Sausage and Lentil Stew Slow Cooker Recipe


I love one-pot meals. This is a nutritiously sound meal that will hopefully keep your meat-loving husband, your carb-conscious mother-in-law, and veggie-hungry aunt all happy.

And that there is a very steep order. 

The Ingredients.
serves 4-6 depending on the size of the people


1 cup lentils 
2 cups beef broth
1 (12-ounce) package smoked chicken or turkey sausage, sliced--your choice of flavor. I used a spicy mango chicken from Aidell's.
1 cup chopped carrots
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
9 ounces (or so) fresh spinach (to add at the very end)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. 

Rinse your lentils under cold water, and place them into an empty slow cooker. 

Add beef broth, and sliced sausage. Add the entire can of tomatoes and a cup of chopped carrots. 

The broth and the seasoning from the sausage is enough to flavor this dish-- there is no need for additional spices.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, then stir in fresh spinach. 

It'll look like a lot at first, but the spinach will wilt and I promise it will all fit. 

Cover again and let the spinach soften for about 15 minutes. Serve in a shallow bowl with cornbread.

unless you don't like cornbread. then you really shouldn't eat it.

The Verdict.

We all ate it! I usually pick a sausage that has a bit of heat instead of the sicky-sweet sausages (think chicken apple) when I make casseroles or stews because the spice dissipates enough to not upset the kid tongues, but there is still a great amount of flavor. 

I am now such a fan of lentils--- they're cheap, filling, fat free, and full of fiber.


All Hail the Lentil!




16-bean soup (I'm pretty sure there's a lentil in there somewhere)


Do you love this article?

Please share it with your friends!


Posted by: Stephanie O'Dea | A Year of Slow Cooking at April 12, 2023

Sign up for the A Year of Slow Cooking newsletter and get the Top Ten Reader Favorite Recipes sent directly to your inbox!

What they say about this article

  1. Lentils and sausage are a combination I use often for soup/stew during the fall and winter -- they are a great combination to warm you up on a chilly day! If you have it, kale is a great addition. I tend to throw in more veggies (onions, carrots, celery) and less sausage. Another great combination is polish sausage, lentils and potatoes -- definitely comfort food!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love lentils! I think I'll try this recipe with chourico. :) We've been having many rainy days, and a crock full of stew will be just the ticket!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perfect timing! I have lentils and a fresh batch of veggie broth I cooked up in the crock, plus a bumper crop of swiss chard. This sounds fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have got to try and make this! It looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, this looks lovely. One question, where did you get gluten free lentils or did you pick them to look for wheat? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Tree,
    lentils and all dried beans are naturally gluten free. Good manufacturing is supposed to ensure that other foods are not present in the bag.
    I do not use bulk bins when I purchase beans or grain due to the possibility of cross-contamination and I'd recommend you not use them either, if you're living gluten free.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mmmmmm. That looks awesome!

    I have bought lentils for my pantry and will be using them very soon. It's been a while since I've made soup or stew with them. How could I let this happen :/ I will fix that little problem.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I haven't pulled out the crockpot since I made applesauce. Clearly it's time to pull it out again! This sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  9. quick question: do you brown the sausage first before adding? Is 5 hours on low enough to cook it all the way through? what if I used bulk sausage instead of link?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Kristin,
    no, I didn't brown the sausage. Bulk sausage is a different breed---the chicken smoked or turkey smoked is already cooked---similar to hotdogs. If you are using pork uncooked sausage, I'd cook it thoroughly beforehand and drain the fat.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Once again you have out done yourself. I myself love one meal pot recipes.Keep them coming!!!
    P.S.
    I've already book marked your post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Question...Do you need to increase the amount of broth if omitting the can of tomatoes?

    While I would make this recipe as is, my husband, on the other hand, hates tomatoes! Also, what could be a substitution for the tomatoes? I feel like I should know this but throwing things together doesn't come easy for me! Hence, my love for your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This sounds delish. Carraba's does a really good spicy sausage and lentil soup and this sounds very similar so I am bookmarking. Thanks for the tip on the sausage. I love a little (actually a lot) spice but my kids can't take usually take it so it's good to know that the heat dies down in the slow cooker.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Lisa,
    I'd add another cup or so of broth to make up for the moisture from the tomatoes. It might be a bit soupier, but the flavor will be just fine. Any vegetables you like can be added--- chopped zucchini, corn, squash-- your choice!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This looks delicious! I had never really tried lentils before reading your blog, but now they are a pantry staple at my house. Have you ever tried Alton Brown's recipe for lentil COOKIES? They are good (and perfect for car travel). Probably would require some tweaking to make them gluten free though.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What timing! I'm making sausage/lentil soup for Sunday dinner, but didn't have a recipe yet. I'm a regular reader of yours and am so excited to try this!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you Stephanie - this was amazing!! The hubby was unsure, but ended up downing two heaping bowls. I used 1lb of ground sausage (good sale) so I used 1 1/2 cups lentils. Also used two cups of beef broth and added 1 cup of water. (I think the lid on my slow cooker doesn't have a the best seal.)
    -Susan

    ReplyDelete
  18. I will really TRY your recipes! Thank you!

    :-) Greetings.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This was delicious! I made it Saturday, and it was perfect for a chilly day. The lentils were perfect for the baby, my husband ate everything except the spinach, and I thought it was fantastic. I've been looking for crockpot recipes that have more flavor, this was just the ticket. I used a habanero chicken sausage.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I made this last week - it was SO good. I will definitely be making this again - the only change I made was to add onions, because I truly believe you cannot ever have too much onion!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. this looks delicious and easy! I am curious what you think of the idea of putting this in a slow cooker at, say 830am and then having it cook for 5 hrs on low then stay at the stay-warm setting til dinenrtime (around 6pm). maybe i would add an extra cup of broth? It's just for those of us who use the slow cooker as a work-day easy dinner, a 5 hr recipe doesn't work so well.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Mim,

    That's exactly what you should do! It'll stay on warm for an additional 12 hours after the 5hr cooking has elapsed. No need to add additional broth--- let the machine do it's job! :-)

    I put this on early in the day, and it was on warm for a good 4 hours before stirring in the spinach.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This was fantabulous! Thank you so much for sharing it.

    And congratulations on the new family members. >^..^<

    ReplyDelete
  24. Stephanie10/27/2011

    Is the 5 hours on low correct? OR is it really 5 hours on high? I did it as instructed and my carrots and lentils were still crunchy after 5 hours. Just thought I would throw that out there in case it was a typo.

    However, after it was finally finished it was delish. Thank you so much for your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Stephanie,

    Thank you for letting me know! 5hrs on low was fine in my slow cooker---the carrots were cooked, but not total mush. Elevations and individual crockpots vary the time. great feedback.
    -steph

    ReplyDelete
  26. this looks delicious! What if I were to do it with veggie sausage? Do you think I'd have to cook it as long?

    ReplyDelete
  27. I wanted to let you know that I featured this great recipe on my "What I Bookmarked This Week" post - stop by and see.

    ReplyDelete
  28. OMG! This is so Yummy! I believe you have out done yourself with this one! I used bulk sausage and just let it cook a bit longer. I wish I would have added more spinach after it cooked down but the family was too hungry to wait. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I have this in my crockpot right now and am super excited to taste it with the family tonight! We love Lentil soups so I'm sure this one will be a hit too!

    I also made another batch and put into a freezer bag. All I have to do for that one is toss in crockpot!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I cheated just a bit. I really wanted to make this, but I kept forgetting to put it in the slow cooker. SO, I put everything in the pressure cooker. Tasted fabulous, and only took 13 minutes. Thanks for the recipe though. Next time, I promise to use the slow cooker.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous9/14/2014

    I made this today and it was SUPER tasty. I added a yellow bell pepper and used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete