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These Italian Sausage and Veggie Bowls are roasted with Italian herbs, served with Parmesan orzo, and perfect for easy meal prep for the week ahead. Feel free to sub in whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand!
Man, I feel like I just blinked…and it was August. ?
Summer feels like it is downright racing by this year. And while I have spent a record amount of time at the pool and lake these past few months (which makes me all ??? — swimming in the sunshine is my dream way to spend a summer day), I realized this week that I have not spent as much time as I’d like making the most of summer produce at home in the kitchen. Which is too bad, because our neighborhood farmers market is exploding right now with a rainbow of gorgeous tomatoes and bell peppers and eggplant and squash and corn and peaches and berries and watermelon galore.
BUT, now that we’re officially back in town for a few weeks, I’ve been starting to make up for lost time by loading up my shopping bag with All The Produce on market days. And then roasting a huge batch of them each week for easy meal prep, like with these easy bowls I made last week. I gave them a bit of an Italian twist, roasting them up with lots of herbs and olive oil and Italian (chicken) sausage. And then dished them up with a quick batch of orzo pasta that I made with garlic and Parmesan. And the result?!
Some seriously delicious, colorful, savory, feel-good meals.
All week long.
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So whether you happen to be tuning into this recipe in the heat of August — or in the cold of December — the good news about this recipe is that it’s easily adaptable to whatever veggies happen to be in season right now.
Last week, I went with a clean-out-the-fridge assortment of ripe cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, and asparagus. But just about any roast-able veggies would work here, as long as you cut them to a size in which they will all cook in roughly the same amount of time.
To make these bowls, begin by placing a pot of water on the stove to boil while you chop all of your veggies. Then once they’re ready to go, toss the vegetables together with some olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
Spread them out in a single layer on a large baking sheet (or you can use two medium baking sheets), along with your choice of Italian sausage (I used chicken Italian sausage, but any kind of Italian or smoked sausage would work). Roast until cooked.
Meanwhile, as the sausage and veggies are roasting, cook some orzo (or any small shape of pasta) until al dente, and make a simple garlic Parmesan cream sauce on the side. Once they are both ready to go, toss them together until the pasta is evenly coated and oh-so-creamy. Then portion it evenly into 6 small storage containers. (<– I like these ones from at Amazon.) Layer in the sausage and veggie mixture once it’s ready to go. Sprinkle on some extra Parmesan for good measure.
And voila! Six delicious servings of these Italian Sausage and Veggie Bowls will be all ready to go for easy lunches or dinner all week long.
These Italian Sausage and Veggie Bowls are roasted with Italian herbs, served with Parmesan Garlic Orzo, and perfect for easy meal prep for the week ahead. Feel free to sub in whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand!
Ingredients
Scale
Italian Sausage and Veggie Bowl Ingredients:
8 cupschopped veggies(I used 2 cups cherry tomatoes, 1 bunch asparagus, 1 red bell pepper, 1 small red onion, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 8-ounce carton baby bella mushrooms)
3 tablespoonsolive oil
2 tablespoonsItalian seasoning, homemade or store-bought
1 teaspoongarlic powder
salt and pepper
1 pound Italian sausage or smoked sausage(I used Italian chicken sausage)
Heat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper, or grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add the Italian sausage, chopped veggies and olive oil. Then sprinkle evenly with the Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Toss thoroughly until evenly combined.
Turn the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet, and spread everything out into an even layer. Season evenly with salt and pepper.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, removing the baking sheet and stirring once at the halfway mark, until the veggies are tender and cooked through. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
Once the sausage/veggie mixture and the orzo are ready to go, portion everything evenly into 6 small storage containers. Sprinkle with your desired toppings.
Serve immediately, or seal and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
How To Make The Garlic Parmesan Orzo:
Cook orzo al dente in generously-salted water according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, as the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil (or butter) in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant. Whisk in the flour until evenly combined, then cook the mixture for 1 more minute, stirring occasionally.
Gradually whisked in the milk until it is completely combined. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches a very low simmer and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese until evenly combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Looks amazing! I have made so many of your recipes and always with great success. For this one, did you pre-cook the sausage before slicing it up? Unless I missed something on how the sausage is prepared before you mix everything on the baking trays. Usually when I try to slice sausage while it is still raw, it ends up a mushy mess :(
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, Margaret, we hope you enjoy! And no, we didn’t cook the sausage before putting it in the oven (but we used pre-cooked sausage that just needed to be warmed up).
Looks delicious! Our family just enjoyed your “Best Chicken Enchiladas” for dinner this evening. I have made it several times now and everyone loves it!
I was wondering if the sausage you used in this recipe was precooked or uncooked.
Except for the orzo, this reminds me a lot of something I got from another blog. With that one I do a whole meal on the baking sheet, so I usually have sweet potatoes or butternut squash with it. I like the idea of the orzo, especially with the sauce…
Easy and pretty quick. We used bulk sausage just broken into random chunks instead of tube sausage and it was fine. We turned the broiler on for a few minutes at the end to get some nice color on the veggies.
Substituted some left over Alfredo sauce for the garlic Parmesan just to use it up and it was good. Probably could have just gone with a very light drizzle of olive oil or butter on the orzo if in a rush.
I made it this morning for tonight’s dinner (and leftovers for next week). I could easily make this recipe for company! The presentation is beautiful and it tastes great! (I took a little taste ?)
I made this and it is DELICIOUS!! I will definitely have this recipe in rotation. I am curious about the calorie count and nutritional info. That would be helpful.
★★★★★
Hey, I’m Ali!
My favorite thing in life is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. more about me »
Looks so tasty and very pretty! Perfect for the summer :)
Thanks, we hope you can give them a try sometime soon! :)
Looks amazing! I have made so many of your recipes and always with great success. For this one, did you pre-cook the sausage before slicing it up? Unless I missed something on how the sausage is prepared before you mix everything on the baking trays. Usually when I try to slice sausage while it is still raw, it ends up a mushy mess :(
Thank you, Margaret, we hope you enjoy! And no, we didn’t cook the sausage before putting it in the oven (but we used pre-cooked sausage that just needed to be warmed up).
This looks amazing! Love all of those colorful vegetables.
★★★★★
Wonderful! Enjoy!!
Looks delicious! Our family just enjoyed your “Best Chicken Enchiladas” for dinner this evening. I have made it several times now and everyone loves it!
I was wondering if the sausage you used in this recipe was precooked or uncooked.
So happy to hear it! :) I used smoked Italian chicken sausage for this one.
Wow! Awesome dinner!! I swapped out the starch for a boxed risotto but otherwise stayed pretty true to the recipe. Definitely making again!
★★★★★
Thanks, Kathleen — we’re so happy you enjoyed everything!
Yum, love roasting a ton of veggies for meal prep!
Agreed! :D
Except for the orzo, this reminds me a lot of something I got from another blog. With that one I do a whole meal on the baking sheet, so I usually have sweet potatoes or butternut squash with it. I like the idea of the orzo, especially with the sauce…
We hope you enjoy this, Susan!
This looks really good. I would substitute the veggies though with our local veggies. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome, enjoy!
Easy and pretty quick. We used bulk sausage just broken into random chunks instead of tube sausage and it was fine. We turned the broiler on for a few minutes at the end to get some nice color on the veggies.
Substituted some left over Alfredo sauce for the garlic Parmesan just to use it up and it was good. Probably could have just gone with a very light drizzle of olive oil or butter on the orzo if in a rush.
★★★★★
Sounds delicious!! :)
Lunches are exactly the recipe I needed and why do I always forget how good and easy roasted veggies are.
Delicious! Halved the amount of orzo and sauce. Enjoyed every single bite!
★★★★★
Wonderful!
I made it this morning for tonight’s dinner (and leftovers for next week). I could easily make this recipe for company! The presentation is beautiful and it tastes great! (I took a little taste ?)
★★★★★
Awesome!
This is so good! My whole family loved it!
★★★★★
I made this and it is DELICIOUS!! I will definitely have this recipe in rotation. I am curious about the calorie count and nutritional info. That would be helpful.
★★★★★