A cozy, balanced dinner made with orzo pasta, roasted sausage and vegetables. It’s versatile, rich in protein, vitamins, fibre and healthy fats to keep you nourished and full in menopause.
When you follow the Balanced Food Framework in a cozy comfort food recipe like this one, you are
- going to stay full longer
- meeting your protein, fibre, and healthy fat needs
- supporting your muscle mass, microbiome, and immune system
- creating something functional for your body without over-complicating
Ingredients you will need
Orzo | Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta made from durum wheat semolina flour. It cooks quickly, like rice, but offers more protein
Chicken or vegetable broth | Adds flavour and protein to this dish
Italian sausage | Choose hot, mild, or sweet sausage made from turkey, pork, lamb, chicken or beef. Easily make this dish plant-based by eliminating the sausage or swapping it with canned chickpeas
Vegetables | Red onion, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato and spinach are what this recipe calls for, but you can use what you have on hand
Parmesan cheese | Freshly grated parmesan or pecorino finish the orzo with a nice creamy texture and flavour
Spices | Italian seasoning, sea salt, and red pepper flakes
How to make orzo pasta with roasted sausage and vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- Chop all the vegetables (not the spinach) into pieces that are the same size so that they cook at the same speed. Spread them onto a baking sheet and drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil, sea salt and Italian seasoning. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender
- In a separate baking dish, roast the sausages for 30 minutes, flipping them over half way so that both sides cook evenly
- While the sausage and vegetables are roasting, start the orzo. Warm a skillet or deep pan on medium heat on the stove top with a few tablespoons of olive oil
- Add in the uncooked orzo and stir it around for a minute to lightly toast in the olive oil
- Either in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove, warm up the chicken broth
- Slowly add one ladle of warm broth to the orzo, stirring to combine. Increase the heat until the broth comes to a gentle boil. Keep adding more ladles of broth until the orzo is tender and cooked through, about 20 minutes
- When the orzo is cooked through, add in the raw spinach and parmesan cheese. Stir or put a lid on the skillet to steam and wilt the spinach and melt the cheese
- Remove the sausage from the oven, slice them up and add them to the orzo. Remove the vegetables and add them in to the orzo. Stir everything together, garnish with red pepper flakes and more parmesan cheese before serving
Save this recipe
Cheesy Orzo Pasta with Roasted Sausage and Vegetables
Equipment
- ceramic skillet https://amzn.to/3NheFIF
- Baking sheet
- baking dish
- small soup pot
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 Italian sausages
- 1 ` sweet potato
- 10 mushrooms
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 yellow or red onion
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 2 handfuls raw baby spinach
- red pepper flakes for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- Chop all the vegetables (not the spinach) into pieces that are the same size so that they cook at the same speed. Spread them onto a baking sheet and drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil, sea salt and Italian seasoning. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender
- In a separate baking dish, roast the sausages for 30 minutes, flipping them over half way so that both sides cook evenly
- While the sausage and vegetables are roasting, start the orzo. Warm a skillet or deep pan on medium heat on the stove top with a few tablespoons of olive oil
- Add in the uncooked orzo and stir it around for a minute to lightly toast in the olive oil
- Either in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove, warm up the chicken broth
- Slowly add one ladle of warm broth to the orzo, stirring to combine. Increase the heat until the broth comes to a gentle boil. Keep adding more ladles of broth until the orzo is tender and cooked through, about 20 minutes
- When the orzo is cooked through, add in the raw spinach and parmesan cheese. Stir or put a lid on the skillet to steam and wilt the spinach and melt the cheese
- Remove the sausage from the oven, slice them up and add them to the orzo. Remove the vegetables and add them in to the orzo. Stir everything together, garnish with red pepper flakes and more parmesan cheese before serving
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Nutrition
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