Italian Sausage Soup with Spinach Recipe

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...and it's no truer than this pic of this Italian Sausage Soup with Spinach! What you see is what you get here...flavorful, nutritious, and downright awesome!

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 418kcal

Author Tom DeVincenzo

Cost 15

Equipment

Ingredients

1 lb Italian sausage links, rope or ground sausage will all work
1 cup carrots chopped
1 ½ cup onions chopped
1 cup celery
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp crushed red pepper can add more if you'd like; it's also optional
6 cup chicken broth
2 cup vegetable broth
2 twigs fresh thyme
1 twig fresh rosemary
5 oz orzo can use other small pasta too
6 oz spinach
¼ cup pecorino romano can use parmesan or parmigiano reggiano too

Instructions

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. When heated, add the sausage. Cook until browned. When browned, remove from pot and transfer to a cutting board (if you're using links or a rope) or a bowl (if you're using ground sausage). Cover with a bowl and let rest for 5 minutes.
In the same pot, heat the rest of the olive oil. When heated, add the carrots, onions, and garlic. Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the carrots are softened and the onions are translucent. Then, add the celery and also the salt and crushed red pepper. Cook, mixing frequently, for another 2-3 minutes until all the vegetables are soft.
THIS STEP IS ONLY IF YOU USED SAUSAGE LINKS OR A ROPE. While the vegetables are cooking, uncover the sausage and begin to "crumble". This is best done with a Food Chopper (Slap Chop), but can also be done with the pointed end of a meat tenderizer. Ground up all the sausage.
Add both broths and the fresh thyme and rosemary and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, drop the heat to low and continue with a slow boil.
Add the sausage back into the dutch oven. Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper or crushed red pepper as needed. After about 2 minutes, add the Orzo and cook for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
Turn off the heat and remove the stems of thyme and rosemary, then add the grated cheese. Stir to combine.

Notes

Serving size = 2 cups. This recipe will yield about 12-14 cups (so you'll get about 6-7 servings).
I 100% double this recipe every time I make it to ensure I have some leftovers. When I do double it, I use a 7.5 QT Dutch oven and have plenty of room.
You can use any kind of cheese in the final step but I like using the Pecorino Romano. It has a bit more of a saltier taste than Parmesan which really adds an amazing flavor at the end. You can also add the rind instead of the actual grated cheese, but if you do that, be sure to add the rind in when you add the broths and remove the rind before serving.

Nutrition