Cheers to the chef for this chef’s kiss of a creation! Lovers Sausage Soup is a hearty combination that will hug you from the inside out! Tender barley, sweet carrots, and bountiful lentils are joined with fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken-apple sausage, and wilted spinach in a flavorful broth for a forever match made in soup heaven. We have only heart-eyes for Lovers Sausage Soup, and we aren’t afraid to shout it from the bowl rims! We love it!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup pearl barley
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 3/4 cup carrots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 6 ounces chicken-apple sausage links, cooked, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
Directions
Step 1 -In a 3-4-quart saucepan with the stovetop over medium heat, add the olive oil.
Step 2 -Add the barley to the heated olive oil and cook, while stirring constantly, until the barley is golden, about 3-4 minutes.
Step 3 -Add the onions, the carrots, and the garlic to the barley and cook, while stirring occasionally, just until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
Step 4 -Add the cumin to the vegetable mixture and cook, while stirring constantly, until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Step 5 -Add the chicken broth, the water, the lentils, and the bay leaf to the vegetable mixture and bring the mixture to a boil, while stirring frequently.
Step 6 -Reduce the stovetop heat to medium-low and cover the pot.
Step 7 -Let the soup mixture simmer until the barley and the lentils are tender, about 55 minutes.
Step 8 -Add the tomatoes and their juices and the sausage to the soup mixture and cook, while stirring frequently, until heated through.
Step 9 -Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Step 10 -Add the spinach to the soup mixture and cook, while stirring constantly, until the spinach beings to wilt.
Step 11 -Ladle the soup into bowls and serve immediately.