Lentils with spinach and kielbasa is perfectly seasoned in this easy crockpot meal full of savory onions, peppers, and garlic. Start it early in the day and add the spinach about 10 minutes before serving for a delicious comfort meal.
⏲️ Time needed
This slow cooker recipe takes about 15 minutes of prep time and 6 hours of cook time (depending on how hot your slow cooker cooks).
🥘 Ingredients
- beef kielbasa
- dried lentils
- cooked chicken
- onion
- green pepper
- carrot
- garlic
- thyme
- pepper
- cumin
- bay leaf
- beef broth
- chicken broth
- fresh spinach
🍲 Vegetarian option
Vegetarian lentil soup is just as delicious as the version with meat! Substitute a vegetable broth made from a vegetable broth base (this gives a richer taste than boxed vegetable broth) for the chicken and beef broth.
Add an extra chopped carrot and green bell pepper in place of the turkey kielbasa and chicken, and add a dash of liquid smoke for flavor.
📋 Instructions
Lentil soup is an easy slow cooker recipe that is requires minimal preparation. Simply combine all ingredients except for the spinach in a slow cooker (if you are using chopped, cooked chicken from the freezer, you do not need to thaw it first). Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours or until lentils are tender.
About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup, add the spinach and cover it. Let it stand 5-10 minutes or until the spinach wilts. Remove the cover, stir, and discard bay leaf before serving.
📖 Recipe
Crockpot Lentil Soup with Kielbasa
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef kielbasa
- 1 pound dried lentils
- ⅔ cup cooked chicken
- 1 medium onion
- 1 small green pepper
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 32 ounces beef broth
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Rinse and drain 1 pound dried lentils.
- Chop 1 medium onion, 1 small green pepper, and 1 medium carrot.
- Slice 1 pound beef kielbasa crosswise into ½" to 1" pieces and chop ⅔ cup cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Mince 2 garlic cloves.
- Combine chopped vegetables and minced garlic with ½ teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon cumin, 1 bay leaf, 32 ounces beef broth, and 32 ounces chicken broth in a six-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or until lentils are tender.
- Coarsely chop 2 cups fresh spinach.
- Add spinach and cover. Let stand 5-10 minutes or until spinach wilts.
- Remove cover and stir. Discard bay leaf before serving.
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