The Best Sausage and Lentil Stew Recipe
A thick and flavorful recipe for sausage and lentil stew that tastes amazing. It’s one of my favorite all-time recipes so I know it will become a staple in your dinner rotation – and you just may fight over the leftovers the next day!
✩ What readers are saying…
“I made this exactly as described and it was so yummy. The tarragon was a perfect addition. I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow. Thanks, Jami!” -Jean
Lentil stew (or soup) was not something I ever ate as a kid or thought about as a young adult. I don’t even think I knew what lentils were. I grew up eating basic meat-and-potatoes dinners with an occasional taco night thrown in as our only “international” food.
But my tastes expanded in college and as a young mom I wanted to make new dishes for my family that were easy and healthy – and of course tasted good. My first experience with lentils was both Dal and an amazing lentil soup I had at an Indian restaurant – I swear I would dream about that soup!
So one day when I was watching a morning show, and saw a recipe for lentil stew with sausage—that they all raved about. I wrote it down and actually made it myself.
It was SO good – nothing like the few watery lentil soups I’d tried. This was more like that amazing Indian restaurant soup: thick and lick-the-bowl flavorful. And the leftovers were even better, believe it or not.
After a bit of tweaking, this is hands-down our favorite and the only lentil stew recipe I bother making. So if you’ve been looking for an amazing warming bowl of lentil stew, this is for you. It’s been a big hit with everyone I’ve shared it with, so I know it will be for you, too.
Sausage and Lentil Stew Recipe
There are a couple of ingredients that make this lentil stew special:
- Tarragon – an unusual spice for a stew, but oh so good here. You must use this herb to really get the flavor, so if you don’t have it add it to your shopping list – even if you only use tarragon for this recipe, it will be worth it, I promise.
- Stewed tomatoes – yes stewed, not regular canned diced or whole tomatoes. This is the one of the only times I use them (bonus points if they’re home-canned stewed tomatoes), actually, and they really do enhance the flavor of this stew. However, this isn’t a deal-breaker like the tarragon – you can use regular tomatoes and see which you like better, but we’ve always preferred it with stewed.
Tip for adding sliced or whole tomatoes to soups and stews: before adding the tomatoes, put them in another container to cut them into smaller pieces before adding to the cooking pot.
Besides the incredible flavor, I also love that this recipe only costs around $4.00 for eight hearty servings! Using sausage purchased on sale, frozen chicken broth, and tomatoes from the pantry, and inexpensive lentils, this makes a healthy, economical family meal.
As the lentil stew is cooking, the aromas that are heavenly – you will definitely be looking forward to dinner! Mmm…serve it with some crusty bread and a salad for a perfect comforting meal.
It makes enough for a couple days of leftover lunches (for most families) and I seriously make it so I can have it for lunches – it gets better as the flavors mingle. It also freezes beautifully. Hmmm – you probably get the idea that I like this stew!
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The Best Sausage and Lentil Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage mild or hot – we like hot
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1½ cups water
- 1 lb. dry green or brown lentils, rinsed about 2-1/4 cups
- 3 14-15oz cans stewed tomatoes (or regular canned tomatoes, cut up)
- 1/2 teaspoon tarragon
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon hot sauce omit if using hot sausage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large stockpot. Add the sausage and cook until brown. Add onions and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Add broth, water, and lentils.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes and spices.
- Bring back to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 45-50 minutes.
Nutrition
Other Soups & Stews You May Like:
- Amazing Cauliflower Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
- Savory Seafood-Tomato Stew
This popular recipe was originally published in February of 2009 and has been updated with new photos, formatting and printable recipe. Enjoy!
Hi Jami. I just made this and it was SOOOOO GOOOOD!! I used black caviar lentils and had pre-cooked 1 # each of ground beef, pork sausage and lamb chorizo with garlic and onion, so I added some of that. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any tarragon ( will remedy that soon, though!) but used a pinch of fennel instead, and didn’t have the stewed tomatoes, so used diced. BUT it was heavenly! I can’t stop eating it!!!
Next time, I’ll use the tarragon and stewed tomatoes, but I don’t see how this could be any better!!!
Thanks for this recipe!!!
I’m always so glad when someone tries this, Carol – I think it’s a little gem that many don’t try. Maybe because it’s lentils? I’m so with you, though. 🙂 Your additions sound great, though I think you will like it with the tarragon. I think either tomato is okay, but the tarragon is just special. It’s a little bit but adds just the right amount.
I made your sausage and lentil stew this last week and wanted to let you know it was a big hit! Definitely will be making this one again. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yeah – happy to hear that, Joyce!
It’s still cold out here and this soup is what I intend to do ASAP. Glad to find you ! I wish you have a pleasant day !