You’ll love this easy sausage lentil soup recipe that’s made with pantry staples that you probably already have on hand, making it the perfect meal when you can’t decide what’s for dinner or you don’t want to make a trip to the store. Lentil soup with sausage is loaded with flavor from the Italian sausage and my secret soup ingredient…do you know what it is? Be sure to tag me when you make this easy sausage and lentil soup, I love to see your creations! And if you’ve made it, will you please leave it a ⭐️ rating? It helps me out a ton!❤️
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”yhpmjooE” upload-date=”2020-12-01T20:17:32.000Z” name=”Healthy Easy Minestrone Soup Recipe” description=”This easy minestrone soup recipe will prove that soups don’t have to simmer for hours to taste good! This vegetarian and vegan minestrone soup is loaded with fresh produce, a rich broth, and plenty of beans. It’s filling, healthy, and delicious! ” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]How to Make Sausage Lentil Soup:
Let’s make this healthy sausage lentil soup! Here’s what we’re going to do:
- Saute onion. Heat oil in dutch oven and saute onion for a few minutes.
- Add garlic and sausage. Make a well in the pan and add garlic and sausage. Let it sizzle for a minute, then stir into the onions.
- Add soup ingredients. Add lentils to dutch oven and stir to combine with onion and sausage and to lightly toast. Season with sea salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Pour in marinara sauce and chicken broth and stir to combine. Top with bay leaf and bring to a boil.
- Simmer healthy sausage lentil soup. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Serve soup. Remove bay leaves, stir in spinach, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and lemon wedge.
TIP: Don’t skip the lemon, parsley, Parmesan, and olive oil – they totally elevate this sausage lentil spinach soup.
Lentil Soup with Sausage FAQs:
What sausage goes with lentil soup?
You can use spicy or mild Italian sausage. If you are going for a spicy sausage lentil soup, definitely use spicy.
Can I use different lentils?
This Italian sausage lentil soup recipe calls for red lentils, but you can also use green or brown lentils, just be aware that they don’t cook as quickly as red lentils, so cook them until soft.
How to Store Leftover Sausage and Lentil Soup:
Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top until hot.
Can You Freeze Sausage Lentil Soup?
Yes, you can freeze this soup in a glass storage container for 2-3 months.
TIP: Soups like this freeze really well, serve them in individual portions so that you can pull one out at a time for an easy and nutritious lunch in minutes.
How to Serve Sausage Lentil Soup Recipe to the Whole Family:
Wondering if your kids will eat this lentil soup with sausage and greens? If you’re familiar with my one family meal method, you know I like to serve anything and everything to my family!
When I make something that they mayyyyyy not be crazy about, I’m sure to serve the meal with 1-2 components I know they’ll eat. For a soup like this, I’d serve it with some bread + butter and fruit on the side. If they don’t eat the soup, they can eat the other items – the important thing is that you’re NOT making them a completely different meal.
How Many Calories in Sausage Lentil Soup?
Each serving of this hearty lentil sausage soup has 581 calories. The full nutrition stats can be found below the recipe card.
Healthy Sausage Lentil Soup Nutrition + Substitutes:
If you want to swap out any of the ingredients and toppings, here are a few ways you can add even more nutrition into this meal:
- More veggies. Serve the soup over a bed of spinach
- Less sodium. If you’re watching your sodium, use low sodium broth and marinara sauce to drastically cut the sodium down.
- Less meat. If you’re trying to cut down on meat consumption, use 1/2 pound of Italian sausage. You may need to adjust salt and seasonings.
- Lighter. Skip the olive oil for serving.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
If you like this spicy sausage lentil soup recipe, you might also like some of these other easy + healthy soup recipes:
- Lasagna Soup – Skip the layering and make this just-as-flavorful soup form, this is a favorite of so many families! Just 10 ingredients.
- Mexican Chicken Taco Soup – All the Mexican flavors you love, in a nutritious and filling soup. Plus for my tip that will get your kids to eat it, too!
- Healthy Minestrone Soup – This vegan and vegetarian soup is ready in just 30 minutes, but not lacking in flavor.
- Pasta Fagioli Soup – Not quite authentic, but this method is best for storing and serving later.
- Turkey Quinoa Chili – This is the ultimate health-nut chili. Loaded with protein, fiber, and vegetables. And the slow cooker does all the work.
Helpful Tools to Make Sausage Lentil Soup Recipe:
- Dutch Oven – I use this dutch oven all the time during soup season!
- Chef Knife – The BEST knife ever. This makes dicing the onions and garlic for lentil soup with sausage EASY.
- Souper Cubes – Store any leftover sausage and lentil soup in these containers that can freeze in individual portions.
Easy Sausage and Lentil Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
Description
You’ll love this EASY sausage lentil soup recipe that cooks in 35 minutes with my soup secret that gives it max flavor in minimum time!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb. Italian sausage (bulk)
- 1 1/2 cup red lentils (dried)
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
- 24 oz. marinara sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth (or veggie)
- 5 oz. baby spinach
- grated parmesan cheese
- lemon wedges
- fresh parsley
- olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients.
Dice onion.
Mince garlic. - Heat oil in heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan, saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add garlic and Italian sausage to pot and break up with a spoon, cooking for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add lentils to pot and lightly toast. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Pour in marinara sauce and chicken broth, add bay leaf to pot and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves, stir in spinach, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and a lemon wedge.
Notes
- Get your kids involved! They can: measure out lentils, top their soup.
- Red lentils: These lentils cook faster than a green or brown lentil, so if you use those, you’ll need to cook the soup longer!
Sarah
So much flavor! Loved that I finally found a use for those lentils in my cupboard.
Sara
Best way to eat lentils! The whole family loves it, including my almost 3 year old! Thanks for the great recipe.
Emily
Oh yay, love when the kiddos approve! Thanks Sara!
RB
Please clarify: The recipe calls for 1/4 CUP Smoked Paprika. That seems like a lot — is that a misprint?
Thank you
Emily
Yes, that is a typo! Fixing it now, thanks so much for letting me know.