One Dish, Pasta, Pork, Soups/Stews

Creamy Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

Posted by wyoung on

This Sausage Soup with Spinach and Orzo is a cozy and comforting soup – and can be made with either butternut squash or sweet potatoes. It’s a great recipe to make on a cold Fall or Winter evening because it takes about 30 minutes to make. It’s got a good depth of flavor…and it’s hearty.

INGREDIENTS

  • 15 oz spicy Italian sausage crumbled
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (no sprigs, just leaves)
  • 1 cup orzo uncooked
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 10oz Butternut Squash peeled and cubed *See Note1*
  • 5 oz fresh spinach, rough chopped
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese shaved, shredded, or grated (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Add crumbled Italian sausage, Italian seasoning, a generous amount of fresh thyme (no sprigs, just leaves) to a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat, regularly stirring to break the sausage down. (Honestly I just sliced some links thin…cause I like it better that way)
  2. Once the sausage released juices and is half cooked, add 1 cup of uncooked orzo and minced garlic, and cook, constantly stirring, for about 2 minutes on medium heat to brown the orzo.
  3. Add 5 cups of chicken stock and cubed squash (SEE NOTE2), stir everything well, cover with the lid, bring to a boil, reduce to visible simmer, and cook for about 5 or 10 minutes until the orzo and butternut squash is cooked.
  4. Add spinach to the soup, cover with the lid and let it wilt on low heat, occasionally stirring.
  5. Once the spinach has wilted, remove the soup from the heat and add heavy cream. Stir everything and season with salt and pepper. Add more chicken stock (or water) if the soup is too dense.. Top with Parmesan cheese (shaved, shredded, or grated) and fresh thyme….or do what I did and make some decent grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. (See Photo)

NOTE: 1) You can use either one depending on your taste. To me the sweet potatoes add a bit of flavor that isn’t there otherwise. The butternut squash tends to make this seem rather bland. 2) IF YOU ARE USING SWEET POTATOES…roast them first in the oven…it gives them a bit more flavor and it’s less cooking time on the stove top.