Instant Pot Lentil and Hambone Soup

Instant Pot Lentil and Hambone soup. What do I do with a leftover hambone? I make soup, of course. Lentil soup in under an hour, thanks to my pressure cooker.

I’m the guest who haunts the kitchen after holiday dinner, saying, “Wait! Don’t throw those bones away. I’ll take them with me.” (Yes, I’m a big hit at parties.)
I only do this to family members. When they see me enter the kitchen, they shake their heads and dig under the counter for the gallon Ziploc bags. They’re family, so they have to invite me back, right?

Jump to:

Now, what do I do with those bones? In this case, I got a great hambone from my brother-in-law; I threw it in the freezer, saved it for a couple of weeks, then used it to make lentil and ham soup.

If there’s extra meat on the bone, I’m good to go; if not, I ask for a care package of leftover ham to dice and stir into the soup. (Which is a good idea in general, even with a meaty bone. But I’m pushing my luck, asking for bones; I don’t want to get greedy.)

After that, soup is easy with a pressure cooker. Saute an onion and some garlic in the pot, then add the hambone, a pound of lentils, and water. When the beans are done, I pull out the bone, pick off the ham, and stir it back into the soup. Season the soup, add a splash of vinegar for acidity, and the soup is ready to serve.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• Onion
• Carrots
• Garlic
• Kosher salt (or fine sea salt)
• Red pepper flakes (optional)
• Bone from 1 ham, meat still attached
• Brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
• Water
• Balsamic vinegar or sherry wine vinegar (optional)
• Fresh ground black pepper

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to make Instant Pot Lentil and Hambone Soup

Sauté the aromatics

Heat the vegetable oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic to the pressure cooker pot, and then sprinkle with the salt and red pepper flakes. Saute until the onion softens, about five minutes.

Everything in the pot

Add the ham bone to the pot, then pour in the lentils and cover with water. (It’s OK if the end of the bone pokes up out of the water.) Lock the lid on the pressure cooker.

Pressure cook the soup for 15 minutes with a natural pressure release

Pressure cook at high pressure for 15 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 12 minutes in a stovetop cooker. (In an Instant Pot, use the Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook – Custom). Let the pressure come down naturally for about 20 more minutes. Remove the lid, tilting it away to avoid hot steam.

Season and serve

Fish the hambone out of the pot and set it aside until it is cool enough to handle. Pull the ham from the hambone, discard any pieces of fat or gristle, chop the ham into rough ¼ inch cubes, and stir the ham into the pot. Stir in the (optional) balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Serve and enjoy!

Substitutions

Ham Bone Substitute: No ham bone? Substitute 2 smoked ham hocks, pork neck, turkey leg, or sausage.
Substitute Broth for the water: If you want an even richer soup, substitute homemade chicken broth or homemade ham broth for the water.
Cut the heat or increase the heat: I add a half teaspoon of red pepper flakes to add a subtle hint of heat. It’s enough to make the soup “hot,” but a little background heat adds to the flavor. You can skip the red pepper flakes to cut the heat. Or, to make the heat obvious, increase the red pepper flakes to 1 teaspoon.

Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker

Scaling

If you need a lot of soup, double this recipe in an 8-quart pressure cooker. You don’t need a second hambone; double all the other ingredients. You can also halve this recipe, but if you want to use a smaller 3-quart pressure cooker, make sure the hambone will fit. Scaling the recipe does not change the cooking time; it takes the same amount of time to cook the lentils either way.

Tips and Tricks

• No pressure cooker? No worries. Cook everything in a Dutch oven with a lid. Follow the instructions until the “pressure cook” step. Instead of pressure cooking, cover the pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for an hour. Continue with the “thicken, season, and serve” step.
• The splash of vinegar I add at the end is optional but adds finesse to the recipe. A hint of acid helps cut through the rich soup. If you don’t have vinegar, a little fresh lemon juice serves the same purpose in the recipe. Or, if you like it hot, substitute Tabasco sauce or another vinegar-forward hot sauce.

What to Serve With Instant Pot Lentil and Hambone Soup

I serve this soup with salad and a loaf of hearty bread. (Or dinner rolls, or even crackers if I don’t have good bread handy.)

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What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Please leave them in the comments section below.

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My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

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