Italian Lasagna Soup (Printable Version)
Rich tomato broth with tender pasta, seasoned beef, and creamy cheese topping brings classic Italian comfort to your bowl in under an hour.
# What You'll Need:
→ Meats
01 - 1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage
→ Vegetables & Aromatics
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 medium carrot, diced
05 - 1 celery stalk, diced
→ Liquids & Broth
06 - 4 cups low-sodium beef or chicken broth
07 - 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
08 - 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
09 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
→ Pasta
10 - 8 oz lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
→ Cheese Mixture
11 - 1 cup ricotta cheese
12 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
13 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
14 - 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
15 - 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 1/2 tsp dried parsley
16 - Salt and black pepper, to taste
→ Seasonings
17 - 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
18 - 1 tsp dried basil
19 - 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
20 - Salt and black pepper, to taste
21 - 2 tbsp olive oil
# How to Make It:
01 - Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add ground beef or sausage. Cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through. Drain excess fat if needed.
02 - Add diced onion, carrot, and celery to the pot. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to deepen flavor. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with their juices, broth, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.
04 - Add broken lasagna noodles to the boiling soup. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, or until pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
05 - While soup simmers, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix until well incorporated.
06 - Taste soup and adjust seasonings as needed. Ladle soup into bowls and top each serving with a generous dollop of the cheese mixture. Garnish with additional fresh basil or Parmesan if desired.
# Expert Insights:
01 -
- The whole family gets that lasagna taste without the hourlong bake time
- Leftovers somehow taste even better the next day as the flavors deepen
- The cheese dollop melts into every spoonful like edible comfort
02 -
- The cheese mixture tastes infinitely better at room temperature than straight from the fridge
- Breaking the noodles before adding them saves you from fishing out long tangled strands later
- The soup continues thickening as it sits, so the pasta texture is best within the first hour
03 -
- Don't skip the step of cooking the tomato paste, it adds such depth of flavor
- The soup thickens considerably as it sits, so add more broth when reheating leftovers