This delicious and hearty pressure cooker sweet potato, chickpea and red lentil soup cooks in just 10 minutes in your Instant Pot. Healthy, vegan, and gluten free, it is guaranteed to become a family favourite!
Just as the days were getting brighter and warmer, the weather did a 180° and we had snow. SNOW! Snowing in London happens so rarely as to still be a huge novelty, but this time around I am more than ready for springtime to arrive. You hear that springtime? Come back please!
The only plus to the unseasonal snowfall, has been the extra family time we have enjoyed thanks to ‘snow days’, since everything in London comes to a standstill at the first sighting of snowflakes.
Our pressure cooker has been working overtime to keep us fed and warm with a variety of stews, chilis and soup – I think I am now figuring out why some people have as many as three pressure cookers on the go at once.
Cold weather = soup weather and I have a new soup obsession – sweet potato, chickpea and red lentil soup. OMG it is so good that even my husband who thinks soup ‘is not food’ came around. Have made this baby twice in less than a week, that’s how yummy it is.
Let’s tick the reasons why I love this soup SO MUCH
- It is simple packed with plant-based power and goodness
- Low in calories but hearty and satisfying
- Vegan and gluten-free
- Budget conscious and purse friendly
- Ready in 10 minutes
This pressure cooker sweet potato, chickpea and red lentil soup straddles the line between soup and stew – it is very thick and really satisfying. If you wanted to add a bit less stock and serve it over rice or quinoa, then I say go ahead!
You could also pack it with even more nutritious yumminess by adding some leafy greens – stir in some chopped spinach or kale right the end and sauté until wilted and soft. Kale will require longer cooking than spinach, make sure to remove the hard stems because otherwise it will be chewy!
I used ready cooked (canned) chickpeas here, but you could also use dried chickpeas if you wanted. If you use dry chickpeas they will need 40 minutes high pressure cooking unsoaked and 25 minutes cooking if soaked overnight (see recipe card notes). Don’t forget to reserve the chickpea brine (aquafaba) – it may come in handy if you want to make vegan macarons!
Don’t have a pressure cooker?
What are you waiting for? 😉 Just kidding, this soup is extremely easy to make on the stovetop! Simply heat the oil in a deep pot and cook as in the main method. Simmer the soup for 20-25 minutes until the sweet potatoes and red lentils are cooked.
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Try these healthy soup recipes
- Pressure cooker Italian chicken soup
- African sweet potato soup
- Spinach, Coconut and Zucchini Soup
- Ribollita – Hearty Tuscan Vegetable Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 200 g (7 oz) canned chickpeas, drained
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp ginger paste or finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 400 g (14 oz) canned chopped tomatoes
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled cut into small cubes
- 200 g (1 cup) dry split red lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1.2 litre (5 cups) vegetable stock (broth)
- Lemon juice to taste
- Finely chopped coriander cilantro
- Lemon zest to garnish
- Handful mixed seeds to garnish
- Pinch dried red chilli flakes to garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat the oil in your pressure cooker using the ‘sauté’ function. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened.
- Add the spices, salt, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas and stock and stir.
- Set vent to sealing and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then release the pressure manually.
- Stir in some lemon or lime juice to add some acidity – I used 1 tablespoon.
- Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Transfer two ladlefuls of the soup in a blender and process until smooth, or blitz using an immersion blender. Stir this back into the soup.
Serve the soup garnished with chopped coriander (cilantro), lemon zest and a handful of crunchy seeds.
- Please note 200g (7oz) is the drained weight of chickpeas from a 400g (14oz) can.
- If you want to add some kale or chopped spinach, remove the stems and shred the leaves. Cook for up to 5 minutes on the ‘sauté’ setting after step 6.
- If you use dry chickpeas they will need 40 minutes high pressure cooking unsoaked and 25 minutes cooking if soaked overnight. The ratio is 200g (1 cup) chickpeas to 750ml (3 cups) water.
- If you want to cook the soup on your stovetop, heat the oil in a deep pot and cook as in the main method. Simmer the soup for 20-25 minutes until the sweet potatoes and red lentils are cooked.
- I used a 6L/Q Instant Pot Duo in this recipe.
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Deanna says
Thanks for this wonderful protein-packed recipe! Like many IP users, I had chick peas already cooked in my fridge. and this was a great way to utilize them. I finished with some smoked salt and it was really, really good served with some sprouted rye bread and a salad, and it was just as good the next day. Thanks again!
Randy Phillips says
How might I adjust this recipe if I were stranded without access to chickpeas.
Lucy Parissi says
I love how you phrased it 🙂 If you don’t want to use chickpeas you could leave them out and increase the sweet potatoes instead or add some butternut squash. I don’t think beans would work in place of chickpeas
Claire Cunningham says
Could you guide me as to how long in the slow cooker? And also would I need to adapt liquid levels etc? I want to cook today and stove top is not possible as am out.
Lucy Parissi says
Sorry Claire I am afraid I haven’t made this in a slow cooker. But generally speaking cooking the same recipe for 6 hours on low should work as well. If it’s possible, keep an eye on it and add more water or stock if necessary. But I think it should work as is. Let me know if you make it 🙂
Nick F. says
Hi there! I am new to the instant pot and not quite ready to give up my meat-eating habits. Can you please advise on how I could include some thawed chicken breasts into this recipe? Thanks so much!
Lucy Parissi says
You could use chicken tenders. Sauté them for 5 minutes first, chop into bite-sized pieces and proceed with the recipe. Add with other ingredients and cook for 9 minutes instead of 5. This should work however you couldn’t blend the soup at the end (with chicken pieces in it). Let me know if this works!
Debi Turner says
Hi
Having recently come across a soup like this in a café, I set myself a task to cook it at home and this recipe sounds very like it.
One problem though, I don’t have a pressure cooker.
Could you give the method for either hob cooking or in the slow cooker?
Many thanks and can’t wait to try it
Debi Turner.
Lucy Parissi says
Hi Debi, I will update the recipe to include the method but very quickly, follow the recipe using a suitable pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Follow the recipe method about blending the soup etc. Hope you like it 🙂
Carrie Sheridan says
This soup is fantastic! I didn’t have any coriander and had to use ground ginger instead of the fresh ginger or ginger paste, but it still turned out delicious! I will be making this often!
Lucy Parissi says
Thanks for the comment Carrie so glad you liked it! It is pretty versatile xx
EJ says
I’ve made this soup a few times and each time I think it’s better than the last. Now I make extra to keep in the freezer. Though I rarely make the same thing twice, this is a regular for us. BTW, I too use my 6 qt. instant pot. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Lucy Parissi says
Thanks Elaine that’s so wonderful to hear!!
Anna says
Delicious! I’ve made this twice. My only changes are to use a whole can of chickpeas and add extra lemon. Thanks for the amazing recipe. Super filling and satisfying.
Lucy Parissi says
Thanks for the comment Anna! I guess in the UK it is a full can of chickpeas – guessing this is not the case everywhere?
Jacqueline Meldrum says
That soup looks stunning Lucy. I am sitting here at my laptop feeling rather chilly even though the heating is on. I would love to tuck into that right now. Shared!
Joan Miller says
Looks fantastic! One concern. You wrote, with regard to chickpeas, “If you use dry chickpeas they will need 40 minutes high pressure cooking unsealed ” — did you mean “unsoaked?” Thanks!
Lucy Parissi says
Yes unsoaked chickpeas will need about 40 minutes cooking. Soaked about 20-25.