Use an electric pressure cooker to make this healthy miso red lentil soup with shiitake mushrooms and kale. This flavorful soup is packed with fiber and protein!
This pressure cooker miso red lentil soup was made in collaboration with USA Pulses and Pulse Canada. As always, all opinions mentioned here are entirely my own.
Savory, rich, creamy, and VEGAN! Two weeks ago, I shared this chickpea corn chowder.
Today we’re exploring another pulse focused recipe.
What are pulses?
Pulses are protein-packed, edible seeds that belong to the legume family.
These include dry peas, chickpeas, lentils, and beans.
Pulses are a low-fat source of protein. They’re high in fiber and loaded with nutrients.
Best of all, pulses are sustainable. Pulse crops are drought tolerant and water efficient.
Miso Red Lentil Soup
We’re all busy. Even with all of life’s modern conveniences, there never seems to be quite enough time in the day to accomplish everything on your to-do list.
I’ve got one of your meals covered. Here’s a simple and easy soup recipe that is quickly made using an electric pressure cooker.
This miso red lentil soup is great for lunch or dinner. It’s a thick, flavorful soup enriched with red miso paste and shiitake mushrooms for a punch of umami.
To make the soup, sauté onions, garlic, and fresh shiitake in an electric pressure cooker (i.e. Instant Pot). Add vegetable broth and red lentils. Set the pressure cooker to cook for 8 minutes. And, that’s it!
Red lentils are very delicate. During the cooking process they will soften and turn into a puree. No need to use an immersion blender.
Additional vegetable broth is added to thin out the mixture once the soup is cooked. Add the kale and miso paste at the end. The residual heat of the soup will gently cook the kale leaves.
Too much heat will kill the probiotics and nutrients in the miso paste. Adding the miso paste at the ends helps to keep all that good stuff intact.
Interested in learning about how to add more pulses into your diet? Sign up for the Half-Cup Habit to receive free recipes, shopping lists, and more featuring these super versatile pulses!
Pressure Cooker Miso Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon grape seed oil, or other neutral flavored oil
- 1 cup diced onion (½medium onion)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup (3 oz) fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth*
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
- 2 Tablespoons red miso paste*
- 2 cups red kale, stem removed, roughly chopped
- sliced green onions, to garnish
- chili oil, optional, to garnish
Instructions
- Set electric pressure cooker to “sauté” setting. Add oil. Once oil is hot, add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are almost translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir often to cook onions evenly. Add shiitake mushrooms and salt. Stir to combine and cook for about 1 minutes until warmed.
- Add 3 cups of vegetable broth and drained red lentils. Cover with lid and lock in place. Make sure the pressure valve is on. Select “high pressure” and set for 8 minutes cook time. When timer beeps, allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, manually release any remaining pressure.
- Add in remaining 1 cup of vegetable broth, miso paste, and kale. Stir until miso paste has dissolved. Ladle warm soup into serving bowls. Garnish with sliced green onions and chili oil, if desired.
Notes
- Use a low sodium vegetable broth that is not heavy on tomato flavor.
- This is a vegan recipe, however, you can replace the vegetable broth for reduced-sodium chicken broth for even more savory flavor.
- This recipe uses red miso paste, also labeled as “aka miso.” This produces a prominent, rich flavor. If you want a milder tasting miso, you can sub in white miso (“shiro miso”).
I was looking for a protein-rich recipe and I ended up on this blog piece. I am definitely trying it tonight.