If there’s a cooking equivalent of an “easy” button, it’s the one-pan recipe—there’s no random kitchen doodads to search for, no hours spent cleaning. So if easy is what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place. Even the orzo pasta here skips the usual separate pot of boiling water and cooks right in the tomato sauce, along with the sausage, onion, and kale. The final step, in which the whole thing is baked to give it a crispy, cheesy finish, doesn’t even need a casserole dish—as long as your pan is ovenproof, it can go straight in the oven.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
1 unit
Yellow Onion
1.5 cup
Orzo Pasta
(Contains Wheat)
18 ounce
Italian Chicken Sausage
4 ounce
Kale
2 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon
Chili Flakes
27.52 ounce
Crushed Tomatoes
¼ cup
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains Milk)
½ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains Wheat)
½ cup
Italian Cheese Blend
(Contains Milk)
5 teaspoon
Olive Oil
1 teaspoon
Sugar
3 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains Milk)
Salt
Pepper
Wash and dry all produce. Preheat broiler to high or oven to 500 degrees with rack in upper position. Halve, peel, and and finely chop onion. Measure out 1½ cups orzo (we sent more—save the rest for another use).
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat (we recommend using an ovenproof pan). Add sausage and break meat up into pieces. Cook, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add another drizzle of olive oil to pan, then toss in onion, kale, and a big pinch of salt. Cook, tossing, until veggies are softened, about 5 minutes. Toss in 5 tsp Italian seasoning (save the last teaspoon for step 5) and a pinch of chili flakes if you like it spicy. Cook, tossing, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Stir orzo, tomatoes, 1¾ cups water, 1 tsp sugar, and a few big pinches of salt and pepper into pan. Lower heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until orzo is al dente, 12-15 minutes. (TIP: If mixture dries out, add water ¼ cup at a time to loosen.) Remove pan from heat. Add Parmesan and 2 TBSP butter, stirring to melt. Season with salt and pepper. If your pan is not ovenproof, transfer mixture to a baking dish at this point.
Place 1 TBSP butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted, about 20 seconds. Stir in 1 TBSP olive oil, panko, Italian cheese, and remaining Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper.
Evenly sprinkle crust over orzo. Broil or bake until panko is golden brown, 1-3 minutes. (TIP: Keep an eye on things and remove from oven immediately if you see or smell any burning.) Let stand for 5 minutes to cool and settle a bit. Sprinkle with more chili flakes, if desired. Divide between plates and serve.