Italian Sausage Orzo Soup is a delicious and easy dish, filled with veggies (clear out your fridge!) and orzo pasta. This hearty soup is full of flavor and easy to customize.
Pair this soup with some crusty bread and a light salad like this butternut squash salad or Olive Garden salad.
Italian Sausage Orzo Soup
This soup is the ultimate comfort food—soul-warming and packed with delicious ingredients! Loaded with veggies and broth-based (not cream-based), it’s perfect for clearing out your fridge.
It’s easy to customize, allowing you to adjust the veggies and spices to your taste. Make it spicy with hot sausage and red pepper flakes or keep it mild with regular sausage.
Finish each bowl with a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve with crusty bread for dipping for a dinner the whole family will love.
Ingredients
- Base Veggies: Dice vegetables evenly for uniform cooking and better texture.
- Red Potatoes: No need to peel, Yukon gold work as well.
- Italian Sausage: Choose mild or hot sausage based on your spice preference.
- Tomato Paste: Freeze leftover paste in tablespoon portions for future recipes.
- Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes: Fire-roasted adds so much extra flavor
- Beef Broth or Stock: Use low-sodium broth to control the saltiness of the soup.
- Orzo: Cook orzo separately to avoid mushiness in leftovers.
- Baby Spinach: Stir in spinach at the end to keep it bright and vibrant.
- Parmesan Cheese: Grate fresh Parmesan for better flavor and texture.
Quick Tip
Don’t forget to salt the pasta water! Make sure the orzo is well-salted while cooking, as it’s your only chance to season the pasta. A good rule is to add 1 teaspoon of salt for every 4 cups of water.
How To Make Italian Sausage Orzo Soup
- Prep: Chop veggies. Mince garlic.
- Sauté: Heat olive oil in a pot. Add veggies; cook. Add garlic and green pepper, then stir in seasonings.
- Cook Sausage: Push veggies aside, add sausage, and brown it.
- Add Paste And Potatoes: Stir in tomato paste and diced potatoes.
- Add Liquids: Add diced tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer.
- Cook Orzo: Prepare orzo according to package instructions.
- Finish Soup: Stir in baby spinach until wilted. Add orzo if serving immediately.
- Serve: Ladle into bowls, top with Parmesan, and enjoy with crusty bread!
Tips For Success
- San Marzano tomatoes are sweeter and milder than regular ones, they’re delicious. For added flavor, choose fire-roasted tomatoes for a smoky flavor.
- Chop veggies the same size to ensure they cook the same way, particularly the potatoes, which should be cut into small, even pieces.
- Save time by using pre-cut mirepoix (onion, carrot, and celery), found in the produce or frozen aisles of most stores.
Storage
Storing Italian Sausage Orzo Soup
Italian Sausage Orzo Soup is best enjoyed the same day it’s cooked because the orzo soaks up broth, making it mushy and too soft, and making the broth thick.
If you won’t eat the soup right away, think about cutting the recipe in half or cooking the orzo separately to stir into individual bowls. This keeps the soup tasty for 4-5 days in the fridge.
Note: Freezing the soup isn’t a good idea.
More soup recipes
- Creamy Ham and Potato Soup with corn
- Lentil Soup with fresh Parmesan cheese
- Chicken Vegetable Soup with roasted veggies
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup Olive Garden® copycat soup
- The BEST Vegetable Soup with fresh basil pesto
Italian Sausage Orzo Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced (1 cup)
- 2 large carrots finely diced (1 cup)
- 2 large stalks of celery finely diced (3/4 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 cup (~2) small red potatoes diced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 pound mild (or hot) Italian sausage
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 6 cups beef broth or beef stock
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces EACH) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 2 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach
- Serve with: crusty bread and freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Optional: fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, fresh basil
Instructions
- PREP: Finely dice the onion, carrots, and celery into very small and even sizes. Mince the garlic. Dice the red potato into 1/2-inch pieces. Dice the green pepper into 1/4-inch pieces.
- VEGGIES AND SEASONINGS: In a large pot over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion, carrots, and celery, sautéing and stirring occasionally, 7-9 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender. Veggies shouldn't be browning; reduce the heat if they are. Add in the garlic and green pepper and sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Add in the seasonings: the 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon dried basil, and 2 teaspoons dried oregano. Season with salt and pepper (I add 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Stir for 30 seconds and then push the veggies to the sides of the pot.
- SAUSAGE: In the center of the pot, add in the Italian sausage. Cook the sausage, crumbling as you brown it. Once the sausage is browned and crumbled, add in the 2 tablespoons tomato paste and diced potato. Stir to coat.
- TOMATOES: Next, add in both undrained cans of tomatoes and stir for 1 minute. Add in the beef broth. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all veggies are crisp-tender.
- ORZO: Meanwhile, in a separate pan, follow package directions to cook the orzo to al dente. Make sure to generously salt the pasta water (I add 1 teaspoon salt to every 4 cups). Drain and rinse in cool water and then set aside.
- FINISH SOUP: Remove the soup from the heat and gently stir in the spinach until wilted. If all of this soup will be eaten the same day, stir in the cooked and drained orzo. Otherwise, add orzo to individual bowls (See Note 1). Taste and adjust seasonings to preference. I add in red pepper flakes here and fresh herbs — usually lots of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley and some basil.
- ENJOY: Ladle soup into bowls and enjoy with lots of shredded Parmesan cheese and crusty bread!
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks delicious! How could I make this in my Instant Pot?
Great comfort food. Very tasty soup. I used red pepper instead of green. Everyone loved it ! Thank you !
I am so happy to hear this Anita! 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment!
Have u ever froze this?
I haven’t. I don’t think the pasta would freeze and thaw well; I think it would really bloat (potentially disintegrate a bit).
Can I use another broth then beef broth?
Sure 🙂 Vegetable broth/stock or chicken would work. Flavor will be slightly different
This recipe was fantastic. I made one minor modification, I added the Orzo to the soup about 10 minutes before it was ready and let it cook in the soup. I always like to cook pasta /rice/barley in the soup so it really absorbs the flavors of the dish, usually I add a bit more broth to adjust for this.
Sounds awesome! Thanks for the review Ken 🙂
I made this soup the other night. It was so good. My family loved it. I will definitely be making it again.
So happy to hear that! Thanks Sandra 🙂
I have heard about how amazing your mom is from my sister and I wish that I had sent my son over to get potty trained form her too before she left!! 🙂
Can i make this in a crockpot?
Yes, but I’d brown the sausage separately and add that in and then cook the pasta and add to individual bowls or stir in the crockpot right before serving 🙂 You’ll also want to add the spinach to the crockpot like 5-10 minutes before serving.
I love this soup I have made it several times for me and my boys and we loved be it !!
Love hearing that!! Thanks so much for the comment Olivia 🙂
Just made this for dinner tonight. Wow! So much flavour. This was a winner with the whole family. DH had second and third helpings. I also love how easy it was to prepare. Thank you for a great recipe.
So thrilled this was a hit! Thank you so much for the comment 🙂