Lasagna Soup – Hearty tomato soup, seasoned with Italian spices and loaded with ground beef and lasagna noodles. Each serving is finished off with a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese to make each bite taste just like lasagna!
Mmm soup. I am all about soup this time of year. It’s hearty, it’s comforting, it warms me up. And so, I thought it was time to work on a new soup recipe to share with you all.
Lasagna soup is a soup I tried in the past but it just wasn’t that great. But how could that be? All the ingredients and flavors of a classic lasagna, but in soup that I can enjoy while nuzzled on the couch? I mean, how could that go wrong???
Well, it just didn’t taste that great. It was runny and bland and less than thrilling. But fear not! I was on a mission to find the perfect version of this soup. Because lasagna soup sounds too good to give up on.
After finding a recipe that had the perfect blend of spices and flavor, I was finally ready to share it with you all. Check out my Lasagna Soup!
Making this soup
Soup base
We start out this soup by making the meaty tomato base. To do this, we start by browning the ground beef. We do that in the same pot that we’ll cook the soup so all that beefy flavor will be built into the foundation of the soup.
Next, we cook the onion and then add the tomatoes and spices and broth and cook for about 10 minutes before adding the lasagna noodles.
Lasagna noodles
To make this soup easier, I cook the noodles in the soup rather than cooking them separately in water. Plus, it gives the noodles more flavor. However, this means you need to break the noodles before adding to the soup. This may cause the noodles to break in uneven pieces, which doesn’t look so great but still tastes fine. If this doesn’t bother you, don’t change a thing.
However, if you want perfectly-sized lasagna noodle pieces, you can boil the noodles in water until softened but not cooked all the way and then remove them from water and cut into pieces. You’ll finish them off by adding them into the soup to finish cooking.
Ricotta cheese topping
We don’t cook the ricotta in the soup because it would melt into the soup and you wouldn’t get chunks of ricotta that you would expect in lasagna. Therefore, we add the ricotta to the top of the soup right as you’re serving it so it can slowly heat up in the soup but won’t melt away.
In addition, to help give the ricotta more structure and flavor, it’s mixed with parmesan and shredded mozzarella. This changes the texture of the ricotta from soft and creamy to firm, yet creamy.
Tips & Tricks
- For the ground beef, I used ground sirloin because I it’s only slightly lean (about 85%) and still has some added flavor from the fat. If you like, you can use Italian sausage or a combination of that and ground beef or ground pork.
- This soup reheats super well. We ate it for 4 days straight and it only got better over time. The noodles were a little softer as time went on so I don’t think this soup would freeze well with the noodles in there. Therefore, if you plan to freeze it, I suggest leaving out the noodles and adding them in when reheating it.
- Remember, the noodles will absorb some of the broth as they cook in the soup. Therefore, if you decide to cook the noodles outside of the soup and add them later, consider adding in less chicken broth to the soup so it doesn’t get too runny for your taste.
Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
For the lasagna soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 5½ cups chicken broth
- 1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes do not drain
- 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 2½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 8 lasagna noodles
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
For the ricotta cheese topping:
- 5 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese grated
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- In a large pot set to medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the lean ground meat. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Drain the fat and set meat aside.
- Place pot back on the burner and turn heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic to cook a little until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion and cook until it begins to get tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add in chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, spices, cooked meat, and tomato paste. Stir together to combine. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cover. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Break lasagna noodles and add to soup. Stir to submerge noodles in soup. Cover again and continue to cook for 10 more minutes. Give the soup a taste. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Finish with 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley.
- Mix together ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese together until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve each bowl of soup with about 2-3 tablespoons of the cheese mixture.
Notes
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More recipes you’ll love:
Chili Mac & Cheese
Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
I have never thought to turn Lasagna into a soup. I love it. Nice and warm for the winter.
This looks so good! My kids love lasagna, so this recipe will be a big hit with the entire family!!
This looks so good. I can’t wait to try it out. We are huge soup fans in the winter.
Lasagna soup is one of my favorites! I haven’t made it in awhile. I also have never used actual lasagna noodles. I like the idea of breaking them up into the soup.
OMG! I have never heard about lasagna soup, but it sounds amazing. I am experienced with making a traditional lasagna; so, I should try its another variation. Great idea! Thanks.
2 of my favorite winter dishes in one! This was so good. A huge hit with the whole family.
This was so delicious and quite filling…have left overs for lunch at work tomorrow.
This looks so hearty and comforting. I love the idea of the cheesy dollops on top!
That was delicious and quite filling. With some toast bread, this is easily a meal on its own. The leftover is great too. 🙂
You took my two favorite things and combined them into one recipe. YUM! Can’t wait to try this lasagna soup.