Chicken and lentil soup made in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) – a healthy, nourishing meal that will fill you up and make plenty of servings so you can have leftovers for lunch or freeze the rest!
I’ve been hearing a lot about the Instant Pot affil link (a multi-cooker that does the job of a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot all in one) but it wasn’t until 2 weeks ago I started getting tons of requests for Instant Pot recipes. My curiosity led me to Amazon, where I found thousands of glowing reviews. Do I need one more appliance? Well of course I bought it to see what the big deal was and here is the first recipe I tried.
I decided to make a recipe I’m very familiar with (and my family loves) to see how it compares to my original and I have to tell you, I loved the results! I made some minor adjustments to my stove top Chicken and Lentil Soup, basically I reduced the liquid since nothing evaporates and I put all the ingredients in the pot at the same time. Closed the pot, pressed the “soup” button and let it cook 30 minutes (stove top takes closer to 2 hours). When it was ready I didn’t even have to shred the chicken, it was so tender it fell apart with my spoon.
This soup is so filling, I often make it with chicken thighs but breasts would also work.
Freezer Tips:
To freeze any leftovers, transfer to an air-tight freezer safe container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, transfer leftover soup to a sauce pot on the stove and slowly bring to a boil, then simmer until heated through.
You can see more Pressure Cooker Recipes and Soup Recipes here!
Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Chicken and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried lentils
- 12 oz 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, all fat trimmed
- 7 cups water
- 2 tbsp chicken Better than Bouillon
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium ripe tomato, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp sazon, I used my homemade blend or paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into the instant pot, stir and cover. Use "Soup" button and cook 30 minutes. When done and the pressure releases, shred the chicken and stir. Makes about 11 cups.
I make the all the time, such great flavor. My youngest says “it’s desert” for him.
amazing!
How many calories is this? The recipe says 263 per serving BUT the pin just below says 126.
263 is correct.
If I will to make it in a slower cooker, how long should that be?
has anyone ever made this using frozen chicken breasts?
it should be fine
Really impressed with this recipe! I was afraid it would lack flavor or have the wrong texture but this was spot on!
SO easy to make
Love that it has lentils and veggies, no dairy, less meat
Tastes even better day after day 🙂
I have made this with the stove-top recipe before and loved it so thought I would try the Insta-Pot version. Also delicious — even though I actually forgot to add the Better Than Bouillon! I thought the only difference was that it needed a slight bit more salt. My family still loved it. Super simple and now even quicker. Great recipe!
Can you make this in a slow cooker?
Didn’t change a thing and it was amazingly delicious. Served with some crusty peasant bread and butter. Perfect for the fall !
I only had red lentils on hand so that is what I used and the lentils desintegrated. I did a quick google search and that’s is normal so use green or black lentils when cooking this. It was still really good but it had a puréed texture. I will try again with a different lentil next time.
My husband said he could eat this every day! I used the entire sazon packet instead of adding extra salt. I put it in the slow cooker all day and it was perfect. This is a great way to use less meat—I asked my butcher to repackage some boneless skinless thighs for the amount I needed.
Awesome!!
Can you add the WW builder so I can figure out points value?
Done! 🙂
This is ridiculously good and SO flavorful! I only had two chicken thighs and it turned out fine. Also made it on the stove.
“12 oz 3” for amount of chicken. What does this mean???
12 oz which is about 3 thighs.
I love this recipe. I have made it countless times and my family always requests it. My only recommendation for those making it is to let the lentils soak in water for 2 hours before making it, and dump put the water they soaked in. It helps with gas and bloating.
Is this natural release or quick release? Thanks!
This was delicious! I left out the cumin and made my own sazon without cumin since my fiance doesn’t like it. I used chicken breasts since that’s what we had on hand.
I’ve been trying to find more things to make with my instant pot and this was perfect! So easy! Love that I didn’t have to sauté anything, just dump it all in. Super filling too!
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make! Leftovers freeze well. Very happy with this recipe.
Natural release or quick release? I think natural release but not sure. I’m hungry, it smells good. I can’t wait. 😉
The easiest recipe to date. I did adjust it. I sauté the onions, garlic, added bacon and celery with it. Then added it to the instapot. I didn’t have better than chicken powder, scallions or 3 lbs of chicken breast. So I added the Goya chicken packets 3 of them due to 2 cup per packet, added 2 chicken breast approximately under 1.7 lbs of chicken (it was still a lot) and then sealed it for 30 mins. It was soooo good. I am on day 3 of my soup. Delicious. Thank you! I am going to try more bean based soup.
THE BEST!! SOOOOO good! First time trying lentils. Thank you for this delicious recipe =)
Love this soup! Going to make it again tonight, but only have red lentils. Think that will work?
Amazing! So easy full of flavor. Love this soup!
Thank you for the recipes! Are the points given for 1 cup serving?
For 1 and 1/3 cups.
This is one of my favorite soup recipes- delicious- I plan to make it for dinner this weekend- What are some good sides to go with it?
The Instant Pot Chicken Lentil Soup recipe is one of our absolute favorite recipes — we make this every week.
If I want to increase the recipe — and am using an 8-quart Instant Pot, instead of a 6-quart — can I just increase the ingredients in the same ratio? Has anyone else tried this?
I almost never comment on recipes, but this one is top-notch. I don’t really change anything, just add bacon at the start. My incredibly picky 8 year old requests this, eats 2-3 helpings of it AND asks for leftovers for lunch the next day, so most definitely a winner! (Plus it’s absolutely delicious!!)
Awesome!!!
Hi Gina! What size Instant Pot do you use? I have the small 3 qt and will probably need to adjust the recipe…
Thank you!
I have a 6 qt.