• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Fearless Dining
  • New? Start Here
  • Recipe Index
  • Cookbooks
  • GF Resources
    • Pantry
  • The Gluten Free Resource Guide: Everything You Need To Know About Gluten Free Living
  • Reader Testimonials
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Resources
    • My Pantry
  • Testimonials
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Resources
    • My Pantry
  • Testimonials
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
×
Home Recipes Soup Recipes

Hearty Lentil Bacon Soup

Published: Dec 29, 2014 · Modified: Jul 27, 2023 by Sandi Gaertner · 16 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Flipboard
Jump to Recipe
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 photo of a full bowl of lentil bacon soup.
Jump to:
  • Why This Soup is Great:
  • Ingredient Notes:
  • How To Make Lentil Soup with Bacon:
  • Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
  • More Delicious Soup Recipes to Try:
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Fearless Dining
  • 💬 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 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 have matched the flavors 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:

  1. This homemade lentil bacon soup recipe is both gluten free and dairy free.
  2. It is easy to make and is packed full of flavor.
  3. 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.

Ingredient Notes:

Photos of the 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 - Regular or turkey bacon is fine.
  • Onions - Yellow onions are best.
  • 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.
  • Olive Oil
  • Garlic - Minced

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.)

How To Make Lentil Soup with Bacon:

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

A photo of the lentil soup cooking in a large pot.

Step 2: Pour in the chicken broth, cleaned lentils, and the rest of the ingredients.

Step 3: 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 4: Serve this soup with a dollop of sour cream and a little chopped fresh cilantro on top.

My Pick
Souper Cubes 1-Cup Extra-Large Silicone Freezing Tray With Lid - Freeze Food Soup Broth Sauce In Perfect 1-Cup Portions
Souper Cubes 1-Cup Extra-Large Silicone Freezing Tray With Lid - Freeze Food Soup Broth Sauce In Perfect 1-Cup Portions

This is my favorite product! You can freeze leftover soup, pasta sauce, chili, stews, and even smoothies in single-serving portions!

Buy Now
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

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 with turkey bacon instead of regular bacon.

How do you store lentil soup leftovers?

Store this soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will keep fresh for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it. The soup will last in the freezer for up to 4 months. I use the Souper Cubes pictured above to freeze the soup in single-serving portions.

A white bowl filled with lentil bacon soup.

More Delicious Soup Recipes to Try:

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

  • Two small bowls of chilled pineapple soup.
    Fruity Summer Cold Pineapple Soup
  • 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

📖 Recipe

A photo of 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
dairy free allergen icon
an egg free allergen icon
gluten free allergy icon
nut free allergen icon
soy free allergy icon
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
Prevent your screen from going dark
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!
Share by Text

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.

Fearless Dining

Looking for more? Get my FREE Gluten Free Lemon Desserts E-Cookbook when you sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter!

Get Free Recipes To Your Inbox
Buy My Cookbook
Join My Facebook Group
  • Instagram
  • Bandcamp
  • Twitter
  • Twitch

Save

Save

More Gluten Free Soup Recipes

  • Instant Pot Chicken Soup From Scratch
  • a bowl of chicken rice soup.
    Easy Chicken Soup with Mushrooms and Wild Rice
  • Two white bowls filled with the unstuffed pepper soup.
    Unstuffed Pepper Soup
  • a bowl of gluten free corn chowder on a wooden serving platter.
    Gluten Free Corn Chowder with Green Chiles
  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Flipboard

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    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

Primary Sidebar

  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
A picture of my face standing in front of landscape bushes

Welcome to my blog! I am so glad you are here. If you have Celiac Disease, are gluten intolerant, or have a wheat allergy, you've come to the right place. With years of extensive experience in recipe development, I am dedicated to assisting you on your gluten free journey. As a seasoned gluten free cookbook author and recipe developer, I specialize in creating easy, family-friendly recipes that rival their gluten-filled counterparts. Rest assured, my recipes undergo rigorous testing and refinement, ensuring foolproof results every time.

More about me →

Back To School Recipes:

  • Two bowls of Gluten Free Hamburger Helper on a wooden table.
    Gluten-Free Hamburger Helper: One-Pot Comfort Food
  • a plate with orange chicken over rice.
    Quick and Easy Gluten Free Orange Chicken
  • a photo of the skillet lasagna in a large pan.
    Gluten Free Skillet Lasagna
  • chopsticks holding up beef and noodles
    Gluten Free Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

More Meal Recipes!

A glass bowl filled with my gluten free flour blend.

Try My DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend Recipe! It is also gum-free!

Trending Gluten Free Recipes:

  • Two slices of gluten free bread on a plate.
    Bake the Best Gluten Free Bread with Your Bread Machine
  • A baked pie crust in a pan.
    How to Make a Homemade Gluten Free Pie Crust
  • two bowls of chicken soup with a garlic press and garlic cloves next to the bowls
    Grandma's Chicken Soup From Scratch
  • a biscuit cut in half on a plate with butter
    The Best Flaky Gluten Free Biscuits

Footer

^ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up!

Contact

  • Contact
  • Work With Me
  • Web Stories

Copyright © 2013-2023 Fearless Dining, LLC.