesadillas, which led me to  this recipe  from Nadia's Healthy Kitchen for baked samosas using tortillas, which led me to just use the giant tortillas I had in the fridge and make them into full-sized burritos. They were a hit! I largely followed the recipe from Nadia's Healthy Kitchen, but I added some potato, omitted the chana masala powder and just added a bunch of cumin instead, added bell pepper and fresh chilies, didn't bother with the "sealing paste," and basted them in a little bit of melted butter (omit for vegan version). Everyone except the 5-year-old liked them! The Recipe (adapted from  Nadia's Healthy Kitchen ) 2 cans (30 oz total) cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed (I eyeballed the equivalent from dry beans) 1 small onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 thai chili, minced 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 potato, baked until soft (or microwaved for...

Vietnamese Curry Stir-Fry

  When I get the recipe just right, I'll go to the effort of adding fried shallots on top. I'm back to my on-and-off mission of trying to make a stir-fry as delicious as the shrimp I used to get at  Pho Grand  in St. Louis during college. It was called "cari tom" but it definitely wasn't a coconut milk type of curry, and they ALSO have a separate listing on their menu for "cari tom dac biet" which includes "coconut milk sauce" in their description. So I'm pretty sure it was just a stir-fry that had curry flavors in it? I got myself a big container of Vietnamese curry powder and I'm going to keep experimenting. This is the closest I've come so far. Changes for the future: - More oil and sugar, restaurant style - A blend of fish sauce and soy sauce, instead of just soy sauce - Fried shallots on top The Recipe (adapted from  Veggie Anh ): 3 tb fresh lemongrass, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 Thai chili, minced 1 pinch salt 2 tb avoc...