Sausage & Lentil Soup with Kale
A bowl of this hearty sausage and lentil soup with kale will fill you up and warm you up from the inside out. It’s quick & easy to make, and a great way to clean out your fridge’s vegetable drawer.
A cozy bowl of soup is my go to meal when the weather turn’s cold.
And any good soup in my book’s easy to throw together, and takes very little planning.
Dump it all in the pot, and wait for the magic to happen.
Usually it’s also a way to help me clean out the vegetable drawer in my refrigerator.
All the flavors melding together in a single pot, it’s typically guaranteed to be a filling dinner for the whole family.
This sausage and lentil soup with kale is a delicious, hearty soup that uses simple ingredients.
Ingredients Needed
This soup does have a longer ingredients list than is typical for our recipes, but it’s all common things.
Easy to find in any grocery store.
You’ll need:
- Sausage – You’ll need two pounds of ground sausage. I recommend using a quality brand for this since it’s the only meat in the dish.
- Aromatics – Onions, carrots, celery, and garlic infuse this soup with rich flavor and a nice blend of root vegetables.
- Spices – This soup’s seasoned with a blend of dried oregano, basil, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, and a couple bay leaves.
- Broth – We actually use a mixture of two different kinds of broth in this soup- both beef & chicken broth.
- Tomatoes – Both an undrained can of fire roasted tomatoes and two tablespoons of tomato paste.
- Lentil Soup – Instead of rehydrating and dealing with dried beans, we used two cans of Progresso Lentil soup as a perfect short cut. Make sure it’s the vegetarian cans.
- Kale – Leafy greens are perfect in this hearty soup. We use 2-3 cups of kale leaves that have been thoroughly washed, with their stems removed, and then roughly chopped.
- Cheese – A half cup of shredded Parmesan is stirred into the soup, plus extra for garnish. You could also use grated or shaved Parmesan.
- Pasta – This ingredient is totally optional, but a delicious addition. We serve this soup in bowls with a couple cooked mini frozen cheese ravioli. You could also use cooked plain pasta. With smaller sizes like elbows, shells, or radiatori recommended.
How To Make
Making this hearty soup is easier than it might sound, especially with all the ingredients called for.
Start by setting a Dutch oven, or other heavy bottomed soup pot, over medium heat.
Add the sausage to the pot, breaking it up and crumbling it as it cooks.
Cook until it’s completely browned, and some bits have started to get crispy.
Drain off half the grease, but only half.
Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot- stirring until combined.
Let the vegetables sauté for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until they’ve softened.
Reduce the heat to medium low then add the garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper flakes, and bay leaves.
Stir everything together to combine.
Add both the beef and chicken broth, UNDRAINED diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and the canned lentil soups to the pot.
Stir again to mix everything together well.
Raise the heat to medium high, and bring the soup to a low boil.
Immediately reduce the heat, and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to bloom.
Add the cheese, stirring just until it’s evenly incorporated and completely melted.
Turn off the heat and add the washed & prepped kale leaves to the soup pot. Stir them in.
Let it sit for 2-3 minutes, just until the leaves have wilted some but not become soggy.
Remove the bay leaves and discard them.
If using the cooked ravioli, or another cooked pasta, add it to bowls and then ladle the soup out over it.
Serve with crusty bread on the side and extra Parmesan cheese on top, and enjoy!
Storing
Let the soup cool completely, and then store any extra in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
It will keep for up to 5 days.
Reheat in a pot on the stove when ready to enjoy again.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Don’t like kale? Fresh spinach leaves make a perfect substitute.
- I do not recommend mixing the ravioli (or other pasta), if using, into the actual soup. Instead just serve them together in the individual bowls. This is because the pasta won’t store well if you have leftovers. It will soak up all the delicious broth and get a soggy texture.
- Have other vegetables you need to use up? Potatoes, squash, eggplant, and even mushrooms would all make delicious additions to this soup.
Other Easy Soup Recipes
An easy, filling dinner- a bowl of this sausage and lentil soup with kale will warm you up from the inside out!
Clean out your crisper drawer and get a pot of this soup simmering asap.
Looking for other easy soup recipes that are equally filling?
Try these:
If you’ve tried this SAUSAGE AND LENTIL SOUP WITH KALE, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Sausage And Lentil Soup with Kale
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled & diced
- 2 large stalks celery thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cup julienned carrots
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes DO NOT drain
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1-2 cans PLAIN Progresso lentil soup
- 2-3 cups chopped kale washed, stems removed, & roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 pkg mini frozen ravioli cooked according to package directions, optional
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven, or soup pot, set over medium heat add the sausage. Cook, crumbling as it does, until completely browned.
- Add the onion, carrots, and celery- stirring to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes- just until the vegetables have softened.
- Reduce the heat to medium low then add the garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, and pepper flakes. Stir.
- Add the beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, and the lentil soup. Stir to evenly combine.
- Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes, just until the flavors have had time to blend.
- Then add the Parmesan cheese, stirring to combine. Turn off the heat.
- Stir in the kale, and let it sit for another 2-3 minutes- just until wilted. Remove the bay leaves and discard.
- Add cooked ravioli to bowls (if using), then ladle hot soup over top. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Don't like kale? Fresh spinach leaves make a perfect substitute.
- I do not recommend mixing the ravioli (or other pasta), if using, into the actual soup. Instead just serve them together in the individual bowls. This is because the pasta won't store well if you have leftovers. It will soak up all the delicious broth and get a soggy texture.
- Have other vegetables you need to use up? Potatoes, squash, eggplant, and even mushrooms would all make delicious additions to this soup.
Nutrition
