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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by AeroGarden and Kitchen PLAY. All opinions expressed are my own.
I have made this recipe so many times, and it is always a hit. I use as many local products as possible, and it makes it next level! I have also done a vegetarian version with peppers and zucchini noodles cut with a potato peeler for the texture of fettuccine…I love every version, thank you so much for sharing!!
Do you, by chance, have the nutrients list for this soup?
Definitely a crowd pleaser.
Thanks for sharing.
This is absolutely delish! Living in CO, I make a lot of soups in the winter. This is a go to for family of four.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a zillion times. I like to add in carrots and spinach too.
Sooooo GOOD! I don’t even like lasagna but loved this soup! Simple recipe that came together quickly and was DELICIOUS! Replaced elbow pasta with ditalini!
This has been a recipe staple for years now – so easy to make and so delicious!
I love this soup and make it often. I use half hamburger/half italian sausage since my family doesn’t like a lot of strong Italian sausage flavor.
Instead of elbow noodles I add broken up, uncooked lasagna noodles when you get to the “simmer until thick” point of the recipe.
This recipe is always a hit; great for doubling or tripling when you have a crowd to feed.
Loved everything about the recipe. East quick and delicious. Put the uncooked pasta in the pot and cooked it with the other ingredients.
Just made this tonight and it was really good. I did let it cook closer to an hour to let the flavors meld, and cooked the noodles directly in the pot. That seemed to help, otherwise would probably do maybe a cup less in chicken broth. You didn’t mention removing the bay leaves before serving, many may know that but as a recipe it should be stated.
Has anyone tried this recipe in the crockpot?
I make it in the crockpot. Works great.brown the sausage then add everything to the crockpot. I cook the noodles separately and add them right before serving.
This was awesome. The whole family loved this soup. I followed the directions exactly except I only used about two thirds of the chicken stock since I prefer less broth. It was the best soup (very hearty and delicious) and will definitely be on my regular rotation from now on. I served it with a loaf of fresh Italian bread. I like the fact that you can make it all ahead and just warm it up when you are ready. Also, I like the fact that it is UNIQUE! I’ve never heard of lasagna soup before! And as another reviewer said, you get all the flavor of lasagna without all of the work!
I also wanted to comment that I just discovered Damn Delicious this week. I made a different recipe from the website every night and every single one was GREAT. Prior to discovering Damn Delicious, I would try recipies, and maybe one out of three was good (and not necessarily great). So I LOVE Damn Delicious and will definitely be purchasing the cookbook. THANK YOU Chungah, for sharing your gift–your amazing ability to cook–with the rest of us. I love the pictures, the videos…all of it.
So. Very. AH-MAZING. I add some colorful peppers to it, and some Pepper Forrest Spice Company spices to heat it up a bit…but it is one of the best soups I have ever had. Thank you!!
I want to make this tonight! Can you do it in the slow cooker?! If so for how long!!!! Do you pre cook the sausage?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Amazing, delicious the best Italian food I’ve ever had
Great!
Easy to make and perfect for fall and winter! Oh yeah, did I mention bursting with flavor!! My family absolutely loved it… the familiar taste of lasagna in half the time! I made it my own…but the recipe is just as delicious!
This was delicious! One change I tested was cooking it all in one pot. I used Farfalle for the pasta, adding it to the pot, uncooked, 10-15 minutes before serving. The starch in the pasta seemed to help thicken the soup.
Hi, I was thinking of doing the same. You are happy with how it turned out? What temperature did you have it on for the last 15 minutes?
This is my favorite version of this recipe!! I made it for the 3rd time tonight- Thanks !
Oh my goodness what a delicious soup. Thank you for the recipe, this is our new favourite soup.
You’re so welcome Lee, thanks for sharing!
Is the pasta cooked before you add it in? Or do you stir in uncooked pasta and let it simmer a little while longer?
It’s says to in directions.