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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

    Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo

    Published: Jul 10, 2018 · Modified: Jun 27, 2022 by Alyssa · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    A large pot of Italian sausage soup with a ladle in it.

    Italian sausage soup with orzo and spinach is a healthy and filling soup recipe perfect for year round! Serve with a crusty piece of bread and a salad for a well-balanced meal.

    A large pot of Italian sausage soup with a ladle in it.

    Italian sausage soup is one of those meals I love eating at my parents. When I'm out of ideas for meal planning, I'll usually give them a call and ask what they're eating and add it to my upcoming menu. This was the lucky meal in question the day of a recent phone call.

    There are several differences in our soups, one being that my mom doesn't always measure things. So our beloved Italian sausage soup was described to me as "a few of these, a can of this, a couple good shakes of this, and two handfuls of that". But I got the gist.

    A couple of extra spices, a pasta switch-up, and a few practice rounds later, I've landed on my own spin on Italian sausage soup, this one featuring orzo and spinach.

    P.S. If you're into orzo in soup, you may also want to check out this vegetable beef soup, too.

    Reasons to Love This Recipe

    • Everything is cooked in one pot to keep the clean-up count low.
    • It's a great recipe to use up odds and ends from your kitchen, such as different vegetables, pasta shapes, greens, etc.
    • You can easily lighten it up by using chicken or turkey Italian sausage instead of pork.

    Recipe Ingredients

    Labeled Italian sausage soup ingredients in separate containers.
    • Italian sausage: Sweet, mild, or hot Italian sausage all work, depending on your preferences. So do chicken, turkey, or traditional pork.
    • Mirepoix: Comprised of onions, carrots, and celery, try and chop them up into equally-sized pieces so they soften in similar timing.
    • Crushed tomatoes: If you can find crushed tomatoes with added basil flavoring, even better.
    • Spices: You can simplify most of these by using a pre-made Italian seasoning blend. One-half teaspoon of crushed red pepper helps bring flavor and not heat. Add extra if you like things on the spicier side.
    • Orzo: Another smaller pasta shape can be used here, such as acini de pepe, pastina, or ditalini.
    • Greens: Spinach is my usual pick here but other greens, such as baby kale or arugula also work great. If using standard kale, such as curly or lacinato, keep in mind those varieties will need several additional minutes to wilt.

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    1. Getting a rough "mise en place" situated always helps me to move smoothly through a recipe. For this soup, first chop up the celery, onions, and carrots, as well as measure out the dried spices.
    Diced celery, onion, and carrots on a marble board.
    Dried herbs and spices in a small bowl.
    1. Add the ground Italian sausage to a soup pot set over medium heat, breaking the sausage up into small pieces until fully cooked. This should take around 10 minutes. Once cooked, remove the sausage crumbles to a paper-towel lined plate to drain the fat.
    Browned and crumbled Italian sausage on a paper towel-lined plate.
    1. Add the oil to the now-empty pot, then once heated add in the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the vegetables are beginning to soften.
    Sauteed onion, carrot, and celery in a pan.
    1. Pour in a small portion of the broth (around one-third cup or so) to deglaze the pan. As the broth bubbles, scrape up the stuck-on, burnt bits from the bottom of the pot until it's clean to incorporate all that flavor into the vegetables. Add back the cooked sausage, then pour in the rest of the broth, crushed tomatoes, water, and spices.
    All liquid ingredients added to the pot of soup ingredients.
    1. Let the soup simmer for an hour or so, then raise the heat to a boil. Add the orzo and cook according to package directions, usually about 10 minutes. Stir it often so it doesn't stick together.
    Dry orzo being added to the pot of Italian sausage soup.
    1. Stir in spinach (or arugula - see notes on other greens) when there's 1-2 minutes remaining on the orzo cook time. Once wilted, adjust the seasonings to taste and serve.
    Arugula greens added to a pot of soup with a wooden spoon.

    Recipe Tips and Tricks

    • The amount of water you add doesn't have to be precise. I fill up the empty 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes as much as I can without risking spilling it on the way from the sink to the stove and pour it in.
    • I highly recommend sprinkling grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese over top for serving. It melts into the hot soup in a delicious way.
    • Six ounces of fresh spinach may look like a lot going in, but it wilts and reduces significantly. Do add as much as you like, but I found this amount to add heft to each serving without overwhelming.
    • Freezing fresh spinach is one of my favorite tricks to always have this quick-to-get-slimy produce on hand. And there's no need to thaw, just add it frozen right to the soup.
    An overhead picture of two bowls of soup and the larger soup pot ready to eat.

    Recipe FAQs

    Does Italian sausage soup freeze well?

    Very well! Simply portion out leftover soup into air-tight containers and freeze for up to three months for the freshest flavor.

    What else goes well with this soup?

    Soup and salad is a classic combo for a reason. I love a side salad with a hearty dressing, such as Greek yogurt caesar dressing or hummus salad dressing. Crusty bread with good butter also rounds out the meal.

    Do you have to pre-boil the orzo?

    You don't have to but you can. If you add dry orzo to the soup, it'll get supersized in leftover portions overnight. I find it makes the soup that much more hearty, with one-half cup of orzo not completely taking over the leftovers. If you don't like the orzo "growing" so large you can boil it separately and add it to the soup once cooked.

    A bowl of soup topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

    Related Recipes

    • Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers
    • Italian Sausage and Peppers
    • Italian Sausage Quesadillas
    • Sausage and Spinach Lasagna Rolls

    If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating in the recipe card and/or a comment review below!

    A large pot of Italian sausage soup with a ladle in it.

    Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo

    Italian sausage soup with orzo and spinach is a healthy and filling soup recipe perfect for year round! Serve with a crusty piece of bread and a salad for a well-balanced meal.
    4.77 from 13 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Italian/American
    Prep Time: 12 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour 26 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 38 minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 377kcal
    Author: Alyssa

    Ingredients

    • 16 ounces (454g) ground Italian sausage
    • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
    • 1 medium (175g) onion diced
    • 1 large (103g) carrot diced (about ⅔ cup)
    • 2 medium/large celery ribs diced (about ½ cup)
    • 32 ounces (907g) reduced-sodium chicken broth
    • 1 28-ounce can (794g) crushed tomatoes
    • 28 ounces (828 ml) water
    • ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
    • ¾ teaspoon dried basil
    • ½ teaspoon dried parsley
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper more to taste
    • ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ½ cup (85g) dry orzo pasta
    • 6 ounces (170g) fresh spinach leaves (about 4 cups packed)
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    Instructions

    • Place a large, heavy-bottomed pot on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the sausage is no longer pink and fully cooked, breaking up the pieces into smaller crumbles as you go. Transfer the cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
    • Add olive oil to the pot and place it back on the stove over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened some.
    • Pour around one-third cup of the broth into the pot and scrape up any stuck-on, burnt bits from the bottom as the broth bubbles. Stir this fond into the vegetables.
    • Add the cooked and crumbled sausage back to the pot, then pour in the rest of the broth, crushed tomatoes, and water and stir.
    • Add the oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir.
    • Reduce the heat so the soup is at a simmer. Let simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
    • Raise the heat to bring it up to a boil, then add the dry orzo. Let cook for 10 minutes, or according to orzo package directions. Stir frequently so that the orzo doesn't clump together.
    • Stir in the spinach a minute or so before the orzo will be done. Adjust the seasonings to taste. This Italian sausage soup is ready to serve once the orzo is tender and the spinach is slightly wilted.

    Notes

    Ingredient Notes
    Sausage: Either sweet, mild, or hot Italian sausage can be used: pork, chicken or turkey. If you cannot find a package of ground sausage, removing Italian sausage links from their casings to brown and crumble also works.
    Spices: To save time you can substitute in a pre-made Italian seasoning blend for most of the dried individual spices here.
    Orzo: Other small pasta, such as pastina, acini de pepe, or ditalini, can be used.
    Spinach: Other greens, such as baby kale or arugula can be directly substituted in. Curly or lacinato kale is fine too, but they will need to be added several minutes earlier in the cook time as they require extra time to wilt.
    Recipe Tips
    • Top this soup with grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese for serving.
    • While it looks like a lot of spinach going in, it reduces a whole lot as it wilts to not overwhelming the other ingredients.
    • The orzo will get larger in leftover portions as the soup refrigerates overnight, so do not add more than one-half cup. You can also boil the orzo according to package directions in a separate pot, adding the cooked orzo to the soup at the end, to limit the extra absorption.
    • Freeze Italian sausage soup in air-tight containers for up to three months for the freshest flavors.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 1458mg | Potassium: 909mg | Fiber: 5.3g | Sugar: 6.5g | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 3.8mg
    Tried this Recipe?Tag @mysequinedlife - I love to see what you're making!

    Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.

    Food Safety and Nutrition Disclaimer
    A bowl of sausage soup in front of another bowl and the big pot of soup.
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    Comments

    1. Carol Bobowski says

      April 16, 2020 at 12:53 pm

      5 stars
      Super tasty recipe. I've made it several times and just love it. Thank you for sharing it for us to enjoy. Hope its a taste of Italy since I missed my trip of a lifetime to there in March 2020. Looking forward to go in the future! XO

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        April 18, 2020 at 9:53 pm

        I'm so glad you like this soup, Carol! I'm sorry your trip was cancelled due to all this craziness, but I hope when you go it exceeds ALL your expectations. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Guy Cesario says

      January 25, 2020 at 2:18 pm

      I just made this recipe times five - for our church group’s Soup and Salad Saturday. It’s a big hit, and will sell out completely!

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        January 25, 2020 at 6:28 pm

        Now that's a pot of soup! So glad it's a hit. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Leslie Waddell says

      November 03, 2019 at 8:47 am

      5 stars
      Soup weather is upon us here in Ohio and I am always looking for new recipes. Made this last night and probably the best soup I have made thus far. Perfect seasoning but I added a bit more red pepper for our liking. Paired with some crusty Italian bread and butter. Perfect!

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        November 06, 2019 at 8:46 pm

        Leslie, I'm so happy to hear this! Glad you liked it, and thanks for letting me know how it went. Crusty bread + butter is the perfect pairing.

        Reply
        • Chris says

          January 21, 2020 at 4:36 pm

          Very good soup, made it before but without the spinach, better with it in tho. Also used toasted French bread with provolone cheese! As you would a French onion soup! Great pair.

        • Alyssa says

          January 22, 2020 at 12:40 pm

          Yum! That sounds a delicious addition to this soup, Chris. Glad you liked it!

    4. Lane Patten says

      August 07, 2018 at 8:43 am

      5 stars
      Oh yes! I absolutely love this soup! There is something very comforting about soup (even in the summer).

      Reply
    5. Helene says

      August 07, 2018 at 8:25 am

      5 stars
      Such a flavorful comforting soup for the senses. Great after a long day at work!

      Reply

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