Soup season is here, but this Italian soup is so good we make it year-round. Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup is an easy, savory, recipe made with Italian sausage, tomatoes, plump orzo, onion, garlic, and lots of delicious seasonings.
Why this recipe works
Think of an Italian Wedding Soup with all-pork sausage meatballs. This savory, comfort soup is on the table in only 30 minutes. The seasonings, especially fennel, put the finishing touch on this Italian-inspired recipe. It’s a filling soup, yet hangs out on the light side because there’s no dairy added to the broth.
This soup is the ultimate comfort food. We love our tomato soup for lunch, but this orzo soup is worthy of dinner! It’s a broth-based, one pot, savory recipe that requires only a few basic cooking techniques. The sausage and tomatoes give it a sweet and savory flavor while the orzo delivers that pasta-shaped-like-rice goodness that everyone loves.
How to Make Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup
These step by step instructions are here to help you understand how to make this soup. Please scroll down to simply print out the full recipe!
- In a 3.5-quart soup pot on medium-high flame, heat olive oil until shimmering (about 1-2 min).
- Add sausage pieces and sauté until lightly browned; transfer cooked pieces to a plate and set aside.
- To the heated, oiled pan, add onion, garlic, and celery; sauté until fragrant and slightly tender, stirring as needed (3-4 min).
- Add orzo; sauté to lightly brown (2-3 min).
- Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes (with their juice), Italian seasoning, oregano, fennel, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to boil; continue boiling until pasta is cooked through (about 10 min); add sausage back to pot about halfway through the boiling process.
- Serve warm.
Kitchen Tips
- You can add leafy greens to up the nutritional value. If you decide to add any greens, just toss them in near the end of the cooking cycle and they’ll cook to perfection.
- If you like a topping on your soup, add croutons, shaved parmesan cheese, or try kale chips for something different!
- We love fresh bread from the oven and this homemade Italian bread recipe is the perfect accompaniment.
- Rolling the sausage into mini meatballs is fun, but you can shorten prep time by simply browning the sausage in chunks.
If you want more quick soup recipes for busy weeknights, check out my 30 Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup. If you’re really pressed for time and need a 20-minute soup, check out my In-A-Hurry Kale Chickpea Soup. Both recipes are as easy as this Orzo soup.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- Sopa De Fideos is bursting with delicious classic flavors of Mexican Noodle Soup. A must try!
- Amanda’s Meatball Soup is easy to make and makes a delicious, hearty meal. Great for fall!
- This Sausage Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup is very tasty and is less than 200 calories per cup.
- Another delightful broth-based soup is this Chicken and Bean Soup. Easy to make and wonderful for lunch.
- Rustic Garlic Potato Soup is ideal for chilly days. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can also be frozen for future meals.
- Vegetable Rice Soup, this easy one-pot soup is great for filling up on those good-for-you veggies!
- If you need a quick idea, try my comforting and delicious egg drop soup.
- Load this Corn Chowder up with bacon or ham or serve it meatless.
- This easy Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is a homestyle comforting meal perfect for a chilly day or for when you’re feeling under the weather.
- Broccoli cheese soup has long been a comforting meal on a chilly day.
- With a colorful array of fresh veggies simmered in a tomato-like broth, this Minestrone Soup is hearty and healthy.
- Pasta fagioli is a hearty soup that’s loaded to the rim with pasta, beans, ground beef, veggies, and lots of flavorful seasonings.
NOTE: This recipe was updated on February 23, 2023 – we removed the water from the recipe and increased the chicken broth in its place. We find this produced a more flavorful result.
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Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ lb. Italian sausage links casings removed; rolled into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup red onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 cup whole wheat orzo pasta
- 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 30 oz diced tomatoes 2 15-oz cans
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground fennel
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
Things You'll Need
Before You Begin
- You can add leafy greens to up the nutritional value. If you decide to add any greens, just toss them in near the end of the cooking cycle and they’ll cook to perfection.
- If you like a topping on your soup, add croutons, shaved parmesan cheese, or try kale chips for something different!
- We love fresh bread from the oven and this homemade Italian bread recipe is the perfect accompaniment.
- Rolling the sausage into mini meatballs is fun, but you can shorten prep time by simply browning the sausage in chunks.
- We have successfully substituted an equal amount of pearl couscous for the orzo.
Instructions
- In a 3.5-quart soup pot on medium-high flame, heat olive oil until shimmering (about 1-2 min).
- Add sausage pieces and sauté until lightly browned; transfer cooked pieces to a plate and set aside.
- To the heated, oiled pan, add onion, garlic, and celery; sauté until fragrant and slightly tender, stirring as needed (3-4 min).
- Add orzo; sauté to lightly brown (2-3 min).
- Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes (with their juice), Italian seasoning, oregano, fennel, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to boil; continue boiling until pasta is cooked through (about 10 min); add sausage back to pot about halfway through boiling process.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on this blog on Sep 13, 2016.
Amanda Davis
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Shelley S says
This recipe was delicious! I used hot Italian sausage, fire roasted tomatoes and added some kale at the end. Served it was some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano!
Pam says
This looks delicious and I will be making it for sure! I will cook my orzo half way then toss it into the pot.
Kathryn says
Hi… this looks amazing! My only concern is that I’m not a tomato eater. Is that something I can leave out? Will it affect the volume of the soup? Thanks.
Amanda Davis says
If it’s the chunks of tomatoes that bother you, you can run them through a blender or food processor. If it’s the flavor of tomatoes you don’t like, you can probably replace them with 3-4 cup of chicken, vegetable, or beef broth.
Kristie says
EASY, love it is all in one pot. My family RAVED about it. Very flavorful. Added spinach and carrots. WILL BE MAKING AGAIN.
Carole Hay says
This soup is so delicious! I added chopped kale for extra nutrition. I’ve shared this recipe with friends and I will be making this again!
Suzanne Silva says
This soup turned out great! I have made it a few times now and have only varied the greens and used home canned tomatoes.
Debi says
This was outstanding! I also used all chicken broth, 1 lb of bulk Italian pork sausage and added some spinach at the end. Four of us ate it all yesterday and I am making another pot today.
Bert says
I can’t find ground fennel, how much fennel seed should I use in replace of the ground?
Amanda Formaro says
I have had that problem too. I have a small herb grinder and throw enough seed in there to grind up and get to the measurement I need. You can also use a mortar and pestle, or if you don’t have that, grind them up by rolling a jar across them.
Jennifer Patronik says
I loved this soup. Just the right spice, orzo made it creamy. Its definitely one of my
top 5 soups. Thank you!!
Sara says
I modified the recipe for the instapot. Left everything in the recipe. It’s cooking now, so I’m looking forward to seeing the finished result. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Nancy says
This soup is delicious, the only thing I did different I used no water. I used 3 cups homemade chicken stock and 3 cups of box chicken stock. Husband approved he is my best critia.
Karen D says
I just made this soup and it’s delicious! The only change I made was to make the orzo separately so it didn’t swell in the soup. This will be in the regular soup rotation here at my house.
Janet says
So good!!
Amy Rullo says
This is a family go to! I use chicken sausage that I get locally….we just love it! We have started traveling in our RV a lot so I am wondering……..can I freeze it?
Lindsay says
100% freezer friendly!
Sandi says
I have been making this soup for I believe 2 years or more. It is underrated in the comments and it deserves comments from people who have actually made the soup. The only change I made was to cook the hot sausage in the crock pot for a couple of hours because I love tender meats. I slice it and put it in at the last 5 minutes for so. The soup is not watery and tastes amazing. I love to cook so I can get very involved in difficult recipes. Then there are busy days when I’m just too tired to do anything and this is a very easy and delicious soup. We make it with crusty french bread and butter. Top it with some grated cheese and you can’t get a better fast food. Thank you Amanda for providing this recipe. If you haven’t made it, by all means try it.
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you so much Sandi!!
Courtney says
Overall I liked this soup! I did throw in a few bouillon cubes for a stronger flavor as well as a few handfuls of baby spinach at the end. As for those who said this soup is “watery”, I personally didn’t find that. It’s a brothy soup but I didn’t find it watery. Maybe the extra bouillon helped with that, not sure. I would make again!
Lucy says
Can I use crock pot
I love soups in crock
Pot
Selene says
What can I substitute for ground fennel?
Amanda Formaro says
Unless you have an allergy to fennel, I don’t recommend substituting. Fennel has a distinct flavor in this soup.
Amy L Black says
Fennel can be strong and it’s not to everyone’s liking. Do a little experimenting.
Erin says
I just made this and its very good! I cut the recipe in half and my only minor modifications were using all broth no water, a lil extra sausage (I bought bulk Italian sausage at the butcher counter) and threw I some baby spinach at the end. Tasty!!