One-Pot Lemony Orzo with Chicken Sausage and Spinach
This one-pot, 30 minute dinner is not only easy to make, but simple when it comes to clean up, making it the perfect meal prep staple in your weekly routine. My One-Pot Lemony Orzo with Chicken Sausage and Spinach combines savory sausage, with bright fresh greens in every bite. This is one of those dishes that’s good all year round, but feels like summer with citrusy notes and packed with vivid greens. This recipe is featured in my March 2026 Done in 30 series, highlighting quick, easy, and delicious meals that require just 30 minutes from start to finish.
One-Pot Lemony Orzo with Chicken Sausage and Spinach ingredient notes:
Lemon: For a touch of citrus, I like to use both lemon juice and zest in this dish. Lemons are a great source of vitamin C and antioxidants to help fight against illnesses, and their tangy taste offers a light freshness to the meal.
Orzo: One of my favorite grains to use when I’m not quite sure if I want a rice or pasta is orzo. It’s tiny shape allows it to be evenly coated in whatever spices or sauce you’re cooking it with. Don’t skip out on toasting it in the pan before adding your broth for a greater depth of flavor.
Frozen Peas: Not only adding a pop of extra green here, peas are packed with protein, fiber, vitamins (A, C, K, B), and iron! I like to opt for a bag of frozen peas to save time, but you could also use fresh peas during peak season, typically April through July.
Chicken Sausage: The beauty of a good chicken sausage is that you can play around with the flavors each time you make this dish using a different variation of sausage. Trader Joe’s offers a wide variety like sun-dried tomato, spicy jalapeño, and sweet apple. I like to thinly slice into rounds for even cooking, but you could also chop into smaller pieces to match the rest of the ingredients.
Spinach: I really like to load up on the spinach here for some extra greens! I originally wrote the recipe with 3 ounces, but you can sneak in 6 if you prefer a veggie packed dish! I promise it wilts down with the heat of the orzo to a small volume. Paired with the peas, this beautifully bright green dish both tastes and looks fresh and vibrant!
One-Pot Lemony Orzo with Chicken Sausage and Spinach
4
servings10
minutes20
minutesThis one-pot, 30 minute dinner is not only easy to make, but simple when it comes to clean up, making it the perfect meal prep staple in your weekly routine. My One-Pot Lemony Orzo with Chicken Sausage and Spinach combines savory sausage, with bright fresh greens in every bite. This is one of those dishes that’s good all year round, but feels like summer with citrusy notes and packed with vivid greens. This recipe is featured in my March 2026 Done in 30 series, highlighting quick, easy, and delicious meals that require just 30 minutes from start to finish.
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Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces chicken sausage, thinly sliced
1 shallot, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry gluten-free orzo
2 cups chicken bone broth
10 ounces frozen peas
3 ounces baby spinach
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
Zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Directions
- Mix the oregano, rosemary, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large deep lidded skillet or pot. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, leaving the oil behind in the skillet.
- To the same skillet, add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the spice mixture and orzo, and stir to toast until golden brown and fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
- Add the broth along with 3/4 cup of water, stir, scraping any brown bits stuck to the bottom.
- Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. One boiling, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the orzo is al dente, 9 to 12 minutes, stirring halfway through to prevent sticking (cooking time may vary by brand).
- Add the peas, spinach, lemon juice and zest, and parmesan cheese and stir until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, return the sausage to the skillet, and mix well to combine. Taste and season with additional salt if desired.
- To serve, divide evenly among 4 bowls.
Notes
- If the orzo is fully cooked but liquid still remains, remove from the heat and cover the skillet. Let it sit off-heat for 10 to 15 minutes before adding the spinach and sausage.
- Store it: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat it: From the refrigerator, microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes. From the freezer, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then microwave in 30-second increments until warm. Alternatively, reheat in a skillet over medium heat until warm.
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This was a great recipe! Do you include nutritional info anywhere for your recipes?
I do on my newsletter on Substack, but I don’t on here.
I plugged it into MyFitnessPal.
Here are the macros:
Calories: 486
Carb: 44.3g
Fat: 15.1g
Protein: 27.4g
hi jenn! i typically freeze half a clamshell of spinach so it doesn’t go bad. think i could use that here?
Yes! Just thaw it first, add it to a dish towel, and squeeze out any excess liquid before adding.
Hi this looks so good!
Question, please! Do you have any suggestions for subbing ground chicken for this recipe? I have all of the ingredients at home besides the sausage!
Yes! Try cooking the ground chicken in the pan first until browned all over simiarly to the chicken sausage, but double the spice mix and add half of it to the ground chicken mixture.
I made this last night exactly as written. It was perfect and done in exactly 30 minutes. My husband had seconds and I was left with enough for lunch today. I am so looking forward to the leftovers! I will definitely be making this again and see so much opportunity for switching it up. This is a real winner!!! Thanks Jenn!!!
Yay! So glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe Mary.
In the more text heavy description of the ingredients, you say 6 oz of spinach but in the inclusive list of ingredients, you have 3 oz. Just want to clarify as I plan to make soon
Thanks for flagging this Nancy! It’s 3 ounces, however if you want to sneak in some extra, 6 will actually work too. Just give it enough time to wilt in!
This was super easy and such a good way to get in veggies + protein. Excited to have leftovers for lunch. I recommend this one.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Hanna!
Total failure. So liquidy despite exact measurements. Do not recommend
Hey Max! Sounds like you need to cook this longer if you have that much liquid. Many others have made this recipe. You can also leave it on the counter to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and excess liquid will absorb.
Thank you so much for sharing your amazing recipes, Jenn! Do you have a gluten-free orzo brand that you like?
Another winner Jenn! This was delicious and so incredibly quick to make! I used ground turkey + 2 tsp Italian seasoning in place of the chicken sausage and worked perfectly. Love the brightness from the lemon, Thank you!
This is the only recipe I have made postpartum, and I’ve made it three times now! I can’t eat garlic or shallots, so I omit those, and it’s still delicious! Thank you for a delicious 30 minute recipe that truly only takes 30 minutes!
Easy and tasty, and pretty easy clean up too! I used kale instead of spinach because I don’t like spinach and it worked quite well.