This Simple Crock Pot Italian Wedding Soup recipe came from my sister. Anyone who knows me, or my sister, are probably either laughing or your eyes are bugging out of your head. My sister doesn’t cook. Last Christmas I decided to try and spread my joy of cooking by giving my sister a crock pot and cookbook. I swear it was the out of the goodness of my heart because I enjoy it so much I just wanted her to see that she could cook some healthy and fresh dishes for one. One night while juggling our crazy schedule, two kids and working from home my sister sent me a text saying that she made a recipe from the cookbook I bought her and if I wanted some I was welcome to it. I happily took it, one because it meant I didn’t have to cook again later that night after I fed the kids and because well my sister had cooked for me!! Well I was hooked to this simple crock pot italian wedding soup after that night, I of course asked for the recipe and have made it a few times since.
I like how easy this recipe is. By using precooked chicken sausage your saving yourself the time of having to make little tiny meatballs but the taste stays the same. Try using a sweet or even a spicy italian-style sausage. The original recipe calls to actually cook the orzo in the crockpot by adding all of the ingredients. If your going to eat the soup all at once in one sitting I say go for the simplicity of adding the orzo right in the crock pot. However, if your going to have leftovers cook the orzo separately so when you store your leftovers in the fridge you store it in separate containers. I’ve tried it both ways, I prefer cooking it separate because the orzo absorbs the broth and will eventually turn into a mold of yuck….how do I know this? Well I went camping with friends one weekend and brought the ingredients to make this soup because it’s so easy. I decided to add the orzo since there were going to be so many people eating the soup I had no intentions of having leftovers while camping. Wrong! Nobody ended up eating any of the soup because we all got full on other foods and my famous Mac N Cheese. The next morning the soup was well…..a mound of something since the orzo just expanded!
Recipe from: The Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook
- 6 cups of low sodium chicken broth
- 16 oz precooked chicken sausage, cut into 1 in chucks
- 1 cup of orzo
- 4 cups of spinach
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tsp. dried italian seasoning
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- sea salt
- fresh ground pepper
- In a slow cooker, mix broth, sausage, onion, italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for two hours.
- Cook orzo according to directions and divide into four separate bowls. Add spinach and cook for another 15 minutes.
