Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Sausage

This easy instant pot lentil soup with sausage recipe makes for a tasty lunch or even dinner on busy weeknights. The Italian sausage along with the veggies and spices make for a flavorful hearty soup that’s more like a meal in a bowl. And when using the pressure cooker it takes little hands on time to make but you can also make it in the slow cooker.

You might also like these spicy Mexican red lentils recipe.

I’ve been really loving my Instant Pot lately. I was looking through the recipe book that came with it and saw how easy it was to cook beans and thought I’d give it a shot with lentils too.

Then I remembered a lentil soup recipe my friend Mary used to make years ago. I didn’t have the recipe but I thought it had tomatoes and sausage so I came up with this easy Instant Pot lentil soup with sausage.

This lentil soup is one of the best soups I’ve ever made. The flavorful broth is so rich and tasty and the vegetables just melt away while the lentils give it substance without being mushy. It definitely could be a meal in of itself. And it’s low calorie (189 calories), high fiber (8.8 grams) and high protein (13.5 grams)!

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

This soup is full of healthy ingredients. I used olive oil, carrots, onions, celery, canned tomatoes, fresh baby spinach, mushrooms, fresh garlic cloves, brown lentils, beef or chicken broth, salt, black pepper and Italian sausage.

Italian Sausage
I used sweet Italian pork sausage because I love how flavorful it is with all those spices in it. You could use the hot variety if you like some heat or you could also use breakfast sausage in a roll. And while I used links and took off the casings if you can find it loose bulk sausage and not in links that would be easier. Also note I used raw sausage and not cooked sausage.

Dry Lentils
While I used brown lentils, you could also use green lentils. Above you can see all the different colors of lentils that are out there, however you don’t want to use red or yellow as they will dissolve in the pressure cooker. Just use green or brown which are the most readily available in grocery stores.

Vegetables
I use onions, carrots and celery in most of my soups and the fresh spinach and fresh mushrooms were to add color and texture. You could add other veggies like bell peppers, peas or zucchini if you want or eliminate the spinach or mushrooms but I would keep the onion, carrot and celery.

Canned Tomatoes
I used fire roasted tomatoes in this recipe to give it a little more flavor but you can use just regular diced canned tomatoes. You could use fresh tomatoes like plum tomatoes which are heartier but canned is more convenient.

Also if you are vegetarian, you can skip the sausage and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth. I would add a few extra spices though. I have a homemade Italian sausage post and the seasonings I would add to create that flavor is fennel seeds, salt, black pepper, paprika, hot pepper flakes and Italian seasonings. you can also check the spices in this low carb veggie soup where I use these spices to add tons of flavor to the vegetables.

About the Instant Pot.

In case you are wondering about the Instant Pot, it’s a pressure cooker that you can also use to saute, slow cook, make yogurt, cook rice, etc. It’s very useful for making soups, stews and many other things.

I have quite a few Instant Pot recipes so check them out if you are interested.

How to make Instant Pot lentil soup with sausage.

Note I’ve added a video in the recipe card of this post to show you how easy this recipe is in the Instant Pot.

Step 1: Press saute function button on the Instant Pot and increase the temperature with the + button and get it nice and hot. Pour in the olive oil and then the onion, carrots and celery to pot. Saute for a couple of minutes to soften them.

Step 2: Next take off the casings off the sausage links and break it up into little pieces with a wooden spoon. Then add to the pot and brown sausage for a few minutes.

Step 3: Lastly rinse lentils with water and add to the pot along with in the rest of the ingredients (crushed garlic, spices, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach and broth) and stir. Hit the cancel button and then put on the lid on. Push the pressure valve to the back to seal. Then press the manual button for 25 minutes.

Step 4: When time is up, turn the valve to back to vent. This is a quick release of pressure. When it’s finally done letting the steam come out, take off the lid and serve.

You can garnish this soup with fresh parsley or even add a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese and hot pepper flakes if you want some more heat.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. If you plan to freeze it, let it cool before placing in the freezer where it will keep for 3-6 months.Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

This lentil sausage soup is a very hearty soup and you can eat it with slices of crusty bread or just a nice green salad. It also freezes well so you can use it in your meal planning or prep.

You can also make this soup in a slow cooker.

You basically make this the same way in the slow cooker or crock pot. You can either brown the sausage and vegetables a bit first or just throw everything in the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Cooking time may vary.

If you like lentils or just lentil soup, you have to give this recipe a shot. This pressure cooker sausage lentil soup so tasty I wish I would have made more. It’s pure comfort food to me. I like to have some in the freezer for a cold days. Enjoy!

If you like soup here are more delicious recipes to try.

The nutrition for 1 serving is: 189 calories
5.1g fat / 22.3g carbs / 8.8g fiber / 12.1g protein = 13.5g net carbs