Lasagna Soup
All the flavors of lasagna in a comforting, cozy soup with a dollop of ricotta goodness that gets melted right into the soup!
With the low temperatures settling in, I’ve been on a major soup kick lately. See, back in LA, we never really had a winter season so I was able to walk around in my flip flops throughout the year. But here in the Bay Area, I’m constantly wrapped up in sweats along with the electric blanket and a bowl of a soup to keep me warm and cozy.
And with my new home-grown basil, I just had to use it in this soup. Now, I’ve had many basil plants in the past years but somehow, Jason and I can’t seem take care of one. We either water them too much or completely neglect them!
But with my new AeroGarden ULTRA, Jason and I can manage to grow these gorgeous basil plants without being plant killers! AeroGarden is a fool-proof indoor garden, leaving you to grow plants all year long, from fresh flowers to butterhead lettuce for your salad.
All you need to do is add water and nutrients when indicated, and it even has programmable grow lights that turn on and off by itself to simulate the sun. Seriously, how easy is that? Not to mention, it’s incredibly clean too. There’s absolutely no weeds, no dirt, and no mess involved here!
So once that basil was ready for me, I set out to the kitchen to make this lasagna soup that’s been on my bucket list for at least a year now. It’s all the flavors of a lasagna in a glorious tomato-based soup!
But what makes this soup over-the-top is the ricotta center. With a simple dollop of a ricotta, Parmesan mixture and a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella, these cheeses get melted right in the soup into the most amazing ooey gooey, cheesy center.
It’s a form of lasagna without all the prep work and if you ask me, the soup version is a million times better!
Check out Kitchen PLAY for more AeroGarden basil recipes!
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Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
- 8 ounces elbows pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 28-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
For the ricotta mixture
- 8 ounces ricotta
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, salt and pepper, to taste; set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. Add Italian sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat. Add garlic, onion, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock, diced tomatoes and bay leaves; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in pasta.
- Serve immediately with a heaping spoonful of the ricotta mixture, sprinkled with mozzarella and basil.
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by AeroGarden and Kitchen PLAY. All opinions expressed are my own.
Just beautiful! This screams comfort 🙂
Gorgeous, love that ricotta dollop!