One Pot Sausage and Lentil Casserole - super easy recipe that the whole family will enjoy
This sausage casserole is packed with flavour, cooked in one pan and combines simple ingredients such as sausage, vegetables, and lentils in a sweet tangy smokey sauce that the whole family will just love.
Coca-cola may seem like an odd ingredient in a savoury dish, but it makes a perfect sweet kind of BBQ sauce that just compliments the dish really well. I choose not to use the diet kind in this recipe, as I generally try to avoid anything with aspartame and it really isn't too many syns when divided up.
As for the sausage you use, any chunky sausage will work fine, go for one low in syns that is available to you. I've made this so many times now with various different sausages from Italian Chicken to regular Pork and all work amazingly well.
For the lentils, you want a chunky variety of lentil, like brown or green lentils, as those will hold their shape in this Sausage and Lentil Casserole.
Red lentils are more of thickening ingredients and perfect in things like dhal curries, so I don't recommend them for this One Pot Sausage and Lentil Casserole.
Do you own an Instant Pot? Then this can also be cooked in an Instant Pot as well as stove top.
If you haven’t heard of an Instant Pot you are seriously missing out. It is the best kitchen gadget I have purchased. I would even put it above my actifry and that’s saying something. I love this thing so much, that I almost use it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
It seriously tops every kitchen appliance I have ever bought.
It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, saute’s, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).
How can I add a ⅓ speed foods to this One Pot Sausage and Lentil Casserole?
There is already some speed foods in this dish, but you could also serve alongside some additional vegetables of your choice, like sauteed greens (like cabbage, Brussels or green beans) or even some sauteed peppers and onion.
WHAT KITCHEN ITEMS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS BEEF AND SWEET POTATO STEW?
- Instant Pot or dutch oven
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Jug
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Chopping Board
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One Pot Sausage and Lentil Casserole
One Pot Sausage and Lentil Casserole - super easy recipe that the whole family will enjoy
Ingredients
- 4 low calories sausages (I used chicken ones), sliced - (2 syns)
- 2 slices of lean bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 zucchini, finely chopped
- 1 cup (approx 200g) of uncooked green or brown lentils, rinsed
- 2 cups (480ml) of chicken stock
- 6 level tbs of tomato paste
- 1 can of coke (7 syns)
- 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp of paprika
- 2 tsp of mild chilli powder blend (not Indian chilli powder) - see notes*
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- pinch of mixed herbs
- salt and black pepper
- Cooking Oil Spray
- Freshly chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
Stove Top:
- Spray a deep saucepan or dutch oven over a medium high heat with cooking oil spray
- Add the bacon, onion and garlic and fry till golden.
- Add the sausage and continue to fry till browned.
- Add the carrot and zucchini and fry for a further few mins (spray with more cooking oil spray if needed)
- Add all other ingredients (except parsley) and bring to a boil.
- Cover and simmer for approx 45 mins.
- Season as needed and sprinkle with fresh chopped Italian parsley and serve with your choice of sides.
Instant Pot:
- Set instant pot to saute mode, spray with cooking oil spray
- Once hot Add the bacon, onion and garlic and fry till golden.
- Add the sausage and continue to fry till browned.
- Add the carrot and zucchini and fry for a further few mins (spray with more cooking oil spray if needed)
- Add all other ingredients (except parsley), set for manual high pressure for 12 mins. When cooking is complete let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove lid and give it a stir. Season as needed and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
- Serve with choice of sides and enjoy!!
Notes
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly
- Extra Easy - 2.5 syns per serving
- WW Smart Points - 6 syns per serving
- Gluten Free - use a gluten free sausage
*suitable for freezing
NOTE: The chilli (chili) powder is a mild blend and is not the same as hot chilli powder used in curries, if you can't get this, you 1 additional teaspoon of sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon of cumin and a pinch of cayenne
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 410Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1.9gCholesterol 65mgSodium 933mgCarbohydrates 53gFiber 16.3gSugar 16.1gProtein 35g
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information.
Hi there this sounds and looks amazing but as I'm only cooking for myself can I freeze the left overs? Many thanks in advance x
yep you sure can 🙂
Excellent will be making it this weekend - thanks
PS wonderful site
Hi,
I was just wondering about the amount of tomato paste, it seems quite a lot. So just wanted to check, before I make it.
Thanks 🙂
Hi Laura
Yes it is the right amount - enjoy!! 🙂
Thanks very much. And just to check, tomato paste is the same as tomato purée? I'm in the UK! 🙂
Thank you, again.
Hi Laura
Yes tomato paste and purée are the same. Hope you enjoy
Recipe looks fab - always looking for slow cooker ideas thanks
Plus got that pot on my wish list
Can you confirm what kind of lentils please?
Hi I'm making this this week, looks lovely, however I don't have canned lentils....just uncooked lentils. How many of those would I need please?
Hi there, uncooked lentils normally make around double the amount when cooked from dry, so you can do a slight guess from that to how much you will need. Hope that helps 🙂
Thank you - it does - I'm pretty new to cooking with lentil and so clueless with amounts lol
Hi there
Do you think this would work without the coke, please?
yes it should work fine, just add a bit of maple syrup or honey instead for the sweetness
Hi there, do you think a can of tinned tomatoes will work instead of the can of coke?
I would use some maple syrup instead of the cola. Tinned Tomatoes won't quite give the same sweetness to the sauce.
I used slimming world sausages and kept them whole instead of sliced. It was really delicious.
I’m making this in the slow cooker- do I put all ingredients in the slow cooker raw? Or follow all the steps and cook it all before putting in slow cooker?
you can put them all in raw, or brown first as in the first steps, totally down to preference. Hope that helps 🙂
Looks amazing and going to try it this weekend, one wee thing though, you've said 2.5 syns per portion but 10 syns for sausages and 7 syns for coke don't make 2.5 syns per portion!
thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hi Amanda, it is correct at 2.5 syns per serving. The syn value for the sausages is incorrect. It should be 2 syns and I rounded the entire recipe up to 10 syns for 4 servings. That was where the 10 syns came from lol. The syns per serving, however, will totally depend on the sausages you use. I've used various ones, each time varying in syns. Enjoy, it's really easy to make and a family favourite.
Can i use diet coke
Just made this for dinner, was delicious! Just one thing to check as I’ve not used green lentils before, is it right that they still have a bit of bite and are slightly firm?
Hi, just made this for our dinner tonight it looks lovely, although it looks a bit like there is too much liquid.
Should I add a bit of cornflour to thicken it up.
Hi, so long as all ingredients were measured precisely, it shouldn't need cornflour (it's a regular here) and I've not had issues with too much liquid. The tomato paste (puree), along with the lentils will thicken it up nicely, I recommend just letting it bubble with the lid for a little bit and it should cook off any excess liquid.
Hi, I've got a pressure cooker, I'm following the instant pot instructions, should I still use the same amount of liquid?
Can i use diet coke in this? X