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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Hello Jen,
Ended up with a bag of Goya Pardina Lentils by mistake. I hate to waste. Can you please share your thoughts on using them for this recipe?
Thanks so much and thanks for all your great recipes. I make your Pasta Fagioli all the time (with French green lentils!)
It’s the best!
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, thanks for your nice words about the recipes – so glad you like them! Yes, Pardina lentils will work here, but they’ll take less time to cook. I’d start checking them for doneness at 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy!
This recipe is excellent just as it is, but I had a recipe that had both vinegar and green pepper in it too(my husband asked if I was trying to poison him), so I added them, and loved it. I didn’t blend it much, love the broth. I won’t loose the recipe this time.
French lentils ARE better! So, anytime I make one of your recipes, I say “this is another fabulous recipe by Chef Jenn”! I usually do most of the cooking, but when my wife cooks one of your recipes, we distinguish it by saying “this is another fabulous recipe by Chef Jenn (made by little “c” chef Jen!)”. In all seriousness, this recipe could not have been easier to make and so delicious! I’m going to double it next time so I can freeze some.
Wow, what a delicious soup. I made this on a cold night and it was fantastic. A straightforward recipe using pantry staples. Hubby loved it, and definitely will add this to the regular rotation.
FULL disclosure! Accidentally used red lentils instead of green. (Seriously, I purchased green just for this soup.). Added a parmesan rind. Realized about 25 minutes into simmering time the texture was off and I had used red lentils, Took it off the heat. Let it cool and stuck in the fridge overnight. Took it out this morning, pureed it. Even cold the flavors are amazing! Plan to serve it tonight with some homemade croutons and pepitas. Thanks for another great recipe! Next time, I will use the green lentils.
I used the French lentils as described. To make it vegetarian I used Better Than Bouillon Vegetable flavor (the original version, not the low-salt version sold at Costco). Thank you for your consistently great recipes.
Delicious, after crisping the bacon I added ground chicken, when the chicken was browned I followed the recipe and it turned out wonderful.
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make!
When does the bacon go into the soup? At the end?
Hi Mary, the bacon stays in the pot after you sauté it. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I want to make this soup but my husband does not eat bacon. Are there any additional seasoning suggestions you have if I leave out the bacon? Thanks!
Hi Gail, you can add a pinch of smoked paprika to replace some of the smoky flavor. Hope that helps and you both enjoy!
Next time I will try French lentils, but I have red lentils left after making your mulligatawny soup for the fifth time. (Fabulous). Good to use?
Hi Steve, glad you enjoyed the mulligatawny! Red lentils will work here; just keep in mind that the soup will taste a bit different and the red lentils will be much softer than green.
Thank you for the warning! I will delay putting them in for 10-15 minutes.
Fabulous! No doubt also fabulous as written, but for lack of bacon, I subbed diced Virginia smoked ham, and used turkey stock from the Thanksgiving feast. Also wanted more seasoning, so added an Italian blend as well. My tomatoes were diced Roma tomatoes and red lentils worked great. Not sure how they’re different, but 45 minutes at a decent simmer, and I had to add extra water/broth.
Thanks for the red lentils tie in to your version.