Craving something hearty, healthy and fuss-free? This ham, lentil and kale soup recipe ticks all the boxes. It’s packed with flavour, super easy to throw together, and perfect for batch cooking.
Make a big pot, enjoy a bowl tonight, then freeze the rest for those busy days when you need a comforting meal with zero effort. It’s wholesome, warming and brilliantly budget-friendly, what more could you want?
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Yields:
4
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
35 mins
Cal/Serv:
249
Ingredients
1Tbsp.
extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle, optional
1
onion, finely chopped
2
celery sticks, finely chopped
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
2
garlic cloves, crushed
200g
red lentils, washed
200g
chopped kale
11/2
litre chicken stock
180g
ready-cooked ham hock
Finely grated zest 1/2 lemon
Large handful curly parsley, roughly chopped
Directions
Step 1Heat oil in a large pan and gently cook the onion and celery until softened – about 5min.
Step 2Stir in the garlic, chilli flakes, lentils, kale and stock. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the lentils are cooked through – about 12min.
Step 3Stir through the ham hock, lemon zest and parsley, and check the seasoning. Ladle into four warmed bowls, drizzle with extra oil, if you like, and serve
No ham hock? No problem!
If you can't find ready-cooked ham hock, you could replace it with finely shredded ham slices (buy thick cut slices for easier shredding), or buy raw gammon steak, cut into small pieces and add to the pan with the lentils at step 2.
Freeze ahead
Make the soup, including adding the lemon zest and parsley and cool completely. Ladle into a freezer-safe container or portion into individual bags, seal and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, defrost in the fridge then reheat gently in a pan until piping hot (adding a splash more stock if needed). Garnish with extra parsley (if you have it) and a drizzle of olive oil just before serving.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
