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.
If you love lentils as much as we do, try this Lentil Vegetable Soup, this Lentil and Andouille Sausage Soup, or this Italian Sausage Lentil Soup. They’re hearty and wholesome and delicious!
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Ingredients for the bacon lentil soup
- 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. I add this instruction to all my lentil recipes because it’s so important to not skip this step. I wanted to get a picture of a rock I found sorting lentils. This is not the first one I’ve found. As you can see, this little rock can really put a hurting on someone’s tooth!
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.
Cook the bacon
- 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.
Sautee the vegetables
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!
- 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.
Make 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 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 lentil soup with a side of bread or with rice. Enjoy!
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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.
