Lentils with Chicken Sausage & Preserved Lemon

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Lentils are not something we’re accustomed to eating a lot of here in the states, but we should.  They’re so good and so good for you.  Loaded with fiber and protein, their an inexpensive nutrition treasure house and make a great base for so many dishes, soups, stews and more,


I’m using red lentils so the end result doesn’t yield a plate of grey, but rather vibrant and colorful, lentils, emerald green spinach and the queen of this dish, yellow pops of preserved lemon.  It also happens that red lentils cook very quickly, making this an ideal weeknight meal.

If you’ve never had preserved lemon, they are a wonderfully briny, salty & tart condiment often used in middle eastern cooking to really amp up a dish,  They play well against the chili pepper heat and spice of the chicken sausage and simply refresh your palate with the zing of tart lemon, which is exactly what makes this dish superb.  


Preserved lemons are readily found in grocery stores near me in the International section, but you can also find them online or through my Thrive Market link.  I prefer to buy the jars of whole lemons and not the jars that have a crushed type of preserved lemon.

This beauty of a one pot wonder is also easy on the budget. I used my Ninja Foodi available on our Shop page, but a regular large pot works well also.   I only use two chicken sausages (you can certainly use more if you want to), just to lend some extra protein and flavor.  Lentils are inexpensive and so are the remaining ingredients, including the small amount of preserved lemon, so you can feed your family this budget friendly meal and may even have leftovers to pack for lunch the next day.

COOKING IN MY NINJA FOODI

There’s nothing like a warm, comforting bowl of these lentils with chicken sausage and bright pops of preserved lemon during these cooler days.  Serve some crusty bread alongside and I’d be in Heaven.

Lentils with Chicken Sausage and Preserved Lemon


1 bell pepper (I like to use orange or red), discard stem and membrane and cut in medium dice
1 cup mushrooms (like baby portobello), sliced thinly
1 shallot, diced
2 chicken sausages (I used spicy Italian), cut lengthwise, then into half moon pieces
2 cups spinach from frozen (thawed & drained)
1 cup red lentils
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely or crushed
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cayenne peppers or 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (or 1/4 teaspoon dried cayenne)
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 preserved lemon, diced 
2 tablespoons  olive oil (The Tunisian Olive Oil from Thrive Market is fabulous for this)
Course sea salt (depends on how salty your sausage & preserved lemon are)
Greek yogurt (plain) to dollop on top if desired


In a large pot over medium heat (I used my Ninja Foodi on the sauté setting, which is available on our Shop Page), drizzle in the olive oil, then add the bell pepper, shallot and mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add in the chicken sausage and cook another 3 or so minutes until the sausage starts to brown.  Add in the spinach and stir to combine.
Add in lentils, garlic, cumin, chili pepper or cayenne and parsley.  Stir together and cook another minute,  Add the stock and preserved lemon.  Stir again to combine.  Lower the heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft and creamy and puff up slightly.  Add salt after tasting.  The chicken sausage and preserved lemon are both salty by nature so make sure you taste before adding any additional salt.


Ladle up with dollops of greek yogurt to top if desired.