Instant Pot Lentil Lemon Chicken Soup–a brightly flavored chicken and lentil soup based on the Greek Classic avgolemono, which translates as “egg-lemon.” It is a light and healthy soup that can be served for lunch or dinner.
Get the SLOW COOKER lemon lentil chicken soup recipe here
Instant Pot Lentil Lemon Chicken Soup
I love the flavors of Greek lemon soup so I decided to incorporate healthy lentils into the easy lemon soup. It was a great choice and Greg was so happy to have a healthy but delicious meal when he got home after a long day at work.
And of course Skyler was happy to have leftovers for his mini-crockpot* the next day at school. I’ve told you about that right? His 5th grade teachers let him plug in a little crockpot at school everyday for his lunch. I don’t know what’s going to happen next year when he has the stricter 6th grade teachers. But as much as I cook it’s so nice to have someone taking leftovers for lunch everyday. Now he absolutely refuses to get school lunch. “Mom, it’s not even good.”
If you’re not a big fan of lentils you could easily use white rice instead. Or you could even cook orzo on the stove and add it in after the chicken has pressure cooked.
Try to use chicken breasts that are the same size and thickness. Refer to this video on why. I ended up using smallish frozen chicken breasts. If you are using thicker chicken breasts they may not cook all the way through in the 10 minutes.
More recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Chicken Lemon Orzo Soup
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
Instant Pot Greek Chicken Lemon Rice Soup
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Lentil Lemon Chicken Soup I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Instant Pot Lentil Lemon Chicken Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
A brightly flavored chicken and lentil soup based on the Greek Classic avgolemono, which translates as “egg-lemon.” It is a light and healthy soup that can be served for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 5 cups chicken broth
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
- 1 cup brown/green lentils
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (2 small chicken breasts)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the oil and onion. Saute for about 4-5 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 20 seconds. Add in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot.
- Add in the red pepper flakes, parsley, lentils, chicken and salt.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 10 minutes. When the time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes. Then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Shred the chicken and return to the Instant Pot.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks and lemon juice. Stir a few tablespoons of the hot soup into the eggs to temper them. Then stir it all back into the Instant Pot. Add in the lemon zest.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.
Notes
Try to use chicken breasts that are the same size and thickness. Refer to this video on why. I ended up using smallish frozen chicken breasts. If you are using thicker chicken breasts they may not cook all the way through in the 10 minutes.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Greek
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Can I use bone in chicken? Thank you!
Yes for sure. It will be so flavorful!
It was good, but we felt it was lacking something. Will try adding carrots and celery next time. What herb would you recommend?
★★★★
tarragon or thyme would be good I think!
The addition of tarragon really upped the flavor. Thanks for the idea.
★★★★★
Yay!! I love tarragon
Does this freeze well? I am not sure about the egg yolk. I am looking to stock my freezer for cold/flu/Rona season.
I bet it would do okay in the freezer!
How much rice would I add in place of the lentils?
I’d add a half cup or if you want it thick then a whole cup.
Are you able to make this with already cooked rotisserie chicken? How would the timing for different parts change?
I would do everything the same except change the cooking time to 5 minutes. Lentils cook fairly fast!
I made this for dinner tonight. It took 15 minutes to get to full pressure so the actual total time is 40 minutes. It tasted like it had cooked for much longer than that.
★★★★★
This looks yummy and a nice change from my regular Kotopoulo Avgolemono. My Thea Thekla taught me to make this years ago, her way and my boys love when I make this soup. They also love when I make Faki *Greek Lentil Soup*. Never thought of combining the two. Going to give your version a try. Sounds really yummy.
Oh nice! Try it and see what you think 🙂
I mad this yesterday for lunch and my husband and I loved it. I drizzled more lemon on top when serving. Served with a Greek salad. With lettuce from my garden. Will be making this again for sure.
★★★★★
Wow that sounds great! How fresh and delightful.
A perfect remedy for my chest cold. So simple and so tasty. Thank you for this recipe.
Glad you liked it Karen!
Looking forward to making this tomorrow! Do you just use dried lentils or do you cook them first?
dried 🙂
Can the red lentils be used for this recipe
no, apparently red lentils only need a 1 minute cooking time. so no, don’t use them.
Wouldn’t red lentils get mushy? I had that problem when I made an Instant Pot recipe using red instead of brown lentils.
oh, oops. You’re right. The red lentils only need a 1 minute pressure cook time.