Please see our affiliate notice, located on the sidebar. Thank you for supporting Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household!

Monday, December 20, 2021

Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon

With winter here, now is the time to make and enjoy a delicious pot of soup! Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon will not only sustain you, but it will also warm you up, from the inside out! 


It is cold here in Montana with snow coming down briskly. 

And as luck would have it, I also have a head cold. It was probably time, I guess, because it has been quite awhile since my last one. But I could do without it! Why? There are chickens to feed and eggs to gather and the rest of everyday life to finish for the day. Probably some laundry if I look hard enough. Fortunately, I got bread baked yesterday once we were back from heading into town for supplies. 

Whenever I have a cold, I always want soup. Warm, broth-y soup. The kind you can serve in a mug and when it has been sipped on for a while, it is time to grab a spoon for the remainder in the bottom half of the mug. Soup stout enough to sustain you until the hunger pangs call out again. I am always hungry actually more than just hungry, with a cold...and this Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon really hits the spot.

Mushrooms and lentils are great friends in a pot of soup.

I love mushrooms in lentil soup, so I use as many as possible. And of course some kale, there are very few pots of soup made in this kitchen where kale is not added. The secret about using kale is to cut it small if you want it to get eaten without question. I no longer consider this sneaky, I consider it good nutrition. As it turns out kale is really good for you, but hard to like in the same way people like spinach...

In the past, I used the "clean out the fridge" method for making lentil soup. And while that is a great idea, I found that my lentil soup always tasted like the same pot of soup I had made the last time. And around here, that is code for "No thanks, no soup for me today". Once I had heard that a few times, I figured it out and now we have specific lentil soup recipes, like this Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon. 

Lentil soup is the perfect soup for fall and winter. 

It is frugal, lentils are quick-cooking and lentil soup can be flavored any way you wish. Making it perfect for having many different recipes to enjoy. Like this one for One Cup Two Cups Three Cups Soup. This warming soup is filled with lentils, lots of vegetables, and brown rice for a delicious meatless soup the whole family will love. Being a soup fan, the one thing I love is creating new and delicious soup recipes! I could live on soup and bread alone, now my family, that's a little different story! We make soup as often as possible, and I hope you give this delicious soup a try. 


Ingredients needed for this recipe:
  • lentils
  • bacon or ham
  • onion
  • carrots
  • mushrooms
  • kale
  • 16 oz diced tomatoes
  • 1-quart chicken, ham, or bone broth
  • water
  • thyme leaves
  • garlic salt
  • salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • cooked brown rice - for serving
You will also need the following:
  • kitchen knife
  • vegetable peeler
  • cutting board
  • large soup kettle - 6qt size
  • kitchen spoon
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
Now we are ready to begin!




Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon
by the seat of my pants!

8 - 10 slices bacon - you may also use diced ham
1 large onion - diced
1 pound mushrooms - sliced, feel free to use more mushrooms!
2 carrots - peeled and diced
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 qt. chicken, ham, or bone broth
1 qt. water
1 1/2 c lentils rinsed and drained
2 t thyme leaves, crumbled
1 1/2 t garlic salt
salt if needed 

1/2 bunch kale, washed, drained, and cut into 1" pieces

Cooked brown rice for serving

Peel the carrots and the onion, dice, and set aside. Slice the mushrooms, set aside, and lastly cut the kale into bite-sized pieces and set aside. 

Using the same cutting board, dice the bacon or ham if using. 

In the soup kettle, sauté the bacon until golden brown. Remove the cooked bacon and set aside. Drain off all but 2 T of the rendered fat, setting the extra aside. Keeping the "drippings" in the bottom of the skillet. Add the diced onion to the pan and turn heat to medium, cover and let braise for about 5 minutes to soften the onion.

Add another 1 T of the reserved bacon fat to the pan along with the sliced mushrooms, raise heat to high and cook stirring until the mushrooms begin to release moisture. 

Add the lentils, broth/stock, water, carrots, garlic salt, canned diced tomatoes, crushed thyme leaves, and fresh ground pepper.  Simmer for 1 hour, add kale and the reserved bacon and simmer an additional 30 - 45 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Check for seasonings, adding salt if needed. 

To serve, place a scoop of cooked brown rice in the bottom of the soup bowl, and ladle the Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon over the top. 

Storage options for Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. You may freeze for longer storage, simply thaw in the refrigerator before reheating. 

UPDATE:  For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon has been included below. 

You may also enjoy: 



Featured recipe at: 

Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household featured at A Themed Link-up #93 at Grammy's Grid!
Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household featured at A Themed Link-up #93 at Grammy's Grid!

#wholefoodingredients

#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily


Thanks for stopping by!


We offer new and delicious recipes as well as DIY ideas for your home, regularly. Feel free to drop us an email request for any question or recipe you may be looking for. In addition, like all our guests, we invite you to come for a visit again and again for new recipes, and my down-home take on frugal ways to keep your home in tip top shape. 

 
Hey you, don’t miss a post! Please consider following Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household. To follow by email, and/or by RSS feed, complete the application located on the right-hand side of the blog. Please Note, some posts may contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household.
 

PS, friends, and family who love good food and household ideas might love us too! Tell them about us, and thanks for the referral! 

You may also enjoy, Creative writing from the heart... stories of life, living, and family.

Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household proudly shares with these generous link parties featured here.  


Printable "copy and paste" version:


Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon
by the seat of my pants!

8 - 10 slices bacon - you may also use diced ham
1 large onion - diced
1 pound mushrooms - sliced, feel free to use more mushrooms!
2 carrots - peeled and diced
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 qt. chicken, ham, or bone broth
1 qt. water
1 1/2 c lentils rinsed and drained
2 t thyme leaves, crumbled
1 1/2 t garlic salt
salt if needed 

1/2 bunch kale, washed, drained, and cut into 1" pieces

Cooked brown rice for serving

Peel the carrots and the onion, dice, and set aside. Slice the mushrooms, set aside, and lastly cut the kale into bite-sized pieces and set aside. 

Using the same cutting board, dice the bacon. 

In the soup kettle, sauté the bacon until golden brown. Remove the cooked bacon and set aside. Drain off all but 2 T of the rendered fat, setting the extra aside. Keeping the "drippings" in the bottom of the skillet. Add the diced onion to the pan and turn heat to medium, cover and let braise for about 5 minutes to soften the onion.

Add another 1 T of the reserved bacon fat to the pan along with the sliced mushrooms, raise heat to high and cook stirring until the mushrooms begin to release moisture. 

Add the lentils, broth/stock, water, carrots, garlic salt, canned diced tomatoes, crushed thyme leaves, and fresh ground pepper.  Simmer for 1 hour, add kale and the reserved bacon and simmer an additional 30 - 45 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Check for seasonings, adding salt if needed. 

To serve, place a scoop of cooked brown rice in the bottom of the soup bowl, and ladle the Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon over the top. 

Storage options for Lentil and Mushroom Soup with Kale and Bacon. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. You may freeze for longer storage, simply thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
 
~~~~

Would you like to comment?

  1. the lentil soup sounds excellent. I love the idea of having it in a mug and sipping it to get warm. The omicron virus is everywhere where I live right now. Grandkids and in-laws are testing positive. A mug of soup is what we all need to be having right now. I'm going to get my lentils out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe soup is just the ticket when we are down with a virus. Blessings to you all, take care. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

      Delete
  2. I love a good lentil soup! The only thing I´d need to change would be to leave out the meat broth and bacon to make it vegan. But the mushrooms! I love mushrooms in soup! They give a little chew factor, and everyone around here loves them.

    Thanks for sharing this at the Homestead Blog Hop!
    Many blessings, and I hope that head cold improves quickly! Our kids have also picked something up. Tis the season!

    Laurie
    Ridge Haven Homestead
    Homestead Blog Hop

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laurie, I agree mushrooms are excellent in soup! Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

      Delete
  3. This soups sounds delicious and is nutritious too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, lentil soup is a favorite around here! Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

      Delete
  4. Looks tasty! Thanks so much for linking up at A Themed Linkup 92 for Soup Recipes. Pinned!

    ReplyDelete
  5. CONGRATS! Your post is FEATURED at A Themed Linkup 93 for Crafting with Bottles and Jars from the previous linkup for Soup Recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Visiting again to say thanks so much for linking up at Food Friday 15 for Soup Recipes. Shared.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for hosting, and allowing me to share my recipes, I appreciate it! Have a great week ahead.

    ReplyDelete

Comments always appreciated, at Scratch Made Food! Thank you for stopping by!