Ham and Vegetable Soup

This tasty ham and vegetable soup is packed full of nutrition. It's an easy to make hearty healthy soup that makes 6 to 8 portions. It freezes well too.

Folks, there's history to this delicious ham and vegetable soup!

I was introduced to this winter veg soup recipe by very good friend of mine, Nicola. Over 20 years ago, when I was in my first job after university.

We worked together in a bank in Dundee and she often made this for her own lunch before introducing me to it.

This simple ham vegetable soup quickly became a staple of mine. Indeed it probably saved me from malnutrition!

It's still more or less the original recipe that she wrote down for me - all credit to her!

So filling, this soup is a great help in avoiding the temptation to reach for those unhealthy in-between meal snacks!

I tend to only have a small roll with this soup, as I’m so full up when I’ve eaten it!

The recipe will make between 6 - 8 portions for you to freeze. It’s also a great winter warmer.

There’s no need to use any spray oils for any softening of the ingredients in this ham and vegetable soup.

It's just a case of simply putting all the ingredients into one large pot and watching it bubble away on the stove!

If you have time to follow the preparation part in the recipe called "night before" for great home made soup with ham stock, then all the better.

But if you don’t, or can’t get the bacon joint, then you can skip straight to the preparing of the ingredients as ham stock cubes will do just as well.

Incidentally, I did not use a bacon joint in the picture of the soup that you see.

I used 3 ham stock cubes and added in little pieces of chopped gammon joint that I had left over from Christmas. Then I added all the vegetables.

👪 Why You Should Make Ham And Vegetable Soup

• Quick and Easy : Using stock cubes you can make and serve this soup in just one hour.
• Delicious Flavours: The combination of ham and vegetables creates a hearty delicious and comforting meal
• Use Up Leftovers: You can use leftover ham and leftover vegetables to make this soup.
• Serves a Crowd: This recipe makes a large batch, ideal for feeding a crowd.
• Nutritious and Filling: Packed with nutrition, it helps avoid unhealthy snacks between meals.
• Freezable: The soup freezes well, making it convenient for future meals.

🥘 Ingredients

• Ham Stock - made either using the "night before" method or ham stock cubes
• Red Split Lentils - no need to soak beforehand. Rinse in a sieve under fresh running water before adding to soup pot.
• Leeks - cleaned and sliced.
• White Potatoes - use basic cheap white potatoes.
• Carrots - use basic cheap carrots.
• Parsley - use freshly chopped parlsey. I don't recommend using dried herbs in this soup.
• Freshly Ground Salt and Black Pepper

See recipe card for quantities.

🔪 Step By Step Instructions

Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide of how to make this easy ham and vegetable soup recipe:

1. Make the ham stock. Either using the "night before" method or using 3-4 ham stock cubes to make up 1.5 litres.
2. Chop up some bacon meat from the joint or add some leftover cooked ham / gammon. Add to simmering stock.
3. Add the red split lentils, chopped leeks, chopped potatoes and diced carrots.
4. Bring back to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add boiled water from your kettle if required to top up.
5. Once the vegetables are softenned, turn off the heat. Allow soup to cool.
6. Use a potato masher to mash all the veg. Do not puree the ingredients.
7. Stir in the chopped parsley.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

🍽 Equipment

For This Ham and Vegetable Soup Recipe You May Need….

The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.

This means that if you click on it and then buy that product, I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).

If you do click through, then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!

Equipment

• Saucepans
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knives
• Peeler
• Kitchen scale
• Wooden spoon
• Measuring jug
• Potato masher

This is the set of pans I recommend for cooking with.

The set includes 16, 18, 20 cm saucepans, 1 x 14 cm milk pan and 1 x 24 cm fry pan.

The pans are suitable for all hobs including induction.

They come with a 1-year guarantee which can be extended to a 10-year warranty when you register the product.

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💭 FAQ's

How Many Calories Are In Ham And Vegetable Soup?

There are 303 calories in this ham soup recipe.

What To Serve With This Soup?

You could have this ham and vegetable soup as your main meal with a couple of hunks of homemade bread!

How To Store Ham And Vegetable Soup?

This soup can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for about 3 days.

Can I freeze This Soup?

Yes you can freeze the soup. Once cooled, portion it up and transfer to airtight containers to freeze.

How To Reheat This Soup?

If frozen defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating. You can either reheat this on the stove top or in the microwave.

Can I Make This Soup In A Slow Cooker?

Yes. But it will take longer to make the stock than on the stove if using the "night before" method. After that just put everything into the slow cooker an cook for an appropriate amount of time.

🍲 Other Popular Vegetable Soup Recipes You Might Also Like

Scottish Vegetable Soup

Scottish vegetable soup is packed full of healthy seasonal veggies that combine together to produce a fantastic unique flavour.

Check out this recipe

Mediterranean Vegetable Soup

This Mediterranean vegetable soup is just 100 calories per serving and at the same time it's full of flavour and extremely filling.

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Simple Chicken and Vegetable Soup

A simple chicken and vegetable soup. Tasty and satisfying for when you haven’t got the leftover Sunday roast to make it from.

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4.50 from 2 votes

📋 Ham and Vegetable Soup Recipe

Packed full of nutrition this ham and vegetable soup will fill you up and help to avoid you reaching for those unhealthy snacks!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: British

Servings: 8

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Neil

The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.

This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).

If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!

Equipment

• Saucepans
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knives
• Peeler
• Kitchen scale
• Wooden spoon
• Measuring jug
• Potato masher

Ingredients

• 1.5 L ham stock (made by night before method below or ham stock cubes)
• 175 g red split lentils
• 2 large leeks , cleaned and chopped into 1cm strips
• 4 peeled and chopped medium sized white potatoes
• 3 large carrots , diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Night before:-

• In a large pot (enough to hold 2.5litres of liquid in total) place a ham/bacon joint, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, and simmer for approximately 1.5 hours. Switch off the heat and cover the pot leaving it overnight for the flavours to marinate.

In the morning

• Remove the bacon joint from the cold water and set aside, skim off any fat from the liquid in the pot. Chop off little pieces of the bacon meat (do not add any bacon fat) from the joint and add back to the liquid. Bring the liquid back to the boil and leave simmering gently. Meanwhile prepare the vegetables.
• Bring to the boil and turn down to simmer the 1.5 litres ham stock (with bacon meat pieces if used)
• Add the red split lentils, chopped leeks, chopped potatoes and diced carrots.
• Bring all the ingredients back to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add boiled water from your kettle if required to top up.
• Once all the vegetables are extremely soft, turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool for about 30 minutes.
• Use a potato masher to mash all the veg. Do not puree the ingredients; just mash them down to a consistency you like. Add boiled water from your kettle if you need to add more liquid.
• Add the chopped parsley and stir in thoroughly.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 55.8g | Protein: 14.3g | Fat: 2.9g | Saturated Fat: 0.7g | Cholesterol: 5.7mg | Sodium: 589.3mg | Fiber: 12.5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 5050IU | Vitamin C: 59.4mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 3.8mg

🧾 Nutrition Label

Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.

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If you’ve made this easy tasty ham and vegetable soup recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.

I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂