In this bacon lentil soup recipe, bacon pieces are cooked until crispy, then onions, carrots, celery and garlic are sautéed in the drippings. Add a few spices and you’ll have a hearty and flavorful pot of lentils. This soup is great for weeknights since lentils cook up pretty quick; by bean standards.

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Bacon lentil ingredients
- 6 Slices of Bacon, chopped into small pieces
- 1 Medium Onion, finely diced
- 1 Large Carrot, diced
- 1 Celery Rib, diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 12 oz. Lentils, sorted, rinsed and drained
- 8 cups Chicken Broth
- ½ teaspoon Salt, or to taste
Prep Work
- Pick through the lentils carefully looking for any foreign objects such as small stones.
- Rinse the lentils with cold water and drain.
- Cut the bacon into roughly ½ inch pieces. Using kitchen shears will make quick work of this, plus you don’t dirty a cutting board. Just snip them right into a bowl. Easy!
- Next, dice the onions, carrots and celery. They will be going in the pot at the same time, so keep them in the same bowl. I like to use glass nesting bowls to organize my ingredients. Having everything ready to go really takes the stress out of cooking.
- Lastly, mince the garlic. Then add the paprika, cumin, dried oregano and black pepper to a small bowl. They’re all going in at the same time.

How to make bacon lentil soup
- Add the bacon to a large pot and place it over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crispy, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir the bacon only occasionally at first, but as it gets going stir frequently.
- Remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
- If the bacon renders a lot of grease, remove some using a large spoon. Leave about 3 tablespoons in the pot.
- Place the pot back over medium heat. When the bacon grease is hot, but nowhere near smoking, add the onions, carrots and celery.
- Cook them for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.
- Next, add the garlic, paprika, cumin, oregano and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Sautéing the vegetables in the bacon fat for just a few minutes will add a ton of flavor to this lentil soup. Adding all the ingredients at the same time does nothing to build flavor. Take those few extra minutes to build a terrific flavor base. This is the difference between a good soup and a fantastic soup!
Finish the lentil soup
- Add the lentils and the chicken broth to the pot and raise the heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook the lentils for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Now, lower the heat to medium-low and add the reserved crispy bacon pieces back to the pot.
- Cover the pot and cook the lentils for another 15 minutes or so, until they’re tender, stirring occasionally. Some people like their lentils al dente, with a little bite in the middle. Some prefer them fall-apart tender. You choose, either way I’m sure they’ll be delicious.
- Taste the bacon lentil soup and add salt if needed. As a reference we added ½ teaspoon to our lentils. Add a ¼ teaspoon, stir, taste, add more if needed. That way, you don’t overdo it.
- Serve the soup with a side of bread or with rice. Enjoy!

You may also like these lentil recipes:
- Lentil Vegetable Soup
- Lentil and Andouille Sausage Soup
- Italian Sausage Lentil Soup
- Chicken Lentil Soup
- Lentil Potato Soup
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Bacon and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 6 Slices of Bacon chopped into small pieces
- 1 Medium Onion finely diced
- 1 Carrot diced
- 1 Celery Rib diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 12 oz. Lentils sorted, rinsed and drained
- 8 cups Chicken Broth
- ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste
Instructions
Prep Work
- Cut the bacon into small pieces.
- Dice the onions, carrots and celery. Mince the garlic.
- Add the paprika, cumin, dried oregano and black pepper to a small bowl.
- Pick through the lentils looking for any foreign objects such as small stones. Rinse and drain the lentils.
Cook the bacon
- Add the bacon to a large pot and place over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Stir only occasionally at first, but as the bacon gets going stir frequently.
- Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. If the bacon renders a lot of grease, remove some using a large spoon. Leave about 3 tablespoons in the pot.
Make the lentil soup
- Place the pot back over medium heat and add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, oregano and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the lentils and the chicken broth, raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cover. Cook the lentils for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add the bacon back to the pot. Cook the lentils for another 15 minutes or so until the lentils are tender (depending on how tender you like your lentils), stirring occasionally.
- Taste the lentil soup and add salt if needed.
Val
Fantastic recipe!
Elizabeth
Hi Val,
Thank you!
Melissa
This was really a great soup. I had never made anything with lentils and was frankly surprised by how much I liked it. I was a little heavier handed with the oregano and cumin. Next time I probably will add more vegetables otherwise it will definitely be made again soon. I’m on a budget and this is very budget friendly for me!
Elizabeth
Thank you Melissa, I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Peter
Simply delicious! Made for my mum, she loved it! Wondered how I became a cook! Thankyou
Elizabeth
Hi Peter,
Thank you, that is wonderful to hear!
Amber
I had lentils…. and no idea what to do with them. Thanks for the recipe.
Elizabeth
It’s my pleasure, thank you for stopping by.
Latte
I made it with ham shank
Ryan Eschweiler
Had no idea of all the different things you can do with lentils until I searched around on Pintrest. Thank you to all those who take the time.
Renee
Love this recipe! It’s a real good to!
Elizabeth
Thank you for your kind comment, so happy you enjoyed it!
Jacqueline f cline
Can I prepare using a crock pot on low. If so how long and should I reduce liquid by 1/2 cup.
Elizabeth
Hi Jacqueline,
I’m sorry, never made it in a crock pot.
Veronica Galarza
This recipe was absolutely delicious. I added potatoes and simply incorporated them with the rest of the vegetables when following the recipe. The bacon I used was a bit more hardy almost a ham like consistency and I did not get as much bacon grease as needed to cook the vegetables so I added about one teaspoon of olive oil.
Elizabeth
Hi Veronica,
Really glad you enjoyed it, thanks for sharing!