This is a savory and SUPER flavorful Lasagna Soup recipe made with Italian Sausage, onions, garlic, herbs and seasonings in a tomato based broth. It is served up with tender noodles and topped with creamy ricotta cheese mixture. It will have you reminiscing about the flavors of the best lasagna you have ever had, but you are going love how simple it is.
One of the reasons we love this Lasagna Soup recipe is that it is topped with a delicious mixture of ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese. It takes the flavors over the top. We aren’t using shredded cheese here because we find it just ends up melting to your spoon- LOL.
Another reason to love this recipe is because it is like eating a big slice of lasagna, without all the work of lasagna. If you have ever prepped, layered and baked a Traditional Lasagna you know it is a TON of work! A labor of love to be sure.
This Lasagna Soup is like a nice lasagna short-cut!
Ingredients
Just like layered lasagna, this soup is made with sausage, onions, garlic, herbs, basil, and noodles with ricotta and parmesan cheese.
Sausage – Use any bulk Italian sausage your family likes; sweet, mild, spicy, pork, turkey.
Onions and Garlic – essential flavors of just about any Italian style soup! These lay down the first layer of flavor in this Lasagna Soup.
Pasta- see below
Herbs & Seasonings– We are using traditional lasagna herbs here; oregano, basil, bay leaf, red pepper flakes and onion powder.
Sugar – this may seem like an odd ingredient, but any time you have a tomato heavy recipe it is a good idea to balance the acidity with sugar.
Tomato Paste – adds a really rich tomato flavor in this soup.
Crushed Tomatoes – is part of the liquid in this soup recipe, it also adds a weight/viscosity to the liquid, not to mention the delicious tomato flavor. Use high quality crushed tomatoes with heavy puree.
Chicken Broth – instead of using all tomato for the liquid, which would be way too thick, we go in with some chicken broth to balance flavors.
Ricotta & Parmesan Cheese- mixing ricotta cheese and either parmesan cheese or Romano cheese with a pinch of kosher salt is an AMAZING topper for this Lasagna Soup!
Pasta
To keep this recipe feeling like traditional lasagna you might want to use true lasagna noodles, if you do I recommend breaking them up slightly so they are easier to eat in the soup… that also makes them easier to cook.
But you can also choose a different pasta shape. You can see in these photos we chose a really thick and hearty Fusilli pasta. Some other shapes that will work well are:
Some recipes will have you cooking the pasta noodles IN the soup. For multiple reasons we chose to cook the pasta separate in this Lasagna Soup recipe:
- The pasta can become over-cooked when cooking in the soup.
- If you have leftover soup, the pasta won’t soak up all the liquid.
- By cooking the pasta in the soup it changes the liquid ratios.
How To Make Lasagna Soup
This Lasagna Soup recipe is actually super simple to put together!
- Boil the pasta to al dente. Set aside.
- Mix the Ricotta cheese with parmesan/ricotta and kosher salt. Set aside.
- Brown sausage and soften onions.
- Add garlic and tomato paste.
- Add remaining ingredients and simmer.
- Serve hot topped with the ricotta cheese mixture!
Serving Tips & Topping Ideas
When serving we recommend spooning a few spoonful’s of al dente cooked pasta in the bottom of the bowl, then ladle the hot soup over top. Finish it off with a big dollop of the ricotta mixture.
Of course you will want to make the delicious ricotta topping, and here are some other topping ideas:
- Basil Pesto
- Fresh torn basil
- Mozzarella
- Bocconcini- small mozzarella balls
- Fresh grated parmesan
- Drizzle of really good extra virgin olive oil
Side Dishes For Lasagna Soup
Sometimes you just want to serve soup by itself, and then sometimes you want a heartier dinner with side dishes.
Soup and salad is a classic! Serve this Lasagna Soup with a Caesar Salad, this Perfect Side Dish Salad, or this this Big Italian Salad.
Garlic bread or warm crusty bread are also great options to serve with soup.
For a party a big charcuterie board and this soup would be amazing!
More Lasagna Recipes
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Lasagna Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
- 1 white or yellow onion – finely chopped
- 6-8 oz Fusilli or Mafaldine pasta – see note #1
- 4 large garlic cloves chopped
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 ½ tsp. sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
- 1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in heavy puree
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Ricotta Topping for Serving
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- ¼ cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
Ricotta Topping for Serving
- Stir together the ricotta, parmesan/romano, and pinch of kosher salt. Pop in the fridge until serving time.Optionally stir in a pinch or two of garlic powder!1 cup whole milk ricotta, ¼ cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, pinch of kosher salt
Cooked Pasta
- We cook the pasta separate for multiple reasons (see above).6-8 oz Fusilli or Mafaldine pasta
- Cook your pasta per package instructions in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Lasagna Soup Recipe Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and the onion and cook stirring frequently and crumbling the sausage until it is cooked through and the onions are soft.2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage, 1 white or yellow onion
- If there is excess grease drain some before moving on.
- Add in the chopped garlic and the tomato paste and stir to combine for 1 minute.4 large garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- Add in the oregano, red pepper flakes, onion powder, bay leaf, salt, sugar, chicken broth and the crushed tomatoes. Stir and lightly simmer, partially covered for 15 minutes.1 ½ tsp. sugar, 1 ½ tsp. dried oregano, 1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt, 1 tsp. onion powder, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 bay leaf, 4 cups chicken broth or stock, 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in heavy puree
- Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh basil. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- Serve hot!
Serving
- If you know you are going to eat the entire pot of soup you can combine the pasta in the soup pot.
- If you think you might have leftovers keep the pasta separate. Spoon the cooked pasta in the bottom of a bowl and ladle the hot soup over top. Then top each bowl with a generous dollop of ricotta cheese mixture.
Notes:
- Truly you can use any hearty pasta shape you like or have on hand, but I would skip long skinny noodles like spaghetti, linguine, or angel hair. Some noodles that are perfect are:Mafaldine
- mafaldine, which is like a smaller lasagna noodle, fusilli, cavatappi, or broken up lasagna noodles.
If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.
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