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When I go to The Container Store, I just want to say, “take all my money.” It’s seriously Target’s evil twin sister. Every time I walk in either of these stores, I just want to buy all the things, but The Container Store brings out this OCD need in me and makes me feel like my house is completely filthy because it’s not contained and organized into containers and racks. Oh, and their custom closets? Gahhhh. If I won the lottery, I’d probably hire someone from The Container Store to custom redo my closets and re-organize my house.
I wanted all these baskets and containers but I was like, ok, in reality, where would these go in our house and do we realllly need these? The Container Store is a dangerous place to be sometimes!
One of my good friends gave me this recipe and she called it the ‘panty/boxer dropper’ and I wasn’t about to title the recipe that and get flagged for having an adult website, haha. I thought I’d mention it though because while this doesn’t look like much, it has got SO MUCH FLAVOR and it’ll be one of the best things you eat this season. I honestly was skeptical because the ingredient list didn’t sound all that enticing and after I had it cooking for a couple hours, the smell was outrageous. I tried a spoonful and I think my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I let out a groan. It was the best effing slow cooker dish I’ve had in a while. Holy yum.
The spicy pork sausage is definitely what gives this dish a lot of flavor so I definitely wouldn’t omit that (sorry vegetarians!). This is even better the next day, too. Leftovers were something we were looking forward to. Ahh, you have to make this slow cooker lentil and spicy sausage stew to see what I’m talking about!!
Slow Cooker Lentil and Spicy Sausage Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ pound (227 g) hot pork sausage
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cups (399 g) sweet potatoes, cubed
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- ½ pound (227 g) bag of lentils, rinsed
- 3 ¾ cups (887 ml) chicken stock + more if needed
- 3 cups (90 g) loosely packed baby spinach leaves
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add pork sausage to a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage and break it up into pieces with your spatula or wooden spoon. Add the onion and cook until just softened (you don’t need to cook fully).
- Remove from heat add to your slow cooker.
- Add the sweet potatoes, celery, lentils, and chicken stock to the slow cooker. Stir to mix.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
- Stir in the spinach leaves and wilt them. Season with salt and pepper.
- If your stew is thick and you want to thin it out, add a little more chicken stock to it until you get the desired consistency.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Prep time 10 mins??? Lol. Do you buy your food pre-chopped?!!! It’s in process. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Haha, no, I just chop pretty fast :) but hope you enjoy regardless!
I made this, eating it right now as I type. Its absolutely perfect, just like in the picture. I made it exactly word for word. The spicy sausage with the sweet potato….O…M…G.
Made this yesterday in a slow cooker (on low for 9 hours instead of high for 4). Turned out with tons of flavor–so delicious! I also added some fresh rosemary and thyme I had on hand and it was a great touch. Thanks for sharing this winner!
Can I use navy beans instead of lentils?
I’ve never tried it that way but it’d probably work!
Hi! 2 Questions:
1. Can I use sweet sausage? (have it in the freezer already)
2. Can I cook on LOW for longer?
Thanks!
Hi, 1. sure, but can’t guarantee the taste of the overall dish and 2. yup, you can cook it on low for 5-6 hours.
I do not like sweet potatoes… may I ask if reg white potatoes be substituted? Thank you.
Sure, regular potatoes can be substituted!
This is one stew even my fiance might like! As long as it’s spicy :) Do you serve it alone, or with rice/pasta?
I serve it alone
I made this tonight…it was FANTASTIC! Perfect on a cold Wyoming night. I used chorizo and it turned out great. Next time I will probably use spicy sausage, just for texture. The chorizo crumbled a little bit too fine for me (I like bigger chunks of meat in my stew).
I will definitely be making this again, thanks Julie!
Awesome!! So glad you enjoyed it :) I love this stew!
What kind of spicy pork sausage do you recommend using? Italian? Andouille? Chorizo? This looks so good by the way, and my boyfriend loves lentil stew so I’ll definitely be making this!
Hi Kat, I just bought regular spicy pork sausage. I bought it at Wegmans and it just came like how the Jimmy Dean sausages come (in that thick log shape with staples at the 2 ends) and it said “spicy pork sausage” on it.
This looks like my kind of dinner! Lentils are a winter staple and you can’t go wrong with an easy slower cooker meal. Thanks for sharing.