Name: Italian Sausage Lentil Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon Olive Oil; 1 pound Italian Sausage (casings removed and torn into pieces, or use bulk sausage); 1 Small Onion (finely diced); 1 large Carrot (Diced); 1 Celery Rib (Diced); 3-4 Garlic Cloves (minced); ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano; ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper; 12 ounces Dried Lentils (sorted, rinsed, and drained); 4 cups Chicken Broth; 4 cups Water; 2 cups Diced Red Potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes); 3-4 ounces Spinach; Salt (if needed at the end)

This Italian sausage lentil soup is hearty and flavorful. It’s loaded with Italian sausage, carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, and spinach.

The Italian sausage lentil soup served in a white bowl set on a linen with a spoon and sliced bread in the background.

Lentils are great, they don’t require soaking, and they cook quickly (by bean standards anyway). They also pair nicely with other ingredients like in this chicken lentil soup or this lentil potato soup. And for a wholesome meal try this Cuban style lentils that’s loaded with smoked ham and vegetables.

Ingredients

Lentils – It is best to use brown or green lentils because other varieties (red, yellow, black) will cook too quickly, break down, and will not get us the thick consistency we want. To learn more, check out this post on how to cook lentils.
Oil – We use olive oil, however any oil that is suitable for sautéing will work. Use your favorite.
Meat – Use mild or hot Italian sausage with the casings removed. Or use bulk sausage.
Vegetables – Onion, carrots, celery, and garlic make a flavor base. Potatoes and spinach make this meal filling and wholesome.
Herbs and spices – The seasoning is simple with dried oregano and black pepper. Salt may be needed at the end.
Liquid – We use water and chicken broth, if you want to use only broth watch the salt. If you must use only water add flavor by adding chicken base and/or adjusting the seasonings.
See the recipe card for quantities and preparation.

Instructions

Crumbled Italian sausage added to a large, blue and white pot.

Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the pot and cook for 5 minutes to brown. Stir frequently and break it up using a wooden spoon or spatula.

Onions, carrots, and celery over browned sausage in a large, blue and white pot.

When the sausage has browned, lower the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook the vegetables with the sausage for 2-3 minutes, stir frequently.

Browned sausage with onions, carrots, celery, and garlic cooking in a large, blue and white pot.

Add the garlic, oregano, and black pepper. Stir to mix well, and cook for 1-2 minutes, stir often.

Chicken broth being added to the lentils and other ingredients in a large, blue and white pot.

Add the lentils, chicken broth and water to the pot, stir. Then, raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil (this will take 5-6 minutes).

When the liquid is boiling lower the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook the lentils for 15 minutes or until they start to soften. Stir occasionally and keep the broth at a simmer; raise or lower the heat as needed.

Cut red potatoes in the broth with the other ingredients in a large, blue pot.

Add the potatoes. Bring the liquid back to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Cook the soup for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes and the lentils are tender.

Fresh spinach added to the ingredients in a large blue and white pot.

Add the spinach and stir until it wilts. Taste and add salt if needed. As a reference we added 1 teaspoon to ours.

The cooking time will depend on how tender you like the lentils. If you like them with a little bite in the middle (al dente) cook until the potatoes are just tender. If you like them fall-apart tender cook them longer.

Serve the Italian lentil sausage soup with a side salad or a piece of crusty bread if desired and enjoy.

Recipe tips

Pick through the lentils and remove any foreign objects (such as tiny rocks). Don’t skip this step, I have found small stones in my lentils. Put them in a large colander or a clean, flat surface and carefully sort through them.
Remove the sausage from its casings. Use a sharp knife tip and run it along the sausage lengthwise. Remove the casing and tear the sausage into small pieces. This will make it much easier to break up the sausage in the pot.
Leave the skin on the potatoes it cuts down on prep time and red and yellow have thin skins, so the texture is not a problem.
Hold off on adding extra salt to the soup until the end because the Italian sausage and the chicken broth both contain salt. Use reduced sodium broth if you are sensitive to salt.

Storing and reheating

Store leftovers in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze 2-3 months. Reheat the lentil soup in a saucepan or the microwave until heated through and steamy (to a temperature of at least 165°F).

For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.

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