Tomato Lentil Soup with Sausage is a thick, hearty, whole meal soup that's easy to make in the Instant Pot. It has four main ingredients and six spices. You don't need any soup stock or broth for this one. Brown the meat a little, dump everything else in, set it, and forget it!
I've been making this soup regularly since we moved into our motorhome full time. It's a wonderful, complete meal that seems like it's been simmering for hours - perfect for a weeknight dinner! Serve it with Gluten Free Garlic Bread Sticks or Seed Crackers, if you wish.
Tomato Lentil Soup is suitable for gluten free, dairy free, and nut free diets. It's a very budget-friendly dish, too! For more money-saving ideas, read The Affordable Gluten Free Diet.
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Ingredients
- Sausage - I prefer to use Sweet Italian sausage, but if you like more heat try a hot one!
- Crushed Tomatoes - Crushed tomatoes don't have seeds in them, so they're nice for dishes like this one.
- Sweet Potatoes - If you don't have any sweet potatoes on hand, butternut squash works just as well here. I recommend the frozen cubes, so you don't have to cut up the squash. Carrots will also work.
- Paprika - I love the depth of flavour that smoked paprika adds to this dish.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE and brown the sausages.
Cut the sausages into chunks, add the other ingredients, and set the Instant Pot to PRESSURE cook.
Allow a slow release for 15 minutes for the flavours to blend.
Substitutions
This recipe is designed to make an easy weeknight dinner. There are plenty of options for substitutions in case you don't have the exact ingredients on hand.
- Sausage - Instead of sweet Italian, you can use other types of sausage, or even ground beef. If you use bulk sausage or ground beef, you'll be able to eliminate the step of cutting up sausage links.
- Sweet Potatoes - Use cubes of butternut squash or carrot, if that's what you have available. I recommend frozen butternut squash, because it's so much easier than cutting up a fresh one.
Equipment
I like the convenience of making tomato and lentil soup in my Instant Pot. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you could use a large pot on the stovetop. The procedure will not be much different, except that you'll need to stay with it and watch it closer.
Storage
Leftovers store nicely, covered, in the refrigerator for a few days, or in the freezer for a month or two.
Recipe Tips and FAQ's
Unlike beans, you don't have to soak lentils before cooking. Lentils are the easy legume to work with! Green lentils will cook in about 20 minutes. Red lentils cook even faster!
Lentil soup is the ideal way to consume these nutritious legumes. Next to soybeans, lentils have more protein than any other beans. They are also an inexpensive source of fibre, potassium, folate, and iron.
You can still make tomato soup with lentils if you don't have an Instant Pot. Using a large pot on the stovetop, follow the instructions in a similar way. The main difference will be that you need to stay with it to keep an eye on it more.
After you've added all of the ingredients to the pot, cover it and bring the liquid to a boil. Then, reduce the heat. Stirring occasionally, allow the soup to simmer until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes or so.
More Warming Soups You Might Like
- Gluten Free Tomato Soup Recipe
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup with Apple
- Creamy Roasted Sweet Potato Soup
- How to Make Bone Broth
If you have any questions or comments about the recipe, please do drop them into the comment section below. 🙂
Recipe
Tomato Lentil Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1¼ pound uncooked sausage, such as sweet Italian
- 1½ cups green lentils, rinsed
- 4 cups water
- 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Saute setting. Add the oil. Add the sausages and brown them on at least two sides, for about 5 minutes total. They won't be completely cooked through yet.1 tablespoon avocado oil1¼ pound uncooked sausage,
- Cancel the Saute setting. Remove the sausages and set them aside on a cutting board. If there's an excess of fat in the pot, drain it off now.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot.1½ cups green lentils,4 cups water28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes3 cups sweet potatoes,½ teaspoon ground black pepper½ teaspoon garlic powder¾ teaspoon fine sea salt1 teaspoon dried oregano1½ teaspoons onion powder1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- Cut the semi-cooked sausages into bite-sized chunks, and return them to the Instant Pot.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot, and set the vent to seal for pressure cooking. Cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes. (It will take about 22 minutes for the Instant Pot to reach full pressure.) Allow a slow release for 15 minutes.
- Carefully open the vent to release the remaining pressure. Stir the soup, and serve.
Notes
- One pound of sausage is enough, if that's how yours comes packaged.
- You may substitute ground beef for the sausage, but it will lack the flavour of the sausage.
- You may substitute chunks of peeled butternut squash or carrot for the sweet potato.
- If you don't have smoked paprika, use regular.
Nutrition
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (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
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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