Bacon and Lentil soup is the perfect comfort soup. Lentils are a fantastic way to turn a soup into a filling meal, they create a lovely thick texture which makes me feel like I am consuming something substantial. And of course bacon just makes everything perfect.
I used split red lentils in this soup, which only needed rinsing prior to use, no need for soaking.
I used 4 rashers of smoky bacon, I trimmed the fat off and cut each rasher up into small chunks so I could easily saute them in the soup maker. If your soup maker doesn’t have a saute function you will need to fry them up separately on the hob.
I sauteed the onion and bacon together (oh the smell!) and then switched that function off and added everything else in. I gave the ingredients all a great stir to make sure they were well mixed and there were no bits stuck to the bottom. Then I set it off on smooth. And that’s it! A super quick prep time, less than 20 minutes in the soup maker, and then I have the perfectly filling soup for my lunch! 
Bacon and Lentil Soup (in a Soup Maker)
Ingredients
Instructions
This is my favourite soup so I thought I would give it a try. Delicious!! Thank you for the recipe. Will be a favourite of mine for lunch for the foreseeable future.
Hi George – thanks for your message – I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Can I use a ham hock pre cooked and cut the meat off it. Also can I use any of the stock from it?
Hi Pauline – sorry for the late reply. Yes, you certainly can use ham hock meat as well as the stock! Let us know how it goes if you can 🙂
Fantastic Recipe, one of my favourites in the soup maker.
only difference i did with mine was to use 8 medallions of smoked bacon and fry light instead of olive oil to make this Slimming World friendly.
Hi James – thanks for your message! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, and what a great idea to make it Slimming World friendly 🙂
Hello,
Can you freeze this soup?
Thanks,
Lottie
Hi Lottie – yes you can freeze it 🙂
Does the soup maker speed up cooking times, please? I only ask because lentils take longer than 20mins to cook and I had a feeling you had to be careful they you cooked them thoroughly
Many thanks
Barbara
Hi Barbara – I use these split lentils when I make it which cook just fine in a soup maker – I just rinse them first, some people soak them but I don’t find I need to. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/256534728 Please let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
This is just what I’m about to do. Is it possible to freeze and then reheat it please ?
Hi Anne – yes I have frozen this soup before. Just leave it to completely cool down and then put it in an airtight container suitable for the freezer. It’ll be good for up to 3 months. Allow it to completely defrost before reheating. I hope you enjoy it!
Another Liana with the same spelling!
I’m cooking lentil soup as I write this 😊
Hey Liana! I hope you enjoyed your lentil soup?
Oh I have my first soup maker arriving tomorrow. I bought some stuff this morning in preparation for it’s arrival but, I bought ham stock cubes, will they work just as well?,
Hi Susan,
Thanks for your message – apologies for the delay in responding to you! I suspect you may have already tried this out by now but yes, you absolutely can use ham stock cubes and they will work just as well. Please let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
I just made my first soup in the soup maker just now. Lentil and it is a lovely colour and good smooth texture but it lacks something in flavour. Veg ws bought ready prepared. Also needed salt added . Should I put salt and pepper in the jug before making the soup?
Hi Sylvia – thanks for your comment. I tend to add salt and pepper at the end after I have tasted it – the taste can also be effected by the stock you are using – I find the stock pots have much more flavour than the stock cubes. Also, some stock has much more salt than others. Some celery salt is a useful flavour to add in at the beginning too.
This is the second time I’ve used your recipe for lentil soup.It tasted just how I like it, it’s delicious. I made the sweet potato and chilli soup too. It was so tasty too. I just popped in two frozen chilli cubes instead of using a fresh chilli.(lazy bones).
Thanks for your message Patricia! I’m really happy to hear you’re enjoying the recipes – and great idea to use two frozen chilli cubes!
Made my first soup. Tomato and basil. Very tasty. Realised I forgot to put the shallots in afterwards but still very tasty. Looking forward to trying out other recipes
Hi Isabel – thanks for your comment – I’m happy to hear you enjoyed your first soup, even without the shallots!
Oh please help! I’ve followed the recipe and put 1000ml of stock in but that’s obviously over the 1000ml max line when I have my veggies in.
Can I still cook it? This is my first recipe and I’m panicking!! 😀
Hi Aime – what soup maker do you have? It depends how far over the MAX line it is? A little is fine. Just drain a little of the stock out if necessary 🙂 Let me know how you get on!
Hi, this is a brilliant recipe! I’ve done this many times now following your recipe & it always comes out tasting fantastic! I follow you on Facebook too, just too see what other recipes you do!
Thank you for publishing this!!
Hi Jennifer – thank you for your message, I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!