Go Back
–+ servings
Two portions of lentil soup in teal bowls with sliced bread on the side.

Lentil Soup

By: Deborah
This hearty lentil soup is warming, nourishing, and easy to make. Packed with flavour and perfect for batch cooking, freezing, and cosy lunches or dinners.
PREP: 15 minutes
COOK: 35 minutes
TOTAL: 50 minutes
Course: Lunch, Soup, Starter
Cuisine: British
Servings: 8 people
PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 5 ham stock cubes (I like Knorr - see Notes)
  • 2 l (8 ½ cups) boiling water
  • 200 g (7.1 oz) unsmoked bacon lardons (see Notes)
  • 2 large or 3 medium carrots (approx. 300g) peeled and diced into 1cm pieces
  • 300 g (10.6 oz) swede peeled and diced into 1cm pieces
  • 1 large leek (approx. 340g) halved lengthways and thinly sliced
  • 200 g (1 ¼ cups) red lentils rinsed
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a large jug, crumble and dissolve the stock cubes in 2 litres of boiling water.
  • Heat a large saucepan or casserole pot on a medium heat, and add the bacon lardons.  Fry until the bacon starts to colour (2 to 3 minutes).   If the lardons are quite lean, add a small amount of olive oil (approx. 1 tsp).
  • Add the diced carrots, swede, sliced leeks, rinsed lentils and stock.  Bring to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer – cook for 30 minutes.   Stir occasionally and skim off any scum that appears at the top.
  • Season to taste, blend, if you wish (see Notes) and enjoy with some homemade bread or savoury scones.

Notes

  • Optional flavour variations:
    • Spiced Moroccan lentil soup - add harissa paste, ground cinnamon and paprika.
    • Indian-style lentil soup - use garam masala, ginger and turmeric.
    • Mediterranean lentil soup - add tomatoes, oregano and rosemary.
    • Smoky lentil soup - add some smoked paprika.
  • Optional proteins:
    • swap the bacon lardons for shredded chicken or turkey, chopped chorizo or pancetta.
  • For vegetarians, use vegetable stock cubes or pots and leave out the bacon. Add a tin of chickpeas or butter beans if you like (remember to drain and rinse them).
  • It can be left as a chunky soup or you could blend (using a hand blender) the whole lot for a smooth soup, or blend half so that you still have some chunks of vegetables – the choice is yours.
  • If you can’t get bacon lardons, use unsmoked back or streaky bacon and chop it up.
 
You might also like to try:
 

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 1026mg | Potassium: 560mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 6984IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS comfort food, easy lentil soup, healthy lentil soup, hearty winter soup, lentil soup, lentil soup recipe, red lentil soup, winter warmer
Tried this recipe?Please consider Leaving a Review!