Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage

Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage is a meal I’d always find comforting and frying the sage really adds flavor here! And this recipe has a lot of sausage and not too many lentils, so a moderate sized serving only has ten net carbs and 30 grams of protein!

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Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage is something I’d enjoy eating any time of year, and my love for lentils in general is probably pretty obvious on this site. And this year I have sage growing in my windowsill over the winter, score!

The sausage and lentils recipe was inspired by one I spotted in The Silver Spoon (affiliate link), a classic Italian cookbook that I think every serious cook should own. The addition of fried sage was an idea I saw on restaurant menus, and the fried sage was a wonderful addition to the sausage and lentils, if I do say so myself.

Sage is something that will grow abundantly for most of the year, and when you fry it the sage flavor intensifies just a bit as the leaves are transformed into crispy morsels of sage-flavored goodness. But if you like Italian Sausage and Lentils but don’t have fresh sage, this would still be very good without the sage. I hope everyone who’s a fan of Italian sausage and likes lentils will try this recipe!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• hot turkey or pork Italian Sausage 
• dried lentils
• celery
• carrot
• onion
• Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (affiliate link), or your favorite brand
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• fresh sage leaves (optional but recommended)
• garlic cloves

What sausage did I use for Sausage and Lentils?

I used links of turkey Italian sausage for this recipe, but pork sausage will also be good. You can use hot or mild Italian sausage, whichever your family prefers.

What lentils did I use for this Sausage and Lentils recipe?

There are many types of lentils, but I used ordinary brown lentils for this recipe. You can use other lentil varieties but the cooking time might be a bit shorter or longer.

Want to make the Sausage and Lentils even lower in carbs?

This recipe has quite a bit of sausage and not that many lentils, so it’s only 10 net carbs per serving (and 30 grams of protein!) You can use a bit more sausage and even fewer lentils if you want a version that’s lower in carbs than that.

How to Make Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. I picked a generous amount of sage from my garden, but if you have to buy sage you can use less.
2. The lentils are simmered with a few vegetables and some Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (affiliate link) for extra flavor.
3. Meanwhile, brown the sausages well, until they’re nicely browned on all sides. Then let sausages cool enough to handle, slice them, and brown again so the cut sides are also nicely browned.  Don’t rush the browning, because that creates flavor.
4. When you’re ready to fry the sage, garlic is heated in oil to flavor it (in the same pan), and then the sage is fried for just a minute or two. Check the photo above for how the fried sage looked after it had cooled a bit and been chopped.
5. Here is where the photo-taking got sidetracked when we got busy and forgot to take a photo of the cooked lentils and sausages mixed together in the pan with half the fried sage. You’ll have to use your imagination for that. 
6. Serve the Sausage and Lentils with some fried sage sprinkled on top.

Make it a Carb-Conscious Meal:

This Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage would be delicious with Ottolenghi’s Perfect Lettuce Salad, Chopped Antipasto Salad, or No-Mayo Vinegar Coleslaw on the side for a tasty meal.

More Tasty Recipes with Lentils:

• Vegetarian Lentil Spinach Soup
• Mujadarra (Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice)
• Lentil Salad with Green Olives

Continue to Content

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Yield: 6 servings

Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

This classic dish of Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage is a meal I’d always find comforting.

Ingredients

• one 19.5 oz. package hot turkey Italian Sausage
• 2 cups dried lentils
• 1 piece celery, cut in 3 inch pieces
• 1 whole carrot, cut in 3 inch pieces
• 1 small onion, cut in half
• generous T chicken flavor base (optional, see notes)
• 1 T + 2 T olive oil (or more, depending on your pan)
• 30 fresh sage leaves (more or less, depending on what you have)
• 4 large garlic cloves

Instructions

1. Put lentils, celery, carrot, onion, and chicken flavor base (if using) in large pot, cover with water and start to simmer.
2. Let lentils cook until they are quite tender. Cooking time will depend on how fresh the lentils are, but probably about 45 minutes.
3. While lentils are cooking, brown sausage well in 1 T olive oil in large frying pan.
4. Let sausages cool enough to handle, and cut in diagonal slices about 1 inch thick.
5. Put back in pan and brown cut sides of sausage very well. Don’t rush the browning step, it may take as long as 20 minutes.
6. When lentils are tender, drain well and remove carrot, celery and onion and discard.
7. Put 2 T olive oil in frying pan that sausages were browned in, add garlic and saute until barely starting to color (don’t let it get very brown or it will be bitter). Remove garlic and discard.
8. Add sage leaves to hot oil and cook just until crisp, not more than a minute or two.
9. Remove sage and chop with knife.
10. Add cooked lentils and sausages with half the sage back to pan, and saute 3-5 minutes in seasoned olive oil.
11. Remove to serving platter, sprinkle over rest of fried sage and serve hot.

Notes

I use Jenni-O Hot Turkey Italian Sausage which is gluten-free. I use Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (affiliate link).

Recipe adapted from The Silver Spoon. (affiliate link)

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 321Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 90mgSodium 657mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 6gSugar 2gProtein 30g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Lentils would normally be high in carbs for a traditional low-carb diet plan, but this recipe has a lot of sausage and not too many lentils so a moderate serving only has ten net carbs. Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage is suitable for the original South Beach Diet, but it’s important to use lower-fat turkey Italian sausage if you’re making this for South Beach.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Bowl Meals to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This sausage and lentils recipe from The Silver Spoon was first posted in 2006. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

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