Sausage Orzo Soup

Servings: servings

Calories: 234cal

In a 3.5-quart soup pot over medium-high flame, heat olive oil until shimmering (about 1-2 min).
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Add sausage pieces and sauté until lightly browned; transfer cooked pieces to a plate and set aside.
1/2 pound Italian sausage links
To the heated, oiled pan, add onion, garlic, and celery. Sauté until fragrant and slightly tender, stirring as needed (3-4 min).
1/2 cup red onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 stalks celery
Add orzo and sauté to lightly brown (2-3 min).
1 cup orzo pasta
Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes (with their juice), Italian seasoning, oregano, fennel, salt, and pepper.
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, 30 ounces diced tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning, 1 Tablespoon dried Oregano, 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper to taste
Bring to boil and continue boiling until pasta is cooked through (about 10 min). Add sausage back to pot about halfway through the boiling process.
Serve warm.

4.92 from 134 votes

You can easily substitute the Italian sausage with chicken sausage, ground beef, or ground turkey.
You can always add some leafy greens to the soup such as spinach or kale. If you decide to add any greens, just toss them in near the end of the cooking cycle as they don't take long to cook.
Rolling the sausage into mini meatballs is fun, but you can shorten prep time by simply browning the sausage in chunks.
You can use regular or whole wheat orzo here. We have successfully substituted an equal amount of pearl couscous for the orzo in this soup if you prefer to use that instead. Acini di pepe and even ditalini I imagine would be great as well!
Fire roasted diced tomatoes add a nice kick of heat. If you want your dish to be a little spicier I would recommend using hot Italian sausage or add a few shakes of red pepper flakes.

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35