There’s something magical about walking into Carrabba’s Italian Grill on a chilly evening and being greeted by a steaming bowl of their famous Sausage Lentil Soup. This hearty, rustic soup has become a beloved favorite among restaurant-goers, combining the earthiness of lentils with the rich flavor of Italian sausage. Today, I’m sharing my perfected copycat version that brings that same restaurant magic right to your kitchen.
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Table of Contents
Why Carrabbas Lentil Soup with Sausage is so good!
Sometimes, all you need for an incredible meal is hot soup and a hunk of crusty bread. Carrabba’s Sausage Lentil Soup is simple to make, easy to store, inexpensive, and delicious.
It’s the perfect lunch to take to work or enjoy as a light supper at home during those colder months.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No fancy techniques required
- Simple, everyday ingredients
- Budget-friendly yet restaurant-quality
- Perfect for meal prep and freezing
- Hearty enough for a complete meal
- Gets better with time
Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients for this sausage and lentil soup are:
- White onion – creates flavor foundation
- Carrot – adds natural sweetness and color
- Celery – provides an aromatic base
- Garlic – contributes essential Italian flavor
- Salt – enhances all flavors
- Butter or olive oil – for sautéing and richness
- Italian sausage – provides rich, meaty flavor and fennel notes
- Chicken broth – creates a flavorful soup base
- Italian seasoning – adds classic herb profile
- Canned diced tomatoes – contribute acidity and texture
- Brown lentils – offers protein and hearty texture
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
If you prefer, you can use bouillon cubes or Better Than Bouillon instead of chicken broth.
You can use bulk or sausage in the casing. If you go with sausage in the casing, cut into quarter-inch cubes before cooking. The type with a thick fennel flavor is the best one to get. Or you can make your own Italian sausage.
For a lighter version, try using Italian-style turkey sausage instead.
Spicy sausage lentil soup – you can use hot Italian sausage
Vegetarians can substitute a vegetable broth and swap out the pork sausage for a plant-based alternative, like, Vejje’s Meat-Free Italian Sausage or Field Roast’s Vegetarian Grain Meat Sausages.
How to Make Lentil Soup With Sausage
Here are the steps for making this copycat Carrabba’s sausage lentil soup recipe:
- Heat a heavy-bottom soup pot, Dutch oven, or large saucepan on the stove over medium heat.
- While the pot warms up, cut the onions, carrots, and celery into small dice.
- Put the butter or vegetable oil into the pot and add the diced vegetables.
- Cook the vegetables, occasionally stirring until the onions turn transparent.
- Dice the sausage into small pieces and add it to the pot.
- Saute the sausage until browned.
- Dump out any grease before stirring in the diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Let the tomatoes caramelize slightly.
- While the tomatoes are cooking, rinse off the dry lentils and let them drain in a colander in the sink.
- Pour in the chicken stock and allow the soup to boil.
- Stir in the brown lentils and reduce the heat. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for about an hour. Stir the soup from time to time and add water as needed.
- Turn off the heat and let the soup sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
You can garnish the soup with chopped fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley, or thyme.
Carrabba’s Lentil Soup Recipe Variations
Who doesn’t like to come home to a nice bowl of warm soup? With a few changes, you can easily convert Sausage Selection
- Use thick fennel-flavored Italian sausage for authentic taste
- Spicy Italian sausage adds pleasant heat
- Turkey Italian sausage creates a lighter version
- Vegetarian sausage alternatives work well
Broth Options
- Homemade chicken stock adds richness
- Better Than Bouillon provides convenience
- Vegetable broth works for a vegetarian version
- Add extra broth for the desired consistency
Texture Variations
- Leave as is for rustic texture
- Use immersion blender for creamier texture
- Blend half for semi-creamy result
How to Serve Sausage and Lentil Soup
Serve the soup in a small cup for the starter or a big bowl for the main course.
What Goes Well With This Dish?
This soup goes perfectly with a slice of good bread or breadsticks, a little grated parmesan cheese, and some lightly sauteed spinach or Swiss chard as a garnish.
How to Store Carrabba’s Sausage Lentil Soup
Cool the soup thoroughly before storing it in the refrigerator or freezer. Cool the soup as quickly as possible by removing it from the pot and putting it in a metal mixing bowl. Float the mixing bowl in a larger bowl half full of ice water. Stir constantly.
Once cool, transfer the soup to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can I Freeze Lentil Soup With Sausage?
Yes. You can freeze in a freezer-safe container or bag for 3 to 4 months.
How Can I Reheat Lentil Soup?
It is best to reheat the soup on the stovetop, but you can also reheat it in the microwave.
To reheat on the stove:
- Thaw the soup overnight in the fridge or use the quick defrost option in the microwave.
- Pour the thawed soup into a pan and stir in some water or chicken stock if the soup is thick.
- Slowly warm the soup on medium-low heat.
To reheat in the microwave:
- Thaw the soup overnight in the fridge or use the quick defrost option in the microwave.
- Pour the thawed soup into a microwave-safe bowl and stir in water or chicken stock if necessary.
- Cover and microwave for a minute. Give the soup a stir and heat for another 30 seconds. Check the temperature of the soup and continue heating in 30-second increments until hot.
Love restaurant-style soups? Try these recipes!
- 4B’s Tomato Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup Panera Bread Recipe
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Creamy Onion Soup
- Minestrone Soup Olive Garden
- Olive Garden Tuscan Soup
- Panera Squash Soup
- Southwest Chicken Soup Recipe
- Pasta e Fagioli Soup Olive Garden
More Italian Restaurant Copycat Recipes
And there’s more! Look at my easy soup recipes and the best homemade Italian food.
Carrabba’s Sausage and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 1/2 cup diced carrot
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 48 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
- 1 cup black beluga lentils
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté the onions, carrots, garlic, and celery in butter or olive oil until the onions are translucent. Season the vegetables with salt as they cook.
- Add the sausage and cook until browned, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain any excess oil from the pot.
- Add the chicken broth, Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes, and lentils. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. You may want to add some additional water if too much evaporates during the cooking process.
Do you soak the lentils in water before adding to soup to simmer?
I did not soak the lentils before cooking.
I tried this soup years ago and never forgot how wonderful it tasted. Thanks for posting the recipe. I’m just a southern girl and hubby likes the same old thing, so I haven’t used much Italian sausage. (I apologize if already asked) is this ground sausage or the links? Also I saw in one post about the bacon.. what is Italian bacon?
You can use either the link Italian sausage it and remove it from the links, or you can buy it in bulk. I used regular bacon for this recipe, most likely costco brand. I don’t know anything about Italian bacon.
Pancetta. “Italian bacon”.
What are brown lentils? I’m assuming they are canned? We always get this soup when we go to Carrabba’s so l want to surprise my husband with this for supper one evening.
They are lentils that are brown. You can buy them dried.
The lentils were not canned they were dried when I started with them.
When do you slice the sausage?
I find it easier to slice after it has been cooked.
Made this for the first time this evening. I thought it was fabulous, a home run!
Deviations:
I sautéed veggies and sausage (separately) in a skillet then added everything to the Instant pot, cooked 25 minutes on Soup setting.
Added two leftovers begging to be used; a slice of ham from Thanksgiving (diced) and four paper thin slices of prosciutto (diced).
Pat J’s suggestion of adding some grated Parmesan at the end was spot on advice which was followed and appreciated.
Great comfort food I intend to add to my repertoire for frequent usage!
Towards the end of the cooking time sprinkle in some Parmesan cheese for flavor and thickening up the soup.
Hi, could I cook this in the Instant Pot?
I think that you could.
This has got to be the BEST Soup I have ever tasted! I’ve made it 3 times and my Wife is crazy over it (Me too)….Thanks so much for posting such a great Recipe! : )
I am so glad you enjoy the soup!
This is a good take on it. (I had perfected this recipe on my own, but my entire card recipe collection was lost in a child based accident and I’m restarting it. But I wanted this soup tonight.)
Carrabba’s recipe has italian bacon in it, though. I use regular because that’s usually what I have on hand, though.
Just about to make this soup on this cold winter day! Looks wonderful! Thanks for providing the recipe! I’m in Houston.
My favorite is carrabas minestrone soup
Do you have this recipe?
My husband loved the sausage and lentil.
I do not have this recipe. I appreciate your suggestion.
I tweaked it a bit and added kale too. This is a new favorite for me and my hubs.
Recipe called for salt didn’t see in the instructions exactly when and where the salt was added.
My suggestion would be to salt in every part of the process, salt your veggies when you sautéed then and then when you add the rest of the ingredients check the salt and add if needed
Has anyone tried half spicy and half sweet Italian sausage? My husband loves the soup but it is a bit to spicy. Can’t wait to make this for him.
yes I use half spicy and half sweet turns out perfect
Finally found time to make. Simmering now and boy does it make A LOT. Can I freeze left overs? I made with spicy Italian just because I like a little bite. Kitchen smells wonderful; making garlic bread to go with it too. Can’t wait till everything’s ready!
I think you can freeze the soup. I personally don’t freeze very much. I am glad you enjoy the soup.
Thanks for reply. It was wonderful. I discovered I bought wrong lentils, yellow I think, but I don’t think it made a difference. Next time I make will hunt for the brown ones. I knew something was up when the color of mine didn’t match your pictures! Still great though. I’m bringing some to my mom tomorrow as was telling her about it, so now she wants to try. My cook time was 45 mins and I used spicy Italian. Great recipe, a keeper for sure.
This soup freezes beautifully.
Thank you for letting me know.
Hi S
Have loved carraba’s lentil soup forever. Most recipies seem to have someones takeoff and I don’t like to fix what isn’t broken. Thank you for keeping it simple and authentic. Glad I found your site and will visit often. Keep up the good work
Marjie/Heath TX
Wow. That looks amazingly good / love love love lentils! I typically don’t make soups during the summer, as it’s just too hot outside, but I may have to make an exception for this one! Like next weekend! I live in Katy TX and this triple digit heat we’ve been having lately is just brutal. I think I will crank down the AC to 50-55 for a few hours just so I can make this delicious sounding soup and pretend it’s fall already. Thanks Stephanie for your brilliant takes on the foods we love.
I am in Kingwood, Texas. I bet you can make the recipe this week!
Looks delicious, thank you for the recippe
I hope you give the recipe a try.
I made this recipe. I must say it’s one of the best lentil soups I’ve ever had. Really enjoyed it and look forward to the leftovers. I used sweet Italian sausage this time but I think when I make it again I may use hot Italian sausage to spike up the flavor some.
Curious – are the lentils canned or uncooked?
The lentils are uncooked when you add them to the soup.
it looks like a great recipe
going to give it a try