The Best Sausage and Lentil Stew Recipe
A thick and flavorful recipe for sausage and lentil stew that tastes amazing. I know it will become a staple in your dinner rotation – and you just may fight over the leftovers the next day.
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, one of which is tarragon – an unusual spice for a stew, but oh so good here. You must use this herb, so if you don’t have it add it to your list – even if you only use tarragon for this recipe, it will be worth it, I promise.
The other special ingredient is stewed tomatoes – yes stewed, not regular canned diced or whole tomatoes. This is the only time I use them, actually, and they really do enhance the flavor of this stew.
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 either home-canned or bought at best prices, 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
This popular recipe was originally published in February of 2009 and has been updated with new photos, formatting and printable recipe. Enjoy!
Is that sausage meat or links cut up
I prefer it with ground sausage, but have made it many times with links cut up so use what you have!
I saved this recipe ages ago and came back looking for it and finally scored! I made this during a gray, rainy, and cold few days and it brightened everyone up. I love this stew. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I’m so, so glad you tried this, Cassidy! As you know it’s my favorite which makes me glad when I know someone else loves it, too. 🙂