Creamy Sausage and Spinach Orzotto

One-Pan Creamy Sausage and Spinach Orzotto with pesto tomatoes

• Prep: 15 min
• Cook: 30 min
• Total: 45 min
• Servings: 4
• Cuisine: Italian
• Difficulty: Easy
• Cost: $3.77/serving

Dietary

• Nut-Free
• High-Protein
• Low-Sugar

Tags

• one-pot
• sauté
• comfort food
• savory
• rich

Ingredients

• 16 ounce Italian pork sausage
• 12 ounce orzo pasta
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 4 fluid ounce cream sauce base
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 ounce baby spinach
• 4 ounce basil pesto
• 2 ounce shredded Parmesan cheese
• 4 clove garlic
• 2 teaspoon chicken broth concentrate

Instructions

1. Coarsely chop spinach. Core tomatoes and cut into 1/2" dice. Halve and peel onion. Cut halves into 1/4" dice. Mince garlic. Remove Italian sausage from casing, if necessary.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, half the pesto (reserve remaining for orzotto), and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
3. Place a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp. olive oil and Italian sausage to hot pan. Break into smaller pieces until no pink remains and sausage reaches a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees, 4-6 minutes. Transfer Italian sausage to a plate. Reserve pan; no need to wipe clean.
4. Return pan used to cook Italian sausage to medium heat and add 1 tsp. olive oil. Add onions to hot pan and stir occasionally until tender and lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, 1 minute.
5. Add 3 cups water, chicken base, and orzo to hot pan. Cover and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, uncover and stir occasionally until orzo is tender, 10-12 minutes.
6. Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, spinach, cream base, remaining pesto, cheese, and Italian sausage. Stir occasionally until spinach is slightly wilted, 1-2 minutes. If too thick, add additional water, 1 tsp. at a time and up to 1/4 cup, until desired consistency is reached. Remove from burner. Plate dish as pictured on front of card, topping orzotto with marinated tomatoes.

Nutrition (per serving)

• Calories: 760
• Protein: 42 g
• Carbohydrates: 73 g
• Fat: 37 g
• Fiber: 5 g
• Sodium: 1560 mg
• Saturated Fat: 12 g
• Sugar: 6 g
• Cholesterol: 95 mg