Looking for Easy Lasagna Soup Recipes? Satisfy Your Craving With This Simple Dish
Lasagna is delicious, but it’s also time-consuming to make. Try this lasagna soup recipe that hits all the same flavors without the full-day commitment.
How are we just now discovering (easy) lasagna soup recipes? I mean, everyone loves a good lasagna — it’s the ultimate Italian comfort food. It has layers of melty, gooey cheese, sauce, veg or meat (or both, depending on the kind!), and tender noodles. If you’re lucky, it’s made fresh with your Nonna’s sauce that’s been simmering for hours.
But let’s be honest, not everyone can make lasagna like your Nonna. Making lasagna from scratch is time-consuming! It can easily take hours, and with everyone’s busy schedules, sometimes you’re looking for something as easy as getting take out.
What the Heck Is Lasagna Soup?
Leave it to the internet to come up with a simple lasagna hack that you can pull together in less than an hour.
Lasagna soup is simply a soup version of a traditional lasagna dish. Just imagine turning that hearty sauce into a soup base with all of your favorite lasagna ingredients, melty, gooey cheese included.
Because of the simplicity of this recipe, it’s an easy weeknight dinner and is ideal for those chilly nights when you just want something cozy and simple. This recipe also gives me an excuse to use one of my favorite kitchen tools, the Dutch oven (and if you don’t have one already, we’re loving Xtrema’s Classic Oval Dutch oven pictured above!).
Plus, we love lasagna soup because you don’t have to use lasagna noodles! Making this classic dish into a soup means you have a lot more flexibility — you can use any of your favorite kinds of pasta, like an orecchiette or rotini (spiral). We recommend a pasta shape that does a good job of holding that soupy, heart-warming sauce.
What Makes This Recipe Different?
Most other easy lasagna soup recipes skip one of the last steps of my recipe, which I personally think is a game-changer. In Step 11, you’ll brown your soup in the oven for a few minutes before you serve it, giving it that golden brown, gooey, cheesy topping you get in a traditional lasagna recipe. Skip this step and you’ll still have a delicious soup, but it won’t have that cheesy crust that makes traditional lasagna so yummy. It also allows the mozzarella balls to soften and become stringy so you get a fun cheese pull!
How to Make This Easy Lasagna Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
STEP 1:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
STEP 2:
Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Break up the noodles so they’re easier to eat, and cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Drain and drizzle with olive oil. Gently rub or massage oil all over noodles to prevent sticking (try carefully using a pair of tongs if you have them handy).
STEP 3:
Drain tomatoes and blend in a blender until smooth.
STEP 4:
Heat a Dutch oven (I used this one from Xtrema) over medium-low heat to bring it to temperature. Add sausage to the bottom of the pot and break up with a wooden spoon. Saute until cooked through and browned. Remove sausage from the Dutch oven and set aside.
STEP 5:
Check the amount of fat you have left in the pot. If there is enough fat to cook the onions, add the chopped onions. If the pan is dry, add another tablespoon or two of olive oil to the pot and bring it up to temperature, then add the chopped onions. Saute until soft and translucent.
STEP 6:
Add chopped garlic and dried herbs. Throw the sausage back in the pan. Add the tomato paste and cook and stir until darkened, for about 2 minutes.
STEP 7:
Add the wine and reduce by half.
STEP 8:
Add broth, blended tomatoes, and a handful of mozzarella balls. Cover and bring to a simmer to create that gooey cheese pull. Remove lid and let simmer for about 10 minutes until slightly reduced. Stir a few times while everything is simmering to help soften the cheese balls and get that melty, delicious texture.
STEP 9:
Add 3-4 tablespoons of ricotta cheese, depending on how creamy and cheesy you like it. Add mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.
STEP 10:
Stir in noodles, fresh basil, and 2-3 handfuls of spinach (or more if desired).
STEP 11:
Place in the oven for about 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to brown on top. Monitor your oven closely during this step and don’t walk away — you don’t want it to burn. This step also allows the mozzarella to melt and create the cheese pull.
STEP 12:
Divide soup among bowls. Top with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.
Note that the soup thickens as it sits with the noodles, so don’t worry too much if the consistency is thinner than you’d like. Serve with crusty bread if desired, and a delicious salad like this fresh fig arugula salad or kale caesar salad.
Recipe Tips to Enjoy Lasagna Soup All Year
If you love batch cooking and freezing items so you can pull things out when you just don’t feel like cooking (hey, we’ve all been there!), we recommend doubling the recipe and freezing it.
How to Make Lasagna Soup in Advance
The key to successfully freezing this soup is making the recipe up to step 6. Skip adding the noodles, cheese, spinach, or fresh herbs — they don’t freeze or store well.
Whenever you’re hit with a lasagna soup craving, bring your soup out of the freezer, thaw it (preferably in the refrigerator overnight), and bring it to a simmer. Do not boil it, otherwise the ingredients may overcook and start to fall apart. While you bring the soup to a simmer, cook your pasta according to the package directions.
Then add the remaining ingredients in this order — stir in the cheese, then add the pasta, fresh herbs, and spinach. Place in a preheated oven for about 3-5 minutes to create a golden-brown crust and a fun cheese pull!
Freeze
To enjoy your soup whenever you want it, place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2-3 months. To serve, thaw in your refrigerator overnight and bring to a simmer on your stovetop. Finish making the soup according to the instructions above.
Store
If you’re just looking to satisfy your cravings for a week, store lasagna soup covered in your refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Variations and Creative Additions
Everyone has their favorite variations of lasagna (we love this customizable vegetarian lasagne recipe), and lasagna soup is no different. Just take your favorite ingredients and them to your soup!
Here’s a list of creative variations to get you started:
- Add chopped red bell peppers and saute with onions.
- Add sauteed mushrooms for a nice umami flavor (my fave are shiitake mushrooms), or you can even use them as a replacement for sausage to make a vegetarian version (which is delicious!).
- Want more spice? Add about ½ teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes.
- Tomato base hack: To save some time and skip the need to wash your blender, use premade pasta sauce instead of blended tomatoes.
- Add a pop of sweetness and an extra layer of depth with a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
Cooking Tools I Used
Xtrema Classic Oval Dutch Oven
100% pure ceramic + non-toxic
$314.99*
*Price listed at time of publish.
