Recipes :: Sausage & Red Lentil Soup - Healthy & Delish!

I've been trying to find ways to sneak a few healthy foods into my weekly meals. Running The Caramel Jar - although loads of fun, is a tad time consuming! Thus, finding yummy and healthy foods that will last more than one meal is essential. At last... I've created a lentil soup that is delicious, colorful and filled with tasty sausage and healthy lentils! I have a feeling even your kids will eat this one too!

This is one of my all time favorite soups!

Full recipe after the jump!

Red Lentil Soup with Sausage

1 cup red lentils
4 hot Italian sausage links
1 qt of chicken stock
2 cups of water
1 large onion
3 carrots
2 stalks of celery
3 cloves of garlic
black pepper to taste {dash of red peppers optional}
few sprigs of fresh thyme {optional}

I love storing soup in mason jars! It can make the perfect get well gift!

Directions:

Dice your onion, grate or mince your garlic, chop your carrots and celery into small bite size pieces. Quarter your sausages lengthwise if possible - or remove casings of fresh sausage.

Heat a 4 qt pan or soup pot to medium high. Add 2 tsp of olive oil to pan. Let the oil heat up 30 seconds - 1 minute then add your onions. Soften for 3 minutes. Add your pieces of sausage or uncased sausage to break up and brown in your pan. Brown for 3-5 minutes.

Add carrots and celery. Continue to saute - 2-3 minutes. Add your grated or minced garlic, fresh thyme and freshly ground black pepper or red pepper flakes. Saute 1-2 minutes. Careful not to burn the garlic, just liven it up a bit until fragrant.

Crack open your stock and add to the sausage/veg mixture and mix. Add in lentils and stir to incorporate. Bring to boil {6-7 minutes} and then turn heat down to simmer. Cook until lentils are soft {15-20 minutes}. You might need to add a little water, if your soup becomes thick during the simmer process. I usually end up adding 1-2 cups of water during the duration of the simmer process.

Makes just shy of 2 quarts - depending on how thick you prefer your soup and how much water you added during the cooking process. Be careful - the lentils collect on the bottom of the pot - so you should stir occasionally to prevent sticking/burning.

Until next time,

Your Chief Caramel Girl