The most flavorful and creamy lentils with smoked sausage made fast in your Instant Pot or slow in your Crockpot.
Book Club Casserole
“Casseroles are my go-to food when I’m cooking for a crowd and I don’t want to spend a lot of time on it. Here’s a recipe that’s easy to make as well as tasty, a hard combination to beat.” –MotherDaughterBookClub.com
This recipe is surprisingly super delicious. I know you’re thinking that lentils are boring and indeed they can be. But this recipe is not boring. It is full of flavor with just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of prep time. This will give you more time to tidy the house before your book club friends arrive.
The lentils are flavored by the smoked sausage (so get a brand you love) and the seasonings. Lentils cook much quicker than dried beans and there is no soaking. The lentils turn out almost creamy. Legumes are such a healthy food, we all need to eat more of them, I am told. So try out this recipe soon!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Olive oil
- Beef smoked sausage–or andouille sausage, ham, kielbasa
- Onion
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Brown/green lentils–if you use red lentils use a 3 minute pressure cook time instead
- Petite diced tomatoes–or crushed tomatoes
- Sugar
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Red pepper flakes
- Cornstarch
- Mozzarella cheese
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says hot add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the smoked sausage and brown for about 4 minutes.
Add in the onion and saute for 3 minutes.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the lentils. Dump in the tomatoes, sugar, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Don’t stir.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes for al dente lentils or 7 minutes for soft lentils. Let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid.
Stir. If it needs to be thickened stir cornstarch together with equal parts cold water and stir it into the pot on the saute setting until sauce thickens.
Sprinkle cheese on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a charcuterie board full of crackers, cheese, pretzels, olives, fruits, vegetables and dips.
- This recipe is gluten free. It can be dairy free if you leave out the mozzarella.
- Try adding in more veggies like carrots, spinach or cabbage.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with mozzarella are Instant Pot Caprese Chicken and Instant Pot 5-Ingredient Meatball Casserole.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Book Club Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
The most flavorful and creamy lentils with smoked sausage made fast in your Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 (12 oz) package beef smoked sausage, cut into quarter inch dice
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup brown/green lentils
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says hot add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the smoked sausage and brown for about 4 minutes. Add in the onion and saute for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Sprinkle in the lentils. Dump in the tomatoes, sugar, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes for al dente lentils or 7 minutes for soft lentils. Let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Stir. If it needs to be thickened stir cornstarch together with equal parts cold water and stir it into the pot on the saute setting until sauce thickens.
- Sprinkle cheese on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the smoked sausage and brown for about 4 minutes. Add in the onion and saute for 3 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the broth, lentils, tomatoes, sugar, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until lentils are cooked through.
- If it needs to be thickened stir cornstarch together with equal parts cold water and stir it into the slow cooker on the high setting until sauce thickens.
- Sprinkle cheese on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy!
- Category: Sausage
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
More Instant Pot Recipes with Lentils…
Supercharged Casserole
Superfoods like kale, sweet potatoes, lentils, cauliflower and turmeric combined in an easy and FAST Instant Pot meal with lots of flavor.
Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Garlic Herb Lentils
Easy lentil stew with onions, garlic, carrots and celery. It’s almost got a creamy consistency and is super comforting. Make it fast in your pressure cooker or simmer it all day in your slow cooker.
Instant Pot Madras Lentils with Ground Beef
Lentils, red beans and spices simmered in a creamy tomato sauce. Serve like a chili or over rice.
Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken and Lentils
Lentils and chicken are pressure cooked with green salsa and black beans to make a creamy one pot dinner. Top it with cheddar, sour cream, cilantro and crunched up tortilla chips for the ultimate Mexican meal.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
any chance someone has made this with chicken or any other lean protein??
we’ve made it frequently as written and it’s amazing (I don’t even need the cheese…….sometimes my husband will put grated Parmesan on top)
I crave lentils when the weather turns cooler. I made this in the slow cooker. A delicious bowl of hearty, yummy goodness and super easy to put together. Loved it.
Me too! Thanks for the 5 stars 🙂
I have a question – Are these dried lentils or canned lentils?
I used dried
Oooohhhh! This one just jumped to the top of the “list”! We love lentils at this house. I just read the ingredients out loud to my hubby & told him if he was a ‘good boy’ tomorrow I’d make this for dinner. He thought about it for about 10 seconds & said “if you make cornbread too, it’s a deal!” Plz don’t tell him I’m making it anyway. Sorry, not sorry. Will be back with stars.
Was super delicious!! Only boo-boo I made was not doubling the recipe knowing full well I have a chow-hound for a husband. No worries. It just went back on the “list” for NEXT week when the recipe will be doubled & there will be leftovers.
lol! “chow hound” I love it
Not a comment, but a question.
This sounds interesting.
I don’t have an instant pot, or pressure cooker.
Can I cook this on top of the stove or in the oven?
Thank you,
Yes I’m sure you could. I would use a dutch oven on the stove and do the first part with the sauteeing then add the liquid and lentils and simmer until lentils are cooked through…it’ll probably take 20 minutes or so