Scottish Lentil and Ham Soup

This hearty bowl of Scottish Lentil and Ham Soup is packed full of red lentils, a variety of vegetables and salty chunks of ham hough. It is my most viral soup recipe on social media and is the perfect batch cook recipe for autumn and winter time. 

I have fond memories of being at my Gran and Papa’s house at the weekend and being served a steaming bowl of lentil and ham soup with big juicy, smokey, salty chunks of ham hough. We used thick slices of buttered bread to scoop the soup out, precariously balancing a mini mountain of lentils and meat on the bread, before shoveling it into our mouth. 

Jump to:

• Why I Love Lentil and Ham Soup:
• YouTube Video for Scottish Lentil Soup with Ham Hough
• Family Friendly Substitutions
• Ingredients for Scottish Lentil and Ham Soup
• How To Make Scottish Lentil Soup with Ham Hough
• FAQs
• Storage
• Other Scottish Soup Recipes?
• Traditional Scottish Lentil and Ham Hough Soup

When I started cooking in my teens, it was something I tried to make time and time again with varying levels of success. I can confidently say though, both from my own perspective and from all my followers on social media who have made this lentil soup recipe, that I’ve officially nailed it. And my Gran would agree (she was my chief recipe tester obviously). 

I promise this is one of the few mentions of my Gran you’ll find on my page. As I know it’s almost stereotypical and expected of recipe blog posts to have some mention of their Granny somewhere (albeit to the chagrin of my dear gentle readers). If you get the Bridgerton quip there, then we can be firm friends. So let’s move onto …

Why I Love Lentil and Ham Soup:

• It makes a huge batch, so perfect for batch cooking. I always stock my freezer with portions when I make it.
• It’s packed full of lentils, so it provides lots of good and healthy fiber into your diet. 
• And finally, it’s a warm, nostalgic hug in a bowl. Perfect for Autumn and Winter soup season. 

And why do you all love it? Because it reminds you of how your Granny used to make it ... just check the comments at the bottom of this blog post from readers who have made it and loved it!

YouTube Video for Scottish Lentil Soup with Ham Hough

Family Friendly Substitutions

I feel comfortable giving this to my children who follow Baby Led Weaning (BLW) from around 6 months old. The grated vegetables are perfectly soft and the ideal consistency for them.

The only element I would modify is the salt content. Reduce the number of stock cubes to 2 (diluted with the amount of water this is perfectly fine), or use no-salt stock cubes. 

And opt for unsmoked ham hough (hock) if adding meat. Or simply omit the meat and making it a vegetable lentil soup (with either ham or vegetable stock cubes).

I wouldn’t offer a baby under 12 months any chunks of ham hough, unless you ensure to shred it before offering.

And because it freezes well, you can make a batch, freeze into little portions and use as necessary for your baby or toddler.

Photo below of my baby (10 months old) enjoying her squares of bread soaked in Scottish Lentil Soup.

Ingredients for Scottish Lentil and Ham Soup

Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete ingredient list and details.

• Lentils: I use red lentils, so I would recommend using red lentils for a truly authentic Scottish taste.

You can use pre-cooked lentils if you want (tinned or pouch), but dried lentils have a double purpose of better taste and thickening the soup up whilst cooking. 

• Ham Hough: A ham hough (or hock) or pork knuckle is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the hog's leg.

Whether you use unsmoked or smoked is truly a matter of taste. I personally use smoked as I like the flavour it adds to the soup. 

• Ham Stock Cubes: I use Knorr Ham Stock cubes but if you can’t source them easily then Vegetable Stock Cubes will work. 

I know 3 may seem a lot but it’s what I add to get the outcome I want without needing to season further. If you would rather not use this many, or are conscious of salt content, then reduce stock cubes to 2 and season as required at the end / when serving.

• Water
• Swede
• Carrots
• Onions
• Bay Leaves: not essential if you don't have any
• Parsley: my preference is for flat leaf parsley, although my Papa used to use curly leaf parsley (straight from his garden) so either is fine

How To Make Scottish Lentil Soup with Ham Hough

1. Rinse out lentils with water, until the water is clear after rinsing.

Much like with washing rice, you’ll see the water get clearer each time you rinse them.

The method is simple:

• Add the lentils to a bowl and fill with water.
• Move lentils and water around in a circular motion with your hand.
• Discard the water and repeat the cycle until the water is clear.

I suggest you do this, but if you need to get cooking, it isn’t wholly necessary.  

Unlike with broth mixture (used in my Traditional Scotch Broth recipe), you do not NEED to soak or rinse lentils. Alternatively, you can leave them soaking for 30 mins first, then rinse.

2. Grate turnip and carrots and finely chop onions.

I suggest that you grate the swede and carrot and it makes it easier to achieve the texture we’re aiming for once the soup is cooked. 

It is a little bit of a faff if you’re doing it manually, but I can recommend my Ninja Blender 3 in 1 food processor, which grates the vegetables for you in literally seconds and keeps the mess contained to the unit itself (rather than all over your kitchen counter).

3. Add vegetables to large soup pot on top of ham hock.

I cook the ham hock joint in with the vegetables and the rest of the soup, for the simple reason it’s easier (and quicker). But you will see a lot of recipes call for it to be cooked separately. 

This is because the ham will take longer to cook and tenderise than the vegetables, but I’ve never found my method to be an issue in this respect, as I want the vegetables to be extremely soft anyway. 

4. Add bay leaves, ham stock and rinsed lentils to soup pot

5. Cook on medium heat for approx. 3 hours.

6. After 2 hours, remove the bay leaves and the ham hock from the pot to shred it.

Allow the ham to cool on a plate for approx. 30 minutes before removing the skin and any fat and shred / cut up the meat. This meat will then be added back into the soup, as long as you can refrain yourself from eating it all!

7. Add chopped parsley for last 30 mins. 

Parsley is what I called a ‘light’ herb, so it’s one that you always add near the end of a recipe, otherwise the flavour will be lost to the stewing time.

Other herbs like this (although not used in this recipe) include: basil, coriander and dill. So if a recipe calls for these herbs, ideally add them at the end.

8. Add shredded ham hock back into soup pot.

9. Use potato masher (yep, that trusty utensil!) to mash up your Scottish Lentil and Ham soup to achieve desired consistency. Or alternatively, you could blend the soup before adding the ham and parsley back in if you prefer a smoother consistency.

Storage

How long does it keep in the fridge - approx. 4-5 days as long as your fridge is below 4C

Can you freeze it - the soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. The exact duration will be dictated by what temperature your freezer is and also where in the freezer you store it.

What type of container can you freeze soup in? When freezing soup, you can use any freezer safe container - made of plastic, glass or freezer-safe bags (as this is also a good space saver).