Ham & Lentil Soup in the Crockpot is one of our new Yankee Homestead favorites, perfect for winter weather!  Plus, it’s super-easy to make.  Have I mentioned the crockpot is one of my Top Favorite Inventions of All Time?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• about 1½ cup diced, cooked ham
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 8 tsp tomato sauce

Instructions:

1. Cook ham, if necessary.
2. Combine all ingredients 3½-quart or larger crockpot.
3. Cook all day on Low.
4. Discard the bay leaf before serving.
5. Serve with sour cream and this awesome, GF/DF Cornbread (it’s also sugar-free and egg-free).

Notes:

• See the original recipe here: Slow Cooker Lentil and Ham Soup.
• Using Homemade Chicken Broth makes this soup super-nutritious and helps fight off icky germs during the cold and flu season.
• If you can’t have sour cream, don’t worry.  I can’t, either, and I still love this soup (plain).
• Little Brother is not a huge fan of soup, but even he liked this one.  It’s super-hearty and easy to scoop up.
• For the ham, I used two thick slices from our favorite local farm.  I browned each slice on both sides, using a cast iron skillet.  Then diced it up and tossed it in the crockpot.  Super-easy!
• If you’ve been following Yankee Homestead for long, you won’t be surprised to hear that I used two frozen bags of mirepoix for the celery/carrots/onion.  Which makes this recipe even easier!  (Hooray!)
• For the tomato sauce, I dip into my Home Grown Tomato Puree from the freezer.  Worked great!  I think you could use just about any variation of tomato for this part.

Other posts you might like:

• Quinoa Crockpot Chili
• Slow Cooked Fajita Meat
• “Real” Chicken Noodle Soup