A hearty lasagna soup -- it's like eating your favorite Italian comfort food in a bowl! This soup has a rich tomato base and is topped off with a creamy ricotta-cheese filling. Includes a how-to video just below the recipe!
Add Italian sausage and beef, crumbling while you cook, and cook until browned (I do not drain any grease).
½ lb sweet Italian sausage¹, ½ lb 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 crushed tomatoes, 8 oz 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 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 chopped fresh spinach
Cheese Topping:
Stir together mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, and cream cheese along with parsley. Dollop over soup before serving.
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 8 oz whole milk ricotta cheese, ⅓ cup grated parmesan (or parmesan romano) cheese, 2 oz cream cheese, 1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Video
Notes
¹You can use all sweet Italian sausage (or all ground beef) for a total of 1lb of your preferred meat, but I like this blend of beef and sausage for the best flavor.²Mafalda noodles look like mini lasagna noodles. If you can’t find them, you can substitute broken lasagna noodles or just about any other pasta shape.