Roasted Red Pepper Chicken & Apple Sausage Orzo Soup
You'll love this delicious homemade soup with roasted red peppers, chicken sausage, and orzo pasta!
Ingredients
- 1 (12 ounce) package Aidells Chicken & Apple Smoked Chicken Sausage (4 links), cut in half width-wise & then sliced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 red peppers, roasted, peeled & finely sliced*
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth (I mix hot water with Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base)
- 2/3 cup orzo pasta
- 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 Tbsp basil, chopped (I LOVE to use Gourmet Garden Paste)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- Optional: Serve with a sprinkle of shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large non-stick stock pot, brown chicken sausage for about 5 to 6 minutes. Put cooked sausage into a bowl.
- Heat olive oil in the empty stock pot. Add onion & saute 5 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic & cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Add sliced roasted red peppers, bay leaves, & chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered with a vented lid for 15 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves. Bring mixture to a boil & add orzo pasta, dried parsley & browned sausage. Cook orzo for 10 minutes or according to the time specified on the package.
- Add basil & season to taste with salt & pepper. Serve hot with a sprinkle of shredded parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
*To Roast the Red Peppers at Home: Rinse the peppers off. Using a gas stovetop or gas grill on medium-high heat, char each side of the pepper until black & blistered. The pepper will soften & shrivel slightly. Immediately place charred peppers into a zip-top plastic bag for 5 minutes. Peel off & discard the charred skin. Slice open the peppers, remove the seeds, veins, & stems and slice the peppers thinly for the soup.