Italian Sausage Lentil Soup

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

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Italian sausage, lentil soup, lentils

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 15

Servings

Calories 397kcal

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

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.
When the sausage has browned, lower the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot. Cook the vegetables with the Italian sausage for 2-3 minutes, stir frequently.
Add the garlic, oregano, and black pepper. Stir to mix well, and cook for 1-2 minutes, stir often.
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.
Add the potatoes to the pot. Raise the heat and bring the liquid back to a boil (about 2 minutes). As soon as it starts to boil, lower the heat to medium-low and cover.
Cook the soup for another 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes and the lentils are tender. 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.
Add the spinach and stir until it wilts.
Taste and add salt if needed. As a reference we added 1 teaspoon to ours.
Serve with a side salad or a piece of crusty bread if desired and enjoy.

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.
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.