AI-generated recipe illustration
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Total time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
Lasagna soup delivers everything lasagna promises — Italian sausage, tomato, garlic, ribbons of noodle, molten cheese — in 45 minutes instead of three hours, with one pot instead of a sink full of dishes. Broken lasagna noodles simmer right in the broth, and each bowl gets a dollop of the ricotta-parmesan mixture that melts into creamy pockets exactly like the middle of a lasagna slice. It's the highest ratio of lasagna-joy to lasagna-labor known to home cooking.
Ingredients
How to make lasagna soup
- Brown the sausage and beef with the onion in a large pot; drain excess fat.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste; cook 1–2 minutes until brick red.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, Italian seasoning, and pepper flakes; bring to a boil.
- Add the broken noodles and simmer, stirring often, 12–14 minutes until al dente.
- Stir the ricotta, parmesan, and salt together.
- Ladle into bowls and crown each with a scoop of the ricotta mixture, a handful of mozzarella, and torn basil.
Make it your own
| Ingredient | Swap | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Lasagna noodles | Bowtie or campanelle | Less thematic, equally good |
| Italian sausage | All ground beef + 1 tsp fennel seeds | The fennel is what reads as “sausage” |
| Ricotta | Cottage cheese, blended smooth | The Midwest lasagna secret, works here too |
| Crushed tomatoes | Marinara (3 cups) | Skip the Italian seasoning |
Storage & leftovers
The noodles swell in stored soup — refrigerate up to 3 days and expect it thicker; loosen with broth.
For freezing (3 months), freeze the soup base without noodles and boil fresh ones when serving. Ricotta topping is always made fresh, takes one minute.
A few helpful answers
How do I keep the noodles from going mushy?
Simmer just to al dente and serve promptly — or for guaranteed leftovers, boil noodles separately and add per bowl like our stuffed pepper soup rice trick.
Can I use no-boil lasagna noodles?
Yes, they're actually great here — break them up and cut the simmer to 8–10 minutes.
Is the ricotta dollop necessary?
It's the difference between “tomato noodle soup” and “lasagna in a bowl.” One spoonful per serving; don't stir it in fully — the pockets are the point.
Can I make it vegetarian?
Swap the meats for a pound of mushrooms plus a can of white beans and use vegetable broth. The fennel-seed trick keeps the Italian-sausage energy.
520 calories · 31g protein · 43g carbohydrates · 25g fat · 1080mg sodium