Name: Instant pot lentil and ham soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp Olive oil (Coconut or avocado oil would also work.); 1 Medium Onion (roughly chopped) (Red or white.); 1 tsp Smoked paprika; 1 tsp Thyme; 1 tsp Basil; 1 Bay leaf; 3 Medium Carrots (roughly chopped); 3 Sticks Celery (roughly chopped); 3 Cloves Garlic (roughly chopped); 300 g Chopped ham; 250 g Lentils; 800 ml Chicken stock (Vegetable stock would also be fine.); 400 g Tomatoes (tinned); Season to taste

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My instant pot lentil and ham soup is really simple, tasty and quick comfort food. A perfect meal to use up leftover ham.

Perfect served with some buttered crusty bread.

How to make lentil and ham soup in the instant pot

Apart from frying some onion, my soup recipe is dump and go simplicity at its best.

First set your instant pot to saute and then add the oil. Once the oil is hot add the onion and fry until softened. This should take around 3 minutes.

Now simply add all the ingredients in the order of the recipe. Stir well together and put the lid on.

Set on high pressure for 25 minutes and when the time is up leave it under pressure for another 15 minutes. Do a quick release if necessary and when the pin drops remove the lid.

Stir well together and then serve.

Describing the method for this recipe made me realize it really is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made.

What are the ingredients for lentil and ham soup?

As usual with my recipes, the ingredients are all easy to find with a few easily sourced fresh ingredients along with some store cupboard staples.

Olive oil
Onion
Smoked paprika
Thyme
Basil
Bay leaf
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Chopped ham
Lentils
Chicken stock
Tomatoes
Salt and pepper

A simple list of good natural ingredients.

What to serve with lentil and ham soup?

I served mine with buttered homemade bread (proved in the instant pot to give a perfect loaf every time). You could also try a garnish of parsley or even sprinkle on some grated cheese.

What if I don't have all the ingredients. Are there any substitutions?

Many of the ingredients can be swapped or even omitted to make instant pot lentil and ham soup a fairly flexible recipe.

I used olive oil, but most vegetable oils will be fine including coconut, avocado, rapeseed (canola) and sunflower. For extra richness, you could even use half butter and half oil.
For this recipe, I used a white onion, but red onion or shallots would also be good.
I used fresh garlic, but garlic granules or salt would also be ok.
The chopped ham I used was leftover from cooking a gammon joint in the instant pot, but you could use any ham you like. Smoked ham will also be good and add extra taste.
I used red lentils, but you could use green, brown, yellow, mixed or even puy lentils.
Chicken stock was used for this recipe, but vegetable stock would also be nice.

Is lentil and ham soup healthy?

My instant pot lentil and ham soup is full of goodness from all-natural ingredients. It is also reasonably low in calories and provided you go easy on the bread would make a great addition to a calorie-controlled diet.

Is it possible to scale this recipe up or down?

The recipe will fit in well to all instant pot sizes as it is, and will also half well for all pots especially the 3l (3qt). You could double the recipe in all pots 6l (6qt) and above. Whichever you do, all timings would remain the same.

Any leftover soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days and should freeze well for around 6 months. I would recommend reheating on the stove or in the microwave or instant pot. Whichever method you use, make sure it is piping hot before serving.

I hope you have enjoyed my recipe for instant pot lentil and ham soup. If so, please check out some of my other instant pot recipes:

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please leave them in the box below and I would be delighted to help.