Hearty Lentil and White Bean Soup
So hearty, healthy and easy with just 213 calories per serving! You can also make this on any given weeknight, and the leftovers reheat very well! With the Parmesan rinds, this soup is bursting with just so much flavor!
It’s been soups night after night here in our house.
Probably because we went from 90 degree Thailand weather to 50-60 degree LA weather.
Plus, it’s been dreary with rain here and there.
So Butters has been sporting his yellow rain coat, and I haven’t left the house for days in my pink no-shame sweatpants.
I’ve been doing very important things here at home, catching up on This Is Us and How to Get Away with Murder, while making this lentil and white bean soup all week.
I don’t know if it’s the crisp bacon bits that make the soup, or the Parmesan rinds that lends all the flavors.
Maybe it’s both.
Plus. There’s lentils and white beans in here to keep you healthy and full for days.
So I’ll just stay home and get back to my soup, my sweats and my binge-watching shows.
Hearty Lentil and White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon, diced
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup brown lentils*
- ¼ cup dry white wine*
- 2 3-inch Parmesan cheese rinds
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 15.5 ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat, reserving 2 tablespoons in the stockpot; transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add onion and carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme and bay leaves until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock, lentils, wine and Parmesan rinds; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until lentils are almost tender, about 12-15 minutes.
- Stir in cannellini beans and tomatoes until lentils are completely tender, about 10-15 minutes more.
- Serve immediately with bacon, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Absolutely delicious!!!
Would this freeze well?
I desperately need nutrition info especially sodium content of your recipes! I suffer from Ménière’s disease…thank you!
Hi Karen! We recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain nutritional information to suit your needs. ❤️
I made this soup last week and this week! I absolutely love it!!! It has so much flavour.
This may be a silly question, but can I freeze it?
Just made this soup with lentils, and red kidney beans and threw in a handful of rice. Threw some fresh basil and fennel seeds. It came delicious!!
I made this with 4c strained ham broth (from a ham I cooked a couple days ago that I took the fat off on when it solidified) and 1.5c water in my slow cooker. I didn’t have parmesan rinds so added some grated parmesan when serving. I used French lentils and my own frozen tomatoes. Didn’t use bacon and added some spinach at the very end. Didn’t need to add any salt. It is delicious.
Hi! Question–do you remove the rinds when you’re finished or do they melt into the soup? Thanks!
Good soup! The cheese rinds make it – cooked according to recipe except watching salt so used half water and half chicken broth. Also, to make it heartier, I used 8 ounces of lentils and then I cooked red lentil pasta and added it to the bowl before adding soup and used the pasta water as not enough “juice” due to increase of lentil amount – next time I might add turkey kielbasy to it – cracked black pepper added some zip too – yummy!
Add shredded cabbage for more vegetables, to make this like Lydia B.
Absolutely delicious!!!
Would this freeze well?
So delicious! This was my first time using a parmesan cheese rind. I halved the recipe so I only cut one 3″ chunk. I was a little unsure of how wide to cut the rind – I cut probably about 1/2″ to 3/4″ wide and 3″ long. There was some rind intact after it had finished simmering so I just tossed that. The only thing I did different was omitted the canned tomatoes and gave the broth a couple of squirts of tubed tomato paste. I didn’t use wine, just added a little extra chicken broth. A halved recipe provided 3 bowls of soup. I should have made a full recipe because I want to eat it again tomorrow! One more time…absolutely fantastic!
My favorite soup, no matter what season we are in!! My kids love it, my husband loves it (and he is not a soup person), son in law and grandkids love this soup!!
I love this soup! I eat it when it’s 99 degrees outside with the a/c, portable fan and ceiling fan. Love, love, love this recipe
I made this with a few small additions and substitutes due to my shelter-in-place situation. I substituted half a teaspoon of dried basil for the bay leaves, and I added about a tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon to enhance my stock. I also added a quarter teaspoon of ground cardamom. Delicious and quick! The whole family enjoyed it.
This soup is AMAZING!! DYNAMITE!! Oh it is sooooo good!! I did need to add extra liquid because I didn’t serve it right away but holy smokes!! This soup is incredible!! Didn’t change a thing!! Thank you!!!
Love this soup! It is delicious and easy to make.
I haven’t made this yet, but I’m sure it will be great.
My question is what should I use instead of bacon as we are vegetarian?
Thanks
Just use a little bit of oil to cook your veggies in. The bacon fat is just flavorful oil in this recipe.
Without a doubt the tastiest soup I have ever made. A wonderful mix of textures and flavours, and the herbs make all the difference. We are using this as part of a diet.
Already smells and tastes fantastic as I’ve got this simmering on the stove as we speak!
Delicious and perfect for a stormy night! Added kale greens with the beans. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
So yummy! My whole family loves it, and eats as much as I make.
Could I use red lentils in this recipe? It looks delicious!!
Absolutely, but please keep in mind that red lentils cook faster than other lentils. As always, please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications.
This is a good, hearty yet light soup. Okay, hearty-light may be an oxymoron. Filling, but not heavy. Anyway, I didn’t have bacon on hand, should have made a point of buying some, especially since I bought parmesan cheese just for the rind. I will make this again, it’s so easy and fast, with bacon.
Thanks for sharing, Michelle!
This dish is wonderful . Very delicious . Great flavor. I definitely will be making this again very soon.
Any thoughts on adding farro this???
Sounds amazing!
Are broth and stock related? Could I use chicken broth in this?
Yes, absolutely.
I’m a mom of 4 littles and amateur cook and avoid the grocery as much as possible by order & pickup. So how much parmesean cheese would you suggest I substitute for the 2 3″ rinds? Also what’s your suggested dry white wine? This looks delicious for our Texas fall cold weather snap!
Where can I find Parmesan cheese rinds? Or can I used some shredded Parmesan cheese. Thanks. SueD
P.S. I’ve printed several of the soup recipes. They all look so yummy. Anxious to try them!
When you buy Parmesan in one piece rather than grating it, it should have a rind at the end that you can cut off. Hope that helps!
Whole Foods and Publix sell just the rinds.
can you do this in an instant pot if yes. directions please. thank you
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Hi Chungah! WOW! Awesome and yummy lentil and white bean soup! I was searching this on google and just landed on your post. I wish now i can prepare this soup at my home. One think i couldn’t figure out- “Green lentils can be substituted” Would you please explain?
However, keep it up. Bookmarked for further visit! Love!!!
Brown lentils are most commonly used among the lentil family but green lentils can also be used in this recipe. But please note that green lentils generally take the longest to cook, about 45 minutes. Hope that helps, Aysha!
I just made this for the upcoming work week and the house smells delicious. Honestly, I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow! Thanks for giving me something to look forward to.
I am uneducated regarding parmesan rinds. Are these available in the grocery store?
Some places sell them! Here is a great forum that may be helpful:
https://www.thekitchn.com/where-can-i-buy-159817.
yummy, yummy, yum. this soup looks amazing.
Thank you for this! Could recipe work in crockpot?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Can we just trade lives for a minute?? It’s 25 here in Cleveland, and we’ve gotten dumped on with at least 7 inches of snow in my neighborhood since Saturday. And it’s STILL snowing! My very hyper Spaniel is going stir crazy, not being able to go for his walks. I dread heading to work in this mess – I’d gladly stay home and watch TV and eat some of that delicious looking soup! Lol.
We can totally trade lives! 🙂
For a vegetarian version, should I just leave the bacon out, or would using vegetarian bacon bits because better?
Either option should work just fine!
It’s nearly winter where I am from so this would be perfect!!!
How many cups of beans is 2 cans of cannellini beans? I am going to use dried beans instead. Looks delicious!
This article may be helpful to convert from canned to dried beans.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04/is-there-a-ratio-for-converting-between-dried.html
I have heard of the lentil and white bean combination many times. But, I didn’t know how to make that happen. This soup has solved my doubt.
Looks delicious! Do you have the nutrition information?
Yes, the nutritional information is added below the recipe now.
I eat a lot of lentils, but have never thought of pairing them with white beans, this is a genius idea, and those parmesan cheese rinds surely take this to the next-level….superb recipe