Italian Sausage and Lentil Soup

 Fall is here and we all know what that means - Soup Season! Go ahead and get out your crockpot, instant pot or stockpot and get ready to make an amazing pot of soup for dinner. 

My family loves when I serve soup for dinner and this Italian sausage and lentil soup is one of our favorites. I love it because it is full of healthy veggies and amazing flavors. 

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Actually, the first time I made this soup was the first time my family had ever eaten lentils. My husband is not a fan of beans at all!  But I thought since lentils don't actually look like a "regular" bean, like chili beans or cannellini beans I could pull off this soup without disclosing that lentils are actually legumes. Guess what? It worked!! Everyone in our family including my picky 8 year old really likes this soup.

There are four main categories of lentils - brown, green, red/yellow and speciality. Lentils are high in fiber and protein making them an excellent addition to your diet. Unlike most dried legumes (beans) lentils do not require soaking before cooking and the red variety cooks the fastest. You can get buy canned lentils to use in a quick side dish or in salads but dried lentils work best in soup.  Once you open a bag of dried lentils make sure to store them in an air-tight container in a cool dry place. It is best to use up the lentils within one year (which should be no problem after you make this soup!). 

If you have never used lentils before don't worry they are super easy to cook. All you have to do is rinse and sort them picking out any stones then pour them into your stockpot along with the rest of the ingredients and let your stove do the work of softening them in the broth as the soup simmers on your stovetop. 

Check out these other delicious recipes:

Before we get to the delicious fall soup here are a few other recipes I think you are going to love too:

Simply Delicious Italian Sausage & Tortellini 

10 Awesome Recipes For Day Old Jimmy John's Bread

How To Make Cinnamon & Sugar Soft Pretzels

Now for the soup recipe! I love making this soup in a big stockpot but if you want you can definately make it in your crockpot or instant pot too. 

Italian Sausage & Lentil Soup

Ingredients
1lb Italian sausage

1 large onion - chopped

1 stalk celery - chopped

2 large carrots - chopped

2 small zucchini cubed (optional)

6 cups chicken broth

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained 

2 cups lentils

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

½ tsp each - pepper, basil, oregano, parsley & thyme

1 pinch red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Brown the sausage and drain off the fat.

2. Add all of the ingredients to a large stockpot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the stockpot and simmer for 1 ½ hours until the lentils are tender.

3. Sprinkle it with parmesan cheese and serve.

To print out this recipe click HERE for the recipe card.

What are your favorite fall soups? Do you like using your crockpot, instant pot or stock pot to make soup? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are making for dinner tonight!

For more inspiring hearty fall soup recipes check out this post too!

10 Hearty Fall Soup Recipes Your Family Will Love