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This slow cooker lentil stew with sausage is a winner. Simple to make. Deliciously hearty and satisfying to eat. It makes a perfect quick and easy meal that will warm you and your family up from the inside out!
You just toss everything together in your slow cooker and let it cook on LOW for 8 hours, or on HIGH for about 4 hours. (You can also simmer it on the stovetop for about 2 hours, if you prefer.)
I knew I wanted to try it as soon as I saw the recipe for this slow cooker lentil stew with sausage in the October/November issue of Healthy Cooking—My favorite healthy cooking magazine at the moment—where it was one of the recipes featured in their “Healthy Slow Cooker” contest.
I think one of the keys to being able to stick with your weight loss plan is finding recipes that you and your whole family can enjoy.
Eating something different from the rest of the family is a no starter for me. It makes getting dinner on the table way too complicated.
This is one of those recipes you can turn to again and again all winter long.
How Many Calories and WW Points in Slow Cooker Lentil and Sausage Stew?
Each 1-1/2 cup serving has only 231 calories and 2 WW Points.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
5 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Recipe Ingredients
Reduced-sodium chicken broth – You can use canned or boxed broth or my favorite ingredient for quick and easy broth, Better Than Bouillon, a delicious jarred bouillon paste available on most grocery store shelves with the soups and stocks.
Canned diced tomatoes – Low sodium is a good choice. I also like to use the fire roasted canned diced tomatoes when I can. You can also use canned whole tomatoes that you chop either with a knife or in a food processor (affiliate link).
Fully cooked spicy chicken or turkey sausage links – I like Aidell’s Brand but choose whatever brand or flavor you like.
Dried lentils – You can use either brown or green lentils in this easy slow cooker stew. Be sure to rinse them before adding them to your crock pot.
Chopped onion – Yellow, white or sweet onions will all work in this recipe.
Chopped carrot – With chopped onion and celery, the flavor basis of this simple stew. Chopped baby carrots would also work.
Chopped celery – With carrot and onion, the flavor basis of this simple stew. You could always leave it out if you are not a fan or don’t have it on hand.
Minced garlic – I like fresh garlic but jarred will also work. You could also substitute dried granulated garlic or garlic powder if you prefer. My jar of roasted granulated garlic says that 1/4 teaspoon is equal to one clove of fresh.
Dried thyme – I love the subtle flavor dried thyme adds to this stew. Substitute whatever herbs you like best. Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence (affiliate link) would also work.
Cooking Notes, Substitutions and Variations
- This is the kind of recipe you can modify to suit your tastes and what you have available.
- When I made it yesterday, I used a can of whole tomatoes and gave them a quick chop in my little food processor (affiliate link) until they were more like diced.
- I also used Aidell’s Italian Style Chicken Sausage, since they were in the fridge. Next time I’ll use some with a little more spice.
- I increased the celery and carrots from 1 to 2, since, as a longtime WeightWatcher, I always think more is better when it comes to vegetables.
- If you don’t have fresh garlic, use garlic powder instead. I also like to keep a jar of chopped garlic in the fridge for those days I’m feeling especially lazy.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it with cornbread or muffins or crusty bread for a satisfying meal in a bowl.
If you’ve made this Crock Pot Chicken Sausage & Lentil Stew, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Slow Cooker Lentil Stew with Chicken Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 3 fully cooked spicy chicken sausage links (3 ounces each) cut into 1/2-inch slices or half moons
- 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- In a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker, combine all the ingredients.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours until lentils are tender.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 4 SmartPoints (Green plan) 2 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 2 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 5 PointsPlus (Old plan) This is the kind of recipe you can modify to suit your tastes and what you have available. I used Aidell’s Italian Style Chicken Sausage, since they were in the fridge. Next time I’ll use some with a little more spice. I increased the celery and carrots from 1 to 2, since I always think more is better when it comes to vegetables. If you don’t have fresh garlic, use garlic powder instead. I also like to keep a jar of chopped garlic in the fridge for those days I’m feeling especially lazy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: Healthy Cooking Magazine
This brief video (inspired by Carrabba’s Italian Grill Sausage & Lentil Soup) shows another way to make crock pot sausage and lentil stew:
More Easy Lentil and Stew Recipes for WW
- One of my favorite all time slow cooker recipes, Italian Beef and Lentil Slow Cooker Stew is a Weight Watchers dream recipe that is low in both calories and WW Points.
- Each generous serving of Weight Watchers Lentil Swiss Chard Soup has just 216 calories and 1 WW Point.
- This Lentils, Sausage and Kale skillet meal is a snap to prepare when you begin with precooked steamed lentils.
- Lighter and brighter in flavor than more traditional lentil soups, Spicy Red Lentil Soup with Lemon is a light and WW friendly meal.
- If you are trying to eat more meatless meals, this WeightWatchers Slow Cooker Vegetarian Indian Lentil Stew is a winner that requires only 20 minutes of prep!
- Bursting with protein and fiber, Easy CrockPot Lentils with Spinach & Chicken Sausage is a low calorie meal that combines wholesome lentils, savory chicken sausage, canned diced tomatoes and fresh spinach.
Articles & Tips for WeightWatchers
- A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding the WeightWatchers Program
- A Comprehensive List of Articles & Tips for WeightWatchers
- What Foods Should I Eat in a Day on WeightWatchers
- WeightWatchers Zero Points Foods List
- WeightWatchers Friendly Meal Plans
- Why We Are More Motivated the Closer We Get to Our Goals – Another powerful WW Weekly Workshop Topic.
Followed menu closely except had a pound of mushrooms in the refrigerator and added after sautéing. Added oregano to the thyme and 1/8 tsp of hot pepper. I left the sausages whole as I was afraid they would dry out and cut them
when dish was done. Oh yes, I used stewed tomatoes as that’s all I had. Added
a tsp of lemon at end. Great recipe. Thank you.
I made it with tomato sauce instead of plum tomatoes very tasty
Plain & simple this soup/stew is as delicious as it is easy. Lentils are my true love in legumes ( they are legumes, aren’t they?) ??
This looks so easy and good. What type of lentils do you recommend?
Brown or red?
I used brown lentils in this stew, but feel free to experiment.
I always cook lentils in slow cooker . I add tomatoes , ginger, garlic , onion and spices . To 1.5 lentils I add 4.5 to 5 cups boiling water . Generally lentils are done in 5 to 5.5 hours .
YUM! that sounds simply delicious ?
This is a definite winner! My boyfriend was raving about it. I didn’t have thyme so I swapped for miss dash’s garlic and herb seasoning, same amount. Will definitely make again
Would this work in an Instant Pot?
I’m wondering the same thing.
Hello:
As always many,many thanks for publishing such healthy recipes,lentils,one of my favorites grains.I’d like to post a question about portions,I’d like to loose a few lbs and I’d like information about it………….can you help?araucano.
When I did this in the slow cooker following the directions as written, my lentils were not fully cooked at all. I googled cooking lentils and found several sites that said adding acid (such as tomatoes) and/or salt at the start of cooking can cause this. So today, I did it on the stove top, starting with just the lentils and broth; when the lentils were starting to get tender, I added everything else. It seems much better. Wondered if you have this experience! I would love to use the slow cooker instead as I don’t often have the time it took on the stove.
Hi Barbara, no I haven’t had this problem, but there are so many variables – temperature at which your slow cooker cooks (some are hotter than others), age of the lentils (older ones can take longer to cook) etc. One alternative is to just continue cooking them in the slow cooker until done. Another would be to cook them in the slow cooker without the tomatoes until they begin to soften then add the tomatoes (like you did on the stovetop). Hope this helps. – Martha
Hello and many thanks for your recipes,I love lentils and new recipes are always welcome,as well as the wonderful veggies!