Leslie's Ham Lentil Soup

Dear Leslie, bless your heart! I didn't have a ham bone, but was looking for a way to use up some ham that had been in the freezer, and decided to try your recipe with the slight modification of using 3 cups of chopped ham instead of the ham bone. I've always been a little scared of making lentil soup, I don't know why, I guess I always wondered if I could get full bodied, rich tasting soup instead of the thin stuff. This was perfect, perfect, perfect!! It's sitting on the stove now, cooling, and once it's cool enough, I'll probably refrigerate it overnight, and it will probably be even better! I actually let it simmer for 30+ minutes -- only because I love simmering soup on the stove and letting the aroma fill the house! If anyone is thinking of leaving out the marjoram, DON'T DO IT! It is the perfect flavoring for ham soups. Also be sure to skim off any of the foam that's created by simmering. Next time I'll use a ham bone, but even so, I now know there's a lentil soup out there that I can make (and freeze!) with just the ham. Thank you Leslie!

This is better than any other lentil recipe I've tried. I love the addition of the green bell pepper, and added some red in, too. I let it simmer all day and there was just a ton of flavor. Thanks for posting it!

Love this recipe! I did add a few extra things to it that worked out really well...a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, 1 Tbs of sugar to cut the acidity, a few cups of chopped kale, some fresh diced garlic and lemon pepper for some zing. I Will definitely make this recipe again!

I made a smaller portion just for my husband I sautéed onions and carrots in Bacon Fat then deglazed the pan with white wine then followed the rest of the recipe

Tried this recipe tonight. Came out great! Used the tricolor lentils for some extra visual appeal. Red lentils faded to brown, black held up nicely.

I made this last night, and it was gone in about 45 minutes! Very good, hearty, flavorful soup. I didn't have any bullion or a spare hambone laying around, so, I used canned chicken broth (2 cans, + some water) substituted a bit of prepackaged thick-sliced ham; I also sauteed the veggies and chopped ham in a bit of butter before adding the broth and lentils. The marjoram and bell pepper really give it a good kick. Thanks Leslie! Happy to add this to my collection!

I was out of marjoram and bay leaves, but used my herbs de Provence (which includes marjoram and a zillion other things), and I used up some left over ham aside from the ham bone. It's delicious!

This soup is delicious!!! I loved that it was so quick and easy to make. I didn't have any marjoram but it was delicious nonetheless. My husband raved about it! This will definitely become a favorite winter dish!!

I didn't have any marjoram, but even without it, this soup was a huge hit in my house. I would love to try it with the marjoram, but don't worry if you don't have it, it will still taste fine; it is flavourful without being heavy. I happened to have chicken broth on hand, so I used that instead of using bouillon. Next time I make it, I think I will roast my vegetables first simply because I love the extra flavour that roasting provides. I may have to start cooking more ham on the bone just so I can make this soup.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this soup. It was so quick to make as well. I do tend to customize recipes on the fly. I added garlic and ginger finely diced. Also a whole red onion. It was a hit. I will definitely be making this one again and am looking forward to the left overs tomorrow after it has a chance to marinate overnight.

Very delicious and easy to make. I had a ham bone left over from Christmas dinner and looked for an easy way to use it. I followed all directions. I had a lot of ham to use. Next time I will use less lentils, I had to use 2 cups more broth to make up for so many lentils!

We had a left over ham vibe from Christmas and this recipe put it to good use. I doubled the quantity but left the amount of lentils the same, and I still thought it was a ton of lentils. I wish I either used less lentils or made more broth. (I used the boullion cubes rather than canned broth add done other people did.) I omitted the celery but did add some carrots. I roasted chopped onion, red pepper, green pepper, and 3 minced garlic cloves at 375 for 20 minutes or so before adding to the soup. I loved those and wish I had made more of those and less lentils since they turned out to be so flavorful. We loved the soup, my boyfriend preferred it with cholula hot sauce! I will make again and will probably use less lentils as I mentioned above, more roasted peppers/onions/garlic, and add some hot sauce to the whole pot of soup!

I'm giving it a five because my friends loved it. I've never tried lentil soup so it seemed like a good one to start with. I did follow one suggestion from the reviews. I used vegetable broth instead of water.

Had no split peas, but had lentils so I tried this one. Really yummy.

This was delicious with a bit of a modification. I skipped the salty boullion and instead made my own broth with the ham bone, a carrot, an onion, the listed seasonings and a small splash of white wine vinegar. I simmered for 3-4 hours then strained the broth. I picked the ham off the bone, added everything else following the recipe. Yum!

I made this exactly as it’s written. What a great recipe. Had enough for the next days lunch and plenty to freeze. Thanks for a great recipe.

Hi. I had great hopes for this soup. I do not think that it rates a 5 star rating. It was adequate. The broth was thin. Not as savory and delicious as I wanted.

Easy and good. Substituted broth for boulion (50/50 water chicken broth). Did have a ham bone but found pork neck, worked week, great flavor, not too much residual meat though. Next time will add some ditalini pasta and some crushed red peppers. Thanks for a great start...

Thank you for this recipe. I didn't have split peas so I made this one with the lentils. I didn't have any green peppers, so I improvised on the flavoring. I added 1 1/2 tsps. of allspice(sounds like a lot but I doubled the recipe) and added some dried thyme. I also cut back on my time by using shredded carrots instead of chopped.It helped to saute the onion and celery in olive oil as one reviewer suggested.This is a great soup to make all year round. VERY TASTY!!! The family loved it!!!

I liked this soup! I doubled the recipe and used a ham shank but also added a chopped ham steak since there wasn't much meat on the shank. One red and one green bell pepper gave it nice color. Added a few extra carrots too. Sautéed the veggies in a little olive oil and added a little garlic. I had a problem with the lentils not being "done" enough, even after simmering for an hour. Maybe it's that I didn't let the stock come to an actual boil when I added them? I returned the soup to a boil and that seemed to do the trick.

Made in crock pot ,soaked beans overnight,

This was really good. My Husband and 3 year old daughter ate it up! I served it with toasted pretzel bread and it was delish!

Excellent! I added some chopped spinach at the end. Added extra color.

Saute onion & carrots in olive oil with chopped garlic & deglaze with 1/4 cup of white wine. Also added lemon pepper.

Great, easy,and quick. Next time I would boil the ham bone a while before adding my lentils so I don't have to spend as much time de-boning. I also sautéed my veggies in a little olive oil before adding. Thanks for sharing.

Very good

Very good.

I love the simplicity of this great recipe. Made it exactly and it turned out great.

Good healthy meal good for diabetics.

I thought this came out great. Modifications: swapped garlic for Marjoram, added relatively more ham (although the recipe is not specific). Delicious! Simple.

Leslie very good!! I made it for the family and everyone had second. Then they wanted to know when I would make it again. Thank You. Brenda

Perfect soup! Thx for sharing the recipe

If you like lentil soup, this is a wonderful, earthy recipe. You'll put a spoonful in your mouth and think "what a wonderful world I live in."

Delicious... I added some "bacon broth" that I saved from the previous night's pork roast, and use mushroom broth for a vegan version.

My “go to” recipe for lentil soup, easy and delicious. The only changes I made were eliminating the green pepper because it doesn’t agree with me and adding some leftover cooked kale from the fridge.

This lentil soup was very tasty and easy to prepare! I'll keep it in my file for repeat appearances this winter!

This lentil soup was delicious !

I made this over the weekend and served it with corn bread. Changes I made since I cut the recipe down for just the two of us: split the liquid and used 4 cups water and 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup lentils, and eyeballed the rest of it. My chunk of leftover ham from Christmas was frozen so I put it in the liquid and simmered it on the stove to thaw it. Then I added the veggies and lentils, brought it to a boil and simmered for 45 minutes. I didn't use the spices listed here but will try them next time. Crumbling the cornbread into the bowl with the soup was the finishing touch.

Excellent. I've made it twice now, and the flavor is great. About the only thing I've done differently is to place the Dutch oven in the oven at 350° instead of keeping it on the stovetop, just so I don't have to keep reminding myself to stir it to prevent burnt lentils on the bottom.

I made this following the recipe except I left out the green pepper because I didn’t have one. I love this soup and will definitely make it again

Very good. Hmm, have some leftover ham in the freezer. Guess I know what I'm going to make with it.

I made this with slight modifications and it turned out very good. Instead of a ham bone I used two bones I had saved and frozen from pork butts I butchered for sausage a few months ago. To add ham flavor I used ham drippings I had in the freezer. I sautéed the vegetables in the fat from the drippings, then added the bones, the rest of the ham drippings, a few drops of liquid smoke and the water to the pot, and followed the recipe from there.

Perfection!! I added 2 more cups of water and a little more chicken and beef stock). Simmer red for an hour -Added more carrots and celery but other than that I followed directions exactly and it’s magnificent

yes love it

so good this soup is amazing so tasty perfect

The soup was good - and it didn't quite measure up to the great reviews I read. Not sure why mine wasn't as great. It was quite salty, for one thing. I had a leftover Honeybaked ham bone - so some sugary glaze was left on the meat, and the meat itself was very salty (as ham is). I used chicken bouillon instead of water, as some reviewers suggested, and that probably also contributed to the salt taste. It also didn't have the rich flavor I was hoping for. I will make this again and use low-salt bouillon or water, and add some wine and other seasonings as others have suggested.

Will definitely make this again! Followed the ingredients exactly. Left the ham bone in simmering for an extra 30 minutes or so. So flavorful with ingredients always in my kitchen! (I always have lentils, not always peas)

This soup was really delicious! It's only the two of us so I never make a big ham, but I added a ham hock and some packaged ham steaks. I always double my soups and then freeze them for a later date. I've also made this several times. Hmm, hmm good! Thanks so much!

Wonderfull recipe! Have made it a few times already and we love it. Thanks for sharing :)

I did not make any changes. Next time I will try using barley instead of lentils and use my own chicken broth. Thank you, tomorrow I will add some noodles to the left over soup and freeze some as well,

Very good and healthy soup, had large baked ham bone in freezer that I simmered with sev onions in a gallon of water all day. Divided the broth to make this lentil recipe and a great northern bean recipe the next day. I didn’t have margoram but it tasted fine without it. Makes a lot, freezes well too.

I did not add green peppers or marjoram. I used fresh thyme, powered thyme, dried basil, and garlic powder. I also used 5 large carrots and 5 celery stalks with the 2 cups of lentils for extra veggies. Next time I would like to add kale or spinach leaves. Great tasting healthy soup.

Delicious soup! I made the mistake of puréing the lentils and vegetables with my immersion blender—that made it an unappetizing color! Added a little cream just because.

I just finished making this soup and it tastes delicious! I used more than 8 cups of water, enough to almost cover the ham. There wasn't a lot of meat left on the bone so I first sauteed bacon then used the fat to saute all the vegetables before adding them to the soup. I substituted bok choy for the celery since that's what I had on hand. i

I thought I didn't like lentils, until I ate this soup! To my surprise, I loved this soup. I needed a little more broth so I added an extra 2 cups water, upped the chicken powder to 3 1/2 tablespoons. The rest of the measurements stayed the same. To my surprise, everyone in my family ate lentils and loved it! My husband added salt to his bowl. Everyone says they want me to make it again. If you think you don't like lentils, be sure to try this recipe!

very good! I added garlic per another reviewers suggestion and 2 extra cups of water! Excellent, the kids even loved it!

excellent recipe! I made the broth from a ham bone. I put the bone, an onion cut in half, 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, tbsp apple cider vinegar and half tbsp salt in my instant pot (can use crock pot) and filled with water. Put instant pot on manual for 120 minutes and went to bed. After the 120 min was up, it switched to warm for about 10 hours. I strained the broth, put back in instant pot for 30 minutes with ham, lentils, onions, celery, marjoram, carrots. It was amazing!!

It's a damp and miserable day here and I just had a bowl of this lentil soup for lunch. It was in the freezer for a few weeks before I defrosted it. It just hit the spot. I didn't make any changes to the recipe and it was perfect. I can't wait to make it again.

This is the tastiest lentil soup recipe I've ever made. My family loved it!

I made this recipe with no changes. We didn’t eat it until the next day. I put it in. The slow cooker for a couple hours the day we ate it. It is delicious

I dumped in a few more various spices, but this basic recipe is GREAT. Nice and thick. The lentil soup you remember as a child. Perfect. Everyone raves over it.

awesome and thank you I did however use whole bay leaves and removed them before serving.

Made it to use an Easter ham bone and it was delicious and easy. Added a can of diced tomatoes, a red bell pepper, and garlic (as others suggested) and omitted the celery. And flavor was wonderful!

The broth was to die for! Such great flavor! I used homemade chicken broth that I keep in the freezer. I added more broth/liquid than was called for so mine was more soupy than porridge. I used the exact ingredients but at different times. I put the ham bone in the chicken stock added an onion, celery & bay leaf. I let that simmer for about 2 hours. Strained the broth... took out everything . Reheated the broth & added in celery, onion, carrots & lentils & let that simmer for about 45 minutes until lentils were soft. Cut the ham off the bone & added it into the soup. Everyone loved it!

Because so many reviewers commented on there being too many lentils, I reduced the amount of lentils to 1 1/2 cups rather than 2 cups. I wish I hadn't reduce the amount of lentils; I felt the full 2 cups were needed. Otherwise, I made it just as written and we really enjoyed it. Good soup for wintertime!

It was so good!

Delicious! I used a bag of mixed lentils, I also had a lot of juice from when I cooked the ham and used this in place of some of the water. Very good!

I have made this three times. Twice with green lentil and once with white. Everyone loves it! Don't change a thing!

I'm sure this soup is delicious "as is", but I just didn't have the exact ingredients on hand, so I had to improvise. I used half chicken and half beef stock and diced up some smoked sausage. Delish! Thanks for the recipe!

Really good! So fast! I was surprised how quickly this came together and finished cooking. I used some ham juice/broth from the ham and it was a little too salty. Next time I will use the chicken broth or more water instead.

I left out the bell pepper because that is an allergy trigger for my family but it is easy quick and good.

My husband said it was the best ham lentil soup he's ever had!!

All I can say is WOW! I'm not even done cooking the soup yet and I just tasted the broth and it is nothing short of amazing! I just bought a ham, carved some of the ham away and am boiling some ham and the bone fresh in the soup (not a leftover ham). I also didn't use any water or chicken bouillon. I used all chicken broth for the liquid. Also can't get ground bay leaves so I just used 4 whole bay leaves.... This is one of the best soup broths I've ever tasted. We're going to enjoy this one all winter long! Thank you so much!

I followed the directions as written minus the onion and green pepper. I added broccoli. Also, not a fan of majoram and just added salt and pepper. This was a good recipe and tasty. The only thing I would suggested is less water, about 1.5 cups.

Quick and easy! And super delicious :)

I made this parents loved it! I didn’t have ham or ham bone so instead I partly cooked bacon, chopped it and let it finish cooking in the soup... great flavor! Thank you!

My husband gave it 5 stars. I made a huge pot because I had a ton of ham left over after Christmas dinner. I didn't have enough lentils, so I added some barley too. I didn't have green bell pepper, but had red. I added mushrooms. A great way to use a left over ham that may have otherwise gone to waste. I plan to freeze the remainder in single serving containers to use as lunches. I will make this again.

This was very good. My changes were I added 1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked with onions and veggies. I used chicken stock plus some white wine. I threw some kale in also. I agree with a previous reviewer that 2C of lentils is ALOT. I added about 2-3C of extra stock and 2X the marjoram. Didn't measure veggies, just eye balled amts. I also simmered for about 4hrs. Didn't used ham bone, just added leftover ham. Use low sodium broth due to salt in ham. This is a very flexible basic recipe that can be altered for personal taste.

Hearty cold weather soup. I roasted the veggies including a peeled cubed sweet potato which added a touch of sweetness and starchiness. I also added garlic, smoked paprika, can of diced tomatoes, and about a teaspoon of diced chili peppers for a little spice. In addition to the ham, I added two andouille sausages. An optional dollop of sour cream added creaminess. With the extras, this easily makes 12 servings.

Yum

Happened to have red lentils and mini yellow peppers on hand which gave it a pretty color. Great for using up the frozen Easter ham bone in the freezer. Family liked this and had seconds. They liked it more than split pea soup. The split red lentils only need 12 minutes of simmering, so when everything else was done, added them for 12 minutes.

Thank you for this soup. Very good. My only changes were. I had no bell peppers or margeram. My boy friend added salt and Tabasco ??

I followed this recipe exactly and it was delicious, my first lentil soup and I will definitely make it again and again

I added 1/8 tsp of white pepper, 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp of thyme. I cooked it for an hour longer. Is delicious and will be "asked" to make it again. Thanks!

So obviously I wasn’t done with my review and there’s no way to edit so I’ll just start over. I adjusted the ingredients a bit but did use them all. I started with ham bones I had saved and frozen from two spiral sliced hams we had cooked on the pellet grill recently. They made a really rich stock and after removing the bones and straining the broth I added chopped slices that I had also saved. The soup was thick and flavorful and my husband and I both thought it was very very good. He actually harvested the lentils that I used so that made it extra special.

Very good soup! I use 12 cups of chicken broth instead of 8 cups of water. This is the 2nd time I've made this.

Delicious soup. The only real difference I made was to roast my cut vegetables in the oven as others suggested and simmer the bone with marjoram and bay leaves for a few hours before starting the rest of the pot. As a result, I had a really delicious broth and omitted the bouillon. This was my first time using lentils and I will definitely make this soup again!

So yummy. Have made it twice. Second time used some bacon (didn’t have any ham) and sautéed the onions, carrots and celery in the drippings.

OK, so I agree you shouldn't change a recipe around and then rate it, but, this is one of those basic GOOD recipes you can change or not, and I had to add my 2 cents worth. It also had green pepper (which I've never used before) and I've been making this for years. Didn't have marjoram, but I will try that.I do add cumin to mine. However you make it, adding a dollop of sour cream on top of each serving is really good. Thanks for a good basic recipe for lentil soup!!

This was DELICIOUS!!!! Pretty much followed the recipe except used a can of chicken broth because I didn't have any bouillon. Had planned to freeze some but it was gone before I had a chance to. Loved it!

I made this soup after Thanksgiving using the left over ham bone from the Honeybaked ham I order. It was the best soup I have ever tasted. I did add two more celery stalks because I love celery. I also used chicken broth (8 cups) and an additional 2 cups of water. My family loved it and so did my co-workers. There was plenty and we ate all of it.

Chicken stock in place of water and bouillion. Can or 2 of Rotel. Add Kale

I made a mistake and substituted chicken broth for the water, omitting the chicken bouillon so it was watery tasting. I fixed it by adding in "Better than Bouillon" paste. I also used a ham hock and didn't discard the casing, so that was another mistake. The soup still turned out well.

So delicious and hearty! Very easy to make.

I stumbled onto this recipe because I had lentils and really wanted to make soup. Accidentally the lentils used had been pie weights previously ,didn't affect the soup at all. It turned out beautifully I did add a clove of garlic, and cook my ham a little longer and I added 2 small sweet potatoes,I have an allergy to celery. This is my new go to soup.

This soup was delicious. Didn’t have a ham bone so I followed the recipe with out it. It came out great! Exactly as written!

I used oregano instead of marjoram. Didn't use the bouillon, just used chicken broth instead. Loved it. Hit with all the family. Fast, easy and tasty!

It was good but the recipe didn't specify the color of lentil. I used red - big mistake. The red lentils broke down to mush. We feel a heartier lentil such as green, might hold up better. Also, we will put more veggies in next time. The flavor was good, but I will tweak it to our taste next time. Don't use red lentils!

I loved this soup ! I had a ham bone and no peas or beans, but I did have lentils in my cupboard. This was my first time making soup with lentils and I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious and easy this soup is, I made pretty much followed the recipe, the only change I would make is to cut back on the soup base, it is salty.