It’s January in Connecticut, which means we are making LOTS of soups over here. So if you’re looking for a delicious and hearty meal to warm you up from the inside on a cold winter day, look no further than this ultimate meal-in-a-bowl soup. Packed with sausage, lentils, and vegetables, it’s sure to fill you up and keep you cozy. But don’t forget to add the special finishing touch – fried garlic! I have a genius hack to make fried garlic in your MICROWAVE and I know you might be thinking that it sounds too good to be true, but I promise you, it’s possible. Don’t skimp on this step, the fried garlic and garlic oil is really the special finishing touch when serving this soup.
Watch Me Make My Lentil Sausage Soup with Fried Garlic
If you’re in need of some more Hungry Lady Soups, be sure to follow me on Facebook, or see all of my favorite meal-in-a-bowl recipes (and so many other delicious recipes!) over on Pinterest.
How To Make My Lentil Sausage Soup with Fried Garlic
Step 1. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sausage, stirring occasionally until it begins to brown, about five minutes.
Step 2. Add the onion, celery, carrots, first two minced garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables start to soften, another 5 minutes.
Step 3. Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, stock, and water. Add a big pinch of salt, and black pepper to taste.
Step 4. Bring to a simmer, cover partially with a lid, and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Taste the soup halfway through and add more salt if it needs it. Mine always needs a couple more big pinches of salt since I use unsalted stock.
Step 5. When the soup is almost done, combine the remaining two cloves of minced garlic and remaining two tablespoons of oil in a small microwave-safe bowl.
Step 6. Microwave on high power for 3-5 minutes, I always check it at 3. Stir with a heat-resistant rubber spatula, scraping down sides of the bowl. You want the garlic to turn only lightly golden, as it will continue to cook in the hot oil once it’s removed from the microwave.
Step 7. To serve: Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Ladle soup into shallow bowls and top with the pecorino cheese, a teaspoon of the fried garlic and oil and a few cracks of black pepper. This soup freezes well and leftovers will keep for several days in the fridge!
Step 8. Enjoy!
What Else Can I Use?
- You can use both brown or green lentils in this soup. Green lentils hold their shape a bit better than brown, so just expect a softer texture with brown.
- I love kielbasa in this soup, but you can use any sausage you like including chicken sausage if that’s your thing.
- If you want to add some greens in here, simply drop in a couple of cups of cut kale or Swiss chard into the finished soup and they will wilt quite quickly and mix right in.
- If you don’t eat dairy, simply leave the pecorino cheese out when serving the soup.
- If you’re using homemade unsalted stock, you’ll want more salt than if your stock is salted already.
- If the soup looks too thick, add a little more water as it’ll continue to thicken as it cools. I like it on the hearty, chunkier side.
This Lentil Sausage Soup with Fried Garlic is special because:
This soup is hearty and filling
It’s the perfect excuse to try out my microwave fried garlic hack
It freezes well and leftovers will keep for several days in the fridge!
More Hungry Lady Soups
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup (Gluten-Free, Whole 30, Dairy Free)
Speedy Red Lentil Soup with Lemon (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
While Bean and Chicken Sausage with Greens (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
If you make my Lentil Sausage Soup with Fried Garlic, and I hope you do, please leave me a comment here and rate the recipe. Your feedback means a lot to me! You can also post to Instagram and tag me so I can share your creations!
If you like full recipe videos, you’ll want to follow me on Facebook and Youtube as I publish new videos daily!
Lentil Sausage Soup with Fried Garlic (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil divided
- 8 ounces of kielbasa sausage diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup brown lentils sorted and rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 14.5- ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken stock
- 4 cups water
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Grated Pecorino Romano cheese to finish
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sausage, stirring occasionally until it begins to brown, about five minutes.
- Add the onion, celery, carrots, first two minced garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables start to soften, another 5 minutes.
- Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, stock, and water. Add a big pinch of salt, and black pepper to taste. If you’re using homemade unsalted stock, you’ll want more salt than if your stock is salted already.
- Bring to a simmer, cover partially with a lid, and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
- Taste the soup halfway through and add more salt if it needs it. Mine always needs a couple more big pinches of salt since I use unsalted stock. If the soup looks too thick, add a little more water as it’ll continue to thicken as it cools. I like it on the hearty, chunkier side.
- When the soup is almost done, combine the remaining two cloves of minced garlic and remaining two tablespoons of oil in a small microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave on high power for 3-5 minutes, I always check it at 3. Stir with a heat-resistant rubber spatula, scraping down sides of the bowl. You want the garlic to turn only lightly golden, as it will continue to cook in the hot oil once it’s removed from the microwave.
- To serve: Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Ladle soup into shallow bowls and top with the pecorino cheese, a teaspoon of the fried garlic and oil and a few cracks of black pepper. This soup freezes well and leftovers will keep for several days in the fridge!
I found this gem of a recipe last fall and made it many times throughout the winter! It’s a quick and easy soup to put together, and I’m lucky if we have any leftovers to enjoy! This is definitely a keeper in our house! Thank you!
I’m so thrilled you love this recipe, Maria! It’s a staple in my house through Winter as well.
Enjoy,
Kat.
Ahhh this was so easy, delicious, and filling! I will definitely be making this again.
I’m so thrilled you loved it Morgan!
Enjoy,
Kat.
If I could give this 10 stars, I would. We loved it! Best flavor, quick and easy. A favorite around here! Thanks, Kat!
This is so sweet, I’m so glad you loved it Carrie!
Enjoy,
Kat.
I cannot say enough about this soup. This soup was perfect as written, which is hard to find. The addition of the fried garlic at the end added the perfect flavor. Luckily it’s just two of us, so I am looking forward to leftovers tonight! I cannot wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!
Leftovers are always a highlight 😉 I’m over the moon you enjoyed this one Stephanie!
Enjoy,
Kat.
I made two small changes to the recipe as written. I used red lentils and added a jalapeño pepper. I otherwise followed the recipe and it was excellent. Thank you Kathleen.
Those sound like great edits!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Kat.
Very good! My picky eater boys ate it and wanted seconds! I actually doubled it, except for the water because I was afraid I would overflow the pot and it was the perfect consistency. I also didn’t add the pepper since I know lentils have a pepper flavor and didn’t want it too “spicy” for my boys (this has been a complaint with lentils in the past!) Thank you for a healthy and accessible recipe!
So filling and yummy! I used linguica sausage and both my kids loved it. Also decided to add some red pepper flakes to the fried garlic, wow! Easy and delicious soup. Thanks!
Those sound like delicious additions Ashley! So glad you and your family loved it.
Enjoy!
Kat.
YUM! I forgot to add the cheese at the end, will add tomorrow. It’s soooo good! Added some baby spinach for some greens and it was perfect
So glad you loved it Lesley! (even without the cheese 😉)
Enjoy,
Kat.
I made this tonight with ground beef, bc that’s what I had on hand, and it was good. This is the first time I’ve ever cooked green lentils and it had a pea soup taste to it… I bet this would have been great with the sausage like you made it! Will definitely make this again.
I’m so glad you liked it Jessica! Can’t wait for you to give it another go ☺️
Enjoy,
Kat.
I made it tonight and it was bery good. I followed instructions to the “T”. The next time I may add more lentils. Thank you for sharing your receipe.
So glad you liked it Leslie!
Enjoy,
Kat.
Looks great!!! Could I use red lentils or not really?
Hi Daniela, you can use red lentils, yes. They break down more than green or brown so the soup will have a softer texture. Let me know how you make out!
Kat