Lentil & Ham Soup is made with carrots, courgettes and a hint of curry to give a hearty, winter warming soup. Perfect for using up leftover glazed Christmas ham and stock!
This soup came about after Christmas one year when the fridge was heaving with leftover stock and roasted gammon (or ham as it’s known once cooked)!
It’s gone on to become a family favourite as it’s so tasty and filling, perfect for an easy main meal served with some crusty bread! So today I have updated this recipe with new photos which was high time.
Do you have to use roasted Christmas ham in this recipe?
No, any cooked gammon or ham will do such as my 2 Ingredient Slow Cooked Gammon.
How long will Red Lentil & Ham Soup keep in the fridge?
This soup will keep for 3 days in the fridge. It tends to thicken up the next day due to the lentils so just add a splash of hot water from your kettle.
Can you freeze Lentil & Ham Soup?
Yes, you can freeze any leftover soup once cool. Just thaw overnight in the fridge when you want to use.
Do you need to soak red lentils?
No, just make sure you rinse the red lentils well in a sieve before you use them.
Could this soup be made vegan?
Yes, just substitute the gammon stock for vegetable stock and use vegan ham slices.
What ingredients do you need for Ham & Lentil Soup? (full recipe at bottom of page)
- unsalted butter
- large carrots, diced
- onion, finely dice
- garlic cloves, crushed
- rapeseed oil
- large courgette diced
- red lentils, washed
- ground nutmeg
- Madras curry powder (or curry powder of choice)
- Bay leaf
- homemade ham stock (or use gammon stock cubes)
- cooked gammon/ham
How do you make Lentil & Ham Soup?
- Start by gently frying the onion, garlic and carrot in unsalted butter (salty butter burns).
- Add oil and courgette and gently fry until all vegetables are softened.
- Then add curry powder and fry for 1 minute.
- Next add red lentils, stock, bay leaf and nutmeg.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes.
- Use a stick blender to blend half of the soup in order to retain some nice chunky bits.
- Add the chopped ham and heat through before serving.
- Garnish with more chopped ham if desired.
More Recipes using leftover Ham
Here are some more recipes using leftover ham that you should try!
- Quiche Lorraine
- Ham, Cheese & Sweetcorn Turnovers
- Cheat’s Croque Madame
- Curried Egg Mayonnaise with Ham & Sweetcorn Jacket Potato
- Cheese, Ham & Potato Scone
- Leftover Ham Squash and Puy Lentil Salad
- Leftover Ham Spread
I’m sure you’ll love this ham and red lentil soup so do leave a comment and rating below when you make it. You can also share your soup Instagram by tagging @FabFood4All as I love seeing my creations come to life!
Pin for later!
Previously published 28/12/2013
Lentil & Ham Soup
Equipment
- 1 Digital scale
- 1 Chopping Board
- 1 cook's knife
- 1 Garlic crusher
- 1 Set measuring spoons
- 1 Measuring jug
- 1 sieve
- 1 Large soup pan (don't use non-stick)
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 ladle for serving
Ingredients
- 25 g unsalted butter
- 2 large carrots diced
- 1 onion finely dice
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
- 1 large courgette diced
- 400 g red lentils washed
- Pinch nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1.8 L Homemade ham stock (or use gammon stock cubes)
- 200 g Cooked ham finely chopped
Instructions
- Fry onion, carrot and garlic gently for 5 minutes in the butter.
- Add the oil and courgette and fry gently until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the curry powder and fry for a minute.
- Add lentils, stock, bay leaf and nutmeg.
- Bring to the boil and then simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and blend half the soup to give a slightly chunky texture
- Add the chopped ham and heat through before serving.
- Garnish with some chopped ham if wished.
HH
This has quickly become my family’s favourite go to soup recipe. It’s delicious. Quick and easy to make. Have lost count of the amount of times my 16 year old has asked if I’ve made any lentil and ham soup! This freezes well so I double up the recipe and freeze in zip lock bags to take for lunch at work. As I’m writing my son has just walked in and said ‘yes’ so can’t see it lasting long!
Camilla
Aaw, that’s so lovely to hear. So glad it’s become a family favourite:-)
Mark
After having a great roast ham last night, and with a delicious ham stock waiting to be turned into a hearty soup for Sunday lunch, I searched for a good looking recipe. Cooked this and it was one of the best soups I have cooked recently! The only difference I made was I didn’t add any of the ham – I found with the ham stock that it didn’t need it (but only my personal opinion.) Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
Camilla
Awesome Mark, so glad you liked it and made it your own:-)
Jacqueline Kelly
Cold wet Monday. Had some gammon left over from Sunday lunch,so looking for a soup recipe that would be easy and quick to use, this one is just great even my little 4 y.o likes it. I did it in my pressure king pro cooker and gave it 14 mins on the soup setting. Left it to cool added the ham and hey presto a great lunch. Thanks for the recipe.
Camilla
Excellent Jacqueline, so glad you both like the recipe and that you could adapt it for your Pressure King Pro:-)
Martina Evans
Thank you for this warming recipe!
Paul Wilson
Looks a very hearty soup now the colder weather is coming.