Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
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This cozy lasagna soup has all the flavors of lasagna but made so easily in the slow cooker! Simply set and forget. No layering, no nothing!
Why you’ll love slow cooker lasagna soup
- Cozy lasagna flavors with minimal effort. You’ll have all the cozy, rich flavors of traditional lasagna with minimal work in the most comforting soup. And there is zero layering required – no stacking, no nothing!
- Set-and-forget dinner. The soup gets cooked low and slow for 7-8 hours, letting you come home to a ready-made dinner. And the house just smells like pure heaven as it cooks all day long.
- Completely customizable. You can easily substitute your desired protein or add in leafy greens for sneaked in nutrition for those picky eaters.
- That cheesy finish. Each bowl is topped with a dollop of fluffy ricotta for that classic lasagna taste in every single bite!
What is lasagna soup?
Lasagna soup is a deconstructed, one pot meal that incorporates all the classic flavors of traditional lasagna into a rich tomato-based broth, topped with dollops of ricotta.
Key Ingredients
- Base: crushed tomatoes, petite diced tomatoes, and beef stock
- Aromatics: garlic, onion, Italian seasoning, and dried basil
- Meat: ground beef and Italian sausage (mild or spicy)
- Pasta: campanelle pasta
- Topping: ricotta and parsley
How to make slow cooker lasagna soup
- Crumble the meat. Brown and crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, draining the excess fat. Stir in the garlic and onion until the onions are tender and translucent.
- Combine. Combine the meat mixture, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beef stock, Italian seasoning, basil, salt, and pepper into a 6-qt slow cooker.
- Cook. Cover with the lid and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.
- Add the pasta. Stir in the pasta and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes. Pro tip: stir in leafy greens here to boost nutrition.
- Top and serve. Ladle the warm soup into bowls and top each bowl with a dollop of ricotta, garnished with parsley. Serve warm with crusty bread.
Tools For This Recipe
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this vegetarian?
Absolutely! Skip the ground beef and sausage, use vegetable stock instead, and add extra veggies such as mushrooms, zucchini, or spinach during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
What type of pasta is best here?
Use broken up lasagna noodles (for a classic look) or small pasta shapes such as campanelle, penne, rotini, or bowties.
Do I have to cook the pasta before adding to the slow cooker?
Not at all! The uncooked pasta will cook during the last 30 minutes, soaking up the rich broth.
Is this freezer-friendly?
Yes! Lasagna soup freezes very well without the pasta or ricotta topping, keeping in the freezer for at least 3 months.
How can I store leftovers?
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, gently reheating on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock.
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
This cozy lasagna soup has all the flavors of lasagna but made so easily in the slow cooker! Simply set and forget. No layering, no nothing!
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 (15-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
- 6 cups beef stock
- 1 (3-inch) Parmesan rind, optional
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups campanelle pasta
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and sausage, and cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef and sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Place ground beef mixture into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beef stock, Parmesan rind, if using, Italian seasoning and basil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours.
- Uncover and stir in pasta; cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until tender; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, topped with dollops of ricotta and garnished with parsley, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Combine the meats. Use a blend of lean ground beef and sweet or hot Italian sausage for classic lasagna flavors.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety.
- Make it thicker. For a thicker stew-like consistency, reduce the beef stock to 4-5 cups.
- Save leftover Parmesan rinds. Get more out of those expensive Parmesan cheeses by using up the leftover rinds! Adding a Parmesan rind slightly thickens the broth and adds a level of nutty richness to the lasagna soup.
- Add in leafy greens. Sneak in those veggies and stir in spinach or kale during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread or garlic knots for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Freeze without the pasta. The soup can keep in the freezer for at least 3 months without the pasta (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags. To reheat, thaw overnight and gently reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked pasta when serving with a dollop of ricotta.
Did you make this recipe?
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One of my favorites!! Perfect for the winter months. I follow the recipe as written. Even the type of pasta. Love it
Omg this recipe was bomb
just wondering why not just do one (1) 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes – also the mafalda pasta that looks like mini lasagna noodles also would work great!
If you don’t have a slow cooker but really want to make this, how long to cook on a stove top?
Had to use what I had on hand this time, so a lb of Sweet Italian Sausage, 2 tsp Pasta All Around seasoning, bay leaves, Lasagna noodle pieces, 28oz Tomato Puree, 2 (15 oz)cans Diced Tomatoes.and ½ can rinse water from the tomato cans. Used up some bell peppers and mushrooms. Smells and tastes great, can’t wait for dinner. Great recipe, next time I’ll follow the recipe exactly. To see what it’s like that way.❤️
Do you wait to add uncooked noodles?
So I believe it would be at least tender noodles when added it in so you can cut them into as small pieces you want. So I’d cook then until tender and then cut them up into bite size pieces then add them into the sauce mixture. Then with the hour to two hours left it should cook the noodles all the way thru.
Can I replace Italian sausage with beef? I don’t have it in my country 🙁 Or at least not in my city. Will the cooking time change?
Any tips on freezing or saving for leftovers? I’m gonna make this (for my 3rd time haha), and just eat up all the noodles, store the rest and cook noodles next time to add to it.
I saw someone else say to cook separately but wasn’t sure if it was going to be as good that way.
Another fabulous recipe from You, girl!!! You make me look like I can cook! So fantastic, are all your recipes! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!( I will add, I am a food snob, and have been so disappointed with many other recipes from other blogs, but you, never disappoint!)❤❤
This was really delicious! I actually didn’t have time to start it in the crock pot in the morning, so put it on the stove mid-afternoon and did not drain the meat, leaving all the flavorful fat in there. I added some oregano, thyme and crushed red pepper and bloomed all the herbs and spices in the oily meat before adding any liquid, then cooked mostly covered for about 2 hours, allowing it to reduce and getting the maillard reaction fond on the sides of the pot, which really amped up the flavor.
The reason for only 4 stars – the directions really should have you cook the pasta separately, if you expect to have leftovers. The reason is, storing cooked noodles in the soup will cause them to soak up lots of the liquid like a sponge, reducing the liquid for reheating, and the noodles will turn to complete mush. Cook them separately and add to each serving bowl, and store separately from the soup in the fridge.
No one cares what modifications you made to her recipe. The comment section is to say if you liked it or not. Get your own page for your recipes
You actually used the maillard in a comment section about slow cooker lasagna soup. I have second hand embarrassment for you because you literally have no idea what the word means. LOL. Oh, and the bit about blooming herbs in hamburger/sausage grease? Comedy gold! You are really precious.
Thank you Russ. Obviously some mansplaining was extremely necessary. Your comments were relevant and on point, which is why these lonely purple haired beasts attacked you. Yes, noodles will become inedible when reheated. This silly girls need to hear that. Thank you again buddy.
I had this tonight for a weekday dinner and everyone enjoyed it! With minor prep, this is a perfect meal for a busy family. Don’t skip the ricotta, it is truly the shining star of the dish. Thanks Chungah!
I have made a lot of soups from this site. This is one of my favorite. It was great, so favorful. Who would of thought? Lasagna Soup??
Delicious
Next time I will cook the noodles and add right before serving
Can you freeze this soup
Perfect recipe to plop in the crock pot before work on a cold day. The best part is, like chili, the longer it sits the better it gets! Mine is typically on low for about 10 hours and Y’ALL. For real. I serve with mozzarella instead of ricotta, and cook the pasta separately as others here have mentioned. This soup is always in my winter soup menu rotation!
I am using crushed up lasagna noodles for my pasta-I hope this will be okay-making for my office soup fest!
Just wondering if I only have a 4qt slow cooker, how to best adjust the recipe?
divide by 2/3 rds
This was amazing! Added chili pepper flakes and otherwise followed it exactly and we all went back for seconds and thirds. Will definitely make this again and again.
Delicious, but takes way too long if you don’t want to wait all day! Need an instant pot version to significantly reduce the time to cook. Campanelle pasta is virtually impossible to find.
If you are thinking about making this lasagna soup just do it you won’t regret it. It was so good following the recipe with a side salad and garlic bread.
I followed the recipe for pasta fajioli soup to a t and it was so good. My husband is a very picky eater and Loves Olive Garden Pasta Fajioli soup and said this taste just like it. I am already planning my next batch