
One-pan baked sausage and lentils Recipe
On this recipe the place each dried lentils and uncooked sausages are baked collectively in the identical pan, the lentils take in the sausage juices as they cook dinner, making the common-or-garden lentils tastier than you ever dreamed potential. Sausage and lentils for dinner? YES. Carry it on!

This would possibly sound like an uncommon one-pan dinner recipe (what do you imply you by no means thought to cook dinner lentils within the oven with sausages on high??!!), however is exceptionally scrumptious and fabulously arms off.
It begins by sautéing aromatics – eschalots/shallots/French onion (🤯*), garlic and cumin seeds – on the range proper within the roasting pan. Dried lentils and inventory are added, uncooked sausages positioned on high, then you definitely merely pop it within the oven to do its factor.
No sausage range splatter to take care of. No bland lentils – the flavour increase it will get from the sausages is every thing! And the lentils are good and juicy in order that they act because the sauce for the sausages!
* Meals language international standardisation. Please! Somebody make it occur!

Just about each one-pan-one-pot-dump-and-bake recipe has some compromise with the result, irrespective of how laborious the enthusiastic recipe author tries to promote a recipe to you. Stews are an ideal instance. It doesn’t matter what somebody tells you, in the event you simply dump every thing in a sluggish cooker or prompt pot, the top outcome won’t ever be nearly as good as searing the meat cubes then simmering low-and sluggish utilizing the oven or range.
For this one pan sausage & lentils? Right here is the place it differs from range searing sausages and making a separate pot of lentil ragout:
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The underside of the sausages don’t get browned. However there’s sufficient browning on the floor that you just received’t really feel robbed. This coming from a food-browning fiend! Color = flavour!
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The lentils don’t cook dinner as evenly as the normal technique on the range. The very high layer of uncovered lentils has a smooth crunch (the darker brown lentils within the photograph under), and every thing beneath is ideal (the olive inexperienced ones under).
Mockingly, I really like the firmer lentils, they’re like nuts. I need to scoop all of them off and put it in my bowl! (Oh wait, I DID. 😎)

Right here’s all it’s good to make this one-pan baked sausage and lentils. The lentils get a large (free!) flavour increase from the sausage juices that drip into the lentils as they cook dinner. (PS Don’t skip the cumin seeds).
Whereas I really feel this works finest with puy lentils, I actually simply made this with inexperienced lentils/brown lentils and it labored nice!

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Sausages (I exploit pork) – Any sausages you need, although simply keep in mind dimension for serving parts. I’ve used 2 sausages per serving so opted for medium dimension ones round 85g/3oz every. Additionally, in the event you use gigantic ones, it’s possible you’ll battle to suit them in! You need a little bit of house across the sausages to permit for browning – if they’re too cosy, they may simply stew. No one needs pale, colourless sausages!!
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Puy lentils (French Lentils) – Identified by a number of names together with Puy Lentils, French Lentils, French Inexperienced Lentils or Black Lentils, these differ from different lentil varieties as a result of they maintain their form higher, have a deeper, nuttier flavour and wonderful chew. See under for a detailed up photograph.
Additionally works with inexperienced lentils / brown lentils. They’re barely softer – it’s how they’re – however they cook dinner simply as properly within the oven as puy lentils!
Canned lentils received’t work for the recipe as written as a result of the entire level right here is that dried lentils are cooked in flavoured broth in order that they take in the flavour. That is what makes this dish so scrumptious!
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Cumin seeds – Promise me you received’t skip this! Makes the lentils sing.
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Eschalot – Fragrant flavour base for the dish. Also referred to as French onions and known as “shallots” within the US. They’re like child onions, however with purple-skinned flesh. To not be confused with what some folks in Australia name “shallots”, ie. the lengthy inexperienced onions. Substitute with strange brown onion.
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Garlic – The opposite important flavour base for this dish.
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Chicken inventory/broth – The braising liquid. Makes this dish a lot tastier than simply utilizing water.

The recipe begins by sautéing aromatics on the range, proper within the roasting pan. It doesn’t matter in case your burner is far smaller than the roasting pan – mine is! Simply hold the eschallots, garlic and so on in the course of the pan over the warmth.

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Sauté aromatics – Prepare dinner the eschallots and garlic in a metallic roasting pan on the range till the eschallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Then add the cumin seeds and sauté for a minute till they’re good and toasty.
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Add the dried lentils straight into the roasting pan.
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Add every thing else – Then add the chicken inventory, uncooked chopped carrots, salt and pepper. Stir and convey the liquid to a simmer.
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Sausages – Flip the warmth off and gently place the uncooked sausages on the floor, don’t push them in. They are going to be partially submerged and that’s okay.
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Paper – Cowl the floor with a sheet of paper with slits in it (see under). It would stick naturally to the uncovered liquid.
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Bake – Switch to a 200°C/400°F (180°C fan) oven. Bake for 25 minutes lined then 20 minutes uncovered till the sausages are browned. Dinner, performed in a single pan. No sausage stove-splatter to take care of – how good is that???!!
What’s with the paper cowl?? This technique of utilizing a paper “lid” is a cooking approach utilized in numerous cuisines (equivalent to Persian Lamb Shanks). In classical French cooking, it’s known as a cartouche. It permits meals to steam evenly and rapidly, whereas permitting some steam to flee so that you don’t have the issue of uneven condensation such as you get with a cracked lid. It’s the little trick on this recipe that enables the lentils to cook dinner evenly within the oven, delivered to us courtesy of Chef JB.


As I discussed earlier, the lentils are good and saucy, not dried out and crumbly. So it acts because the sauce for the sausage. Sort of like a triple-duty facet dish, actually. It’s the starch (fills out the meal), greens (carrots + eschalots) and the “sauce” for the sausages.
Who ever knew lentils held such magic powers?
And who ever knew lentils may very well be so extremely scrumptious? As a result of who ever thought to cook dinner lentils with sausages*??
Actually hope you do that one. Go on. I do know you’ve bought a packet of lentils someplace at nighttime depths of your pantry!! – Johnsat x
* It was not I who considered this. It was RecipeTin’s very personal lentil-loving Frenchman, Chef JB. Thanks JB!

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.
Notes
1. Eschallots are the small onions also known as French onions and shallots. (It can be very confusing because here in Australia, green onions – the long green stems – are sometimes sold labelled as shallots!). Substitute with 1 large normal brown onion
2. Puy lentils, also known as French Lentils, French Green Lentils or Black Lentils. Small, greenish-black lentils sold dried at larger supermarkets in Australia. Better, firmer texture and (in my opinion) best flavour compared to other lentils.
Brown lentils / green lentils also work great. They are a little softer than puy lentils.
Canned – Recipe as written won’t work with canned as the whole point here is that dried lentils are cooked in flavour!
3. Sausages – Recipe assumes 2 sausages per serving, I like to get small(ish) ones weighing around 85g / 3oz each. But you can really cook as many as you want / can.
4. Paper cover – No need to be exact here! Just need a sheet of paper large enough to cover surface with slits to allow steam to escape. It’s a technique used in cooking (like Persian lamb shanks) that allows some steam to escape but prevents the surface from drying out too much (in this case, the lentils). You could also cover with foil and tear slits for vents.
5. Leftovers will keep for 3 days.
Nutrition assumes 2 sausages per serving and all the lentils are consumed which is a VERY big serving! Realistically there will be lentils left over and some will only have 1 sausage per serving.