*For all those interested, I’ve added FOUR new Fall/Winter Menu Plans to the growing list! Check them out HERE (find them below the “anytime” menu plans).*
As I was simmering this soup on the stove, my husband walked in the door and before he could enter the kitchen, I heard him smugly say, “Mmmm, smells like my favorite lasagna cookin’!” To which I smugly replied, “Uh, not quite.”
Lasagna soup. All the flavors of classic and delicious lasgana rolled into soup form – and it tastes just like…well, lasagna! Soup! I know, get out. Tender fusilli noodles are placed in the bottom of a bowl and topped with the flavorful tomato-lasagna soup and dolloped with a heaping spoonful of the creamy, rich ricotta and Parmesan mixture. Of course it isn’t complete without a hearty sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Stirred together into completely blissful warm, cheesy, melty lasagna goodness, this soup is one for the record books.
I hoarded the leftovers for days and savored each and every bite. One of my favorite meals this fall. No question about it. I served it with our favorite Gourmet Green Salad and breadsticks and just thinking about the blissful meal has me voraciously hungry.
P.S. I know the soup in the pictures looks less like soup and more like a pasta dish but that is because I went a little overboard with the noodles in the picture. Trust me, it really is soup. And a delicious one at that.
One Year Ago: Chili Verde
Two Years Ago: Thanksgiving Dinner 101: The Turkey
Three Years Ago: My Favorite Bread Bowls
Lasagna Soup
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Soup:
1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
2 bay leaves
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound fusilli noodles, cooked and drained
Cheese topping:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS:
In a large 4-quart pot, add the Italian sausage and cook over medium heat, breaking the pieces up with a wooden spoon or spatula while it cooks. I prefer the sausage in fairly small pieces. After about 3-4 minutes, add the onion. Cook the sausage and onion together, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are soft,a bout 5-7 minutes. Drain any excess grease, if desired. Stir in the garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and tomato paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, bay leaves and chicken broth. Add the basil, if using dried (if using fresh basil, add it in the next step).
Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and the fresh basil, if using.
For the cheese mixture, in a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and basil. Set aside.
To serve the soup, add a scoop of cooked pasta noodles to a bowl. Top with a ladle or two of soup and dollop with a generous spoonful of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Serve immediately.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Baked Bree
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
I trust you – I really do! This sounds so fun and delicious! Love it!
I love this twist on lasagna! It looks scrumptious, and I know my family will love it!
I made this 2 weeks ago and we just finally finished the leftovers! It was so amazing, like a deconstructed lasagna!
Definately trying this!
We LOVE Lasagna soup — just had the first version we made way back in 2007 – for dinner last night. Try putting the cheese layer on the bottom of the soup bowl… we do that for our cheese-crusted lasagna soup — and it’s incredible
Blessings!
This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
Wowo delicious and a filling soup.
You had me at lasagna! Yum!
It is finally cold in lower Alabama and this is on next week’s menu! I will experiment with the crock pot for even less labor. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Great idea, I must make this frugal meal for the homeless shelter this winter (using ground beef or turkey.
Wow! This looks so good! And on days where it’s just dreary outside, this is perfect to make you feel warm inside and out. I’m going to try it tonight.
Okay, twice this week I’ve seen lasagna soup! Must make soon!
LOVE this idea. Pinned it!
Thanks for adding the pin it button! I just doscovered this the other day and I am now addicted! Now I can put my favorite things from you there!!! Pin it baby!!!
Have you been to pinterest and looked to see how many pins there are from your site?! Holy cow-everyone wants to cook stuff from here. It’s really too bad I can’t comment on each and every pin to say that they really should try it because there isn’t a thing on here that isn’t worth trying out!!
I LOVE lasagna soup. I’ve never made it with fire roasted tomatoes, totally going to have to try that. You always have the best ideas!
No way . . . I’m working on a collection of soup recipes and I just made my own lasagna soup from leftovers. Can’t believe we are thinking of the same things. Yum! Love your blog and love all your ideas. Thanks for sharing so generously.
Made this tonight and it was soooooo good! I made it vegetarian by replacing the sausage with zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and spinach ( I like to load evereything with veggies so I can eat more without feeling bad) and veggie broth instead of chicken. I also added an extra 14 oz can of diced tomatoes to balance out the veggie overload. I also am not a ricotta fan so I just put extra mozzerella on top. It was so easy and tasted fantastic! My husband loved it too! I’ve been cooking from your website for a while and love how most recipes are at least sort of healthy and I have frequently made things vegetarian. Thanks so much, this is a keeper!
Mel, a few questions … Is the Italian sausage a must? What about hamburger? Also, do you think I could sub the ricotta for cottage cheese? It’s cheaper and I actually like it better. Also, when you say grated Parmesan, is that the powdery stuff or can you get it in a different form? The reason I ask is cause I made your Alfredo sauce the anther day and the flavor was amazing but it had a grainy texture. I think I used the wrong Parmesan cheese. Can’t wait to try this! Would love to get lots of soup recipes!
I was very nervous about this recipe. I love lasagne but to put it in soup form… didn’t know about that one. Well we had it on Saturday and my whole family loved it. Even my pickiest eater that loves pasta without sauce and doesn’t like tomatoes!
Thanks so much for sharing! Iwill definitely be adding this in my rotation of menu ideas!
I made this over the weekend for my 10-yr old nephew who is a major lasagne fan and it was a hit! He loved it and gave it 10/10! I substituted a combination of ground turkey and beef for the sausage and cottage cheese for the ricotta since that is what I had on hand and it was great! It was very flavorful but next time I’m going to try it with the sausage and maybe even try it in the crock. Thanks for a delish new soup recipe!
Hey Miss – I think you could definitely sub ground beef or ground turkey for the sausage. Several other commenters said they subbed cottage cheese just fine so I’d say if you prefer that, it would work great. I always use freshly grated Parmesan cheese whenever I refer to “grated” or “shredded” Parmesan, so that’s what I used in this recipe. What did you use in the alfredo sauce?
now that’s a hearty bowl of soup! tis a marvelous idea, mel, especially if you’re a lover of lasagna like me.
My husband turned up his nose when I mentioned this was on the dinner menu. Two bowls later and the leftovers packed for tomorrows lunch, I think it was a hit! I browned the sausage and then put everything else (minus the pasta) in the crockpot. Delish and super simple!
This was SO SO SO good!! Thank you! My son thought I was kidding when I said we were having lasagna soup for dinner. He tried one bite and quickly gobbled the rest of it in just a few minutes.
Said I was making this for lunch. Answer “Ewww”. Made this for lunch. Answer “Can I have more Mommy/Hunny?” LOVED THIS!!!!
I, like others, was skeptical about the taste of this recipe. But I’m happy to admit that I was totally wrong. I loved this dish! My super picky kids didn’t like it, but that’s nothing new around this house. Sigh… someday I hope to actually have kids that eat food I prepare and not just be cooking for my husband and I. Despite all that, this recipe is a keeper for future use. Thanks!
This recipe is delicious! But I must say that this serving size is way off. I doubled this to feed 8 people and we were eating leftovers for weeks! Instead of 4, this easily serves 6-8.
Thanks for the great recipe! REALLY love your website.
My family and I ABSOLUTELY love this recipe. I cook the meat mixture in a pan and then put all the soup ingredients together in a crock pot. I leave it on low/warm and let it cook most of the day so it’s ready for us when we get home from school/work. I don’t remember how I stumbled across your blog but I am ever-so-thankful! Your recipes are great and very simple!
made your lasagna soup and it was fabulous! They say never to try a new recipe at a gathering or function, but I was in need of a good recipe fast and I always know I can count on your recipes. Thanks again for your website! I tell all my friends about you.
I tried this tonight and we really liked it!! Well, except one child who insists that it’s just not the same. boo hoo hoo. Oh sorry, I think I was suppose to be sympathetic there. Anyhoo…my husband and I really quite enjoyed it and it’s a LOT easier than assembling a pan of lasagna. I did tweak the recipe a bit. I was out of chicken base and used beef base (what I usually use for my italian soups) instead and I think it added to it. Just thought you’d be interested to know.
Yum, yum, yum, YUM! 4 out of 5 family members agree (which hardly ever happens!) Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Made this tonite for dinner. Yummy!!! It has such wonderful flavor. The combination of the pasta, the soup, and the cheese topping is fabulous!! This is a keeper. Thank you. My whole family loved it.
Made this tonight. Definitely a keeper!! Thanks for all the great recipes. You rock!
I made this tonight. I’ve never had (or even heard of) lasagna soup before, but it was fun to try a new recipe and my family appreciated that it was still a familiar flavor. With some fresh breadsticks, it was perfect for a cold night. Thanks!
Delicious! Made it for Sunday dinner during a snow storm (we live in Seattle, snow storm= a few inches of snow). It was perfect. I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta because that’s what I do in regular lasagna. Also I made a pound of pasta because it looked like a lot of broth, I’m glad I did this made at least 6 servings for us, if not more. My non-soup loving husband LOVED it and wanted some for a midnight snack, and he was VERY skeptical about it when I showed him the recipe. Thanks for another winner.
I tried this recipe a couple days ago using ground beef instead of italian sausage and it was absolutely wonderful! My entire family went back for seconds and thirds! It is definitely a must try!
I love this soup! It is a favorite at our house. I was wondering if you know if it is just as good if you double the recipe and freeze the soup for another night?
Thank you!!
Kelli – I definitely think the soup portion of the recipe would freeze great. Plain pasta doesn’t usually freeze that well but you could easily cook more pasta when you take the soup out of the freezer.
This is one that caused us to moan from the overwhelming yumminess!! Gracious, we loved this!! I made it last night w/ your make-ahead garlic bread which also made me moan! Normally my husband would take the leftovers & share w/ a co-worker, but we decided to invite my MIL over & have it again tonight – she will love it (we will, too)! I’m thrilled that I get to indulge in the leftovers this time around!! If you notice a strange noise around suppertime, it’s probably us moaning over this soup!!
My 4-year old said, “thanks, Mom” while eating this last night. Chalk one up for a meal that EVERYBODY likes! The only thing I would change would be to put parsley in the cheese mixture since it already has lots of basil.
As usual, I made this the first time for company. And as usual, it was a huge success! I really liked the ricotta and parmesan on top. Yum! Thanks for another great recipe!
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