In this recipe where both dried lentils and raw sausages are baked together in the same pan, the lentils absorb the sausage juices as they cook, making the humble lentils tastier than you ever dreamed possible. Sausage and lentils for dinner? YES. Bring it on!
One-pan baked sausage and lentils
This might sound like an unusual one-pan dinner recipe (what do you mean you never thought to cook lentils in the oven with sausages on top??!!), but is exceptionally delicious and fabulously hands off.
It starts by sautéing aromatics – eschalots/shallots/French onion (🤯*), garlic and cumin seeds – on the stove right in the roasting pan. Dried lentils and stock are added, raw sausages placed on top, then you simply pop it in the oven to do its thing.
No sausage stove splatter to deal with. No bland lentils – the flavour boost it gets from the sausages is everything! And the lentils are nice and juicy so they act as the sauce for the sausages!
* Food language global standardisation. Please! Someone make it happen!
Complete transparency
Pretty much every one-pan-one-pot-dump-and-bake recipe has some compromise with the outcome, no matter how hard the enthusiastic recipe writer tries to sell a recipe to you. Stews are a great example. No matter what someone tells you, if you just dump everything in a slow cooker or instant pot, the end result will never be as good as searing the beef cubes then simmering low-and slow using the oven or stove.
For this one pan sausage & lentils? Here is where it differs from stove searing sausages and making a separate pot of lentil ragout:
The underside of the sausages don’t get browned. But there’s enough browning on the surface that you won’t feel robbed. This coming from a food-browning fiend! Colour = flavour!
The lentils don’t cook as evenly as the traditional method on the stove. The very top layer of exposed lentils has a soft crunch (the darker brown lentils in the photo below), and everything underneath is perfect (the olive green ones below).
Ironically, I love the firmer lentils, they are like nuts. I want to scoop them all off and put it in my bowl! (Oh wait, I DID. 😎)
What you need
Here’s all you need to make this one-pan baked sausage and lentils. The lentils get a massive (free!) flavour boost from the sausage juices that drip into the lentils as they cook. (PS Don’t skip the cumin seeds).
While I feel this works best with puy lentils, I literally just made this with green lentils/brown lentils and it worked great!
Sausages (I use pork) – Any sausages you want, though just bear in mind size for serving portions. I’ve used 2 sausages per serving so opted for medium size ones around 85g/3oz each. Also, if you use gigantic ones, you may struggle to fit them in! You want a bit of space around the sausages to allow for browning – if they are too snug, they will just stew. Nobody wants pale, colourless sausages!!
Puy lentils (French Lentils) – Known by several names including Puy Lentils, French Lentils, French Green Lentils or Black Lentils, these differ from other lentil varieties because they hold their shape better, have a deeper, nuttier flavour and lovely chew. See below for a close up photo.
Also works with green lentils / brown lentils. They are slightly softer – it’s how they are – but they cook just as well in the oven as puy lentils!
Canned lentils won’t work for the recipe as written because the whole point here is that dried lentils are cooked in flavoured broth so they absorb the flavour. This is what makes this dish so delicious!
Cumin seeds – Promise me you won’t skip this! Makes the lentils sing.
Eschalot – Aromatic flavour base for the dish. Also known as French onions and called “shallots” in the US. They are like baby onions, but with purple-skinned flesh. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots”, ie. the long green onions. Substitute with ordinary brown onion.
Garlic – The other essential flavour base for this dish.
Chicken stock/broth – The braising liquid. Makes this dish much tastier than just using water.
How to make one-pan baked sausage and lentils
The recipe starts by sautéing aromatics on the stove, right in the roasting pan. It doesn’t matter if your burner is much smaller than the roasting pan – mine is! Just keep the eschallots, garlic etc in the middle of the pan over the heat.
Sauté aromatics – Cook the eschallots and garlic in a metal roasting pan on the stove until the eschallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Then add the cumin seeds and sauté for a minute until they’re nice and toasty.
Add the dried lentils straight into the roasting pan.
Add everything else – Then add the chicken stock, raw chopped carrots, salt and pepper. Stir and bring the liquid to a simmer.
Sausages – Turn the heat off and gently place the raw sausages on the surface, don’t push them in. They will be partially submerged and that’s ok.
Paper – Cover the surface with a sheet of paper with slits in it (see below). It will stick naturally to the exposed liquid.
Bake – Transfer to a 200°C/400°F (180°C fan) oven. Bake for 25 minutes covered then 20 minutes uncovered until the sausages are browned. Dinner, done in one pan. No sausage stove-splatter to deal with – how good is that???!!
What’s with the paper cover?? This method of using a paper “lid” is a cooking technique used in various cuisines (such as Persian Lamb Shanks). In classical French cooking, it’s called a cartouche. It allows foods to steam evenly and quickly, while allowing some steam to escape so you don’t have the problem of uneven condensation like you get with a cracked lid. It is the little trick in this recipe that allows the lentils to cook evenly in the oven, brought to us courtesy of Chef JB.
Serving this
As I mentioned earlier, the lentils are nice and saucy, not dried out and crumbly. So it acts as the sauce for the sausage. Kind of like a triple-duty side dish, really. It’s the starch (fills out the meal), vegetables (carrots + eschalots) and the “sauce” for the sausages.
Who ever knew lentils held such magic powers?
And who ever knew lentils could be so incredibly delicious? Because who ever thought to cook lentils with sausages*??
Really hope you try this one. Go on. I know you’ve got a packet of lentils somewhere in the dark depths of your pantry!! – Nagi x
* It was not I who thought of this. It was RecipeTin’s very own lentil-loving Frenchman, Chef JB. Thank you JB!
Watch how to make it
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One-pan baked sausage & lentils
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 eschallots/shallots , peeled, halved, finely sliced (sub 1 large onion, Note 1)
- 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds (don’t skip this!)
- 1 1/2 cups puy lentils / French lentils (sub green/brown lentils, Note 3)
- 4 small carrots , peeled, quartered, diced into 8mm/ 1/3″ cubes
- 1 tsp cooking salt (kosher salt)
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth/stock , low sodium
- 8 x 85g/3oz pork sausages (Note 3)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
- Cooking vessel – Use a metal roasting pan ~23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13". Fold a sheet of baking/parchment paper (large enough to cover pan) in half and cut 4 x ~10cm/4" slits (steam vents! Note 4). Else, use foil – just tear steam vents.
- Sauté aromatics – Put the pan directly on the stove (really, it's ok!) and heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add eschallots and garlic, sauté for 3 minutes until soft. Add cumin seeds and stir for 1 minute.
- Lentils & stock – Add dried lentils, carrot, salt, pepper and stock. Bring to a simmer.
- Sausages & paper – Gently place the sausages on top (don't press in). Cover with the paper, gently pressing so it "sticks" to the stock.
- Bake for 25 minutes on the middle shelf. Remove paper and bake for 20 more minutes to brown the sausages.
- Rest 5 min – Remove from the oven. Rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve the sausages with lentils. The flavour-loaded lentils are saucy so they act as the sauce for the sausages! Also pictured in post – baby spinach with Everyday Dressing.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I had an off-site team conference last week so Mr Dozer got sent to the golden retriever boarder. This is the dinnertime photo she sent me. That’s Dozer on the right – the tallest one, smacking his lips in anticipation!
What pan are you using? How do I know if my baking pan/tin is stovetop safe?
Nagi is using a roasting pan, like you would roast a chicken in or bake a large cake in. I use my shallow braiser, you could use a cast iron pan.
I love this, super easy and a great option for batch cooking work lunches for the week. Great with a handful of dressed rocket on top.
This was tasty, nutritious, simple and economical.
I halved it for my husband and me. I tried one bratwurst and one spicy Italian sausage; I would recommend the Italian sausages, spicy or mild.
I cooked it in my braiser pot (a shallow dutch oven) and added a bag of spinach/kale/chard mix to the pot while it was resting. I’ll make it again.
I’m upping my original rating from very good to excellent. I make this about twice a month and we always love it.
I didn’t have carrots this time so I added diced sweet potatoes when I took the lid off. They got a little too soft, but everything was great anyway.
I don’t bother anymore with the parchment paper, I just cover with a lid for the first half and then uncover for the last. Turns out perfect.
This works great in a cast iron pan if you don’t have a roasting tray. I halved it and popped it into my 8″ Lodge cast iron and it worked a treat!
Great week night meal, or anytime really. We serve it with a simple green salad and sourdough bread. In a pinch I’ve even made with (gasp) tinned lentils and then just simmered stovetop for 15 min or so. It’s not as good but the kids don’t notice and a very quick substitute.
I love this recipe! My picky child gobbles it up, lentils and all – and it is full of flavour even with cheap supermarket sausages, so great for a budget meal. Thanks once again Nagi!
This recipe is on high rotation. I love it, and it always turns out. I generally add spinach whilst the dish is resting to add some more veggies
Man this was absolutely amazing. Really really good. Add some chilli because we like it hot. We used beluga lentils which worked really well and chucked some kale on top when the cartouche was removed. The kale was a great crunchy addition. Served topped with some preserved lemon. Will definitely go in regular rotation.
This hit the spot so well. The toasted cumin seeds added a great intensity. You consistently post excellent, well balanced recipes, Nagi, and this is another of them. Thank you.
I am thrilled with how the recipe turned out! I followed the instructions precisely, and the flavors are simply outstanding. The sausages I used, which were Sweet Italian pork and Niman Ranch Fat Tire beer bratwurst, turned out to be quite salty. Therefore, in the future, I plan to skip the salt and perhaps use a blend of half stock and half water instead of 100% stock. I am grateful for the advice from other cooks to include more vegetables like celery and mushrooms, and I plan to incorporate these suggestions into my next attempt.
Well I just made this for the first time and it was incredibly easy and looked great, but I didn’t like it at all. It was far too salty and there was not enough moisture. I think this is the first of Nagi’s recipes that I have not liked at all. I followed the recipe to the letter. If I were to think of making it again, I would definitely not add any salt at all, and I would use water instead of stock and probably 425 ml instead of 375 ml (for the two-person version). So I’m giving it two stars for ease of preparation, but that’s all.
This is really delicious and couldn’t be easier to make. I probably had more trouble finding the Puy lentils than I did making the meal. I had to go to a bigger Colesworths to find them. I can’t convince my other half about lentils thou, so all the leftovers are mine!
OMG Nagi! Simple recipe. BIG flavour. Amazing! So so tasty.
I used green lentils and a mixture of quality snags from my local butcher. Sensational from such an unassuming recipe.
Thanks Nagi for a mid-week save. I like lentils and sausages so I loved this. And yes, don’t skip the cumin seeds. It MAKES the lentil part.
Fantastic, flavours
Made this tonight, hubby has bad teeth, so I wasn’t sure about crunch lentils, I opted to soak the lentils for a couple of hours in stock and this worked well. I was lucky enough to have some foraged native mushrooms so chopped those up and added them as well. Very tasty and easy/cheap meal.
Really simple and tasty – never cooked lentils before – I’ve been missing out! Thanks Nagi
How could something so simple, taste SO good!!!
I also love lentils, so, thank you for this recipe Chef JB!
Ren
Merveilleux! She-who-tolerates-my-shenanigans has maintained for 30 years that she does not care for lentils. Tonight, for the first time, with a side of crusty bread, she allows that lentils are “actually pretty good”. I’ll call it a win and move on. Bien joué, JB. Chapeau!
What an amazing recipe! I just made it for dinner and it was a huge hit! Thank you Nagi and JB!!! I made it with green lentils because could not find puy lentils anywhere (San Diego). Used sweet Italian chicken sausage, added a little bit of celery and some mushrooms because I love them. It came out ***really delicious***❤️❤️❤️ Served some sautéed spinach on the side.