Tomato Orzo with Chicken Sausage (2024)

Why you’ll love it

If you’ve been a reader here for any length of time, you know I’m a huge fan of orzo. I wanted to do something a little different with this recipe, so I branched out and chose chicken sausage as the protein here. I don’t cook with it often, but I probably should since it’s really very tasty. If you’re asking yourself what to make with chicken sausage, you should give this one pot pasta a go.

This chicken sausage orzo is a no-brainer for busy weeknights. Prep isn’t time-consuming, the ingredients are readily available, and you don’t have to do a ton of dishes since it’s made all in one pot. It’s sort of like a risotto but with WAY less work. Half an hour, and it’s on the table for a satisfying family meal with protein, pasta, and veggies!

What you’ll need

• Olive oil – for sautéing
• Chicken sausage – it’s made up of lean ground chicken and is a popular alternative to pork sausages since they’re generally lower sodium and fat.
• Onion and garlic – the tasty base aromatics. I prefer sweet (Vidalia) onions. For the garlic I mince it with this garlic press since you don’t need to peel the cloves first.
• Orzo – it’s that tiny rice-shaped pasta. You’ll find it in the dry pasta aisle at the grocery store.
• Italian seasoning – I always keep several jars in my pantry since I use it for so many of my creations. It’s a dried herb blend that’s perfectly proportioned and very convenient.
• Chicken broth – for moisture and savory flavor
• Tomato sauce – it gives that concentrated, delicious tomato taste. For my UK readers, substitute passata.
• Broccoli – we’re using fresh broccoli cut into bite-sized florets
• Bell pepper – for more freshness and flavor. I chose red, but use your favorite color.
• Parmesan – totally optional, but this one of those meals that freshly grated parm really complements

Substitutions and variations

• You can substitute turkey sausage. In testing, I also tried an uncooked “breakfast” variety of turkey sausage. It worked great, so you definitely have some flexibility here. Or just use pork sausage if that’s what you prefer.
• If you don’t want to include the broccoli, you can skip it or sub with another vegetable that’s also chopped fairly small. Spinach works too, but add it in towards the end so it wilts for a few minutes vs. cooking for the entire 10 minutes.
• Love olives? Some pitted Kalamata olives would be a great addition to this dish to give some Mediterranean vibes.
• Since orzo is pasta, we haven’t tested this with rice. If you want to sub the orzo for rice, you will likely need to adjust the liquid measurements and cooking time since rice typically takes longer.