Hearty Lentil Soup
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This is the best lentil soup recipe you’ll find—smoky, packed with veggies and hearty lentils for a satisfying, well-balanced meal. Add a slice of crusty bread and you’ve got comfort in a bowl.
Whether you’re trying to eat a little lighter or just want something warm and comforting, this hearty lentil soup really hits the spot. It starts with lots of vegetables and a bit of bacon for depth, but the real upgrade is using French green lentils (lentilles du Puy). Chefs love them for their earthy, peppery flavor and the way they hold their shape as they cook—they give the soup great texture without turning thick or mushy. (They’re also fantastic in lentil salads.)
French green lentils are easy to find in well-stocked grocery stores—places like Whole Foods usually carry them—or you can order them online. If you only have regular brown or green lentils, you can absolutely use them, but the French ones do take it to the next level.
“Husband is a big lentil soup fan, and said this was the best he’s ever had.”
What You’ll Need To Make Lentil Soup
- Bacon: Adds smoky depth to the soup. Freeze it for 15 minutes before chopping to make it easier to handle. For a vegetarian version, skip the bacon and add a pinch of smoked paprika for that hint of smokiness.
- Onion, celery, carrots, garlic: The classic veggie base adds sweetness, depth, and aromatics to the soup.
- Canned diced tomatoes: Lend a slight acidity and richness, balancing the flavor of the soup.
- Chicken broth: Forms the base of the soup. Swap it with vegetable broth if you’re keeping it vegetarian.
- Lentils: Hearty, low in calories, and full of fiber, they thicken the soup and add texture and protein. While brown or green lentils work fine, French lentils are ideal for their peppery flavor and firm texture. No need to soak them—just pick out any damaged ones before cooking.
- Thyme and bay leaves: These fresh herbs give the soup delicious, earthy flavors.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Crisp the bacon. In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring often, until it’s crispy and the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes.
Step 2. Sauté the vegetables. Add the olive oil, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and translucent.
Pro Tip: Don’t rush this step — let the onions get fully translucent and the carrots start to soften before moving on. Those extra few minutes here mean deeper flavor later.
Step 3. Add the soup base. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender but not mushy, about 45 minutes (a bit less for common lentils).
Step 4. Partially purée. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup a little at a time until the broth thickens slightly, keeping most of the lentils intact. If you don’t have an immersion blender, blend a few cups in a regular blender and stir it back in.
Step 5. Finish and serve. Season to taste and adjust the consistency if needed, adding a splash of water if it’s too thick (it tends to thicken as it sits). Ladle into bowls, garnish with parsley, and serve. This soup keeps for 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge or can be frozen for longer storage.
Pro Tip: When garnishing with parsley, chop it close to serving time. Pre-chopped parsley oxidizes quickly and loses its fresh, grassy flavor.
More Cozy, Flavor-Packed Soups to try
Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes
- 6 cups chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson
- 1 cup French lentils, lentilles du Puy or common brown or green lentils
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- A few tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a large pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the olive oil, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Do not brown; reduce heat if necessary. Add the tomatoes (with their juices), broth, lentils, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover partially, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are tender, 45 to 50 minutes (see note on cooking time if using common brown or green lentils). Fish out the bay leaves and discard.
- Use an immersion blender to purée the soup until the broth is slightly thickened, or to desired consistency. (Be careful not to purée too much or the soup will get too thick, and you'll lose the integrity of the lentils.) If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer about 2 cups of the soup to a blender and purée until smooth, then return the blended soup to the pot. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired and serve. (Note: The soup may thicken as it sits; thin with a bit of water if necessary.)
Notes
- If using common brown or green lentils instead of French lentils, start checking for doneness around 30 minutes.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The soup can be prepared up to 3 days in advance, or frozen for up to 3 months for longer storage. To defrost, let the soup thaw in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to serve, reheat the soup on the stovetop over medium heat until it's thoroughly hot. If you find the soup has thickened more than you'd like during its time in the fridge or freezer, simply stir in a little water or broth to reach your desired consistency.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This recipe is perfect, the only change I made is to omit the salt, i use Better than Bouillon chicken broth and it was salty enough. Excellent soup that s very filling!
that would be a good replacement for the bacon to make this recipe vegan?
Hi Alex, It’s fine to just leave it out but you’ll need to use a bit more oil. Enjoy!
While lentil is my soup of choice, I did not care for the flavor of bacon with the lentils nor the texture of the bacon after simmering in the soup. The one substitution I made was to use a sweet potato in place of carrots. I freeze several jars of soup to have on hand for quick soup and sammie dinners. A note for those who freeze soup: the bacon did not freeze well. Upon reheating it floated limply on the top. I prepare this soup several times a month minus the bacon and find it to be delish.
I have similar feelings about the texture of crisped bacon that is then simmered or braised, but have had a lot of success removing the cooked bacon when it’s crisp and using as a garnish when serving the soup. You get the lovely smoky flavor of the bacon fat for sauteeing the vegetables and preserve the texture of the bacon.
This is a hearty soup, but we made this tonight as a starter to mushroom risotto, seared scallop and pancetta, and tender sugar snap peas. Delicious!!! We’ve never had lentil soup before; not sure why not. But based on the reviews I could not resist trying this soup recipe. I’m so glad I did! We’ll be eating this soup all the weekend long in-between our outdoor winter activities. Every recipe of yours I try, Jenn, makes me that much more excited for your recipe book!
😊
I really enjoyed this recipe. I used a double smoked bacon and found that Canadian lentils work just fine (they do not go mushy). Other tweaks were a couple of splashes of scotch bonnet sauce and a teaspoon of anchovy sauce; both to further enhance flavour!
This was the best lentil soup I’ve ever had! My whole family loved it. I didn’t have chicken broth, but beef tasted great, too.
Thanks for another delicious winter supper idea!
For those of us that don’t eat pork, how might you modify this recipe, so we don’t loose the flavor provided by the bacon? Thanks so much!
Hi Danielle, you can use turkey bacon or just omit the bacon. It’ll still be delicious!
Hi do you typically prefer to use the long carrots or the smaller baby carrots?
Hi Kim, I prefer long carrots. Enjoy!
My husband’s Italian Nonna does not speak English but she taught me to make her lenticchia soup years ago, she did not measure anything though (of course) and I wish I took better notes. I tried this recipe and it’s definitely close, a little different but I finally have clear instructions to follow for something similar. This is a delicious soup, another great recipe from this site. I modified slightly only to make it a little more like Nonna’s version: I blended the tomatoes mostly at the thickening step because she used a smooth tomato sauce, I used thick cut bacon and more of it, and instead of garnishing with parsley, I garnished with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan – all minor adjustments. Make sure to serve this one with a delicious crusty bread. When reheating leftovers, add a little water and olive oil. And, if you like this one, you have to try Jenn’s Pasta e Fagioli – my husband constantly requests it, I’m making it for the hundredth time tomorrow night. Buon appetito!
This soup is absolutely soul warming goodness. Nothing would be better on a chilly night. The only changes I made were to add a can of fire roasted tomatoes and 3 sprigs of fresh thyme because I had them on hand. Thank you again Jenn!