Years ago, in the midst of moving to a new house and completely exhausted, one of my best friends, Melanie, stopped by with this Lasagna Soup. I love how food can bring people together, soothe hearts, and show those you care about that you love them. I was so grateful to have a home cooked meal after eating fast food and quick fixes all week. Mel had told me about this soup before, with its cheesy surprise at the bottom of the bowl and it was just as amazing as she had described. I knew I couldn’t keep all of this goodness to myself, so here it is. Put this one on your menu ASAP!
Ingredients Needed
- Italian Sausage – I almost always use Turkey Italian Sausage for any recipe that calls for Italian sausage. Foster Farms (no sponsorship here, I just love it) makes both a “hot and spicy” and a “sweet.” Sweet just means it’s not spicy- either one works in most recipes. I pretty much always have this in my freezer.
- Olive oil
- Chopped onions
- Fresh garlic
- Dried oregano
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Canned diced tomatoes – Preferably fire-roasted.
- Bay leaves
- Chicken broth
- Pasta – Fusilli or mafalda work great, but any pasta is fine! You could even break up lasagna noodles if desired.
- Fresh basil
- Salt and pepper
- Tomato Paste – Quick tip: It’s kind of annoying when recipes use only 1-2 tablespoons of something like tomato paste. If you’re like me, you put the rest in a container and freeze it and then end up throwing it out next time you clean out your freezer. Or the next time you need it, you need another tablespoon and now you have a big frozen block you have to chip away at. What I usually do is spoon it out into 1 tablespoon measurements, either on a piece of waxed paper like you see in the photo, or into an ice cube tray that’s been lined with plastic wrap. Once they’re frozen, place them in a zip top bag in your freezer and next time you need some, you can just grab the amount you need, all measured out and ready to go.
- Ricotta cheese – All ricotta is not created equal. I’ve tried a few common grocery store brands that are extra grainy and lack flavor. Trader Joe’s brand is great, as is Galbani. You want full fat here!
- Parmesan cheese
- Shredded mozzarella – Optional, for sprinkling on top.
How to Make Lasagna Soup
- You’ll brown up the sausage and then add in some onions and garlic, some dried herbs, a couple of bay leaves, some diced tomatoes and chicken broth, and some tomato paste.
- While the soup in simmering away, you can whip up the cheese mixture: ricotta, shredded Parmesan cheese and seasoned with salt and pepper.
- This soup includes noodles too, and you can put them in the soup towards the end of simmering to cook them, or do as I did and cook them separately.
- To assemble the soup for serving, spoon a generous dollop of the cheese mixture into the bottom of the bowl and add some pasta if you cooked it separately.
- Then ladle the hot soup over the top. This is where it works its magic. Just let it sit for a minute or two and by the time you’re ready to eat, it’s like a treasure chest of ooey gooey melted cheese down there. Do yourself a favor and serve this with a loaf of crusty rustic bread you can dip and spread the cheesy love with. And then make a pot for a friend!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 304 days for best results. Store your ricotta mixture in a separate airtight container.
- Noodles in soup are sometimes tricky, and end up sucking up way too much of the broth, and getting soggy in leftovers, etc. So I like to sometimes just cook them separately and add them to the individual servings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
If you need to plan ahead, cook the soup through simmering, cool, and refrigerate until ready to reheat. While reheating, prepare your cheese mixture and noodles, then assemble your bowls.
Can I freeze this soup?
The soup base freezes well, but for best results I’d recommend both cooking your pasta and making your cheese mixture fresh right before serving.
Can I make this gluten-free?
Absolutely! Use your favorite gluten-free pasta here. I would definitely recommend cooking your pasta separately so it holds it’s shape!
Lasagna Soup
Gooey, delicious, and perfect for a wintry day, this Lasagna Soup never disappoints. Just be sure to make enough to share!
Servings 1.5 cup servings
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 ½ lbs Italian Sausage I use Italian Turkey Sausage
- 3 cups chopped onions
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- optional: 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 28- ounce can diced tomatoes preferably fire roasted
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces fusilli or mafalda pasta or other pasta of your choice
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil or a heaping tablespoon dried basil
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- a few cracks of black pepper
- optional: shredded mozzarella for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces and cook until browned and cooked through. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. If you’re using dried basil, add it at this point. Cook for about a minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate.
- Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. You can add the dry pasta to the soup in the last 8-ish minutes of cooking, or do as I prefer, and cook the pasta separately and add to individual servings. Right before serving, stir in fresh basil if you’re using fresh, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.
- To serve, place a generous dollop of the ricotta mixture in each soup bowl, add pasta if you cooked it separately, and ladle the hot soup over the cheese. Let it sit for a minute for the cheese to get all melty, sprinkle mozzarella on top if desired and eat up.
Notes
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 304 days for best results. Store your ricotta mixture in a separate airtight container.
- Noodles in soup are sometimes tricky, and end up sucking up way too much of the broth, and getting soggy in leftovers, etc. So I like to sometimes just cook them separately and add them to the individual servings.
Nutrition
Calories: 541kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Cholesterol: 87mg, Sodium: 1650mg, Potassium: 677mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 446IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 221mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 541kcal
Cost: $12
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Questions & Reviews
Love love your recipes every recipe I learn something from you both,,
Made this last night and it was fantastic! Everyone LOVED it! I added a can of mushrooms too.
MMMMMMM! All the goodness of lasagna, but in a spoonable format, and no mucking around with layers, fantastico.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was great. I wasn’t sure when I saw the name – lasagna soup. But, it was really good and tasted a lot like lasagna. Thanks for a new soup recipe we will enjoy many more times.
Must try!
Love your website – love your recipes. Your variety and humerous comments truly make Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays my favorite days of the week. I just have one tiny request that you may have answered before so I apologize if this is redundant. I have noticed that sometimes you put the nutritional value (carbs, sugars, etc.) of the food with the recipe and sometimes it’s not included. My son was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes so this information has become very important to me as I try to cook healthy, TASTY meals for him. With my love of all things OBB, I make so many of your recipes. Would it be possible to have that information included with ALL of the recipes? I realize there are many recipes already on your site without the information, but even if it were included in the future, it would be greatly appreciated! I know I’m not the only one who would love to fix and serve your wonderful recipes to the people I love and have them be able to enjoy it and know it is fitting within their dietary requirements. Thank you so much!
This looks amazing! I am so bummed though because I am missing a few ingredients and I literally just walked in from the grocery store (as in my groceries are still sitting on my table, waiting patiently for me to put them away). Must go back to the store!
This looks sooooo yummy. Do you happen to have any suggestions on what vegetables might go well in there. I am trying hard to be good.
I put spinach and mushrooms in my regular lasagna, might be good here, too?
I added some zucchini and yellow squash. it was super tasty. I don’t usually add on to my OBB recipes, but I felt that Sara and Kate would approve 🙂
haha, I approve!
I think I just found dinner tonight! Even though it’s not cold or rainy here in Southeast Texas. Still waiting for that part actually. Excellent sounding recipe! Yum, yum!
I am literally drooling! My husband loves lasagna but I feel like it’s such a pain sometimes to make it (plus I dread all the carbs!). But this is going on the menu (and I can monitor how many carbs I put in my personal bowl. I love it, perfect for everyone 🙂