Lentil and sausage stew is an easy, healthy recipe you can make for your family. Crock pot and make ahead freezer instructions are also included. This simple, flavorful recipe is perfect for your clean eating goals.
If you love healthy soups, you'll want to check out our Moroccan lentil stew and our copycat Panera Bread 10 vegetable soup.
Quick Look: Lentil Sausage Stew Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 25 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 55 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- 🍽️ Yield: 8 cups
- 🥕 Dietary Info: Gluten Free, Dairy Free
- ⚡ Calories: 322 calories per serving (based on nutrition facts in recipe card)
- 🍅 17 Ingredients: olive oil, kielbasa sausage, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, beef broth, green or brown lentils, petite diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, and fresh parsley.
- 🥣 Method: Stovetop (or Slow Cooker)
- ⌛ Time-Saving Hack: Use a food processor to quickly chop the veggies and use a garlic press to mince the garlic.
- 🔪 Equipment: wooden turner, Dutch oven.
- ⭐ Expert Tip: Use brown or green lentils; red ones get too mushy.
- 🌶️ Flavor & Texture: This lentil and sausage stew has a hearty texture of lentils and meat with a great depth of flavor from the spices and a hint of tang.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Just 25 Minutes of Prep Needed: This recipe comes together quickly in just 25 minutes. Let it cook for about an hour and enjoy!
- Easy to Tweak to Your Tastes: Try a different type of lentils, sausage, add extra veggies, or make it spicy--tweak to your preferences.
- Stovetop, Slow Cooker, or Freezer Meal: This recipe is easy to make with a variety of cooking methods and can be prepped in advance and cooked later at your convenience.
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Yummy!"
- Jamie
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Ingredients
Our lentil and sausage stew takes pantry staples that are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Aromatics: We used onion, celery, carrot and garlic.
- Spices: We used Worcestershire sauce, oregano, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and black pepper.
- Legumes: We used green lentils, but you could also use brown lentils, chickpeas, or yellow split peas.
- Liquid: We used beef broth but you could also use vegetable stock.
- Meat: We used cut up kielbasa sausage, but you could also use turkey or chorizo sausage, lamb, or diced ham.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Need less sodium? Use no salt diced tomatoes, use low sodium broth, and increase the spices to taste.
- Want a different meat? Try cubed lamb, diced ham, or chorizo sausage in the lentil and sausage stew.
How to Make Lentil & Sausage Stew
Gather all the ingredients for our lentil and sausage stew. Chop up the onion, carrot, celery, and the kielbasa sausage, then mince the garlic. Rinse the lentils and measure out the spices.
- Cook the kielbasa until it's browned in a bit of oil over medium high heat.
- Sauté the onion, celery, and carrot until it's soft, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the spices (cayenne, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, oregano) and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the beef broth.
- Add the rinsed lentils, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 bay leaf.
- Mix all the ingredients together with a large wooden spoon. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the the browned kielbasa sausage and stir it in. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Cover the lentil and sausage stew and let simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. If you like your stew more tangy, add a splash of red wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice after the lentil stew has been removed from the heat.
- Garnish the lentil and sausage stew with fresh parsley or olive oil and serve with some crusty bread, like our white mountain bread.
Lentil & Sausage Stew FAQs
Do you have to soak lentils?
Although lentils are a dried legume, they don't need to be soaked beforehand, just rinsed, as they can cook in 35 minutes.
Is lentil stew healthy?
Lentil stew is rich in protein, potassium, fiber, iron and folate. It is a nutritious and well-balanced main course. One cup of our lentil stew has 398 calories and 35.1g of carbs.
How do I make vegan lentil stew?
Start by omitting the sausage. Add ½ cup more lentils, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 3 cups butternut squash, 3 cups kale, and switch the beef broth to vegetable broth.
Serving Suggestions
We love this lentil and sausage stew with a hearty loaf of homemade bread, like everything bagel bread, multigrain bread, or whole wheat molasses bread. Serve a salad on the side, like spinach apple salad or Chick-fil-A kale crunch salad, and you have a wonderful meal!
If you're looking for other soup recipes, try our recipes for Dublin coddle, Brunswick stew, Mulligan stew, and Moroccan lentil stew.
Expert Tips
- What are the best lentils? Use brown or green; red is too mushy.
- Want extra veggies? Try butternut squash, potatoes, kale, or spinach.
- Want it more tangy? Just before serving the lentil and sausage stew add a splash of red wine vinegar or lemon juice.
- Need to use a slow cooker? Sauté sausage and veggies first, then add everything to the slow cooker. Cook on low 7 to 8 hours.
- Want this for a freezer meal? Freeze everything uncooked for the lentil and sausage stew, except the broth, for up to 2 months. Thaw in fridge or under hot water, then cook on the stovetop or in the crock pot.
More Soup Recipes
Recipe
Lentil and Sausage Stew
Lentil and sausage stew is an easy, healthy recipe you can make for your family. Stovetop, crock pot, and make ahead freezer instructions are included. Need this to be vegan or vegetarian? We've got you covered. This simple, flavorful recipe is sure to be a hit with your family.
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Servings: 8 cups
Calories: 322kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 14 ounces kielbasa sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1¼ cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped (3 medium carrots)
- 1 cup celery, chopped (3 medium stalks)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup green or brown lentils
- 28 ounces canned petite diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Equipment
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat for 2 minutes, then add the cut up sausage and brown for 4 minutes. Remove from the pot and set it aside in another bowl.
- Saute the onion, carrots, and celery for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the dried spices and let them bloom for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the beef broth, rinsed lentils, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaf. Stir until well combined.
- Cover and bring the soup mixture to a boil, roughly 6 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Add browned sausage. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley, Greek yogurt, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon. Serve hot with a slice of thick crusty bread.
Crock Pot Instructions
- Follow steps 1 to 3 under the stovetop instructions. These steps add a lot more flavor to the stew.
- Dump everything in the crock pot and stir. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.
- During the last 30 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Garnish with fresh parsley, Greek yogurt, or a drizzle of olive oil. If you want your lentil stew to be a bit tangy, add a splash of red wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice at the very end of cooking.
Freezer Meal Instructions
- Do all the prep work. Cut up the vegetables and the kielbasa sausage, then measure out the dried spices into a sandwich bag.
- Place all the uncooked ingredients, except the broth, in a freezer friendly container. Label with the date it the day it was assembled. If you want, tape the crock pot instructions to the plastic lid, or note it was from Savor the Flavour to look at the recipe on your smart phone or tablet.
- Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw overnight in the fridge or sit in a 9x13-inch pan filled with hot water. This should loosen the uncooked ingredients from the container.
- Follow the instructions for making on the stovetop or in the crock pot and add in the beef broth.
Video
Notes
- What are the best lentils? Use brown or green; red is too mushy.
- Want extra veggies? Try butternut squash, potatoes, kale, or spinach.
- Want it more tangy? Just before serving the lentil and sausage stew add a splash of red wine vinegar or lemon juice.
- Need to use a slow cooker? Sauté sausage and veggies first, then add everything to the slow cooker. Cook on low 7 to 8 hours.
- Want this for a freezer meal? Freeze everything uncooked for the lentil and sausage stew, except the broth, for up to 2 months. Thaw in fridge or under hot water, then cook on the stovetop or in the crock pot.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupCalories: 322kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 29g (10%)Protein: 17g (34%)Fat: 16g (25%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 35mg (12%)Sodium: 1213mg (53%)Potassium: 871mg (25%)Fiber: 11g (46%)Sugar: 7g (8%)Vitamin A: 3135IU (63%)Vitamin C: 16mg (19%)Calcium: 103mg (10%)Iron: 5mg (28%)
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
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jamie xx
yummy
Emma Fajcz
Glad you enjoyed it, Jamie!
Bill
more like a soup than a stew. not very substantial by itself. and a bit heavy handed abed unimaginative on the spice
Emma
Bill, We are sorry this recipe didn't meet your expectations. If you would like more substance, please add another vegetable (butternut squash, kale, or potatoes). To add a bit of tang, add a splash of red wine vinegar or lemon juice at the end. If you would like less liquid, add a bit more lentils. Hope this helps! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Alex
The overall taste of this stew is warm and spicy. I love the sausage in it! The lentils are plentiful and delicious. The blend of vegetables adds color. I like the flavor of this stew on the second day as leftovers, too.
Emma
I agree, Alex! It's hard to wait for this stew to finish cooking! You can't go wrong with amazing leftovers, either. Thanks for your kind comment, Alex!
Beth
This hearty vegetable stew has some nice spice from the cayenne. I like the lentils and sausage especially. It's a great stew to warm up up.
Emma
This stew definitely has some kick--but I like it that way. 😊 I'm glad you enjoyed it too!