Hot Dog Soup (Easy Sausage and Lentil Soup)
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Once the weather turns cooler here in Minnesota, I start thinking about making more soups for dinner, like my hearty turkey and barley soup and creamy chicken and wild rice soup! Warm and comforting, they just seem to hit the spot on a cold snowy day. One of my kids’ favorite soups is Hot Dog Soup or sausage and lentil soup. No, there aren’t really any hot dogs in this soup, but there are smoked turkey sausage and lentils.
You’ll love this easy, kid-friendly Hot Dog Soup recipe! Just don’t tell the kids it’s really sausage and lentil soup!
When I told my sister Hot Dog Soup was the next recipe I was going to share, she said, “You’ve been making that for decades!” And she’s right, I’ve been making this lentil soup with hot dogs for what feels like forever and my kids still love it!
Want actual hot dogs in your hot dog soup? Sliced hot dogs work too, see the easy swaps below.
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- A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Hot Dog Soup Ingredients
- Easy Swaps and Variations
- How to Make Hot Dog Soup
- Tips for the Best Hot Dog Soup
- Can You Make Hot Dog Soup in a Slow Cooker?
- Storage, Freezing and Reheating
- What to Serve with Hot Dog Soup
- More Cozy Soup Recipes
- Hot Dog Soup (Sausage and Lentil Soup)
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ✅ Serves: 6 (about 1½ cups each)
- ⏰ Total Time: about 1 hour (20 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking)
- 🥣 Key ingredients: smoked turkey sausage (or hot dogs), dried brown or green lentils, carrots, celery, diced tomatoes and kale
- 🍲 One pot: everything cooks in one soup pot or Dutch oven
- ❄️ Storage: 3 to 4 days in the fridge, up to 4 months in the freezer
♡ Why you’ll love it
- ♡One pot. Fewer dishes for the Chief Dishwasher (that’s me!).
- ♡Kid-approved. My kids have loved it for years. My sister says decades!
- ♡Hearty and filling. Lentils, smoked turkey sausage and veggies make it a full dinner in a bowl.
- ♡Freezer-friendly. It keeps for up to 4 months in the freezer.
Hot Dog Soup Ingredients
The ingredients for this warm and hearty lentil soup with hot dogs are fairly simple and blend well together, making a rich-tasting, comforting meal. The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Smoked turkey sausage (1 lb, 454 g) – Any of your favorite smoked sausages will work, but to keep this a little lighter I like to use smoked turkey sausage. If you’d like a little spice, try andouille sausage. You can also use ground Italian sausage if you like as well, but you will not be able to call it hot dog soup!
- Vegetables – Yellow onion, celery, carrots and garlic.
- Chicken broth (3 cups, 720 ml) – I love using bone broth in soups for the extra health benefits, but chicken broth works great too! Homemade or store-bought, it’s entirely up to you! Low-sodium broth lets you control the salt.
- Dried lentils (1 cup, about 200 g) – You can find dried lentils in your local grocery store near the dried beans. Use brown or green lentils; red lentils break down and turn the soup mushy. Please be sure to rinse your lentils before adding them to the soup.
- Seasonings – Dried oregano and cumin are added, plus salt and pepper to taste.
- Canned diced tomatoes (one 14.5 oz can, 411 g) – No need to fret about the variety of diced canned tomatoes you have in your pantry. Whether they are fire roasted, seasoned with celery and onion, or infused with garlic, they will all be suitable!
- Worcestershire sauce (1 tablespoon) – Stirred in at the end with the tomatoes, it adds a savory, smoky depth.
- Fresh kale (1 cup, chopped) – I love using fresh kale in soups. Not only is kale a powerhouse of nutrition, but it does not wilt down as much as spinach, so it holds up so much better in soups and has a heartier feel to it. However, you’re welcome to use fresh spinach as a substitute.
- Olive oil (1 tablespoon) – To sauté your vegetables in.
Easy Swaps and Variations
Easy swaps
Smoked turkey sausage → Real hot dogs
Slice 1 lb (454 g) of all-beef or turkey hot dogs into rounds (halve them for little ones) and use them in place of the sausage. Hot dogs are already cooked, so they only need to heat through. Stirring them in with the tomatoes near the end keeps them from getting soft.
Smoked turkey sausage → Andouille sausage
If you’d like a little spice, try andouille sausage.
Smoked turkey sausage → Ground Italian sausage
Brown it with the vegetables and spoon off any extra fat. It’s tasty, but you will not be able to call it hot dog soup!
Kale → Fresh spinach
Spinach wilts down a lot more, so stir it in at the very end, just until it wilts.
Chicken broth → Bone broth
I love using bone broth in soups for the extra health benefits.
Regular broth and tomatoes → Low-sodium broth and no-salt-added tomatoes
The sausage is already salty, so this keeps the salt in check. Taste and add salt at the end.
How to Make Hot Dog Soup
I promised this was not only kid-friendly but super easy. It’s a one-pot meal and I do love a one-pot meal around here since I’m also the Chief Dishwasher!
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Step 1 – Chop the veggies. Grab your good soup pot. I like a nice Dutch oven for my soups, like this enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Set it over medium-high heat. While it warms up, grab your veggies and chop them into bite-sized pieces.
Step 2 – Sauté the veggies, sausage and garlic. Add the olive oil to your soup pot and add the carrots, onions and celery. Stir occasionally until the onion is softened. Meanwhile, slice your turkey sausage into rounds. I also prefer to cut my sausage rounds in half since I have younger children. Next, add the sausage and minced garlic to the pot and cook for 2–3 minutes.
Step 3 – Simmer the lentils. Stir in the chicken broth, water, lentils and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25–30 minutes or until the lentils and veggies are tender.
Step 4 – Finish with tomatoes, Worcestershire and kale. Stir in the diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and kale. Cook for 3–5 minutes, until the soup is heated through and the kale is tender. Taste, then add salt and pepper.
♡ Good to know
This is a thick, hearty soup, and the lentils keep soaking up broth as it sits. If you like it more brothy, stir in ½ to 1 cup of extra broth or water at the end.
Tips for the Best Hot Dog Soup
Tips
Rinse and sort the lentils
Rinse them in a strainer and pick out any little stones or shriveled lentils before they go in the pot.
Use brown or green lentils
They hold their shape. Red lentils fall apart and make the soup mushy.
Salt at the end
Smoked sausage and broth are already salty, so taste the soup before adding any salt.
Add the kale last
It only needs a few minutes, so it stays bright green and tender.
Thin it as you like
Add a splash of broth or water if it gets too thick, especially when you reheat leftovers.
Can You Make Hot Dog Soup in a Slow Cooker?
Slow cooker (crockpot)
This recipe is written for the stovetop, but a reader asked about the crockpot, so here’s how to adapt it:
1. Brown first
For the best flavor, sauté the onion, celery, carrots, sausage and garlic in a skillet first, like in steps 1 and 2.
2. Add the rest
Put everything in the slow cooker with the broth, water, rinsed lentils and seasonings.
3. Cook
Cook on LOW for 6–8 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the lentils are tender.
4. Finish
Stir in the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and kale for the last 20–30 minutes. Tomatoes added at the start can keep lentils firm.
These are typical slow cooker times for lentil soup, not tested with this exact recipe, so start checking the lentils early.
If you’re looking for another soup to make in the slow cooker, try this crockpot hamburger soup with ground beef, cabbage and a mildly spicy tomato broth.
Storage, Freezing and Reheating
Leftovers
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. As always, please follow the guidance of the USDA for storing leftovers.
- Freezer: Yes, you can freeze sausage and lentil soup in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- Reheating: Warm it on the stove over medium heat and add a splash of broth, since the lentils thicken it as it sits.
What to Serve with Hot Dog Soup
Serve it with
- ♡I love to serve soups with warm crusty bread for dipping or a garden salad on the side!
- ♡Want a crunchy side? Try my colorful red cabbage and carrot salad.
- ♡For the kids, soft homemade pretzel bites are great for dipping.
More Cozy Soup Recipes
Looking for another soup for a cold night? Try one of these next:
- Hearty turkey and barley soup
- Homemade chicken noodle soup with sherry
- Creamy chicken and wild rice soup
- Chicken fideo soup
- Tomato bisque soup
- Easy chicken soup recipes
- Kid-friendly green pasta (not a soup, but another dinner my kids love!)
I hope you love this Hot Dog Soup recipe! What kid doesn’t like hot dogs and soup? Just don’t mention the kale or that it’s not actually hot dogs! What’s your favorite soup recipe?
♡ Did you make it?
Leave a star rating on the recipe card and tell me in the comments how your kids liked it! Be sure to share it with me on Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube!
Hot Dog Soup (Sausage and Lentil Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced, about 1 cup
- 2 celery ribs chopped, about ¾ cup
- 2 medium carrots diced, about 1 cup
- 1 lb smoked turkey sausage 454 g, sliced into rounds or half rounds, or hot dogs, see notes
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups chicken broth or bone broth 720 ml, low-sodium if you can
- ⅓ cup water 80 ml
- 1 cup dried brown or green lentils about 200 g, rinsed and picked over
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 oz / 411 g, with their juices
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup fresh kale chopped (or spinach)
Instructions
- Chop the onion, celery and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Slice the sausage into rounds (cut them in half for little kids).
- Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes.
- Add the sausage and garlic and cook 2–3 minutes longer, until the onion is tender.
- Stir in the broth, water, lentils, oregano, cumin and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25–30 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are tender.
- Stir in the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and kale. Cook 3–5 minutes, until heated through and the kale is tender.
- Taste and add salt as needed. Serve with crusty rolls!
Recipe Notes
Thickness: this is a thick, hearty soup and the lentils keep soaking up liquid. Stir in ½–1 cup extra broth or water if you like it more brothy, and when reheating.
Real hot dogs: use 1 lb (454 g) sliced hot dogs instead of the sausage and stir them in with the tomatoes so they don’t get soft.
Lower sodium: use low-sodium broth and no-salt-added tomatoes, then salt to taste at the end.
Want to swap in real hot dogs or make it lower in salt? See all the easy swaps ↑
Can I cook this in a croc pot
Hi Sara! I haven’t tried making this soup in a crockpot, but I think it should work! I’d suggest browning the sausage first, then adding everything to the slow cooker and cooking until the lentils are tender. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Looks yummy. Thanks for sharing
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!