Simple Lentil Soup Recipe with Sausage, Sweet Potato & Spinach

This Simple Lentil Soup Recipe is the one I make on repeat for my family: brown lentils, smoky turkey sausage, sweet potato, and spinach in one pot. The fully cooked sausage means no browning and no spice cabinet, just 10 minutes of prep for a hearty weeknight bowl like my Greek lemon chicken soup with orzo.

• Brown Lentils - Brown lentils are the everyday lentil you'll find in any grocery store, and they're the backbone of this soup. They hold their shape through a 40-minute simmer while softening just enough to give the broth body, so every spoonful is hearty without turning to mush. Red lentils break down into a purée and French green lentils stay firm, which is why brown is the one I reach for here.
• Smoked Turkey Sausage - I use a fully cooked, rope-style smoked turkey sausage, sliced into coins. Because it's already cooked, it goes straight into the pot: no browning, no extra pan. The smoke is the whole point. It seasons the soup from the inside out, so this recipe needs nothing more than bay leaves, salt, and pepper. I didn't test other sausages; that smoky depth was what I wanted from the start. Prefer it vegetarian? Skip the sausage and use vegetable broth.
• Sweet Potato - Most lentil soups start with carrots and celery. I skip both and use one sweet potato instead, because it brings more flavor with less chopping. Its natural sweetness balances the smoky sausage and earthy lentils, and as it simmers and softens into the broth. Yukon gold potatoes work too if that's what you have.
• Broth - This soup works with either bone broth or vegetable broth, and I've made it both ways. Bone broth is my favorite. It gives the soup noticeably more depth, and I use my homemade bone broth, though a good store-bought box works too. If you're skipping the sausage for a vegetarian version, vegetable broth is the right call. Either way, hold off on salt until the end, since the broth and sausage both bring their own.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Variations

• Make it vegetarian - Skip the sausage and use vegetable broth. You lose the smoke, so add a pinch of smoked paprika with the garlic to bring some of it back.
• Swap the sausage - Any fully cooked smoked sausage works here, including chicken or beef. Just keep it smoked, since that's what seasons the soup.
• Add some heat - Stir in red pepper flakes with the garlic, or top each bowl with sliced jalapeños for a fresh, bright kick.
• Finish it bright - A splash of red wine vinegar or a squeeze of fresh lemon right before serving wakes up the lentils and cuts through the richness.
• Try sturdier greens - Kale or Swiss chard can stand in for the spinach. Remove any tough stems and chop the leaves; they hold their texture well through the full simmer.
• Warm it up with cumin - Add a teaspoon of ground cumin with the garlic for an earthy, Middle Eastern-leaning version.

Helpful Tips

• Stop at al dente - Pull the pot off the heat when the lentils are tender but still hold a little bite. They keep cooking in the hot broth, so they'll be just right by the time you ladle them up.
• Keep extra broth nearby - Lentils drink up liquid as they cook, and the soup thickens as it sits. If it gets thicker than you like, stir in a splash of broth until it's where you want it.
• Add the spinach up front - It might seem like spinach should go in at the end, but I tested it both ways and the flavor didn't change. Adding it with everything else means one less step and nothing to remember when the timer goes off.