Sausage Orzo Soup (Printer-Friendly Version)
# What You'll Need:
→ Base Ingredients
01 -
1 pound of bulk Italian sausage or taken out of its casings
02 -
1/4 cup white wine (feel free to skip this if you want)
03 -
1 tablespoon of avocado or olive oil
→ Fresh Veggies
04 -
2 celery stalks, diced up
05 -
3 minced cloves of garlic
06 -
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
07 -
1/3 cup spinach sliced into thin strips
08 -
1/2 cup diced onions
09 -
2 roasted red peppers, cut into small pieces
→ Pantry & Dairy
10 -
1/2 cup dried orzo pasta
11 -
3 cups of chicken broth with reduced sodium
12 -
1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
13 -
2 teaspoons of a blend of Italian herbs
14 -
1/2 cup of half-and-half
15 -
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best)
16 -
2 tablespoons of plain white flour
# Method:
01 -
Heat up your Dutch oven on medium with the oil in it. Break the sausage apart into crumbles and cook it till it’s nice and brown. It’ll take around 10-12 minutes. You’ll also see some bits sticking to the bottom - they’re flavor gold! Put the sausage in a bowl for now.
02 -
Pour in the wine (or just use broth if you're skipping the wine). Use it to scrape up all those sticky browned bits. Toss in the onions, celery, roasted red peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir it around for five minutes till everything smells amazing and softens up.
03 -
Add the minced garlic and the Italian seasoning to your pot. Next up, sprinkle the flour over everything and stir well. You’re making a quick roux! Slowly pour in a little bit of the chicken broth and half-and-half, stirring as you go until it’s smooth.
04 -
Now, add the rest of the chicken broth slowly while stirring. Switch to medium-high heat, then mix in the sausage and the orzo pasta. Keep stirring off and on because orzo loves sticking to the bottom! Let it gently bubble for 10-12 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
05 -
Turn off the heat. Stir in the rest of the half-and-half, some of the parmesan cheese (save the rest to serve), chopped spinach, and parsley. Let the soup sit for 10 minutes so it can thicken nicely. Give it a taste and add salt if needed. Dish it out with extra cheese sprinkled on top!
# Cook's Tips:
01 -
If you only have sausage links, just squeeze the meat out—it’ll work like a charm!
02 -
Using dry sun-dried tomatoes? Let them soak in some warm water for an hour to soften them up.
03 -
As the soup cools, it’ll thicken up. If it gets too thick, just add a splash of heated broth to thin it back out!