Bursting with the Provençal flavours of tomatoes, thyme and marjoram, this Simple French Green Lentil Soup with Bacon is delicious as a veggie version too.
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I can’t rave enough about this French Lentil Soup. I so love its simplicity and the ease with which it can be thrown together. No need for chicken broth or any other meat or vegetable stock, just water will do.
This easy lentil soup is perfect at the end of the day with a hunk of crusty bread. There are times when we have variations of this hearty soup almost every evening meal of the week.
I have tinkered with the recipe over the years, and my whole family loves this version. Earthy green lentils, sweet simmered down tomato with onions and garlic, the Provençal flavourings of thyme, marjoram and bay leaf and gently cooked bacon lardons all come together to create the ultimate French Green Lentil Soup!
🍅 Ingredients
- Onions.
- Garlic.
- Lardons. Little bacon pieces with plenty of fat are best, smoked or un-smoked. If you are not able to get lardons, streaky bacon will work well in this soup too.
- Oil. A suitable oil for frying the onions. I use either olive oil or sunflower oil.
- Tomatoes. I generally use canned tomatoes, partly for convenience but also so that I can be sure the tomatoes are fully ripe. Fresh ripe tomatoes can, however, be substituted for the tinned tomatoes.
- Tomato Paste (optional). Sometimes, to give extra tomato richness and a slightly thicker consistency to the soup, I will add a teaspoon of tomato paste.
- Marjoram. Dried or fresh. If you do not have any marjoram, oregano is a good substitute.
- Thyme. Dried or fresh.
- Bay Leaves. Dried or fresh.
- Lentils. The French green speckled lentils are ideal for this soup, otherwise any green lentil will go well in this soup. Brown lentils are a good alternative to green lentils. I don't recommend red lentils as these will lose their shape too easily for this soup. A great recipe for red lentils is this Mediterranean Red Lentil Soup recipe.
- Salt and Black Pepper.
See the Recipe Card below for quantities and the full recipe.
⭐ Let's Look at French Green Lentils
Now by green lentils I mean the type of lentils that are often described as Le Puy lentils, and which are known in France as lentilles vertes (green lentils). Le Puy lentils (Lentilles Vertes du Puy) are in fact a variety of French green lentils and which, to be called Le Puy lentils, must be grown in certain parts of the Haute Loire region of France.
But not to worry if you do not have French green lentils to hand, or even the bacon for that matter. This is a forgiving soup, allowing you to easily swap and change ingredients. And that is one of the reasons it is such a great soup!
🍽 Useful Equipment
No special equipment is needed for this Lentil Soup with Bacon recipe. I have listed the key useful items below.
- chopping board
- chopping knives suitable for chopping the onion and garlic
- potato masher and mixing bowl (useful if using tinned whole tomatoes rather than ready-chopped tomatoes)
- large saucepan
- spoon for mixing
🔪 How to Make
Here's how to make this easy French Lentil Soup. No need to soak the lentils, so you can get cracking with this recipe straight away! If you don't have any bacon, or prefer vegetarian, this soup is great without.
Step 1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic cloves.
Step 2. Fry the lardons in a large saucepan over a low heat. If there is a decent amount of fat on the lardons, there will be no need to fry them in oil. The lardons will fry in their own melted bacon fat. The key is to keep the heat low, we do not want crispy bacon bits. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until cooked through, but take off the heat if the lardons start to brown. Remove the lardons from the saucepan and set aside, leaving the melted fat in the saucepan.
Step 3. Gently fry the chopped onions in the bacon fat. If there is insufficient fat, add enough oil to coat the onions thoroughly. Fry the onions for about 10 minutes until they have softened and are translucent.
Step 4. Add the chopped garlic, stirring into the onions, and fry over a gentle heat for a minute or two until you can smell the cooking garlic.
Step 5. Add the chopped tomatoes, dried marjoram, dried thyme and bay leaves. Stir the ingredients together and gently simmer for about 10 minutes.
Step 6. Add the lentils. Cover the lentils with about three quarters of the water. Turn the heat up and bring the water to a boil. Then turn the heat down to maintain a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes.
Step 7. Add the dried marjoram. Continue cooking the lentils at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes. If needed add further water to your preferred consistency.
Step 8. Add the cooked bacon lardons to the soup. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste once the lentils have finished cooking.
📋 Recipe Card
Simple French Green Lentil Soup with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- ½ cup (75g) bacon lardons
- 2 cups (1x400g tin) chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1½ cups (250g) dried French green lentils
- 6 cups (1500ml) water
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- salt
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic cloves.
- Fry the lardons over a low heat. If there is a decent amount of fat on the lardons, there will be no need to fry them in oil. The lardons will fry in their own melted bacon fat. Keep the heat low to avoid crispy bacon bits. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, until cooked through but not coloured brown. Take off the heat if the lardons start to brown. Remove the lardons from the saucepan and set aside, leaving the melted fat in the saucepan.
- Gently fry the chopped onions in the bacon fat. If there is insufficient fat, add enough oil to coat the onions thoroughly. Fry the onions for about 10 minutes until they have softened and are translucent.
- Add the chopped garlic, stirring into the onions, and fry over a gentle heat for a minute or two until you can smell the cooking garlic.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, dried thyme and bay leaves. Stir the ingredients together and gently simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the lentils. Cover the lentils with about ¾ of the water. Turn the heat up and bring the water to a boil. Then turn the heat down to maintain a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the dried marjoram. Continue cooking the lentils at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes. Top up with more water to the consistency you want.
- Add the cooked bacon lardons to the soup. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste once the lentils have finished cooking.
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