Make up a big pot of this comforting hearty Bacon and Lentil Soup today - perfect for a cold winter's day.
This bacon and lentil soup is packed with of all kinds of goodness. Chunky brown lentils, carrots, onion, celery, the smoky flavour of bacon and then the slight tanginess from Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar - it's a proper meal in a bowl.
Soups are one of my favourite dishes to make and they don't ever need to be complicated. You can literally add a few different vegetables and seasonings with some broth and you could potentially have 100s of different varieties of soup.
Also if you are one of the fussy ones who struggle with vegetable, soup is a great way to disguise them, especially for younger ones.
I always have lentils in my pantry, because you never know when I might just fancy making up a big pot of soup, and they are great for bulking out a dish without using expensive or complicated ingredients.
It's a good idea to have a few different varieties on hand. If you enjoy a chunkier lentil, choose brown or green, or if you prefer a lentil that thickens and blends into the soup - choose red lentils.
Both have their place in different soup recipes.
I love using red lentils in this Spicy Carrot and Lentil Soup. Simple ingredients, but packed with flavour from the choice of spices. It's a regular one I turn to when I fancy some soup.
Another favourite using red lentils is this delicious Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup - a great one for kids, because of the sweetness of the sweet potato, and if they don't like food that is too spicy, you can easily adjust the spice level.
For this Bacon and Lentil soup, however, I prefer the chunkiness of brown lentils, they keep more of bite to them, and just make this a really hearty bowl of food.
It's perfect for freezing too, so if you make up a pot and have some leftover, just pop the leftovers in a tub and freeze for another day. You will thank me when it's a freezing cold winter day and you just want to snuggle on the sofa with a blanket, with some cheesy movie and really don't fancy standing in the kitchen mustering up something decent to cook.
I can't tell you how even more amazing this is, with a little-grated cheddar or parmesan on top, but then isn't everything even better with a little bit of cheese?
My kids, however, love their soup with bread, dang why is it so hard to resist the bread? Luckily though this Bacon and Lentil soup is really filling, so you honestly don't need any bread, but if you can't do without the bread no matter what soup you make, it would go really well with this Gluten-Free Soda Bread or Cheddar and Spring Onion Bread or your own choice of bread with some butter.
Finish of the soup with a sprinkle of fresh chopped Italian parsley, that pop of little green flecks in this, make it look delicious and it's important for food to look good as well as tasting good, right?
So you've bought some big bags of lentils, have made soup, but are wondering what else you can make - How about one of these lentil recipes?
- Spicy Lentils and Spinach
- Easy Red Lentil Dhal
- 4 Ingredient Quick Lentil Curry (Instant Pot)
- Sausage and Lentil Casserole
- Chicken, Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry
- Chicken and Lentil Soup
- Coconut Green Lentil Curry
- Lentil Curry (Instant Pot and Stove Top recipe)
- Mexican Lentil Bake
- Lentil Bolognese
- Lentil Cheddar Bake
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Curry
- Sweet Potato, Vegetable and Lentil Chilli
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 500+ delicious Slimming Eats recipes to choose from and all are searchable by meal type, ingredients etc.
If you have a busy work schedule and don't have heating facilities at work and would really love to take filling meals like this Bacon and Lentil Soup on the go with you. A Thermos Stainless Steel Food flask like this one below is a perfect option.
It will hold just under 500ml of food and keep it warm for up to 9 hours, which means it is perfect for chilli’s, curries, and dishes like this Bacon and Lentil Soup.
Keep yourself well satiated during the day with filling meals like this. So that you don't give into other off plan temptations all around you.
WHAT KITCHEN ITEMS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS MINCE PIE BAKED OATS?
- Deep Saucepan
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Jug
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Chopping Board
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Recipe Card
Bacon and Lentil Soup | Slimming Eats
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers friendly
WW Smart Points - 3
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 sticks of celery, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 cup (190g) of brown lentils (dried), rinsed
- 8 slices of bacon (all fat removed)
- 8 cups (approx 2 litres) of vegetable stock
- 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons of mixed herbs
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- splash of Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to season
- fresh chopped Italian parsley
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- Spray a large saucepan over a medium-high heat with some olive oil spray
- Add the bacon, fry until golden and remove and set aside.
- Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and fry for about 5 mins.
- Add the lentils, tomato paste, stock, herbs, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add back in the bacon and continue to simmer for about 20 mins.
- Stir in some chopped Italian parsley and season with salt and black pepper as required.
- Serve and Enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 344Total Fat 4.5gSaturated Fat 1.5gCholesterol 2mgSodium 1273mgCarbohydrates 47.5gFiber 17.8gSugar 9gProtein 29.5g
sammie86 says
Just had this for lunch was fab ..thanks for sharing 😉
Christy Marin says
thanking you once again! Ive made it for dinner last night... amazing! didnt have any brown lentils so I had to use "country mix" (Barley etc) I had it with a small slice of rye bread with cumin cheese on it, amazing!
Rita says
Look forward to trying it.
Sophie Morley says
How many days will a soup like this last without freezing. Can you refrigerate and have it the next 2 days?
Sophie Morleu says
How many days will a soup like this last without freezing. Can you refrigerate and have it the next 2 days?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Sophie, my general rule is no more than 4 days for something in the fridge, so if I think it won't get used in that time, I will freeze it. Hope that helps 🙂
Kelly says
Fantastic, my husband and I have just finished 2 bowls each!! I added one fresh tomato chopped, and a chopped yellow pepper just to use them up. Went very well together. Also I only had normal vinegar, which tasted fine. Goes perfect with feta cheese on the side and plenty of bread (obviously that's adding calories though)... Thanks very much, I will be making this again!
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
mmmm that does sounds good, thanks for sharing. Could always save a healthy extra B of bread to do that too, but just with the feta sounds yum!!.
Moira Fox says
Made this for the first time today and it was delicious. Better than ready made soup. I had to have two bowls for lunch
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
it's great when you can enjoy two bowls without the guilt
Ozzy says
what "mixed herbs" did you use?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Italian mixed herbs
Laura says
Absolutely delicious!
Louise says
Just delicious and so healthy too. I added a couple of handfuls of chopped spinach that needed using up, went very well. Thanks for all the lovely recipes
Hannah says
Just made this and enjoyed it for lunch! I did it in the instant pot because I wash pushed for time And it turned out great! Followed the recipe but then just cooked on high pressure for 14 mins and then NPR. I might just go and get another bowl! 🙂
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
so glad you enjoyed it, it is definitely one of my go-to soups.
Emma says
I only have a tin of green lentils (not dried). Can I use these and reduce down the stock?