The summer season is almost officially over, school’s back in session, we’re busy-busy, and soup season…is pretty much here. Here’s an easy, savory, recipe for Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup to add to your weeknight meal rotation.
Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup
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 soup that requires only a few basic cooking techniques to reach maximum yum! The sausage and tomatoes give it a sweet and savory flavor while the orzo delivers that pasta-shaped-like-rice goodness that everyone loves.
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.
Have you ever had an Italian Wedding Soup? This one has a very similar look and feel, but uses Italian sausage instead of meatballs. You’ll also notice that we didn’t add any fresh, leafy greens to it. You know, like kale, spinach, or chard.
But you could add leafy greens…
And you’d only be upping 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.
You could also have even more fun and add croutons and shaved parmesan cheese. Or if you love fresh bread from the oven, this homemade Italian bread recipe is a perfect accompaniment! Of course, you’d be upping the calories, but who doesn’t love bread, cheese, and soup?! Although, I originally wrote this recipe without those party favors…to keep it on the lighter side.
There are affiliate links in this post. That means if you buy something from that link, I will earn a small commission, but it won’t cost you anything additional.
Ingredients you’ll need for Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 lb. Italian sausage links (casings removed); rolled into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 cup whole wheat orzo pasta
- 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 2-15oz cans diced tomatoes – no salt added
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
Kitchen tools you may find helpful for this recipe:
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.
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More soup recipes you will 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!
- Be sure to try our kale chips too, they are a delicious and healthy snack.
Italian Sausage Tomato Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 lb. Italian sausage links casings removed; rolled into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 cup whole wheat orzo pasta
- 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 30 oz diced tomatoes 2 15-oz cans
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
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, water, 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.
Traci Antonovich
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Bridgett says
Really good, I added chopped red bell pepper with the red onion, celery and garlic and it really gave it a great flavor, I wanted more veggies, I also added an extra celery stick and lightened up on the amount of seasoning but increased the chicken broth to another tsp or 2(I used organic chicken broth that you mix one tsp to 8oz water)
Amanda Formaro says
Sounds like some great substitutions, so glad you enjoyed it!
Deb says
This is delicious!
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you!
Sharon Collins says
I haven’t made this soup but can’t wait to. It looks so easy. I will add some swiss chard as I love that in soup. I might also add some carrots. Sharon Collins
Amanda Formaro says
It’s sooooo delicious, hope you love it!
Kelly Collins says
Thank you for sharing your recipe. The soup I created, using your help, is so tasty. I am going to freeze it in a couple bags, one for me…and one for my best friend.
Gosh, a big bowl of hot homemade soup can make everything seem better. Thanks again.
Kelly
Amanda Formaro says
I agree, soup is so soothing! So glad you enjoyed it as much as we do :)
Doreen says
Thank you so much for this soup recipe. It was so good! Didn’t add the oregano but used basil and added carrots and peas. Really good.
Amanda Formaro says
So glad you enjoyed it Doreen!
Kristen says
My favorite soup recipe by far! So flavorful!
Melissa says
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I made this tonight and used Vegan sausage, and veggie broth. I did add carrots, kale and an extra cup of broth (need something to dip our home made bread into :)) and used febeel seeds since I could find ground. WOOOOWWWWW! Everyone loved it, even my meat eating hubby and mother. Thanks for an awesome, versatile soup!! Will def make again!
Amanda Formaro says
Yay! So glad you loved it, and great changes! We actually had this soup for Sunday dinner last night. My kids (all grown) and their significant others come over once a month for a family dinner. I served soup, salad and breadsticks! YUM
Carol says
Super easy and great flavored soup!
Kathleen says
How important is the fennel? I wanna make this soup but don’t don’t have that one ingredient
Amanda Formaro says
Fennel does add a distinct flavor, but it will still be delicious without it :)
pepperpie says
This was so delicious, I pretty much made it as written, except for the addition of fresh spinach at the end. I even ground fennel seed in my mortar and pestle! My husband even gave it a 10/10. Adding it to the rotation- thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
It’s one of our favorites, so glad you enjoyed it so much! I also grind the fennel seeds in my mortar and pestle. Ground fennel is hard to find in grocery stores!
Kelly says
Only one store in my area carries ground fennel. I have fennel seeds and I have a coffee bean grinder, but I grind my weed in that for the last 20 years. No way my fennel can use that. I will figure it out, 😊
Amanda Formaro says
ha! I finally found ground fennel near me after checking multiple stores. But when I couldn’t find it, I just smashed the fennel seeds with a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have one, you should be able to smash them with something else.
Jenny says
This was amazing! We are stuck un the house because of an ice storm, and I just happened to have all ingredients on hand. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfectly. My husband, 8 year old son and I all loved it! Will definitely make again.
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Jenny! So glad you loved it as much as we do!
Monica Lundquist says
I found that there was way too much oregano and Italian seasoning. One tablespoon of each according to the recipe. I am wondering if that is a typo, should it be one teaspoon of each? I made it, but these seasonings were too overwhelming. I ended up adding more broth, adding some parsley leaves and some potatoes (which I later removed) to absorb the overwhelming flavors. Please confirm if these amounts are incorrect in the recipe and if so, what the correct amounts should be, thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
The amounts are correct. I’ve made it four times with those measurements and everyone loves it. But herb flavors are a personal preference, so it’s understandable if you felt they were too much. Sorry you didn’t like it!
Aminkos says
This soup is perfect for a wet cool autumn day. The flavors are a beautiful blend. I will definitely be making it again.
Amanda Formaro says
So glad you enjoyed it as much as we do!
Taylor says
Can’t wait to make this for the cool fall day. It was hard finding orzo in my grocery store, but finally found it in the international isle. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Amanda Formaro says
I hope you loved it! I’ve made it three times in the last month!