A hearty, easy Lasagna Soup recipe — it’s like eating your favorite Italian comfort food, only in a bowl! This soup has a meaty tomato base and is topped off with a creamy ricotta-cheese filling. Ready in only 30 minutes!
Something cozy and hearty for you today.
This lasagna soup is serious comfort food. Warm-you-to-your-toes comfort food, right up there with my baked ziti and rigatoni. Rich and hearty, meaty, super cheesy, it’s every bit as satisfying as classic lasagna, only made simpler because everything is just tossed in a pot together and ready in 30 minutes.
Sweet recipes are my specialty, but every now and then I make something savory that’s just so good I can’t keep it to myself, and I perfected this recipe shortly after Luke was born (I was too tired to put the effort into making a real lasagna!). Let me know in the comments if you try this lasagna soup and how you like it!
What You Need
It looks like a lot of ingredients, but most are staples. Note that these days I shred my own mozzarella and grate my own parmesan, it does make a difference!
- Protein. For a hearty meal, we start with a meaty base of Italian sausage and ground beef. Sure, you can use all of one or the other, but I find the blend of the two gives you the best possible flavor (just like when making my meatballs).
- Tomatoes. We use tomato sauce, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes for a great flavor. To help balance that somewhat tinny flavor that can come with using canned tomatoes (or just due to the acidity of tomatoes in general) we also add a pinch of sugar. Save your fresh tomatoes for making tomato basil soup instead, as the canned variety are best here (just like with my homemade salsa).
- Ricotta cheese. A staple in Italian dinners and desserts alike (save your extra for cannoli or cannoli cake), this is what classic lasagna filling is made of and is key for an authentic lasagna flavor.
- Cream cheese. The secret ingredient in my stuffed shells and manicotti, this adds a beautiful creaminess to the soup.
- Noodles. Mafalda are the best option as they have the texture of lasagna noodles and just look like mini lasagna pieces! If you can’t find them, you can substitute a similar small pasta (I think I’d look for bowtie).
How to Make Lasagna Soup
The recipe is detailed in its entirety below, but here are the highlights:
- Heat your oil, cook your onions, then your garlic, then brown your meat.
- Add all remaining soup ingredients, tomato sauces, broth, spices, etc.
- Bring to a boil, then add your pasta noodles and cook until these are tender.
- Make your topping and serve!
This ricotta-based topping is what gives the lasagna soup its cheesiness, since there’s none in the actual base of the soup recipe. You’ll mix up mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, parsley, and just a bit of cream cheese. The cream cheese is optional, but I love the flavor it adds.
Dollop the topping on top of your soup, then stir it in for a creamy, cheesy meal.
I also have a step-by-step video below the recipe detailing exactly how to make this recipe.
What to Serve with Lasagna Soup:
Any kind of crusty bread is great. We love my garlic knots, Garlic cheese drop biscuits, regular biscuits, buttermilk biscuits, or a slice of crusty artisan bread or sourdough.
This recipe is a great stand-alone meal thanks tot he protein base and the veggies, but if you’re loooking for an appropriate side Bruschetta or a Caprese Salad are great options, and might I recommend some tiramisu or Italian cream cake for dessert?
Can I Make This in the Crockpot?
You can, but a lot of the heavy lifting needs to be done outside of the crockpot in order to get the best flavor. I would recommend cooking your onions, meat, and garlic on the stovetop as indicated. Then transfer these to the slow cooker along with all of the remaining ingredients except the pasta and spinach (and, of course, without the topping). Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the pasta and spinach and cover, cook until the pasta is tender and then serve.
Tips
- You can use one full pound of sausage or one full pound of ground beef instead of a combination of the two (though the way it this lasagna soup recipe is written yields the best flavor in my opinion). This recipe could also be made with ground chicken or ground turkey instead of beef.
- If you are going to make lasagna soup in advance, you may need to add a bit more broth when you serve it to make it appropriately soupy again. As the soup sits and simmers, the pasta noodles will absorb much of the liquid.
- If your grocery store doesn’t carry Mafalda noodles you can substitute any similarly-sized noodle (small bowties, spiral rotini, etc.) or you can simply break up lasagna noodles and use those.
- If you grate your own mozzarella cheese it will melt more nicely into the soup when you serve it, while pre-shredded tends to retain its shape. Full disclosure: I’m usually to lazy to shred my own and no one has ever complained.
Enjoy!
More Recipes to Try!
- Potato Soup (over 300 5-star ratings!)
- The Best Chili (it’s won over a dozen cook-offs!)
- Corn Chowder
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
Let’s cook together! Head on over to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 200 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic minced (1 heaping Tablespoon)
- ½ lb (226 g) sweet Italian sausage¹
- ½ lb (226 g) 90% lean ground beef¹
- 5 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 14.5 oz (411 g) crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz (226 g) tomato sauce
- 4 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt plus additional to taste as needed
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper plus additional to taste as needed
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
- 2 ½ (140 g) cups/5 oz dry Mafalda noodles²
- 2 cups (35 g) chopped fresh spinach
Cheese Topping
- 1 cup (113 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz (226 g) whole milk ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup (40 g) grated parmesan (or parmesan romano) cheese
- 2 oz (55 g) cream cheese softened, optional
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley plus additional for garnish, if desired
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and cook until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium-sized yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add Italian sausage and beef, crumbling while you cook, and cook until browned (I do not drain any grease).½ lb (226 g) sweet Italian sausage¹, ½ lb (226 g) 90% lean ground beef¹
- Add chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, Italian seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper, if using. Stir well.5 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth, 14.5 oz (411 g) crushed tomatoes, 8 oz (226 g) tomato sauce, 4 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon salt plus additional to taste, ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper plus additional to taste, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and add pasta. Cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.2 ½ (140 g) cups/5 oz dry Mafalda noodles²
- Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes (this is a good time to prepare your cheese topping).
- Add spinach and cook until wilted. Serve soup, topped with a dollop of cheese mixture.2 cups (35 g) chopped fresh spinach
Cheese Topping:
- Stir together mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, and cream cheese along with parsley. Dollop over soup before serving.1 cup (113 g) shredded mozzarella cheese, 8 oz (226 g) whole milk ricotta cheese, ⅓ cup (40 g) grated parmesan (or parmesan romano) cheese, 2 oz (55 g) cream cheese, 1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Barbara McCalley
I would love to make this and freeze it. Will that cheese topping freeze?
Sam
Hi Barbara! I haven’t personally frozen it, but I don’t see any issues doing so. 🙂
Melinda
I make this at least three times a month!! My adult daughter and I are roommates and this is one of our favorite meals!!! I have had a hard time locating the Mafalda pasta but will try it with the bowtie next time! Thank you so much!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Melinda! 🙂
tina anderson
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was easy to follow because it’s well written. I think I’m related to Garfield because I just love lasagna. This is a great alternative. Something new. I’m going to freeze half for a night I’m feeling lazy and the lasagna craving hits. I have a feeling my picky kids will even like this.
Sam
🤣 Sometimes I too wonder I’m related to Garfield. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
R Smith
This was very good. We didn’t really like the Italian sausage so would leave that out next time. Served with some homemade garlic bread plus the cheese topping…easy snd great meal for the family!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Jen Burgess
This was very good. Ours was more pasta than soup. Not sure if it’s related to where we are in the country. It tasted amazing regardless, but next time we may add an extra cup of low sodium chicken broth.
Jaime
I absolutley love this recipe and the Ultimate Pot Soup. Those are the only 2 I have tried so far. I love them so much that I share with Coworkers and send them your link. Thank you for sharing, I will try others, soon.I do have a question? Will you please put the ingredients, Video and instructions on the top of the page please. I find it difficult at times to wait for the page to load while buying ingredients and during cooking. That would be very helpful. Thank you again and have a Wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jaime! I appreciate your feedback. I’ll look into it. 🙂
Melinda
Wow! Thank you for this delicious recipe!!! Unfortunately, I completely forgot about the spinach until I was almost finished with my bowl!!! I looked up at my daughter and shared my error and she said “No harm done! This is fabulous!” I had to sub fettucine for the Mafalda but again, no harm!! My daughter will not eat sausage and the ground beef was so delicious! Excellent dish and thanks again!!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Melinda! 🙂
Debra
Amazing, seasonings we’re right on.
This recipe is a keeper. I also added 1/2 c chopped bell pepper because I like the flavor.
Thank you for your recipe.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed, Debra (and I love the addition of the pepper!)! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how it turned out for you, I really appreciate it! 🙂
Debbie
This soup is absolutely amazing! I’m so glad I doubled it from the start, so we have lots of leftovers. Will definitely be making this again and again, as with all of your recipes I’ve tried. Thank you for such delicious recipes and detailed instructions!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the soup so much, Debbie! 🙂
Casey
Absolutely delicious! My husband and I loved it – the perfect soup for a rainy night (or when I just don’t feel like making full-on lasagna!). Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear how much you and your husband enjoyed it, Casey. Lasagna soup is a wonderful meal for a rainy night. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Amanda Haussmann
i made this last night for my husband and it was absolutely delicious! i swapped the beef for ground deer, since that is what we had, and it was so good. the ricotta cream on top was the perfect finishing touch to make it remind us of lasagna. lasagna is my husband’s favorite food in the world and this was a good week night option that didn’t take as long as traditional lasagna, but still had all those familiar flavors. i have made a number of sugar spun run recipes over the past couple of months and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to find recipes that are approachable and delicious! thank you!
Sam
Hi Amanda! My husband would love the deer substitution. It sounds excellent! I appreciate your support. 🙂
Pat
I made this soup last night for dinner. Oh my. . .it was absolutely delicious! My husband and I lapped it up like half starved animals. We just started eating it and my husband says “Let’s have this tomorrow night!”. If I keep this up I’m not going to fit through my front door! The only change I made was that I DOUBLED the cheese mixture and only because I am cheese greedy, otherwise, I made the recipe exactly as written. Thank you for another great recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the lasagna soup was such a hit in your home, Pat! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Bets du Plessis
Sam, Sam……what do I do? Hate you or love you? My 2 favourate dishes? Soup and Lasagna! Together it must be heaven. Just lost a good amount of weight – just reading the recipe makes me feel heavier already.
Well off to the shop – need some ingredients. Bye for now, Bets
Sugar Spun Run
I tend to have that love/hate relationship with a lot of people. Sometimes recipes are too good to miss out on, this Lasagna Soup is one of those! I hope that you think so too. Enjoy, Bets! 🙂
Krystal
Do you ever put an egg into your ricotta filling mixer for your lasagne? I’m actually just curious as I do it all the time.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Krystal! I have! Since this mixture is on top and not baked, I don’t recommend doing so for this recipe. 🙂
Brenda McBride
Could you substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Brenda! I personally have not, however, I know that others have with success. I hope that it works for you as well. 🙂
Tammi
Can I make this in the crockpot? I dont have a Dutch oven.
Sam
Hi Tammi! I actually cover how to make it in a crockpot in the post. 🙂