Okay, you’re really going to have to try not to judge a book by it’s cover here. I know this Lentil & Sausage Stew isn’t the prettiest thing to look at but, OMG, it will knock the socks right off your taste buds! No joke. We’re talking insanely delicious here… like “at the end of the week I’ll be sad that there isn’t any left” delicious. But worry not, it makes a huge batch so you can always stash a few servings in the freezer for later.
The recipe posted below is adapted from this Lentil Sausage Soup over on dlynz.com. I still have half of a huge bag of lentils to use up and I’m trying to fiber pack my diet so this Lentil & Sausage Stew really fit the bill. And, as always, I made some changes to the recipe to accommodate what was available to me at a good price.
Can I Use Fresh Spinach?
Yes, fresh spinach works great in this recipe. Simply add about 8 oz. fresh baby spinach to the pot after everything is done cooking and stir until the spinach wilts into the broth.
Freeze Some for Later
The recipe makes a ton but luckily it freezes well. Of course, you could always cut it in half if you prefer. Sausage usually doesn’t come in smaller quantities than one pound, but luckily sausage also freezes well, so you can use half for this recipe and save half for later.
Lentil and Sausage Stew
Servings 8 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1/2 lb. Italian sausage ($1.75)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 3 carrots ($0.30)
- 4 ribs celery ($0.74)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 cups brown lentils ($1.27)
- 6 cups chicken broth* ($0.78)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne ($0.05)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 10 oz. frozen spinach ($1.00)
Instructions
- Brown the sausage in a large pot over medium heat, breaking it up into pieces as it cooks.
- While the sausage is cooking, prepare your vegetables: wash, peel and slice the carrots, slice the celery, dice the onion, and mince the garlic. Once the sausage is cooked, add the vegetables to the pot and continue to sauté until the onions are soft and transparent (about 5 min).
- Add the lentils to the pot along with the cayenne, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and chicken broth.
- Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Add more water if it gets too dry.
- Stir in the frozen spinach and cook for about 15 minutes more. Serve with a thick slice of crusty bread!
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Lentil and Sausage Stew – Step By Step Photos
Brown 1/2 lb. Italian sausage in a large pot over medium heat, breaking it up into pieces as it cooks. Depending on the fat content of your sausage, you may need to add a splash of oil to the pot to get it going in the beginning and you may want to drain off the excess fat if there is a lot (mine did not need to be drained).
While the sausage is cooking, Peel and slice three carrots, slice 4 stalks celery, dice one onion, and mince two cloves of garlic. Add them to the pot once the sausage has browned and continue to sauté until the onions are soft and transparent.
Add 2 cups brown lentils to the pot along with 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, and 1 tsp smoked paprika.
Add 6 cups of chicken broth to the pot. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Add more water if it gets too dry.
Once the lentils are tender, you can add the spinach. Spinach is a delicate green so I add it at the end to prevent over cooking and total disintegration.
Stir in 10 oz. frozen spinach and cook for another 15 minutes or until heated through.
And then the Lentil & Sausage Stew is done and ready to eat!
It’s hard to tell but it is BURSTING with flavor, I swear. You’re going to LOVE this one.
This recipe is what led me to discover Budget Bytes back in 2014. Tonight I’m fighting to get out of a rut, both in cooking and more broadly in life. My pantry is sadly lacking in fresh ingredients, I’m low on proteins in the freezer, and we’ve had nothing but take-out for the past week due to work being crazy. I was craving something warm, hearty, and which would produce leftovers, so I can go to the store tomorrow for a very large grocery restock, without having to come home and then cook. This is the perfect recipe to check all those boxes, since BudgetBytes has taught me to keep an “emergency” bag of frozen spinach in my freezer, along with my bag of pre-cut celery and carrots for soups.
My cookbook is almost entirely BudgetByte recipes (and yes, I own your cookbook too!). So thank you, Beth, both for an amazing recipe that is still delicious and something I’m excited about after 5 years of making it constantly, and for running such an incredibly useful website.
You don’t know how happy it makes me to read that!! ❤️
Hi! I was wondering – can I use green lentils instead of brown? Is there a cooking time difference?
You can, but green lentils can take much longer to cook. Just check the package to see the recommended simmer time on your lentils and make sure to simmer the soup for at least that amount of time.
After browning the meat, could i chuck all this in the slow cooker low-6 or high-4?
Hi Zach! We haven’t tried it in the crockpot. But another reader mentioned this, “Excellent. I cooked the sausage (mild Italian) along with garlic, onion and fennel. Then through everything into the crock pot and cooked for about 4 hours on high. Really good.” Hope that helps!
Do you soak the lentils overnight? Is it two cups of lentils before or after soaking?
No soaking needed. :) Two cups dry, unsoaked lentils.
Tried this recipe tonight, will definitely make it again. Didn’t make any changes other than using fresh spinach instead of frozen since that’s what I had on hand (I just added it in the last 2 minutes of cooking), and I don’t think the recipe really needs any tweaking, it was very well received as is. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Love lentils and love this recipe. Easy and tasty. I used 1/3 lb of sausage and still super flavorful. Will make again.
This was my very first time cooking lentils, and this recipe got me out of my comfort zone. The Lentil & Sausage Stew is the bomb dot com!!! I am sooooo looking forward to leftovers this week. I will be making this recipe again. The stew is a very delicious comfort food on a cold winter night and it is also filling since I ate two bowfuls. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe Miss Beth. 😀
I meant to say “bowlfulls.” Typing at its finest lol. 😀😀
So glad you liked it and that you experimented with lentils! :)
Thai has become my go to recipe for making lentils! It’s delicious
Just made this with polish sausage. I ended up using 3/4 lb of sausage so I added extra veggies and lentils to compensate. Glad I did because it’s so good I’m delighted to have more! Will definitely make this again. Oh, I also added some tarragon (because I love its lemony flavor) and a capful of apple cider vinegar to add a little acid. It’s just something I picked up from another recipe that I now like to do with soups and stews. I think it worked well here too.
I used about a lb of sausage and cut in 1 in chunks. Also mixed a couple links of hot. Eliminate cayenne. Followed rest of recipe.
For those wondering how to make this in the Instant Pot, I tried it last night and it worked very well. I browned the sausage using the saute function, and I also sauteed the veggies on this setting as well. I then added the rest of the ingredients (minus spinach) and cooked for 15 minutes on high pressure. Everything was done at the point, but the lentils were a bit overdone, so next time I’ll scale the time back to 12-13 minutes. I took the spinach out to defrost a bit while everything else was cooking, then threw it into the Instant Pot after the quick release. At that point, the pot was on the “Keep Warm” setting. I closed the lid and let everything sit for 5 minutes and after that time, the spinach was heated through. Thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks for sharing!!
Delicious stew! Added 14 oz can diced tomatoes and used Spanish chorizo- was so flavorful and hearty while being very healthy. Ate with a seeded crusty bread. Great fall dinner!
This recipe is amazing!! I doubled it and added a tsp of celery seed and about 1.5 cups of crushed tomatoes. It is so flavorful and delicious! This is a perfect recipe for a hungry and struggling college student.
I made this exactly as written except for adding more vegs. Very tasty. The spices are what make the dish a standout, in my opinion.
The next time I make this, and there will definitely be many next times, I’m going to add chicken thighs and maybe some diced tomatoes. Thanks for a great recipe.
I’ve made this a MILLION times and I absolutely love it. I cook it for parties and it’s a hit. Here are some of the ways I’ve enhanced/modified the recipe:
– I use an extra flavorful sausage such as chorizo or spicy italian — it makes the broth incredibly flavorful
– Instead of spinach, i use frozen chopped kale or chop up fresh kale to add
– I add chopped avocado and a spritz of lime at the end when serving
With all due respect, chorizo must be an acquired taste. I had just purchased some to try for the first time. After seeing your review, I used it in this recipe with no other changes. It was horrible. I will probably never eat chorizo again in my life.
I will remake it with italian sausage and expect it will be good..
Good on you for trying something new! I would suggest you are in the minority with that chorizo opinion, maybe try it from somewhere other than where you got that last one? But each to their own.
Did you use Spanish chorizo or Mexican chorizo? They are very different. Spanish chorizo is a firm sausage, isn’t oily and is very flavorful yet milder than Mexican chorizo, and is great in soups. Mexican chorizo is heavy on both flavor and grease, but is delicious in egg dishes and other pan-fried applications. They are not usually interchangeable.
I used this recipe with the spices as written, but changed a few other things. I really wanted slices of smoked sausage instead of Italian sausage in my soup. It turned out great, the spices are spot on for flavor. Thanks!
Made this tonight and was totally surprised by how delicious it was. This is joining the hall of fame of my favorite recipes on this site, along with falafel and curried chickpeas with spinach.