Black and Red Lentil Beer Soup

Name: Black and Red Lentil Beer Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large onion, (chopped (about 2 cups)); 2 carrots, (diced); 6 cups vegetable broth; 1 cup black lentils; 3/4 cup red lentils; 1 medium potato, (peeled and diced); 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 3/4 teaspoon sea salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 (12-ounce) beer, your choice (see note); 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Jump Directly to Printable Recipe

This vegan black and red lentil beer soup is quick to make, high-in-protein, plant-based, and tasty as all get out—an easy home-cooked meal. Mak in your pressure cooker or Instant Pot on those busy days.

Black and Red Lentil Beer Soup | Letty's Kitchen

With variations here and there, I’ve been making this hearty vegetarian soup since I was old enough to drink beer, about the same time I bought my first pressure cooker. Like all my soups, this lentil beer soup can be cooked in a pressure cooker. About 10 minutes of prep, 5 minutes to come to pressure, and 7 minutes in the pressure cooker–dinner in 30 minutes–wunderbar!

Ingredients for this unique lentil soup:

Beer? Beer, like it does with people, adds character and other flavorful features. Use whatever beer you have in the fridge. A nutty malty brown ale or a stout gives richest flavor, but I’ve used lighter beers, even PBR.

We’re looking to add caramel malty notes so if you don’t want to add the alcohol, substitute a non-alcohol beer, like O’Doul’s.

A spoonful of vinegar stirred in at the finish balances the red lentil and carrot sweetness, and adds a classic German sweet and sour punch.

This rustic lentil beer soup calls for both black and red lentils. The black lentils (affiliate link) stay chewy and yet soft, while the red lentils melt and disappear into the broth.

In one of my old recipe journals there’s a magazine clipping titled Lentil Wunderbar Soup. Wunderbar in German means wonderful, marvelous. Wunderbar lentil beer soup! (I didn’t think to note from where I cut the recipe, so who knows. If you have a clue, please write.)

This velvety scarlet-color soup with red lentils and beets also comes together fast and easy in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot.

Here’s a brothy minetrone soup with lentils, broken lasagne noodles, and kale–another speedy pressure cooker soup!

One more pressure cooker soup for you–Instant Pot Farro and Hearty Greens Soup.

To get my latest recipe posts and newsletters, subscribe here. (I hate Spam too and will never share your email with anyone.)

Are you following me on Facebook?
I just might be addicted to Instagram!
Check out recipes I Saved on Pinterest this week.

This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you!!

This recipe first appeared on Pressure Cooking Today, where I’m a contributor.

PS If you make this recipe and love it, please consider leaving a blog post comment. Your comments help other readers learn more about the recipe.

Print Recipe

No ratings yet