One Pan Chicken Sausage and Orzo Bake
This one-pan chicken sausage and orzo bake is creamy comfort food perfection! Chicken sausage, gluten-free orzo, butternut squash, and goat cheese for the ultimate fall dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups butternut squash chopped into small cubes
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Salt & pepper
- 12 oz fully cooked chicken sausage see notes for suggested brands
- 1 shallot sliced thin
- 10 oz gluten free orzo
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 4 oz goat cheese
- Fresh thyme to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F and lightly grease a 9x13" casserole dish.
- Add the butternut squash to the casserole dish and toss with avocado oil and half of the herbs. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, just enough to make the squash lightly fork tender.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven and carefully add the sausage, shallot, orzo, remainder or the herbs, and pour in the broth, making sure the orzo is covered by the broth. Add the goat cheese to the center of the dish and cover.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, carefully giving a gently stir to the the orzo halfway through. The pasta is cooked through and the liquid reduced.
- Remove the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before stirring the goat cheese into the pasta bake to create a creamy sauce.
- Serve topped with additional fresh thyme!
Notes
Chicken sausage brands: I suggest using an Italian-style chicken sausage like this basil chicken sausage from costco, or the garlic chicken sausage from Trader Joe's. As long as you use something savory and not too sweet, it should turn out well!
A note for dairy-free: You can try to modify this recipe to be dairy-free by using something like a dairy-free cream cheese!
Butternut squash: this recipe was developed with fresh squash which will take longer to cook. If you use a frozen and defrosted squash, you may be able to get away with less cook time.