Kris' Lentil Sausage Soup

I just wanted to add a note to be more specific about the ingredients. I'm one of those cooks that seldom follows a recipe exactly and I like to leave room for experimentation. However, for those of you saying that it's not flavorful enough, I might add a few suggestions: I use hillshire farms brand polska kielbasa made with pork, turkey, and beef. (I don't think the "all beef" is as flavorful.) Also, be sure to use the leaves of the celery...they add a powerful punch of flavor. Also, don't skimp on the bay leaves or the simmering time. The lentils don't take that long to cook, but you want to extract the flavor out of the bay leaves, and that's what takes the time. Also, this is ALWAYS better the next day. I leave the bay leaves in (probably the reason) and nobody has any trouble eating the leftovers. (Or, you can just make it a day ahead and then reheat it if you like.) Anyway, enjoy and use the ingredients that you like. -Kris

Three out of four in my family thought that this recipe was outstanding. The one who wasn't a big fan is only four, so we're still waiting for her taste to mature. Did I make it exactly according to the directions? Well no, of course not. Here's how it went. I used 6 c water (my hubby likes soup to be thick). Then, added two Knorr chicken boullion cubes. I used 1 1/2 c Le Puy lentils. It didn't need salt or pepper. Also, I added a dash or two of ground thyme. That's it - yum. Thanks for the recipe.

This recipe was full of flavor, hearty, and just right for a cold wintry night! Thanks for sharing, Kris. For those who think there's not enough flavor, try using a smokier polska kielbasa -- I happened to have gotten ahold of some wedding kielbasy from www.andysdeli.com and it released a LOT of flavor into the soup. I rarely give 5 stars to any recipe, but this one is outstanding!

Made this last week and thought it was great. I used Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage and browned it, sliced, with the vegetables, thereby, omitting the oil. Also used homemade vegetable stock in place of chicken broth. Next time I'll add a box of chopped spinach! Served this over brown rice. Really delicious. Thank you, Kris : )

This recipe is good but it really needs something to give it some flavor. I got the smoky flavor of the kielbasa with the dry smell of the lentils but not much else. Putting a lot of paprika in helped a bit but next time more radical herbs are needed.

Excellent! I appreciate the tip on leaving the celery leaves on--I did that, and I think it does help add more flavor. I simmered mine for about 3 hours, and it didn't get mushy or anything. I am a huge salt fan, and I really didn't need to add much to my bowl because I really found it quite flavorful. I made no changes to the original recipe except for adding extra carrots and celery. I would even add more next time, but I love veggies. I studied abroad in Spain while in college, and my host mother made a dish very similar to this. She used Spanish chorizo instead of Kielbasa, but the dish was very similar. I've enjoyed cooking with lentils ever since.

Very tasty the first day, even better the next (after the bay leaves have infused the soup). Sauteed carrots, celery, onion and garlic first added 1 t. thyme, then sauteed sausage for 3 minutes. Added remaining ingredients (to include a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes) and simmered for 2 hours. It was so tasty that it did not even need seasoning with salt and pepper! I think next time I will add some chopped cabbage or chopped greens (spinach or kale) toward the end. Can add 1 T vinegar (per earlier suggestion), but it tastes GREAT as is. Will definitely make again!

We loved this soup! I didn't know I even liked lentil beans until now. Thank you for a great recipe.

Really tasty. I added some jalapeno and bell pepper as well as some minced garlic. we enjoyed this with some Texas Toast.

We all really enjoyed this! I soaked beans in water all day and then boiled per directions. Cooked in approx 45 mins that way.

My first lentil dish and five days later I bought another two cups to make it again.

I gave it such a low score because my husband and I found found it unedible. We ate cereal instead. Which was so dissappointing. I think the sausage was the problem. I want to try a hot italian sauage next time perhaps. The smokey flavor was too overwhelming. :(

My husband loves this recipe--says it's really tasty without being too spicy hot. I've made it many times with different sausages and it always tastes great. Even with homemade (unsalted) chicken stock, I haven't had a need to add additional salt to the recipe.

I was not crazy about this soup. I did feel it had good flavor but the tomatoe was what bothered me. I grew up eating lentil soup that had no tomatoe in the recipe, I wanted to try something new, this totally changed the flavor. I will try this recipe again, but without the tomatoe.

Very good soup made it on a cold fall day and the family loved it.

The only changes I made to this recipe is to use smoked sausage instead of kielbasa, only because it's what we have/like. Otherwise, great recipe!

This was really great! I used smoked sausage because thats what I had. The only thing I didnt have was the tomatoes so I added fresh, chopped green tomato and added tomato paste to the soup. Lentil soups usually have a tomato base anyway. This was wonderful and filling.

Made this just as written, except I added some spinach that I had hanging around, and used a can of petite diced tomatoes because that's what was in the panty. Perfect! Husband loved it too. Makes a ton! We can have the leftovers all week. :)

Fantastic soup! I did make a few variations. I used smoked kabanossi instead of kielbasa. I also substituted the canned tomatoes with tomato paste. Lastly I left out the bay leaves and instead I added a dash of worcestershire sauce and Italian herb seasonings. Fab!

Omg! Was this ever good!!! I used Hillshire Farm smoked sausage....less broth, a large box 48 oz, and added some garlic powder. With less broth, it was very thick and hearty! Served with crusty hot rolls and salad, this will go right into the rotation!

Pretty easy recipe. I made a few changes for myself. I used Tuttorosso crushed tomotoes and smoked sausage instead of kielbasa. Added additional carrots and celery. Cooked for about 1.5 hours before it was done. Made a HUGE amount of soup.

Been a fan of lentil soup for a long time and this one is clearly one of the best. Grated the carrots and used more garlic and no celery and only 6 cups of water with two cubes of Knorr chicken bouillon as my changes (of necessity). Probably did not have quite a full pound of kielbasa. Sooo tasty - even hubby, the non-lentil fan, liked it.

This came out great! Instead of canned tomatoes I used three fresh tomatoes largely chopped and I also added some fresh chopped cilantro, a large cubed red potato with the skin on, thyme, cumin and about a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. 10 minutes before it was done I added a few cups of fresh spinach.

Whoa, this makes a ton of soup which is great for stocking up the freezer! I thought it was good but needed a little more flavor. I did use beef broth instead of chicken and added some thyme. Also, my soup was done in 60 minutes, simmering for 2 hours would have turned it to mush. Thanks for sharing your recipe, I enjoyed it!

This turned out really delicious. I ended up using chicken sausage that had a little spice to it so the beans kind of soaked up that flavor. I also made this in the crock pot instead of on the stove top. I just put it on around 6 pm and let it cook on low overnight and it turned out perfect! The seasonings had plenty of time to soak in to the beans.

Fantastic basic recipe, but for us needed adjustments to be as awesome as it turned out. Did everything the recipe called for and added 1/4 ts each cayenne and liquid hickory smoke + 1/2 ts cumin + 1 ts each onion powder, corriander and apple cider vinegar. And a shake of worcestershire. Also, used the larger can (28 oz?) of organic fire roasted crushed tomatoes. We topped it with sour cream, parsley and tabasco and crunched up blue corn chips... SO GOOD!

We LOVED this! I used homemade low sodium chicken broth & petite diced tomatoes. Delish with a Whole Wheat Cornbread, thanks!

Made this soup last night because I didn't have much in the pantry and needed a dinner idea. I used bacon instead of kielbasa (only because I didn't have kielbasa) and I didn't have celery so that was omitted as well. I added some thyme and paprika (dashes of both) and a tablespoon of vinegar as per other's suggestions. I halved the recipe (I only had 1/2 pound of lentils on hand). My husband declared this is the best lentil soup I've made for him, which says a lot as I've used several different recipes - including a "copycat" recipe for Carraba's lentil soup!

Delicious!!! I used meatless kielbasa sausage and vegetable broth and it turned out great as a vegetarian recipe!! The whole family loved it. Definitely saving this recipe!

This soup was absolutely delicious!! I added about 5 cloves of Garlic since I can't ever get enough of it... it was toooo die for!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent...my husbands favorite of all recipes! I have given out this recipe a few times.

My husband and I both enjoyed this. The only things I did differently was I used 1/2 lb of sausage and 1/2 lb of bacon, because that was what I had, and then I shook a bit of smokey sweet pepper into the soup and a dash of red pepper vinegar. YUMMMMMM and so filling

nice big batch and soup froze, thawed and reheated well!

I really loved this, hubby really liked it, so it's a keeper for sure. (We did tinker with some extra spice to taste, but the base is fantastic.)

The flavor of this soup was great! But... it need 2x the liquid in my opinion. Other than that, I really liked this recipe, & I will make it again.

I've made this recipe several times, and it's totally delicious as written. I usually use Ukrainian garlic sausage in place of the kielbasa, because it's easier to find where I live, and I like the flavour more than the kielbasa (though it is similar). I will also sometimes add more chicken broth to make it soupier, as I find that it ends up to be more stew-like in my slow cooker (which I like, but my husband sometimes likes it thinner, and I am occasionally nice to him). This recipe makes a lot, which is great for me because then I have leftovers for lunches.

This recipe was wonderful. I'm not a big lentil or bean fan and I even enjoyed it. Only things I changed were to use more tomato than called for and I added 2T of apple cider vinegar before serving. It was wonderful. I don't think it needs the full two hours to cook, I think one hour would be plenty.

This was very good. I used a can of Ro-tel in place of the crushed tomatoes. We added a little hot sauce at the table, but that's no reflection on the recipe. Nice and hearty, thanks for the recipe!

I prepared this by just dumping all ingredients as stated in the crockpot and letting it cook on low for about 8 hours. The lentils would not soften, so I turned it to high for about 4 more hours and finally gave up trying to get the lentils completely soft. The soup has good flavor, but my lentils are still al dente. I'll try this again w/o the tomatoes or waiting to add them until the very end of cooking.

I have made this soup several times already. Thanks for the great recipe! I made the recipe as written.

I've made this twice -- the first time it came out very thick, but delicious. My US to metric conversion may have been off, so that could have been my fault. The second time I added extra tomato juice and it was more soup-like, and still delicious. I used sliced pork sausage instead of kielbasa because I couldn't find kielbasa in either of the tiny grocery stores near where I currently live in London. My flatmates demand it regularly.

I was searching for a recipe that had lentils and crushed tomatoes (since we had a ton of both for some reason) and came across this one. So happy I did. Soooooo super delicious and so super easy to make. My SO kept saying how great it was too... he will pretty much eat whatever I put infront of him, but he doesn't always rave. He raved this time. Oh, and our 16 mo old who turns her face to everything but mini ravioli these days was inhaling it. Yipee! Luckily this recipe makes a lot, so we'll be freezing some for the emergency no dinner nights. Thanks Kris!

I followed the recipe exactly. It ended up tasting like something my grandma would make. Not bad. Not especially good. Kind of plain.

Easy, simple. I loved it!

So yummy!

Tremendous recipe Kris. I didn't follow exactly bc i was trying to make what i had work. I substituted all beef hot dogs for kielbasa, used red lentils and canned sliced carrots, used 1/2 volume of beef stock and 1/2 volume of chicken stock, added tomato paste to sautéed vegetables then used a 3/4 cup of ketchup in lieu of crushed tomatoes, and also added a chopped bell pepper. I wish i would have the ingredients the recipe called for, but will next time. Came out incredible no matter. I did make sure and use leaves from lettuce and simmered for time called for. Great!

was so good made a double batch, added a splash of apple cider vinegar and omitted the tomatoes

DELICIOUS! And so addictive. It is helpful to add the salt and pepper at the end. I used kielbasa sausage and it adds a bit of flavor and saltiness as it cooks. Mine version ended up being a bit salty but absolutely delightful and simple!

This was great - I made it with a couple of alterations: Turkey kielbasa and nixed the tomatoes. Yum!

Used 3 cloves of garlic instead of 1, chopped a tomato instead of using crushed tomatoes. Added extra celery and carrots. Threw in some chopped parsley I had on hand. And added some shredded parmesan upon serving. Plenty of flavor, no need for salt and pepper. Did need to add 4 cups of water halfway through simmering (no lid). Served with some naan.

The store did not have the Kiebalsa so I used Portuguese Linguesa. I soaked the lentils in hot water for 45 minutes which made the soup ready in 30 minutes.

This was delicious. I tripled the garlic, grated the carrots and omitted the tomatoes. Hearty.

It was the first time I ever ate lentils. Pretty tasty

This is a really tasty soup! I needed a good recipe to use up some leftover cooked bratwurst I had in the fridge. I used 4 brats in place of the kielbasa, and it was perfect! I used some of my own frozen garden tomatoes instead of the canned crushed ones, and cut the amount of lentils down to 10 oz (1 1/2 cups!) because I didn't want such a thick soup. Other than that, I made the soup as written, and even some non-lentil lovers in the house tried it and liked it! Thanks for sharing...I would make this again!

The kids even would eat this soup.

I made this recipe without bay leaves (didn't have any) and with beef kielbasa (we're not pork eaters). I'm not a huge fan of celery, so I left that out as well, even though I think it would have worked well in this. This recipe is fantastic! Next time I'm going to use low-sodium broth because it was a bit salty for my taste, but that was not too big of a problem, clearly, since I had it for dinner and then lunch the next day! GREAT recipe.

This was perfect exactly as written. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Lots of flavor and nice, warm, comfort food for a fall evening. Served it with some warm baguette and everyone was happy.

Used andouille because I could not find kielbasa, and a mushroom soup base rather than stock, and this turned out amazing.

The whole family loved this one, great textures, great nutrition. Didn't need to add much to the spices, but I did brown my kielbasa first, and used the rendered oil to soften the onions and such, and that extracts a lot of extra flavor from the sausage. If your sausage is a bit more basic, I'd probably go with some thyme, paprika, and a dash of Tabasco.

Wonderful, has great flavor!!

For how inexpensive this was, it turned out delish! Both my 1- and 4-year-olds loved it and I loved the nutritious profile. Will definitely add to Lunes de Lentejas list of recipes.

I love this recipe. Even my husband who is not a soup lover thought it was really good. Only change I made was I put in a 28oz can of diced tomato's instead of the 14 oz can of crushed. I didn't have any in the house so I used what I had and it made the soup even chunkier. Will be making this a lot!!!

Just made for the first time & it's amazing! Was looking for a hearty, protein-heavy soup to keep me full longer. Made a couple changes based on reviews - added 3/4 tsp thyme, doubled celery, & increased carrots (used 1 lb baby carrots). Made a big pot, plan to freeze for later this winter. Wouldn't change a thing next time.

I added extra garlic and it was delicious!

So simple and delicious! Like others before me have stated, do not skim on the simmer time. It's well worth the wait! I used Swanson's chicken broth one time and homemade broth another time and both efforts were just as yummy! This soup is perfect for those cold winter nights!

Delicious, used turkey smoked sausage and added cayenne pepper

This recipe overall was good but I replaced veg oil for a healthier olive oil and added some wine for flavor.

good! I used water and chicken bouillon instead of chicken broth and i added an extra bay leaf

What a great recipe! We had all of the ingredients and it turned out to be such a wonderful, quick and hearty meal on a cold rainy day!! I used tomatos with diced garlic and onion, as that is what we had. Thank you Kris for such a keeper!

I made this Friday night because I had a friend coming over on Saturday after we checked out some craft fairs to knit. The only thing I changed was I used turkey sausage, use one quart of chicken stock and broth. It was better the next day!

We loved this. Used up 3 left over BBQ'd Prarie Fire sausages and replaced the chicken broth with beef broth because that is what I had on hand. Thanks for the great recipe Kris.

So good! I realized I only had half of the lentils I needed after I started cooking and subbed uncooked white rice for the other half. I did add a little seasoned salt, but other than that I left it alone.

Didn't have enough broth but used the entire can of crushed tomatoes (28oz) turned out delicious still and isn't too thick.

This is one of my favorite lentil stew recipes I've found. I increase the garlic (because I love it) and decrease the chicken stock because I like a thicker stew, but those are the only changes I make. When it's all done, I make myself a big bowl of stew and top it with some Tabasco, some fresh squeezed lemon, and some freshly ground black pepper. YUM

Husband and toddler approved! We absolutely loved this soup (I did add about 3 extra cups of water to make it more soupy, less stewy). I used a turkey kielbasa and the flavor was perfect. My daughter (21 months old) ate the lentils with gusto! Thanks for the great tasting and easy recipe! It will be added to the rotation for sure.

I am not crazy about kielbasa so I left it out and the soup turned out wonderful!! I froze half of it in portion sizes and it is great heated up with some parmesan cheese on top.

Our family loves Lentil Soup and this recipe is almost identical to the one I've been using for years. The two exceptions are that: 1. I use a pound of browned bulk pork sausage instead of the Kielbasa and 2. I omit the crushed tomatoes. This recipe was such a favorite that my daughter would make it in her dorm kitchenette at college and the whole floor would love the smell and come begging for a sample.

A new staple recipe. We substituted Jenny-O turkey keilbasa as a healthier alternative.

Good base recipe but I had to work with it several times to bring it up to a decent taste. Too many modifications...

Delicious! Used fresh smoked kielbasa from our Polish deli. My family loved this hearty and flavorful soup!

Family loved the soup and so did my co-worker. Brought some to work since it made plenty. Easy to make and plentiful! ~L

Very good meal, I made a number of changes to mine. First, I used about 7 cloves of garlic, why not? I did cut down on the amount of sausage it called for. At the end of cooking I hit it with an emerging blender a few times, it's my preferred way to eat lentils. And last, I mixed in some sesame seeds. Perfect.