INSTANT POT – STOVE TOP
In the mood for soup but want something hearty? Hello Italian Lentil Sausage Soup! Chock full of veggies, flavor and comfort. I call it Italian because of the flavor profile..all the rich tomato-y goodness and of course the sausage is a perfect addition to this warming soup.
This soup comes together pretty easily. It’s veggie packed and the secret ingredient? Pasta sauce! When I first made this soup I didn’t have any tomato products in my pantry. Completely zero, but I had a few jars of ready made pasta sauce. The one I picked was a chunky Marinara and wow, what an unexpected boost of flavor! The second time I made this I used a Roasted garlic pasta sauce, equally delicious!
I also used Aidells Italian Chicken Sausage. We love the flavor and the fact that they are made of Chicken. They are smoked so they add the right amount flavor to the Italian Lentil Sausage Soup to taste hearty and satisfying. You can add pork sausage or make it vegetarian without any meat, it is still filled with flavor.
Something to note when making this recipe, depending on the sodium content of the sausage, broth, and pasta sauce, I recommend starting with only 1/2 tsp of salt while the veggies cook. Add more if needed, before the spinach goes in. This will ensure it’s not over salted.
This recipe would be suitable for an Instant pot or slow cooker however, we have only included instructions for stove top.
Serve this delicious soup with some crusty bread, and sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Looking for another tried and true delicious dinner? Try our Easy Boneless Chicken Cacciatore.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 links Aidells Italian Chicken Sausage chopped
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth low sodium
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1/2 large onion, white or yellow diced
- 1 cup dried lentils, French sorted and rinsed.
- 1/2 jar prepared, chunky pasta sauce approximately 1 1/4 cups
- 2 cups spinach frozen
- 1/2 tsp thyme dried
- 1/2 tsp salt, kosher
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 leaves bay
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Stove top
- Heat olive oil in dutch oven. Start with 1 tbsp, add more if needed.
- Saute carrots, celery, onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
- Add chicken broth, sausage, thyme, lentils, bay leaf, pasta sauce.
- Cook for 30 minutes. Check for salt, and doneness of lentils. Lentils should be almost done. Depending on the sodium content of sausage, pasta sauce, chicken broth, add salt as needed.
- Add frozen spinach. Cook for 5 or 10 more minutes depending on doneness of lentils.
Instant pot
- Place all ingredients in Instant Pot.
- Cook on Soup/Broth setting. 12 minutes on high.
- When cycle is completed, release steam manually.
- Once all steam is released and the valve has indicated safe removal of the lid, add the frozen spinach.
- Replace lid and seal. Allow to sit about 5 minutes. If you use fresh spinach, no need to let it sit. Just stir in and the heat will wilt the spinach.
- Top with Parmesan cheese and serve with crusty bread.
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