Sausage Lentil Soup

We’ve had a few rainy days here in KC this week. While I don’t love being stuck inside, it definitely puts me in the mood for a warm bowl of nourishing soup!

This Sausage Lentil Soup is packed full of vegetables and you can adjust the spicy-ness to your liking. I originally found this recipe on Life Made Simple blog (a copycat recipe of the Carrabba’s soup!) and changed it based on what I had in my pantry.

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but if you chop veggies ahead of time the soup itself comes together quickly before simmering.

I used regular, all-natural sausage for this recipe and the soup was still a little spicy! If you need less heat, I would leave out the paprika and red pepper flakes. If you LOVE the heat, use spicy italian sausage instead!

As always, tag me on Instagram at @thegallagherhomestead if you make this delicious soup! I served it with a slice of homemade sourdough bread (post about that coming soon!) and it was exactly what the doctor ordered for rainy day blues!

Sausage Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 1½ tbsp. olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, finely grated
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. all natural Jimmy Dean sausage (original recipe calls for 1/2 lb italian sausage, 1/2 lb cubed ham but I didn’t have any!)
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 2 c. water
• 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 c. dry lentils
• 1 tbsp. fresh basil, minced
• 1 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. paprika
• ¼ tsp. thyme (heaping)
• ¼ tsp. oregano (heaping)
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven set over medium-low heat, saute the onion in the olive oil until tender. Add the carrot, celery, mushrooms, and garlic, cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add the sausage and brown, breaking it into bits as it cooks.
2. Add the chopped ham (if using) tomatoes, water, chicken broth, vinegar and bring the soup to a boil. Pour in the lentils along woth the remaining seasonings/spices and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender and the liquid reduces, about 40-45 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.