This Lentil and Sausage Stew (with spinach) is an easy, healthy and delicious dinner! Made with canned tomatoes and canned lentils, it'll take you 30 minutes to put together.
This hearty stew is a dish my Mom makes and my family loves. It makes a great weeknight meal, is WW friendly (using Italian Turkey Sausage) and it's dairy-free. This recipe was inspired by my Mom's Red Lentil Soup (with spinach) on this site, and pairs well with my Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe.
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💭Healthy Benefits of Lentils
Lentils are high in fibre, a great source of iron, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, potassium and packed with protein. You can read more about the health benefits of lentils HERE.
🥘Ingredients
For this Lentil Sausage Stew, you'll need:
- Italian sausages
- onion
- carrots
- garlic
- canned tomatoes
- canned lentils
- fresh baby spinach.
- cilantro (optional)
*See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions
- Cook sausage over medium-high heat until cooked through (no longer pink). Set aside. Add I chopped onion, 3 diced carrots (I precook carrots for 6 minutes in microwave with a tablespoon of water, then drain), and 2 minced garlic cloves. and canned tomatoes. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and cook until onion and carrot are soft (a fork can easily go through), about 20 minutes.
- Add chopped sausages to stew, along with canned lentils, drained and rinsed, and 6 cups baby spinach.
Step 1 Step 2
3. Add a the spinach in batches, stir until it gets a bit soft/wilts, then add the next batch and repeat. I do this about 3-4 times.
4. Heat through and serve.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Tomatoes- you can use whole or diced canned tomatoes
- Sausages - you can use either pork Italian sausage, turkey sausage or chicken sausage to bring down the calories and WW points
- Spinach - you could substitute frozen spinach
- Lentils- you can use dry lentils (cook in advance) if you prefer
- Vegetarian - skip the sausage and get the "Italian" flavor of the sausage from adding a little Italian seasoning, pepper, onion powder, fennel and paprika
- Gluten-free - use gluten-free sausages
- Spicy - add chili or red pepper flakes
- Garlic - you can use jarred minced garlic or garlic powder (in a pinch) if you don't have fresh garlic
👪 Serving Size
This Lentil Stew recipe makes 4 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust. I always double this recipe because my family loves it!
🔢WW Points
This Lentils with Sausage and Spinach is Weight Watchers friendly @ 6 WW point on my plan, using turkey Italian sausages. If you use pork Italian sausages, it will be substantially higher in WW points. You can click HERE to see how many points it is on your WW plan (Canada)
🥗 Side Dishes
This lentil sausage stew goes well with crusty bread, rye bread or a side salad. I also like to serve it with:
- Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe
- The Best Baking Powder Biscuits
- Bread Machine Onion & Olive Bread
- Quick Cucumber Kimchi
🍽Equipment
You don't need any special equipment for this recipe- just a cutting board, a good knife, a frying pan and a large pot. You could use a Dutch oven (affiliate link) as well, especially if you want to cook the sausages and the remainder of the dish in one pot.
🌡️Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
🦺Food safety
- Cook sausages to a minimum temperature of 160 -165 °F (71-74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
❔Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Lentil Stew is healthy for you because lentils are healthy for you! They are rich in minerals, low in fat, high in fibre and are also a great source of protein, folate and iron. The other ingredients in this stew (spinach, tomatoes, carrots, onions and garlic) are also full of nutrients.
The meat that goes best with lentils is sausages. That's why the ingredients in Lentil Sausage stew work so well together. Chicken also goes well with lentils.
Lentils thicken stew, especially if they are pureed or red lentils (that tend to cook up mushier and lose their shape). If you want a thicker stew you can puree the canned lentils for this stew.
⭐ Reviews
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📋Lentil and Sausage Stew Recipe (with Spinach)
Ingredients
- 3 Italian sausages * turkey or regular
- 1 onion, chopped large
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 28 oz can of tomatoes
- 19 oz can of lentils
- 6 cups baby spinach.
Garnish (optional)
- cilantro
Instructions
- Cook 3 Italian sausages over medium heat in a frying pan or Dutch oven. Set aside.
- Meanwhile. Add a tablespoon of water to carrots in a microwave safe bowl and precook carrots in the microwave for 6 minutes on high.
- Add chopped onion, diced carrot, minced garlic cloves and canned tomatoes to a large pot and bring to boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until onion and carrot are soft, about 20 minutes.
- Chop sausages into small pieces. Drain and rinse canned lentils for 30 seconds.
- Add to stew along with canned lentils, drained and rinsed, and baby spinach.
- Add spinach in 3-4 batches, stirring between.
- Heat through until spinach has wilted and serve.
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady
This looks like such a hearty meal! I love lentils, but never know how to prepare them in interesting ways that aren't my same old recipe. Thanks for sharing!
nancy
i love adding lentils to my stew to bulk it up. this classic comfy recipe is always loved at our dinner table
Colleen
This stew is a hearty homey meal that we loved, especially since it only took 30 minutes!
Thanks for sharing!
Terri Gilson
Glad you enjoyed it, Colleen!