A simple, flavorful, hearty soup that is perfect for lunch or dinner. Great to warm up with on a chilly day.
What’s not to love about Italian sausage, veggies, and orzo in a flavorful tomato broth? This meal has become a family favorite. It’s fairly simple to throw together and uses ingredients that I tend to keep stocked in the house. The kids really like it and it’s easy enough to throw together on a weeknight. It’s easy to add garlic bread or a side salad to turn it into a complete meal.
I have to admit, my family does not always get excited when I say we’re having soup for dinner. It’s typically reserved for sick nights when we serve it alongside grilled cheese sandwiches. This is the only dinnertime meal that my husband will cook for me. It also doesn’t help that my son spent the first 8 years of his life adamently refusing to eat soup, which I could never understand.
This year, we began to see a transition, and now my son even asks for this soup! I love how it makes a large quantity that is great for lunches and/or other weeknight dinners. Once it’s in the bowl, it’s hard to resist going back for seconds! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
So let’s get down to it!
Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo
Italian Sausage Soup Ingredients
Italian Sausage – I always have Italian sausage ready to go in individual bags in the freezer. I buy the club packs when they go on sale, and I divide them into threes. This way, they don’t take up a lot of freezer space and they are quick to grab and thaw. This recipe is great with either mild or hot Italian sausage. The kids prefer it with the mild sausage, so I keep it safe. It all comes down to personal preference!
Onion, Carrots & Celery – known as a soffritto in Italian cooking. They are used to provide aromatic flavor, by slowly cooking these vegetables together in either butter or olive oil. The result of this cooking process results in sweetening these veggies, then building the flavors on top of it. It is definitely worth the effort!
I use equal parts of these three ingredients. For this recipe, I like to chop each into ¼ to ½ inch in size. I typically use a yellow onion, 2-3 carrots (depending on size) and 3-4 celery stalks (depending on size). Cook them in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil over medium-low heat for about 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent over browning. Feel free to adjust the temperature as needed. Burnt veggies is not the flavor base we want here!
Garlic – Fresh garlic is a must! You will want to mince the garlic with a knife. Personally, I prefer to use a rasp, as I find it works much faster. To each their own!
Dried Italian Seasoning – Italian seasoning is an herb blend of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. Depending on the brand, there could be some variations that may include, garlic powder, fennel, or red pepper flakes. It’s also super simple to make your own that’s to your personal taste. You don’t need a lot for this recipe, though it’s great to have on hand to add to pasta sauces and salad dressings.
Tomato Paste or Tomato Sauce – I always keep tomato paste on hand. A small amount is all that is needed to really amp up the flavor. Once added to the sauce pan, stir it in and let it cook out for about 30 seconds to a minute. Just a little flavor trick! If you don’t have any tomato paste on hand, you can also add some tomato sauce. I would add anywhere from ½ cup to 1 cup of tomato sauce in that case.
Stock – You can use either vegetable or chicken stock in this recipe. It comes down to your preference. If you do not have any stock on hand, you can also replace the quantity with water.
Tip: I keep a bottle of the concentrate in my pantry so that I always have some on hand, as I do prefer the added flavor of the stock.
Orzo – Orzo is a short-cut pasta that is shaped similar to long grain rice. I love adding it to soups or as a base to a roasted veggie bowl. It has a great texture and can be incorporated into warm dishes, or it can be used as a cold salad base. It takes on average 8 minutes to cook. If you don’t have any on hand, you can certainly add a pasta type of your choice. While it can also be omitted, I recommend including a grain of some kind, as it certainly makes this into a heartier bowl.
Salt & Pepper – the measured amounts for Kosher salt and ground pepper are guidelines. As always, feel free to season as desired!
Substitutions/Variations
Italian Sausage – this could easily be replaced by lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken. If you’re using an alternative, I would add some fennel seeds (about ½ teaspoon), and some red pepper flakes (about ¼ teaspoon or more to taste). I would add these while browning the meat to add flavor to it.
Orzo – as mentioned previously, this pasta grain can be replaced by one that you have in your pantry. You may need to adjust the cooking time for it, depending on it’s package directions. No matter what, you will want to cook it to the al dente stage, as when it cooks longer, it tends to get mushier in the soup. Nobody wants mushy noodle soup…
Veggies – this recipe here is fairly basic. Feel free to add veggies that you may have on hand. I quite like adding red and yellow peppers and zucchini. You could also toos in some handfuls of spinach or kale. Anyway that I can up the veggie intake by my kids, I will take! Plus the addition of these ups the flavor a bit too. When I add these veggies, I add in the last 5-6 minutes of cooking so that they keep up their texture.
Tools and Tips
Below are some kitchen tools that although they may not be required, are certainly great to have in the kitchen.
Zester/Rasp/Micro plane – this is a staple in my kitchen. I prefer it to be more on the fine side, as I use it almost daily for garlic or zesting citrus fruits. When shopping for one, find one that fits comfortably in your hand. Be sure to use extra caution as they sure are sharp!
Some other items that you will need:
Heavy-bottomed sauce pan – You will want to use a large sauce pan for this recipe, as by the end, you will end up with at least 8 cups of ingredients altogether.
Measuring cups and spoons – this recipe uses standard measuring tools. You will also want a liquid measuring cup for the stock.
In addition you will also need a spatula, can opener, chef’s knife and a chopping board.
Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo
A simple, flavorful, hearty soup that is perfect for lunch or dinner. Great to warm up with on a chilly day.
10
servings5
minutes25
minutes30
minutesIngredients
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb. Italian Sausage (mild or spicy)
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 celery ribs, diced
2-3 medium carrots, diced
1 cup uncooked orzo, or other pasta of your choice
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup tomato sauce or 3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/4-1/2 black pepper (or to taste)
Directions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large stock pot. Add the Italian Sausage in small pieces and cook, about 7-8 minutes. Continue to break up the meat as it cooks. Once it is cooked through, place it on a paper towel to absorb any excessive grease. Feel free to gently wipe the pan clean with a paper towel to pick up extra grease. Leave behind any browned bits as it will loosen in the next steps and provides great flavor!
- Next, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. Add the onions, celery, and carrot. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. If needed, add a bit of the stock (about a ¼ cup) to keep the pan from getting too dark and to lift the brown bits from the pan.
- Add the garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook for 1 minute, allowing them to become aromatic. If using tomato paste, add at this time as well.
- Return the Italian sausage to the pot. Add the diced tomatoes, broth, and tomato sauce (if using). Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the orzo. It will take about 8-10 minutes to cook. If you are using a different type of pasta, the timing may need to be adjusted. Depending on personal taste, you will want to cook it to al dente, or just slightly beyond.
- Once pasta is cooked, season to taste with salt and pepper.
- The soup is ready! Feel free to garnish with some fresh herbs or shredded parmigiana. It tastes fantastic with garlic bread or a slice of crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
