Lentil and Black Bean Soup with Andouille Sausage
This hearty soup is filled with lentils, andouille sausage, tomatoes, and black beans. Feel free to leave out the sausage or use soyrizo for a delicious vegetarian option!
This winter has been incredibly mild compared to our first two in Virginia. So far, there hasn’t even been any snow. It’s been wavering between spring-like and bitter cold outside, which has me craving comfort food more than ever. When it’s cold, I have a tendency to turn to cream based soups. I’m so glad I decided to make this one instead because it turned out to be exactly what I wanted. It’s rich and hearty without being heavy. Served with a piece of crusty baguette, this simple and unassuming meal was one of the best I’ve had in a while.
This recipe was written as a vegetarian one, but I couldn’t resist adding some andouille sausage to it. We’ve actually had mostly meatless meals lately, and I thought it would be nice to add something a little spicy to this soup. (Spicy foods are one of my few pregnancy cravings and meat has been my only aversion.) However, you can easily omit it without sacrificing any flavor for a vegetarian option.
The smoked paprika in this adds a lot of flavor, and that smokiness is enhanced by the sausage. I had originally planned to make this with chorizo, but the andouille worked nicely. I hadn’t yet used lentils in soup and wasn’t sure how well they’d hold up, but their texture was perfect – just tender and not mushy at all. We really enjoyed the different textures from the beans, lentils and tomatoes. Because I was concerned about over blending, I think I may have actually under blended just a little. Either way, this soup was a big hit and has made for awesome leftovers this week.
- COOK TIME:
- YIELD: 4-6 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces (2 links) Andouille sausage, halved lengthwise then cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces
Half a large onion, chopped
2 large stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup dried brown lentils
4¾ cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth, divided
3 cups water
1 (14-ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
- 1
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for about 8 minutes, until well browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Add more oil to the pot if needed and then add the onion and celery. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, 6-7 minutes. Add garlic, paprika and bay leaves and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- 2
Add tomatoes and their juices, lentils, 3 cups of chicken broth and 3 cups of water. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, 25-35 minutes.
- 3
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Discard the bay leaves.
Transfer half the mixture to a blender or food processor, along with half the black beans and ¾ cup chicken broth. Pulse until combined but not pureed.
- 4
Add mixture back to pot, along with remaining black beans and 1 cup chicken broth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Stir in sausage and cook soup over medium heat until warmed through. Stir in parsley and serve.
We’re right outside of D.C. and it’s been the same thing. We had maybe an inch the other night but that’s all so far. I find it sad! I love snow! Either way, I’m making this soup. Hopefully, it will convince Mother Nature to start bringing the cold weather!
Ooooh this looks delicious… I’ve been craving soup a ton lately, even though it’s been in the mid to upper 70’s here haha. Definitely going to have to try this soon!
This looks delicious!
HA…my pregnancy aversions are to meat as well!! What’s funnier is that I pulled a bag of lentil beans from the pantry this week because I thought they were green beans for split pea soup. So I have been stuck looking for a recipe for them. This is an absolutely perfect pregnancy meal even with the adouille sausage!! Thanks Courtney. 😉
This sounds fantastic! I haven’t had any cravings or aversions yet during my pregnancy, but I love bean soups and think I may just have to make this 🙂
Jenn, I didn’t have them for a long time. They came out of nowhere and disappeared just as suddenly.
This looks great, Courtney! I love everything that’s in it – welcome back to blogging 🙂
We have had NO snow at all in Minnesota!
This looks so delicious! I know what you mean about meat aversions, it was like that with my daughter but I’m so thankful it didn’t start again with this one 😀 I’m going to bookmark this to try – I can’t get over how good it looks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed my soup recipe. It is perfect for these cold winter nights. Adding andouille sausage would give this a nice kick – I may give this a try next time.
I have precooked lentils from trader joe’s. Could I use those in this?
Mallory, I would think you could use them and just greatly reduce the amount of time the soup simmers. I would let the soup simmer on its own for at least 15-20 minutes. Check the package to see how long it suggests heating them, then add them to the already simmering soup and cook for that amount of additional time. I’ve never used precooked lentils before, but I feel like that could work. Good luck, and please let me know how it turns out!
This looks great. I have venison sausage, so I will substitute that. Do you think I can make this in a crock pot?
Lauren, I think the lentils would get mushy if you made this in a crockpot so I wouldn’t recommend it.
I want to dive head first in that soup! Question — do you crumble the sausage or keep it whole?
Thanks for the lovely recipes!
Thanks for catching that, Lisa. I cut the sausage in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect that.
Sounds delicious. I’ve never made soup with lentils before but have always wanted to. This seems like the perfect recipe to start with!