Italian Sausage Orzo (2024)

Why you’ll love it

Orzo is one of my favorite pastas to cook. The way we’re preparing it here is fairly similar to a risotto, but it’s way simpler and easier than working with rice. We paired it with tasty Italian sausage, baby spinach, and a rich and creamy parmesan sauce.

This also happens to be a 30-minute one pot meal, which saves on clean-up and is handy when you don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen! The little ones will also enjoy this dinner, and it’s a hassle-free way to get meat, veggies, and hearty pasta in a single dish.

What you’ll need

• Sausage – I used mild Italian sausage. You can use ground sausage meat to save time vs. buying whole sausages.
• Onion – use any variety, but we prefer Vidalia (sweet) onion
• Garlic – if you’re a big fan of garlic, feel free to add in even more
• Red pepper flakes – they don’t make this dish spicy. It just adds a gentle warmth.
• Orzo – it’s a rice-shaped small variety of pasta. You’ll find it with all the other kinds of pasta at the grocery store
• Chicken broth – to add more savory flavor to the sauce
• Heavy cream – to make the sauce creamy and luxurious
• Parmesan – I always recommend grating your own parmesan cheese. It tastes and melts much better!
• Spinach – we love adding it for a pop of freshness, but you’re welcome to leave it out if you prefer

How to make Italian sausage orzo

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

In a soup pot, cook the crumbled sausage meat, then add the onions and continue cooking for a few more minutes until browned. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and orzo, followed by the chicken broth and cream.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and spinach, then cover for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted and the liquid has absorbed more.

Pro tip

As with any one pot pasta dish, the liquid quantities work as tested on my stove, but pots/stoves/temperatures may vary from my kitchen to yours, so if you feel like it needs more liquid, add another splash of broth or cream. If it seems too wet, let it sit for a bit longer, and it’ll soak any excess liquid up in a few minutes.

Substitutions and variations

• Want to add some heat? Use spicy Italian sausage or double the crushed red pepper flakes.
• I wouldn’t recommend subbing the heavy cream for anything with a lower fat content. It won’t thicken up the same or be as rich and tasty and may even curdle.
• Try swapping half the chicken broth with dry white wine (e.g. sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, or chardonnay) for an elegant touch.
• Orzo is pasta, not rice, even though it looks very similar. If you want to sub the orzo for rice, you may need to adjust liquid measurements and timing since rice usually takes longer.