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This one pot Italian sausage orzo recipe is easy, creamy, and comes together fast for a comforting and delicious weeknight dinner.
You may also like my Italian Sausage Orzo Soup or this Lemon Chicken Orzo.
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
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I use my Microplane to grate the parmesan for this recipe.
- This is the Le Creuset Dutch oven I use.
- I recommend this garlic press to quickly mince the garlic (no peeling or chopping), and store the rest in this handy garlic saver.
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.
What to serve with Italian sausage orzo
- It’s a meal in itself, but you can absolutely serve it with a side salad. We recommend this Arugula Salad with Fennel and Cheese or mixed greens with this Creamy Balsamic Dressing.
- If you do want to go all out, try a slice of this Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Leftovers and storage
- This orzo recipe will keep in the fridge for a few days, but keep in mind that it’s best when eaten fresh since the pasta will continue to absorb liquid.
- We don’t recommend freezing this one because of the dairy content, and cooked pasta can change texture when thawed.
- To reheat, simply warm it through in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring every so often.
If you made this Italian sausage orzo pasta recipe, leave a star rating and review below! As always, if you make one of my recipes, tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Italian Sausage Orzo
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Italian sausage see note
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional, or more to taste
- 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
- 2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the sausage meat to a soup pot/Dutch oven. Over medium-high heat, cook it for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the onions and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so, until the sausage is nicely browned and the onions have softened.
- Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and orzo, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the chicken broth and cream. Once it starts to bubble, continue cooking for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring fairly often (or else the orzo may stick to the bottom of the pot). You will likely need to turn the heat down a bit (to medium or even medium-low). It should gently bubble vs. boil (you don't want the liquid to reduce too much before the pasta has cooked).
- Take the pot off the heat, stir in the parmesan and spinach, and cover the pot for 3-5 minutes or until it has thickened up to your liking. Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve immediately. See more troubleshooting tips in the notes below.
Notes
- For the sausage, you can use anything in the ballpark of 16 oz/1 lb. Here in Canada I buy a 500g pack of Johnsonville mild Italian sausages and take the meat out of the casings.
- As with any one pot pasta dish, the liquid quantities work as tested in my kitchen, but pots/stoves/temperatures can vary, 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 within a few minutes.
- Orzo is pasta. If you want to make this with rice, you may have to adjust liquid measurements and cooking time (I have not tested this).
- Serves 4-6 depending on how much people eat/what else it’s served with.
- This recipe is also on page 197 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’ve made this twice, and it is absolutely delicious. I will be making it again tonight. I plan to substitute the Italian sausage with some jumbo shrimp to change it up a bit. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be just as good.
I love that idea, Laura!! 😀 Let me know how it goes!!
I love this recipe, it feels like a warm hug! It’s perfect for those chilly fall and winter months. I make a couple adjustments. I usually double the spinach and I also add some lemon zest (a full lemon) after adding the liquids and then squeeze half a lemon juice into it with the final seasoning. The lemon makes a big impact to help brighten and balance the dish.
I’m thrilled it’s a favorite!! Love the lemon addition!
I definitely agree with Courtney, adding the zest and juice of a lemon is key to the balance in this recipe.
This was delicious with the fresh spinach, but I’m realizing you could use just about any delicate veg you like. We love this with frozen sweet peas instead of spinach. So many veg combinations available. Haven’t tried with mushrooms yet.
So glad you enjoyed it, Allen! Yes – it is very easy to tweak. Thanks for your review!
Thanks Natasha, worked great! I too added large mushroom chunks and everything worked out great. Did a double batch as I had 2 cups of orzo. Lots of leftovers for lunches.
Yay!! So glad to hear it, Mike. Thanks for your review!
This was so easy an DELICIOUS! Didn’t make any changes.
Thanks for your review!
This was so good. The only change I made was I used Italian chicken sausage links cut into bite size pieces. I will definitely put this into my favorites
Fabulous!! Glad this is a new fav, Susan! Thanks for your review!
I added a pound of cremini mushrooms and it was delicious. Will definitely be making again. The only thing is it turned out very salty for me, I think because of the high salt content of the sausage, so next time I will use water instead of broth. The italian sausage and cream give plenty of rich flavor so I don’t think it will be missing anything. Definitely recommend adding mushrooms if you have some on hand!
Love the mushrooms idea! You could definitely use water or low-sodium chicken broth.
I would like to triple the recipe and keep it warm in a crockpot, would that change anything?
Hi! You would triple every ingredient. I do worry a bit about the keeping warm part as orzo is notorious for soaking up liquid FAST. If it’s sitting for a long time, I’m worried it’ll soak up the sauce completely. You may want to do a test run ahead of time even with 1x the recipe just to get an idea.
Agree, easy and delicious.
Thanks, Susan!
This was excellent! Seriously superb! I doubled the recipe and added some extra Parmesan. Seasoned as recommended but also added some chicken bouillon powder. My hubby said it was restaurant quality. I will be making this again and again! Thank you!
Yay!! I’m so happy it was enjoyed all around. Thanks for your review, Shaunte! XO
This recipe is easy and delicious!
Thank you!! 😀