This slow cooker Ham and Lentil Soup is a wonderful, delicious surprise.
It’s easy, it’s light and it’s filling. The best part about Ham and Lentil Soup is that it’s made in a slow cooker! So the slow cooker does all the work for you. It’s a no-fuss kind of dinner.
Ingredients needed:
- chicken broth
- onion
- celery
- carrots
- lentils
- ham
- fresh thyme
- fresh spinach
- salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
What’s the best slow cooker to buy?
I’ve had the best slow cooker for a good number of years now. It’s the Hamilton Beach 6-quart Set and Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker. I never expected it to last this long, and I’d buy the same one again if my current one bit the dust.
I love this slow cooker for a number of reasons. It automatically switches to “warm” when it’s done cooking, so if you’re out and about when your recipe is done cooking then it won’t over-cook or go cold. It has a temperature probe, so you can keep an eye on meat temperatures during the slow cooking process. And it has a lid that clips on, so it’s easy to bring with you to a party.
How to make easy slow cooker Ham and Lentil Soup:
This is one of those recipe where you throw everything in your slow cooker and that’s it. There is no pre-cooking of anything at all. In your slow cooker, add chicken broth, water, chopped onion, chopped celery, dried lentils, ham and fresh thyme. Then you can set the slow cooker for 7 hours on low or for 4 hours on high.
When the slow cooker’s timer goes off, add in fresh spinach and stir to combine. The spinach will wilt and cook immediately. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Ladle the soup into bowls for serving. Garnish with some shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese, if you’d like.
I find that I like having this Ham and Lentil Soup around to eat a nice warm cup of soup for lunch. That means that leftovers are awesome. This soup will be perfectly fine to serve the following day. If the lentils happen to soak up the liquid overnight, just add a little more chicken broth or water to the soup. Enjoy!
Here are a few more recipes with ham that you might enjoy:
- Ham and Cheese Manicotti
- Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders
- Creamy Parmesan Noodles with Ham
- Ham and Bean Skillet Spaghetti
- Ham and Cheese Baked Gnocchi
- Cheesy Ham Casserole
- Overnight Ham and Cheese Bake
- Ham and Scalloped Potatoes
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you will find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Ham and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 1½ cups chopped celery
- 1½ cups (about 3 medium) sliced carrots
- 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
- 6 ounces cooked ham, diced finely (about 1½ cups)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Parmesan cheese, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- In a 4 to 5 quart slow cooker, combine the broth, water, celery, carrots, lentils, ham, onion and thyme. Cover and cook on the low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on the high-heat setting for 3½ to 4 hours.
- When ready to serve, stir in the spinach. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese, if using.
Notes
- If you're preparing this recipe as Dairy Free, leave out the Parmesan cheese.
- If you're preparing this recipe as Gluten-Free, make sure the ham that you use does not have any added gluten, and be sure to use a brand of chicken broth that is designated as GF.
- Nutritional information does not include optional cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We greatly enjoyed this soup; we’ve had lentil sausage soup countless times, but this was a new way to use lentils in soup. Served it with cornbread, so good! Thanks for sharing!
We love soup recipes containing lentils, i would really enjoy making this Ham and Lentil Soup. Please let me know which color of lentils you used for this soup. Thank you so much for sharing your outstanding recipes.
You can use any lentils, but for the photos a light colored lentil was used.
I just happened to score some fresh thyme today, had a ham bone that needed to be used, and a half a package of green lentils, and everything else needed for this soup, right down to the parmesan cheese–it was meant to be. So, the soup is in the slow cooker now. I’ll bet it’s going to be good.
My kids love lentil soup! I will make this one for them one of these cold days.
This looks delicious, Lori! I love making lentil soup and am always looking for twists on it. Will definitely be trying this one. Thanks for sharing!!