One-Pan Chicken Sausage Broccoli (Printable)

Comforting one-pan dinner with browned sausage, orzo, broccoli, and a lemony finish perfect for weeknights.

# Ingredient List:

→ Proteins

01 - 1 lb chicken sausage, sliced

→ Pasta & Grains

02 - 1 cup orzo pasta, uncooked

→ Vegetables & Aromatics

03 - 3 cups broccoli florets
04 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
05 - 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
06 - Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

→ Liquids

07 - 2.5 cups chicken broth
08 - Juice of 0.5-1 lemon

→ Dairy

09 - 0.5 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

→ Oils & Seasonings

10 - 2 tbsp olive oil
11 - 1 tsp Italian seasoning
12 - 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
13 - Salt and black pepper to taste

# Steps:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced chicken sausage and cook until browned, approximately 5 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and set aside.
02 - In the same skillet, add diced onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Stir in minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes if using, and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add uncooked orzo to the skillet and toast while stirring for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden.
04 - Pour in chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
05 - Stir in broccoli florets and return sausage to the skillet. Cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes until broccoli is tender-crisp and orzo reaches al dente texture.
06 - Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan until creamy, then add lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
07 - Let the dish rest for 5 minutes to thicken, then garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Honest weeknight cooking: everything happens in one pan while you actually relax instead of standing over three pots.
  • The sausage does the heavy lifting—no second-guessing whether chicken is cooked through, just golden and done.
  • Lemon at the end transforms it from filling to genuinely bright, the kind of dinner that doesn't feel like a shortcut.
02 -
  • Toasting the orzo before adding liquid is non-negotiable—it's the difference between mushy pasta and pasta with personality and texture underneath.
  • Freshly grated Parmesan melts smooth and creamy; the pre-shredded kind with anti-caking agents stays separate and never really becomes sauce, so this is one place where fresh matters.
  • Add the lemon at the very end, after the heat is off—if you add it too early, the acidity can make everything taste thin and one-dimensional instead of bright.
03 -
  • Don't skip the 5-minute rest at the end—the pasta continues absorbing liquid and transforms the whole thing into something creamy without a single splash of cream.
  • If your broth is heavily salted, go easy on additional salt in the middle steps because it concentrates as the liquid reduces; you can always add more at the end.
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