Gluten Free Lentil Soup with Bacon

Stop the presses! This is my all time favorite out of all of my gluten free soup recipes! I love anything with bacon, but try to not eat it too often, as most of them contain many preservatives, not to mention the calories. I am having overnight company in about a week and decided to make my famous lentil bacon soup. Kids love it as well as adults. Who doesn’t like bacon, right? I am sure they exist, but it is as many who do not like chocolate.

Use a gluten free bacon in all gluten free soup recipes, as well as other recipes, if you are on a gluten free diet. Hormel Black Label, Hormel Natural Choice, and Applegate are all gluten free. This soup is really yummy, but without the bacon it wouldn’t be the same. Enjoy!

Yield: Serves 10-12 as a side.

A gluten free lentil soup recipe with bite size pieces of bacon when you crave comfort food.

Ingredients:

4-9 slices crispy gluten free bacon (Applegate Farm, Jones Dairy Farm, Open Nature, Hormel Black Label, Hormel Natural Choice)
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup small diced carrots
1 chopped heart of celery with leaves (appx. 1/3 cup)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach (optional)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed bay leaves or 1 large
1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil (or 8 small leaves, minced)
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
2 fresh sage leaves, minced (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme (optional)
10 cups gluten-free low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
1 lb. package brown lentils

Instructions:

If desired, soak dried lentils in water for 4 hours or overnight. Rinse and drain several times.
Cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb drippings. Chop into little pieces and set aside.
Add all ingredients to a large pot, stir, bring to a boil; lower heat to medium-low; and cook for 1 hour or until carrots are tender.
Remove large bay leaf, if using.
Serve immediately and refrigerate or freeze left-overs in air-tight containers.

Tips

When using homemade, unsalted chicken broth, add additional salt. I used a combination of homemade and low-sodium boxed chicken broth.

If you are on a gluten-free diet, be sure to use gluten-free bacon.

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