Vegan sausage casserole with lentils and farro – this hearty vegan stew is easy to make, healthy, very filling and incredibly satisfying.
This vegan sausage casserole with lentils and farro is a regular on my meal rotation; particularly during the colder months. I love it because it is so easy to make but it is also packed full of flavour and is very filling, as well as being a very healthy meal.
I use carrots, butternut squash and potatoes as the vegetable base, but you can vary them as you like. Sweet potatoes, parsnips and swede would all work well instead.
I use tinned lentils for ease, but the kind that come pre-cooked in a sachet work too. I like to add some farro (also known as emmer wheat) to the stew too; I like it because it only takes 15 minutes to cook but it can be difficult to find. (I get mine from larger Tesco’s).
If you can’t find farro then you can use pearl barley instead, but bear in mind that it takes quite a long time to cook so add it to the stew before the vegetables and cook for half an hour before adding in the veg and then cook for another half hour.
For the sausages I use Linda McCartney ones but feel free to use any variety you prefer. I cook them separately (under the grill or according to the instructions on the packet), then stir them through the stew once everything has finished cooking. I think that cooking them separately results in the best flavour and texture.
I like to serve this vegan sausage casserole with some crusty buttered bread to mop up the juices. It is a real crowd-pleaser of a meal; even my husband who doesn’t generally like veggie sausages absolutely loves this stew!
Any leftovers will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days and are great re-heated for easy lunches. This vegan sausage casserole will thicken as it sits but it is still delicious; or you can add in a splash of vegetable stock when you re-heat it to thin it out a little.
More Hearty Vegan Meals:
- Vegetable tagine with almond and chickpea cous cous
- Chickpea, sweet potato and spinach curry
- Vegan tofu moqueca
- Vegetable and pearl barley stew with herby dumplings
- Red lentil dhal with roasted cauliflower and butternut squash
- Spiced black beans and callaloo with coconut rice and plantain
- Sweet potato black bean chilli
Vegan Sausage Casserole With Lentils and Farro
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown onion peeled and finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 Tbsp tomato puree
- 350 g (2 large) carrots chopped
- 1 small butternut squash (about 650g unpeeled weight) peeled, de-seeded and diced
- 350 g (1 large) potato diced
- 1 400 g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 litre strong vegetable stock
- 100 g (3.5 oz) dried farro
- 400 g (14 oz) tin green lentils drained
- 8 vegan sausages (I used Linda Mc Cartney)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
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Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes, until soft.
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Add the garlic, smoked paprika, tomato puree and carrots and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often.
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Add the butternut squash, potato, tinned tomatoes, bay leaves and stock; bring up to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are almost tender.
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Add the farro and lentils and cook for another 15 minutes, until the farro and vegetables are cooked through. Add a splash more stock if needed but the stew should not be too watery.
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Meanwhile, cook the sausages according to the instructions on the packet. Once cooked, slice each one into fat pieces.
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Season the stew to taste with plenty of salt and pepper, stir through the sliced sausages and serve with crusty buttered bread to soak up the juices.
