Name: Ham and Lentil Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon olive oil; 1 small onion, diced; 2 medium carrots, diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 1/2 cups diced ham; 1 cup green lentils; 1 14-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes; 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; salt and pepper; 2 bay leaves; 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth; 2 cups kale, roughly chopped

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Ham and Lentil Soup is the perfect way to use leftover ham! Ham, lentils, and loaded with veggies. It’s quick, inexpensive, and delicious!

Ham and Lentil Soup - the perfect way to use leftover ham! Ham, lentils, and loaded with veggies. It's quick, inexpensive, and delicious!

Tomorrow is December 1.

What?

How?

Are we sure it’s really the last day of November?

Like, sure sure?

Anyway, I’m putting my Christmas tree up today because if I don’t do it now, tomorrow I’ll start the “Well, it’s too late now! Christmas is practically here!” thing and we just won’t have a Christmas tree this year.

Okay, let’s talk Christmas dinner. Do you do ham?

We do ham and then we buy a ton of those yummy Hawaiian rolls and make sandwiches. Honestly, my favorite part of Christmas. I have ham sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and diner for daaaaaaaays.

If we get tired of sandwiches, I always make a big batch of soup with whatever ham we have left.

This Ham and Lentil Soup is perfect for that because I almost always have all the ingredients on hand and it comes together in no time.

Plus, my kids – who are pretty weird about things about obvious veggies – will eat it. Kale and all!

Ingredients

Olive oil
Onion
Carrots
Garlic
Ham – I always use leftover ham for this soup. You can even simmer the ham bone in the soup for extra flavor.
Lentils – I used green lentils in this soup but any will work.
Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes – the fire roasted tomatoes add a slight smokiness to the soup. You can use regular diced tomatoes.
Italian seasoning
Bay Leaves
Chicken Broth – I suggest using low-sodium chicken broth so that you can control the amount of salt in your soup.
Kale – you can use any dark green that you like. Chard or spinach would both work! Spinach won’t require as much cooking time, though, so keep that in mind.

How To Make Ham and Lentil Soup

Cook vegetables. Saute onion and carrots in olive oil until softened. Add garlic.
Add remaining ingredients. Add ham, lentils, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, bay leaves, and chicken broth.
Simmer. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Add kale. Stir in chopped kale; simmer for another 15 minutes.
Serve. Discard bay leaves before serving.

How Long Is It Good For?

This soup is good for up to 3 days. Make sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

Can You Freeze It?

You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months. You can use something like a freezer ziploc bag or these silicone soup containers.

Let them defrost overnight in the fridge when you plan to serve them.

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Yield: 6 - 8 servings