Sausage Orzo

Cooked in 30 minutes, this easy sausage orzo recipe is the perfect dish for a busy weeknight! Full of Italian sausage, veggies, and orzo cooked in marinara sauce, this one-pot pasta also keeps really well, making for an easy meal prep as well!

This one pot dish has it all – saucy and cheesy orzo mixed with sausage, onion, bell pepper, spinach, and peas, what’s not to love about it? It’s such an easy recipe and I love how quickly it all comes together!

 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• I love one pot meals on weeknights. The less dishes that need to be washed after dinner, the better.
• You can squeeze in so many veggies in this sausage orzo. I put onions, red bell peppers, spinach, and peas, but you can also add carrots, corn, kale, or any veggie you have on hand! It’s a great one pot dish where you can sneak extra veggies in if you have kids and they won’t even notice!
• This reheats like a dream, so you can definitely make a batch on Sunday as a meal prep for the week.

Ingredients You’ll Need

oil — I use olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil, such as avocado oil.

onion — I use a small yellow onion, but feel free to use what you have on hand.

garlic — the more garlic, the better! I’m using 4 to 5 cloves.

salt — I use kosher salt.

bell pepper — I use a red bell pepper, but you can also use orange or yellow bell pepper. I’m not a big fan of using green bell peppers, as I prefer the sweeter flavor.

Italian sausage — I use mild Italian sausage, but you can also use spicy! If you cannot find ground Italian sausage, you can buy the sausages themselves and remove the ground meat from the casing. The very nice man at the butcher counter told me that I could cut the ends of the sausage, then start twisting from the middle to get all the meat out of the two ends. I personally just sliced the sausages open and scooped the ground meat out. If you cannot find sausage, you can use ground pork and just add some extra seasoning! Ground pork’s texture isn’t as coarse as Italian sausage and isn’t pre-seasoned.

tomato paste — I love using tomato paste from a tube instead of a can. I love how easy it is to store in the fridge, not having to figure out how to cover the opened can.

marinara sauce — I love using Rao’s. I always have a few jars from Costco in my pantry. I believe the jars you can find in a regular grocery store are slightly smaller than the Costco ones, but you can add a splash of broth to make up the difference. You can also use homemade marinara sauce.

seasoning — I use dried oregano and garlic powder. Not a fan of oregano? Swap it out for another dried herb. Italian seasoning is also a favorite.

vegetable broth — I use vegetable broth, but you can swap it for pork or chicken broth. I try to use low-sodium broth when possible.

parmesan — I always have the giant block from Costco that I grate myself. I find it melts better than pre-grated parm.

orzo — I use orzo pasta, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can use any small pasta shape. I use an entire box of the Barilla pasta, which is 340 grams (12 oz).

spinach — I prefer baby spinach as they’re more tender.

peas — I always have frozen peas on hand and I love adding a cup to my recipes for a bit of extra nourishment.

basil — I use basil as a garnish, but you can also add it to the pot as the orzo cooks. Just be sure to fish out the sprigs before stirring in the spinach and peas.

How to Make Sausage Orzo

• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the diced onions and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add the chopped garlic, diced bell pepper, and salt.

• Saute for another 2 minutes and then push everything to the side of the skillet.
• Add the ground Italian sausage, dried oregano, and garlic powder.

• Brown the ground sausage for 5 to 6 minutes, making sure to break up the pork into small pieces.
• Add the tomato paste, marinara sauce, and vegetable broth to the skillet.

• Add the orzo and parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
• Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the skillet.

• Add the chopped spinach and frozen peas to the skillet.
• Stir until well combined, and the spinach has wilted and the peas have cooked through. Serve with more parmesan and some basil, if desired.

Make Ahead Tips

• Meal prep: once cooled, store the sausage orzo in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Freezer: allow the orzo to cool before transferring to an airtight container and freezing for up to 3 months.

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