Italian Sausage Orzo Soup

When the weather turns chilly and you need something that fills you up without weighing you down, this Italian Sausage Orzo Soup hits the spot every time. It’s packed with vegetables, tender orzo pasta, and perfectly seasoned Italian sausage in a lightly creamy tomato broth that’s pure comfort food in a bowl. Best part? It comes together in under an hour, and everyone at the table will be reaching for seconds.

Why I love this soup, and hope you will, too

I’m an avid home cook, and I love creating all kinds of dishes, but soup is my comfort zone. On evenings when I’m tired, or just plain out of ideas, I reach for the soup pot. By the end of it all, the day’s tensions have slipped away, and I feel content and accomplished. I don’t know the reason, but homemade soup does that to you.

I have a special affection for sausage soups. I love the automatic burst of flavor that a really good ground sausage adds with its savory seasonings, and its tempting cooking aromas that drift through the house, bringing curious noses to the kitchen, hoping for a taste.

It’s worth noting that this soup is also just beautiful in the pot (see photo above!). It’s a groan-inducing to pull out this chef-y quote on a blog, “You eat with your eyes first,” but there’s no denying the human response that is strongly attracted to foods we find visually appealing.

But, I might argue that we actually eat with our noses first. Who doesn’t come alive at the scent of coffee brewing or breakfast sizzling, even as we’re still rubbing the sleepies from our eyes.

In truth, both are right. Food is visceral and tightly tied to memory, place, and emotions. We’re hard-wired to react to food — good or bad — like nothing else.

Whether you’re an eyes or a nose person, I think this is a soup you’ll be proud to share with your loved ones.

Italian Sausage Orzo Soup is —

• Family-friendly: Even picky eaters love the combination of sausage and pasta.
• Lightly creamy broth keeps it rich but not heavy.
• Ready in under an hour — easy for busy weeknights.
• Packed with vegetables for both nutrition and a hearty texture.
• Customizable: Easy to adjust vegetables or make it more or less creamy to suit your taste.
• Comfort food that doesn’t completely wreck your goals: Satisfying and nutritious at the same time.

If you love sausage soups with pasta like I do, you might also enjoy my Italian Wedding Soup and my Marry Me Sausage Orzo Soup. Loads of savory sausage flavor with the carby comfort of mini pastas!

Key Ingredients

Italian Sausage — Lots of ground mild or sweet Italian sausage forms the core of the flavor profile. Buying sausage can be confusing if you’re new to it, as it comes in several forms. For this soup, be sure to use raw, ground sausage. It’s usually packaged in one-pound packs (on styrofoam trays overwrapped with plastic), but if your store is out of stock, see if you can find sausage links that are raw meat in a casing. You can simply cut off one end and squeeze out the meat. Don’t use breakfast sausage.

Orzo — I love the size and shape of orzo pasta for soup, as they look and act like rice, but have all the carby comforts of pasta. Orzo comes in various lengths — you might not have a choice, depending on what your store carries. Don’t worry, it’s all good.

Vegetables — This soup was built to accommodate a wide variety of vegetables. I used onions, leeks, carrots, celery, zucchini, and tomatoes, but you can easily add whatever’s lurking in your fridge or freezer: Green beans, peas, corn, parsnips, cabbage.

Greens — To finish the soup and add contrasting color, I use lots of fresh spinach leaves, plus flat-leaf Italian parsley.

Dairy — I wouldn’t describe this soup as a particularly creamy one, but a little bit of half-and-half or heavy cream — and a lot of Parmesan cheese! — adds a balanced richness to the soup that complements the strong savory flavors.

Tips & Variations

• Go lighter: Swap in turkey or chicken sausage and use low-sodium broth for a leaner version that still has plenty of flavor. You can also skip the cream entirely — the broth and orzo alone make a perfectly satisfying bowl.
• Add more vegetables: As mentioned, this soup is wonderfully flexible. Mushrooms, turnips, asparagus tips, or even chopped kale fit right in. It’s an easy way to clean out the fridge and sneak more veggies into dinner without anyone really noticing.
• Make it extra creamy: If you like your soups rich and velvety, stir in a splash of heavy cream, half-and-half, or even a spoonful of mascarpone cheese right before serving. The dairy adds just enough silkiness without making the soup heavy.
• Try different pastas: Orzo keeps things spoon-friendly, but you can use other small shapes like ditalini, elbows, or small shells. Want a little more bite? Mini cheese tortellini — often found in dried pasta form — turn this soup into something extra special.

How to Make Italian Sausage Orzo Soup

Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to see the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through of making the soup.

Prep notes

Here’s a quick guide for prepping the ingredients, if you need it (not including anything that simply needs to be measured out of a container, such as dried herbs and liquids).

• Clean and chop the vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they’ll all cook at about the same rate, saving for density.
• Peel and mince the garlic cloves.
• Clean the leaves of the spinach and parsley, pat dry, and chop into small pieces (or chiffonade the spinach leaves).
• Grate the parmesan cheese on the small holes of a grater.

Cook the sausage

Brown the sausage until cooked through. If there’s fond on the bottom of the pot, deglaze with the some red wine.

Cook the vegetables

Add the chopped veggies and saute until the onions and leeks have softened.

Add the seasonings

Spoon in the garlic, spices, and tomato products and stir until wonderfully fragrant.

Simmer the soup

Pour in the broth bring the soup to a gentle boil, cooking partially covered while you make the pasta. Cook the orzo in a separate pot according to the package directions, and add to the soup.

Finish the soup

Add the half-and-half and spinach and heat through. Top the soup with the parsley and parmesan cheese.

Storing

Italian Sausage Orzo Soup stores well for several days in the fridge. The orzo is likely to absorb a lot of the broth while it sits in the fridge, so you’ll probably need to loosen the soup upon reheating with a little water or broth. If you intend to freeze the soup, prepare it without the orzo, and instead cook the orzo fresh when you thaw and heat the soup.

Italian Sausage Orzo Soup is the kind of meal that makes chilly nights feel cozy again. If you try it, let me know what you think in the comments below, or tag me on IG with your photos! (@soupaddict).

Italian Sausage Orzo Soup

by Karen Gibson

4.77 from 26 votes

A hearty, vegetable-loaded soup with super flavorful Italian sausage and lots of orzo pasta. It’s lightly creamy and completely comforting on chilly evenings.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 12 ounces ground mild Italian sausage (remove from casings if using ground meat in links)
• 1/4 cup red wine,
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 leek, chopped (white and light green parts only)
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots, about 1 medium
• 1/2 cup diced celery, about 2 ribs
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Italian herb blend
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or seasoned salt
• 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 cup dried orzo pasta
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, sliced chiffonade
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• grated Parmigiano Reggiano, for garnish
• flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a 4 to 5 quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, until shimmering. Crumble the sausage into the pot, and saute, breaking up clumps, until browned (about 5 minutes). Pour in a splash of wine, and deglaze the pan.
• Add the onions, leeks, carrots, celery, zucchini, and garlic to the pot. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes.
• Stir in the remaining wine, tomato paste, herbs, and salt and stir until the wine reduces/gets absorbed into the mixture.
• Add the can of diced tomatoes with its liquids, and the chicken broth. Increase heat to bring the soup to a light boil, then reduce to medium-low to maintain a simmer. Cover partially with a lid, and cook for 15 minutes.
• While the soup simmers, prepare the orzo in a small pot, according to package directions. Drain, and add to soup.
• Add the spinach leaves and the dairy, and mix well. The spinach slivers will quickly wilt, as they should.
• Top the soup with a sprinkling of the grated cheese and parsley.

Video

Keyword italian sausage orzo, italian sausage orzo soup

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