This easy Instant Pot Ham and Lentil Soup recipe is made with a ham bone and leftover ham in the pressure cooker. A delicious way to use up holiday ham!
I'm on a roll with Instant Pot soup recipes lately, and this easy ham and lentil soup is my latest creation! If you've got a leftover ham bone to use up, you'll definitely want to add this easy, delicious soup to your list of Instant Pot recipes to try!
We always have ham on the menu for Christmas dinner and Easter dinner. And if it's a bone-in ham, I make leftover ham bone soup later in the week. It's a delicious way to use up that leftover ham, and it's an easy, budget friendly dinner!
Since I made an awesome Instant Pot ham this year, (yes, you can cook ham in the pressure cooker!) I used the pressure cooker to make this ham and lentil soup. A lot of ham bone soup recipes use beans, but since my family doesn't like them, I used lentils, instead.
This is more of a ham soup recipe rather than a lentil soup recipe. The ham is the star here, but you can definitely add more lentils if you want!
How to make ham and lentil soup with a ham bone
So, I'm all about easy Instant Pot recipes, and while you can definitely throw everything into the pot and press start, you can make this soup more flavorful if you saute the veggies a little bit first. You just want to soften them up a little bit and release the flavor.
Next, you stir in some broth and pile on the rest of the ingredients, including leftover ham. I always throw in some celery leaves for extra flavor whenever I make soup. You don't have to, but I've always done this, just like my mom and grandma always did.
The ham soup takes 20 minutes to cook. This is long enough to get flavor from the ham bone and make the lentils just melt in your mouth.
When the soup is done, remove the ham bone and celery leaves, if you used them. Then, taste the soup before serving to see if it needs more salt or extra seasoning. Since hams are salty to begin with, I like to add a minimum amount of salt when cooking, and add more later, if needed.
How long does a ham bone last in the refrigerator?
I always try to use up the ham and the bone within 5 days.
Can you freeze the ham bone for later?
Definitely! You can freeze the bone and leftover ham for later use. You can let the bone thaw or use it frozen in this ham soup recipe.
Instant Pot Ham and Lentil Soup Recipe
Recipe
Instant Pot Ham and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 32-ounce carton low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup lentils, rinsed and sorted
- 1 leftover ham bone
- 2 cups chopped ham
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Hit SAUTE on the Instant Pot, and when it reads Hot, add the olive oil, onions, carrots and celery, sprinkle with sea salt, and cook until slightly soft
- Hit CANCEl, and stir in chicken broth and lentils
- Add the ham bone, chopped ham, water, garlic powder, pepper and smoked paprika
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn vent to Sealing position, and hit PRESSURE COOK for 20 minutes
- Pot will take several minutes to pressurize, then begin counting down and cook for 20 minutes. When pot beeps, allow a 10 minute natural release, then turn knob to venting to quick release remaining pressure
- When pin drops, carefully open lid, remove ham bone, stir, taste to see if more salt is needed, and serve
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy this easy Instant Pot ham and lentil soup recipe as much as we do!
Robin says
Great recipe and the soup turned out great! I used 1 small sweet potato instead of carrots and it was tasty. Thank you!
Dee says
Awesome! So glad you liked the soup -- Thanks so much!
Laurie Klinkert says
This is sooooo good! I didn't have the ham bone, so I added 2 tsp. Better Than Bouillion Ham flavoring. This is a keeper!
Jo-Ann Dunlop says
This was delicious, not as heavy as pea and ham soup, loved it, thanks
Heather says
Hi there,
If doubling the recipe for a pound of beans, would the cooking time increase,? Many thanks.
Dee says
No, the cooking time remains the same. Just be sure to increase the liquid along with the lentils, or you'll get lentil stew.
Kim says
Quick and easy. Full of flavour!!!
Kari says
My first attempt at an instapot, the lentil soup was perfect!
Dee says
Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the soup!
Tracy says
Great soup! I have never had or made lentil soup. It was very good. I did add diced potatoes and it made it even heartier.
Dee says
So glad you liked it, Tracy. Thanks!
Elsie says
Great!!!! Though I sauteed 2 minced cloves of garlic in place of the garlic powder and some Italian Seasoning. I also added fresh cilantro when serving it. Ah, and included avocado. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Will definitely make again.
Gerald says
Amazing recipe! This was my first time making soup and I wanted to slap myself it was so good! It was easy to make and the only thing that I added was a clove of garlic sliced up. I will definitely make this again.
Dee says
Thanks so much, Gerald. I'm glad you liked the soup!