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Sausage and Lentil Soup is thick and hearty, loaded with Italian sausage, lentils, and vegetables in a tomato-based broth. This is the comforting recipe you need this winter!
You guys, I swear I say this every single year, but I am trying to get ahead and stay organized with my holiday shopping.
Last year, I put forth quite the effort for about a week and then failed miserably and ended up shopping on Christmas Eve and wrapping gifts until about 2am.
Not this year, folks. I’m sitting at my computer right now monitoring Cyber Monday deals because this girl is not a Black Friday shopper. In fact, I’m not much of an in-person shopper period, unless we’re talking Target!
So I’m dedicating this day to tackling my shopping list while watching big, fluffy snowflakes swirl around outside!
SAUSAGE AND LENTIL SOUP
There’s just something about a big pot of soup simmering away on the stove that makes me want to throw some wood into the fireplace and curl up on the couch all day.
Soup is warm, comforting and in my opinion it’s the perfect fall or winter dinner. Whether it’s Turkey Noodle Soup, Chicken Tortilla Soup, or Lasagna Soup, I am here for all of it.
There’s just one problem and the problem would be my family.
They refer to soup as a “tease” and think that it should never be referred to as dinner – more specifically – their dinner.
I remember one of the first times that I made soup for them, they slurped it down and within a few minutes stated something like, “That was great, now what’s for dinner?” Um, hello – you just ate it!
Typically I’ll go with their meat and potato ways, but sometimes I can slip a soup into our repertoire that qualifies as a meal instead of an appetizer.
Sausage and Lentil Soup is just that kind of creation. It’s loaded with Italian sausage and veggies cooked in a rich tomato broth.
And if you’re a fan of Carrabba’s Sausage and Lentil Soup, you may be a little excited to hear that this copycat version tastes very similar!
WHAT KIND OF VEGETABLES CAN YOU USE?
I like to pack my Sausage and Lentil Soup full of vegetables. After all, I may as well take advantage of the fact that my family is eating it to sneak some veggies into them.
I usually go for carrots, onions, celery and zucchini for my soup. But don’t feel like you have to use the same!
For example, diced bell peppers or peeled and diced sweet potato would be great. You could even sneak in some spinach or kale.
No matter which veggies you use, you’ll need about 5 ½ cups total. So get creative with whichever vegetables your family likes best!
WHAT KIND OF SAUSAGE SHOULD I BUY?
This recipe uses ground Italian sausage. You can usually find it in the butcher section of your grocery store.
Make sure you buy Italian sausage instead of breakfast sausage, which won’t have quite the right flavors for this soup.
If you prefer your soup a little spicy, go ahead and grab hot Italian sausage. If you aren’t big into pork, feel free to use ground turkey or chicken Italian sausage instead.
Serve this Sausage and Lentil Soup with a loaf of fresh bread – or maybe even Beer Bread or Parker House Rolls – and you’ll have a meal that will please just about anyone!
Sausage and Lentil Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound green lentils
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage You can also use ground Italian turkey sausage
- 1 cup diced onion about 1 large
- 1 ½ cups diced celery about 4 stalks
- 1 ½ cups diced carrots about 3-2 large
- 1 ½ cup diced zucchini about 1 small
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 large cloves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cans diced tomatoes 14.5 ounces each, undrained
- grated Parmesan
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and add in the Italian sausage. Brown the sausage until it is cooked through.
- Add in the onions, celery, carrots, zucchini, garlic, herbs and spices, cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the chicken stock, canned tomatoes, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 ½ hours, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender, stirring occasionally. Add water as needed to adjust the consistency of the soup. We tend to prefer ours a little on the thick side, so I add in about 3 cups half way through the cook time.
- Check the seasonings – add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan and fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Roasted Turkey with Herbs
1 15-18 pound turkey
1 stick unsalted butter
2 T flat leaf parsley finely chopped
1 T sage, finely chopped
1 T rosemary stripped off stem and crushed
1T thyme, finely chopped
salt and pepper
6C chicken stock
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
onion quartered
apple quartered
Rinse and pat dry turkey, season cavity of turkey with salt and pepper and place half of carrots, celery,onion,and apple in cavity. Remaining produce will be in roasting pan.
In a blender or food processor combine herbs and butter and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.. Rub over turkey. Place turkey on roasting rack placed on top of produce in pan. Pour two cups of stock into pan.
Place in preheated oven of 400. After 30 minutes lower heat to 325 and roast additional 2 1/2 hours or until turkey reaches 160. Baste turkey every 30 minutes with leftover stock every 30 minutes.
While turkey is resting for 30 minutes out of oven, strain pan drippings when done and make gravy with drippings and any leftover stock.
Amber’s Texas Style Chili
Makes approximately 1 gallon of chili.
1 large Green Bell Pepper
1 large Poblano Pepper
1 large sweet onion
Garlic (6 cloves or 6 tsp minced garlic from jar)
3 lbs round steak
1 lb roll of Jimmy Dean’s HOT sausage
1 TBSP Kosher Salt
1 tsp Pepper
5 TBSP (+) Worcestershire Sauce
2 TBSP Liquid Smoke (I used HICKORY flavored)
1/2 can pureed chipotle peppers with adobo sauce (about 6 or 7 peppers, use a good amount of sauce & puree to a thick paste)
2-15oz cans of Bush’s Mild Chili Beans
2-28oz cans of Hunt’s Crushed Tomatoes
2 TBSP (+) Chili Powder
5 dashes (+) Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 tsp (+) Cumin
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp (+) Ground Cayenne Pepper or Weber Grill Creations N’Orleans Cajun Seasoning (I used the latter one)
FIRST DAY
1. Chop the peppers & onion, medium dice.
2. Put chopped vegetables in a LARGE bowl & add minced garlic. (Will be mixing veggies & meats, so a bowl big enough for approx. 4-5 cups veggies & 4 lbs. meat)
3. Chop the steak into about half inch cubes. Add to bowl.
4. Break up sausage into pieces straight into the bowl.
5. Add 1 TBSP kosher salt & a tsp of ground black pepper. Add 5 TBSP of worcestershire, 2 TBSP of liquid smoke, & chipotle paste to start. Rub the marinade through all meat & veggies. Then determine if you need more liquid. You don’t want a soup, but you want it to be moist & have everything covered. I ended up adding more worcestershire & liquid smoke to mine.
6. Refrigerate overnight if possible, but at least 4 hours.
SECOND DAY
1. After meat has been refrigerated overnight it’s time to start cooking. Use a large skillet (12″) to cook the meat in batches. If you cram the meat in one pot it will take longer to cook & you’ll steam the meat. So work in 3 batches. Each batch will take 7-10 minutes on medium-high heat. As your meat browns, you’ll notice liquid coming out of the meat & veggies. This is good, however, don’t cook it so long that you boil it all away. Reduce the liquid a little bit, so you don’t end up with soup instead of chili; then add meat & liquid straight to the pot. Continue batches till all meat is browned.
2. Once all of the browned meat is dumped into a BIG pot, you can add the entire can(s) of chili beans. Then, add almost one entire can of crushed tomatoes. You want to add them slowly so you control the consistency of the chili. If you like it soupy add more tomatoes, if you like it chunky use less. I used about 1 1/2 cans for a medium chunky texture. Just make sure you add them slowly and stir after each addition. It can turn to soup real quickly.
3. Once you get the consistency you like, it’s time to season the chili. Start with 2 TBSP chili powder, about 5 dashes of Tabasco sauce, 1 1/2 tsp of cumin, & 1/4 cup sugar. Top it off with a few shakes of cayenne or cajun. I like mine medium hot so I added about 1 TBSP of cajun seasoning, start small especially if you used cayenne instead of the cajun. Just remember to add a little at first & you can always add more. I did end up adding more of each ingredient focusing on the chili powder & cajun. Taste after each addition of seasoning making sure the amount of heat is right for you.
4. All you have to do now is let it simmer. At minimum, 2 hours, but if you have 4 that’s great. This long, slow cooking process really gives the meat a chance to become very tender, & all the flavors & spices to come together. Enjoy chili with homemade corn bread or bread sticks, cheese & sour cream if desired.
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That photo is stunning Jamie! My husband is exactly the same way about soup! And I adore it! I don’t think he’ll turn his nose up at THIS gorgeous hearty soup though!
Looks delicious!! I love lentil soup … never tried it with any sort of meat in it, this recipe will be the first :) thanks.
I’d love to know how you make a bowl of soup look so beautiful! It’s been soup central over here and I’ve been filling up my freezer. This recipe may be next!
Oooh what I wouldn’t give for a big bowl of this soup and a huge hunk of fresh yeasty bread right now! That tomato broth looks heavenly, and just right for cold days like this!
Our guys are total opposites! Mine loves soup for dinner. …and I love sausage and lentil soup! Beautiful photos – as always!
That soup sounds amazing…perfect for the cooler fall weather. I will definitely be trying this one.
Lentil soup is one of my favorites… Love the flavors in this one. I am craving it for dinner now!
This sounds perfectly delicious! I am all over lentils right now. Yum.