Reese Witherspoon’s Slow Cooker Lentil Soup: Great for Winter, Needs *These* Toppings

When it comes to slow cooker meals, I am lazy. I want to dump things in that Crockpot and let the machine work its magic. But, in the interest of channeling my inner type-A Elle Woods, I heeded her instructions. Even when she went rogue—and in that instance, I took some creative liberties too.

“OK, I also decided to add a little bit of sausage, so who knows, man? I’m just going off recipe,” she says in the Instagram video. “We’ll see how it turns out.”

From there, the screen flashes to an empty bowl, devoured so quickly she never got footage of the completed soup. That was enough of a sign to me to add sausage.

In this case, I browned mild Italian sausage first, seasoning it with the same seasonings Witherspoon uses in her soup—cumin, ground coriander and paprika. I used the leftover grease from the sausage to sauté the carrots, onion and celery, infusing them with a stronger savory flavor and letting them caramelize. This extra step was well worth it—it gives the soup a richer, more complex flavor, otherwise it tastes like a mild bean stew.

From there, all of the ingredients were dumped into the slow cooker and set to low for the next 6 hours.

The one measurement Witherspoon specifically provides is two cups of lentils. Based on that, most recipes recommend 8 cups of vegetable stock (or you could do 6 cups vegetable stock, 2 cups of water), though the end result is less of a soup, more of a chili-like thickness. It makes for an incredibly hearty meal, though if your slow cooker is big enough, you may want to boost the vegetable stock by 2 more cups for a more soup-like consistency.

The sausage adds a meatiness that makes the lentils taste more robust, and the dish is well balanced, without skewing too salty. It’s very much like a mild chili, honestly, so anyone looking for a little zing may want to add a squeeze of lemon juice or a dash of hot sauce.

I recommend serving it with a toppings bar, letting people customize it as they see fit. Some sour cream, grated Parm or shredded cheese, sliced chives or crumbled tortilla chips could all be nice additions, just to take things to the next level. (My husband liked the flavor, but wanted a little crunch or textural variety, hence the crumbled chips.) Heck, I've even swirled in a spoonful of Good Foods Cucumber Feta dip for a briny, creamy twist. (It was excellent, BTW.) But it’s pretty satisfying served as is with a hunk of crusty bread for dipping.

Ingredients

• 1 pound mild Italian sausage
• 1 teaspoon cumin (plus more for seasoning meat)
• 1 teaspoon coriander (plus more for seasoning meat)
• ½ teaspoon paprika (plus more for seasoning meat)
• 3 to 4 large carrots, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 5 to 6 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 16 ounces green lentils
• 32 ounces Vegetable broth or stock
• Tomato paste

Directions

Step 1: Cook and crumble the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until browned, seasoning with a dash of cumin, coriander and paprika. Remove sausage from pan and add to slow cooker, leaving grease in the skillet for the vegetables.Sauté all the vegetables in the skillet until lightly caramelized and tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and reserve.

Step 2: Rinse the lentils in cold water. Add them to the slow cooker along with the vegetables, then top them with vegetable broth or stock (the vegetables should be almost completely covered). Add tomato paste, cumin, coriander and paprika to taste.

Step 3: Cook for about six hours on low, four hours on high or until the lentils are tender.