Carrabba's Sausage and Lentil Soup

"I've gone to Carrabas many times just for this soup. A lady from my supper club happened to bring this in for our soup theme and it tasted exactly like Carrabas! I've substituted Italian turkey many times and you would never notice the difference. You might also want to sprinkle some fresh basil and Parmesan cheese on top. Its good with a crusty piece of bread!"
 
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photo by thecookierookie
photo by Tiffany C. photo by Tiffany C.
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photo by Anonymous photo by Anonymous
photo by Wood A. photo by Wood A.
Ready In:
1hr 15mins
Ingredients:
16
Serves:
10
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ingredients

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directions

  • Brown sausage; drain off fat.
  • In a large pot combine all ingredients bring to boil.
  • Reduce heat,cover.
  • Simmer for about 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Add water if necessary, for desired consistency. I like to puree about 1 cup of the soup and add back to pot to give it a thicker consistency.
  • Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Questions & Replies

  1. How much of the seasonings do you add??? I’m probably the only one who needs measurements but I know I’d wreck the whole recipe if I don’t have ‘em!
     
  2. Recipe doesn't give measurements for black pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, parsley and thyme. Can I get that? I'm not good at doing things by taste. Thanks!
     
  3. Is this really a "stalk" of celery or a "rib" of celery?
     
  4. Can someone tell me the measurements of herbs used in this recipe?
     
  5. How much seasoning to put in
     
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Reviews

  1. The soup from Carrabbas has bacon so I added a pound of smoked bacon. I also added 1/4 tsp of fennel seeds and a bay leaf. I omitted extra salt and red pepper flakes because I used hot sausage and 1.5 cartons of chicken broth with salt and figured everyone could adjust theirs to taste. Everyone loved it! Also, I threw everything into the crockpot and let it cook on low for about 4 hours rather than cooking it on the stove top (I did brown and drain the sausage and bacon.) Will make this again and again, especially in the cold months.<br/><br/>Update 12/14/2012: I have now officially mastered the soup! Have made this more than a dozen times since that first review. I now freeze the smoked bacon in the package for an hour before cutting it into 1/4 inch pieces, then bake it at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes instead of frying. I drain the bacon and the sausage but I do saute the chopped veggies (just onion, carrots, and celery--no zucchini) in a few spoons of bacon fat. I also puree about 1/3 to 1/2 with my immersion blender when it's close to done. Wow, it can't possibly get any better than this!
     
  2. My husband keeps raving about this soup. I browned the sausage and all the veggies and then put them in the crock pot. I boiled the lentils (I used red lentils) in chicken broth for 30 minutes. I probably used 1.75 cups lentils and 4 cups broth. Then I put everything in the crock pot on low for about 5 hours. It was thick like stew. I used two pints of my homemade canned tomatoes. 1tsp of all the spices except 1/2 of thyme because it's not my favorite. Served with a dollop of sour cream and extra hot pepper flakes for a few of us.
     
  3. Just made this last night and I can't stop raving about it! I took some suggestions from other reviewers by adding spinach, red wine vinegar and some hot sauce. I let the soup simmer for about two hours until it was more a stew consistency, just a personal preference. Thanks so much for posting, I'm adding this to my permanent soup collection!
     
  4. Love this recipe, it's spot on. Taste great, serve with garlic knots or sourdough bread and even use croutons. Left overs always get eaten during the week. Tweaks/additions: easily feeds 4-6 people(got boys); use 8 Qt pot; ingredients measurements not listed: use 1/2 tsp each ; chili flakes, I use 1/4 tsp (if you like spicy, use 1/2 tsp). Changes, I use fire roasted tomatoes(instead of regular), use low sodium chicken broth and add a half of a shallot. I've made this several times, and tend to add an additional cup of chicken broth, because I like mine more on the soup side. Reading other comments, I will say, If you're worried about calories etc, this probably shouldn't be on your short list of recipes. LOL
     
  5. Had to substitute haricot beans and red lentils for the brown lentils and eggplant for the zucchini so my soup was different to the one in the recipe. Nevertheless we loved it - added the red wine vinegar to our individual bowls. The vinegar adds another dimension of flavour. I'll definitely make this again - as stated in the recipe this time.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I work at carrabbas! This recipe is spot on. To clarify the sausage is ground in the soup we have. And bay leaves are added when simmering for flavor.
     
  2. Checking in from the Weight Watchers Instant Pot Club of My House. We have Penzey's Tuscan Seasoning in our pantry, so 2T of that for all of the other herbs. Turn the Instant Pot on saute for the onion, then the garlic after a couple of minutes. The rest of the vegetables after the garlic goes aromatic. Increase the stock to 8 cups because boxes are 4c each. Put everything else in. High pressure for 5 minutes, natural release for another 10, soups on. 2 points per cup, entirely based on the Italian sausage (and our package was 20oz, not 1lb), since the vegetables are no points, and now on WW Freestyle, so are the lentils. Made it that way last week, the kids took it for school lunch all week. This week, because we managed to score boneless skinless chicken breast for $0.99 a pound, we ground up a pound of that, added Penzey's Italian sausage Seasoning, and let that marinate all afternoon. So far so good, the meat is nearly identical, and that will make this entire pot of soup zero points.
     
  3. Start with 7 cups of broth instead of 6. The beans absorb the liquid, and you can avoid burning your soup when all of the liquid is absorbed before you are aware. Reduce the beans by 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Two cups just overwhelm a bit. Specify the quantity of seasonings/herbs. Specify that the sausage is ground sausage, or state that the casing should be removed.
     
  4. I sauteed the garlic and onion first for extra flavor. I was out of chicken stock and used beef bone broth instead. As well, I left out the red pepper flakes and 1 can of tomatoes because of a family member's sensitivity. I used 1 tsp each of the herbs. It was super yummy, but I would add in the veggies later so they are crisp.
     
  5. I used red lentils since a didn’t have brown and I substituted2 cans of petite red fired diced tomatoes instead of plain diced tomatoes. I also used Aleppo pepper to give it a kick! Linda k
     

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