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Home Recipes Soup Recipes

Hearty Lentil Bacon Soup

Published: Dec 29, 2014 · Modified: Dec 20, 2020 by Sandi Gaertner · 16 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

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a pinterest collage of soup photos

This lentil bacon soup is a wonderful, filling soup that will warm you up on a cold day. I like to call this soup comfort food in a bowl. I could live on this soup...it is that good! Smokey flavors combine with lentils and fresh vegetables, all in under 30 minutes!

a full bowl of lentil bacon soup.
Jump to:
  • Why this soup is great:
  • Ingredients that go into this soup:
  • Recipe step by step directions:
  • Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
  • More Delicious Soup Recipes to Try:
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

If you haven't tried lentil soup with bacon yet, you are in for a special treat. Mr. Fearless Dining and I had a date night, and we both went crazy over the restaurant's lentil bacon soup.

The flavors in this bacon lentil soup just explode in your mouth, this soup was so good! I knew I needed to try to recreate this recipe at home. Note, I did cheat and use turkey bacon to make the dish a little healthier, but it is also delicious with regular bacon. This is a kid-friendly soup recipe that will become popular in your house.

It took a few tries, but I think I have matched the flavors pretty closely, so you can enjoy it as much as we did!

If you love soup as much as we do, you will want to check out all of my delicious gluten free soup recipes!

Why this soup is great:

This homemade lentil bacon soup recipe is gluten free and dairy free. It is easy to make and is packed full of flavor. It takes about 30 minutes to make, and you can freeze the extras.

Bacon adds incredible flavor to this soup. It is possible to make this lentil soup without the bacon...but you will miss the smokiness of the bacon. If you are a bacon fanatic like me, you will also love these bacon roses!

Lentil soup is comfort food in our house because this soup is hot, thick, and creamy. (My kids think the bacon makes it comfort-like; I haven't told them this soup is healthy!)

Ingredients that go into this soup:

lentil bacon soup ingredients
  • Black lentils - Any type of lentil would work in this recipe, but I highly recommend using black lentils because they hold their shape better than orange, brown, and green lentils.
  • Bacon - You can use regular or turkey bacon.
  • Parsnips - Sometimes, parsnips are hard to find. If you can't find any, add more carrots.
  • Chicken broth - I recommend low-sodium.

Lentils are not always easy to cook with, but these handy tips will help you make lentils perfect every time.

How to clean lentils:

Lentils need to be rinsed before adding them to the pot. I use a strainer to rinse the lentils. Look for any small rocks or debris! (It is funny I have never found a small pebble in my lentils, but every bag has this in the instructions, so it must happen occasionally.)

Recipe step by step directions:

Step 1: In a soup pot, add the chopped bacon, parsnips, onion, oil, and garlic. Cook on medium heat until the onions become clear.

lentil soup cooking in a large pot

Step 2: Pour in the chicken broth, cleaned lentils, and the rest of the ingredients. Cover and bring the soup to a boil. Allow the soup to boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the cooking temperature to low so it can simmer.

Step 3: Serve this soup with a dollop of sour cream and a little chopped fresh cilantro on top.

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:

What color lentils are best for this soup?

I recommend using black or brown lentils for this soup. Orange lentils get very mushy, so do not use these.

Can you make this soup low-fat?

You can make this soup low-fat by using turkey bacon instead of regular bacon.

How long will this soup keep?

This soup will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.

a white bowl filled with lentil bacon soup

Update, readers have written in to tell me that this lentil and bacon soup recipe freezes really well!"

More Delicious Soup Recipes to Try:

You will love this broccoli soup with bacon and these other easy soup recipes.

  • Creamy New England Fish Chowder
  • close up of a bowl of matzo ball soup
    Quick and Easy Gluten Free Matzo Ball Soup
  • A spoon lifting up caramelized onions and cheese from a bowl of French onion soup.
    Easy Gluten Free French Onion Soup
  • Instant Pot Chicken Soup From Scratch

📖 Recipe

a full bowl of lentil bacon soup.

Hearty Lentil Soup with Bacon

Sandi Gaertner
Nutritious and delicious lentil and bacon soup.
5 from 7 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Gluten Free Soup Recipes
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 253 kcal

Equipment

  • Soup pot

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 6 carrots diced
  • 2 parsnips diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 ¼ cup black lentils * see note
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 quart low sodium chicken broth I used Trader Joe's
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 6 pieces cooked bacon * see note
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a large soup pot, heat olive oil on medium heat.
  • Add onion, carrot, and parsnip and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
  • Add chopped turkey bacon and cook another 3-4 minutes.
  • Add lentils, broth, water, thyme, salt and pepper.
  • Cover and bring to a boil.
  • Boil for 5 minutes then turn heat to low and simmer.
  • Cook until lentils are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed.

Notes

  1. You can use any type of lentils, but I recommend using black lentils. They tend to hold their shape a lot better than green or brown lentils. Orange lentils will turn to mush so I don't recommend using this color.
  2. If you would like this soup to be low-fat, use turkey bacon.
  3. This soup will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 253kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 13gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 186mgPotassium: 446mgFiber: 10gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 7667IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 3mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @FearlessDining or tag #FearlessDining!

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Jhoei

    June 14, 2019 at 12:13 am

    I love bacon and I will definitely try this one. This is perfect for rainy days to keep us warm.

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      June 14, 2019 at 11:16 am

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  2. Bianca

    April 09, 2019 at 5:17 pm

    I love that it's healthy and warm at the same time. Great recipes, I will definitely try this.

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      April 11, 2019 at 9:20 am

      Thank you so much Bianca 🙂

      Reply
  3. Dana DeVolk

    December 24, 2017 at 4:44 pm

    5 stars
    LOVE lentil soup, trying this recipe immediately!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      December 25, 2017 at 3:41 pm

      Thank you Dana 🙂

      Reply
    • Anne

      January 15, 2023 at 6:08 pm

      Hi Sandi, how long does it usually take cook brown lentils?

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        January 15, 2023 at 9:35 pm

        Hi Anne, I would go by the package directions.

  4. Helene

    December 24, 2017 at 3:15 am

    5 stars
    I just made something similar yday, just that I didn't have bacon in the house. However, my mum would always make a lentil pot on Saturdays with one big bacon but the bacon was a whole piece, cooked in the lentils to give flavor and was not crispy. I would never eat that bacon because it was one big piece and wobbly and I don't like that. But I think I will try to cut it small and add it to the pot or maybe fry it crispy first to add to the lentils.
    Your lentil soup will be part of the meal plan soon. 🙂

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      December 24, 2017 at 9:00 am

      I love hearing how your mum made this Helene. If I didn't cut the bacon, my kids would fight over the one piece LOL. Have a wonderful holiday!

      Reply
  5. Cindy @ Hun... What's for Dinner?

    November 21, 2015 at 5:17 pm

    I LOVE lentil soup and don't make it enough, because I'm the only one that eats it. This recipe is making me want to make a pot ASAP!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      November 22, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      The bacon makes this pretty stellar 🙂

      Reply
    • Tiffany

      June 08, 2016 at 4:46 pm

      You can freeze your lentil soup!! Its amazing!! I make a big batch of it and portion it and freeze it for later. Hope this helps you ?

      Reply
      • Sandi Gaertner

        June 08, 2016 at 5:36 pm

        That is wonderful news Tiffany. Thank you so, so much for writing so that other readers know it can be frozen.

  6. Healing Tomato

    January 05, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    January is the perfect time for lentils. I eat so many lentils in the fall, so, I am always looking for great recipes. Your picture is amazing and your recipe is very creative.

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      January 06, 2015 at 8:52 am

      Thank you Rini, I would love to know if this recipe works with vegan bacon.

      Reply

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