Lentil Bean and Ham Soup

This Lentil Bean and Ham Soup is the perfect meal for a cold evening! Easy, delicious, hearty and filling!

This homemade soup is darn good, so deliciously healthy (especially if you use homemade tomatoes) and so very filling. It tastes even better the next day, as all good homemade soup should! 

Why You’ll Love This Ham and Lentil Soup

After the Christmas holidays (and the money that is spent!) we like to try to live “low to the ground” during January. And that includes our grocery bill. Here’s our recipe for Ham and Lentil Soup. It’s a favourite for a cold winter day!

Although we don’t spend a huge amount at Christmas, we like to cut the spending for the next month or two, if we can.

So we eat out of our pantry, cold room & freezers and just hunker down. We make soups, stews and other delicious homemade meals.

Full of fiber, lots of protein, low in saturated fat and so filling. Along with the bread, even teenagers will be full after a nice big bowl of this soup! Enjoy!

 

Tips for Lentil Soup

• If we start the soup early enough in the morning, we can cook the soup on top of our woodstove in a Dutch oven. We love doing this because it’s easy, it makes the house smell awesome for hours and we don’t even need to turn on the electric stove to get it made.
• If you do make it on your electric stove, plan for it to take about 3 hours.
• You can also make this in a slow cooker.
• Just remember, once you add the lentils, give the soup a good stirring every half hour or so, especially in the beginning. This will really help to avoid the lentils sticking on the bottom of the pot. 
• This soup can feed a family of 6 for about $10 and that’s a great price for dinner!
• Add a loaf of fresh homemade bread to serve along with it. If you don’t already have a breadmaker, consider getting one this year. Find one at the thrift store if you can’t afford a new one, but get one. You will save so much money on bread – right now, we pay almost $5 a loaf for multigrain bread. So we make our own. The breadmaker is so convenient.

Ingredients Needed

• ham – the star of the dish! This is a great way to use leftover ham.
• tomato soup – provides an great base for this soup.
• lentils – dried soup mix also works for this, or you could use both. Split peas are another option.
• herbs – use whatever kinds of herbs you like!
• salt and pepper – to taste.

 

• Put a large pot of water on to boil. Dice the ham and add to the water, adding a little olive oil if you like. Bring to a boil, then turn down and let simmer for 45 minutes so the broth water is full of meaty goodness.
• Add the tomato soup and the soup mix. Be sure to stir it frequently as the lentils tend to stick to the bottom of the pot.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a few of the herbs, and if you have bay leaf, add a couple now.
• Let soup simmer on the stove top for about two hours. Cook lentils until the lentils are tender. 
• About 15 minutes prior to serving add some more herbs. Serve with hot biscuits.

Storing Leftover Soup

Just let the soup cool, then store it (lid on) in the fridge for several days. If you’ve got lots, store some in an airtight container in the freezer.

This makes a wonderfully easy dinner for those busy weeknights!

Variations and Serving Suggestions

• For even more flavor and nutrition, add some more vegetables to your soup! Carrots, kale, celery, onion, garlic, and any kind of leafy greens would enhance this soup!
• Spice this soup up with some smoked paprika.
• You can easily use a ham hock for this recipe or any cut with a ham bone. Boil the meat on the bone for about half an hour, then remove the meat and bone. Cut meat into smaller pieces then proceed with the recipe.
• You can also use chicken broth as your base instead of tomato soup, which will give you a lighter soup.
• Instead of canned soup, use lentils tomatoes freshly chopped – then add fresh herbs from the garden.
• Serve with fresh baked bread or some croutons for added crunch and texture.
• Biscuits and cornbread would also pair well as sides for this soup.

Other Fantastic Dishes

Our entire Country Living in a Cariboo Valley Recipe Collection can be found here, but here are some highlights!

1. These Turmeric Garlic Pork Chops are a great option for a flavorful and filling meal.
2. Pumpkin Cranberry Banana Bread is great as a dessert or a sweet and decadent breakfast.
3. If you’ve never made your own Homemade Pizza Dough, you’re missing out on a cheaper and tastier option than store bought!

Lentil Soup Recipe

If you enjoy this recipe for delicious ham and lentil soup, please be sure to rate it 5 stars below! And print this off or save it to your Recipes folder!

First Published January 2017; Updated March 2021

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Originally published Jan 2017; latest update Nov 2024