Instant Pot Spring Vegetable Soup

Soup still hits the spot even when the days start to get warm.  This instant pot spring vegetable soup is perfect for those days — it will boost your immune system and make you feel good!

I’m a soup fanatic. I mean, I think I have a problem. I start to feel kind of wonky if I don’t have a pot of soup in my fridge at all times. Even in summer. And, yeah, I do make chilled soups… but even as the weather gets warmer, I still find a hot soup sometimes is the only way to give me what I need.

But my problem, since moving into my apartment in Manhattan, is that when I turn on the stove — even just one single burner — for any length of time, the whole living space heats up like a sauna. It really is quite incredible. This is a great thing in the winter, but now that spring is here… ugh… I just want to turn that burner off as soon as possible.

Problem solved!

And… really, the reason it was such a problem is because I have an irrational fear of pressure cookers, so I had no way to take a shortcut with the cooking time.

Truthfully, when I moved here three years ago, I bought an Instant Pot, and I’ve used the slow cooker feature many times. I KNOW… the main reason to own an Instant Pot is because of the pressure cooker feature. I still was a fraidy-cat. And then, I bit the bullet.

Yup, this instant pot spring tomato vegetable soup was my virgin voyage with the pressure cooker feature on the Instant Pot. And wow do I feel like an idiot now. There was nothing even remotely scary about it! And, my soup cooked in about 25 minutes. All in.

I can feel some of you rolling your eyes because you guys are probably much smarter than me when it comes to things like this. I think my fear stems from memories of my mother’s old pressure cooker. It weighed like a million pounds and the steam that came out of that old thing was strong enough to blow the roof off… yikes…

I need to thank Lindsay at Pinch Of Yum because it was one of her genius instant pot recipes that allowed me to get over myself with my instant pot wariness. I just trust her… so thank you Lindsay!

By the way, I’ve been happily customizing soup recipes for those of you who are signing up for my free phone consultations. This has been so much fun for me, and I’m loving that so many of you are loving this too. So, if you haven’t signed up yet, CLICK HERE to go to my calendar and add your name to an open slot. This way I can give you a recipe that’s perfect for your unique needs and concerns.

Okay, enough rambling about my fears… don’t even get me started about the dentist…

Let’s get to the recipe for this  instant pot paleo spring vegetable soup. It’s really, really easy. It’s a dump and cook soup. So, no prep is involved except chopping some of the vegetables and herbs.  And, it’s vegan. And no stove is necessary.

This soup is reminiscent of an old fashioned minestrone, but it’s lighter. And instead of pasta, I used buckwheat groats, so it tastes and feels like there’s pasta in there, but it’s grain-free. Another thing I love about this simple soup is that it makes for awesome leftovers in the fridge all week.

If you are looking for a true non-cook summer soup, you need to also try my recipe for Cold Cucumber Herb Soup.

Because I’m on such a healing soup kick lately (okay… always), let me give you a soup recipe that will work for whatever’s going on in your body now… I’m such a geek that I really do get excited about doing this. So CLICK HERE to be taken directly into my calendar to sign up for your free phone consultation.

Here are some of the great healing ingredients in this instant pot spring vegetable soup:

Broccoli has a lot of potassium and is great for brain function; it also has magnesium and calcium to help regulate blood pressure. It’s also good to clear your body of excess heat and it actually can help your vision too. I love foods that make you feel better mentally as well as physically, and broccoli is one of those foods — it can lessen feelings of irritability.

In Chinese medicine, red kidney beans are used to aid digestion; they help you if you have diarrhea and they also have a diuretic quality. White navy beans actually improve your memory and they also have a calming effect, so feel free to use a mix of colored beans if you like.

Garlic is amazing in its antiviral and antibacterial capabilities. Garlic is actually a Chinese herb (Da Suan). It’s used to kill toxins and parasites and also to reduce swelling in the body. It’s what I call a great “A” herb: anesthetic, antibacterial, anti fungal, antioxidant, antiviral, etc…. I always keep several heads of garlic on hand in my kitchen. When I catch a cold, I blend up the cloves from a head of garlic along with some lemon, lime, and honey and I drink it… it knocks those germs to the curb!

Dill is considered a chemoprotective herb that can help neutralize some carcinogens and it’s also an antibacterial herb.

Basil has anti-viral and anti-bacterial capabilities. It also is good for settling your stomach, and it’s good at lessening the symptoms of the common cold and its accompanying cough. Basil is a spiritual herb — the scent actually calms you; you can boil some in a pot and let the aroma fill the air, you can just leave some around the house, you can toss a bunch in your bath water (I love to do this), or you can use an essential oil with basil to get some great calming effects.

Buckwheat is great to eat if you have diarrhea. It also helps lower blood pressure, stops some types of sweating, and has a good amount of vitamin E. It also contains antioxidants that can help fight cancer and heart disease. Buckwheat is a seed, not a grain, so no inflammation here!

Carrots help strengthen the organs in your body. They also are good for the eyes (this is their claim to fame) and they promote healthy digestion. Many moons ago, people used to make carrot tea to ward off measles and to prevent cancer. Carrots help detoxify the body and in today’s world of Chinese medicine, they are prescribed to ease constipation and tonsillitis.

Celery actually helps stop bleeding — so if you or anyone you know has just had surgery, start adding celery to your dishes! Celery is also great to help lower blood pressure and it’s been known to help with insomnia.

In Chinese medicine, we use tomatoes to aid in digestion and to help detoxify the body. They are also good to combat excess cholesterol, lessen inflammation and curb asthma. Tomatoes can also quench thirst, and they can help fight some kidney infections.

If you make this paleo instant pot spring vegetable soup, please be sure to let me know in the comments below. I love hearing how you like a recipe, and I love to answer your questions! If you make it, be sure to take a photo and tag me and post it on Instagram.