Healthy, Delicious, Hearty Garlic Sausage and Lentil Soup

This post was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

With two small kids and a baby on the way I’m always looking for new ways to spice up our cooking without spending hours in the kitchen. I’m also that mom who hides veggies in her meals. For the most part our kids are good about eating healthy food, but when I can find easy ways to add veggies or beans I’m all for it.

The only problem? Usually whole food recipes and more veggies means more work. But I’m here to tell you that doesn’t have to be the case!

I’m so excited to partner with Better Than Bouillon and share one of our favorite hearty sausage and lentil soup recipes. The kids love it and it’s filled with veggies without spendings hours in the kitchen.

Before we get to the recipe I want to share three ways to reduce time in the kitchen and make meal time faster for your family.

First, I try my best to organize my recipes ahead of time and menu plan. This takes some effort and preparation, but it makes meal time so much easier. Every weekend I look through our family favorites and choose 4 to 5 recipes for the week. I keep a secret Pinterest board and I also have a file in our kitchen with our favorite recipes written down or printed.

It helps me focus my grocery shopping and makes sure I’m only buying the ingredients I need. It also reduces kitchen time because I’m not wondering if I have all the ingredients or spending a lot of time figuring out what to cook.

Second, similar to the first tip, plan ahead. Cut your veggies all at once on the weekend. It will initially take time, but then during the week you’ll already have the chopped carrots, onions or peppers. I also love my garlic press. Simple kitchen tools like this can save you time and stress.

Lastly, I buy versatile products! This is one of the main reasons we love Better Than Bouillon. I never have to worry if the chicken stock in the fridge is expired or how many days it’s been opened for. Better Than Bouillon doesn’t expire quickly and it still has great flavor even after being in the fridge for a few days.

It also can be used for different purposes. In this soup we used it as a basic stock broth, but we’ve also used it in curried lentil dishes and as marinades on veggies or meat.

So now on to the recipe! We love lentils in our house and they are a great way to add fiber to your diet. One of the reasons I make this hearty sausage and lentil soup often. We hope your family loves this recipe as much as we do.

Ingredients:

1 lb garlic sausage
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3-4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz, fire roasted if you like more heat)
4 cups of filtered water
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon seasoned vegetable base
3/4 cup dried sprouted lentil trio
1 can of cannellini beans (15 oz), rinsed and drained
1-2 handfuls of spinach
Salt & Pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional to serve on top)

Directions:

First, brown the sausage. We used fresh garlic chicken sausage and I decided to take it out of the casing before I browned the meat. If you choose to use precooked sausage, brown the meat then cut into bit size pieces. Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside.

Next, add the onions, carrots and Italian seasoning. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the onions and carrots are soft. Add the water and Better Than Bouillon seasoning. Stir until combined. See it’s so easy to use!

Then add back in the sausage with the lentils and the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium/low and cover. Simmer until the lentils are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Then add in the cannellini beans and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve immediately with your favorite freshly grated parmesan cheese. I’ll be honest we don’t usually add in extra salt or pepper. The soup has so much flavor!

Note: We’ve made this before without sausage so if you prefer a vegetarian or vegan meal it’s still a great hearty soup option!

So what is your favorite fall or winter soup? If you try our sausage and lentil soup be sure to tag us with @heartofdeborah on social media.

Don’t miss the Better Than Bouillon Sweepstakes below. If you are interested in learning more about their product visit their website or Facebook page. They have so many varieties (roasted garlic, organic, reduced sodium, chili, vegetarian and the list could go on!).