Real Lasagna Soup (2024)

• Cuisine
• European
• Italian
• Soups and Stews

If you love lasagna, but don’t love the time and effort it takes to do all that layering, then this amazing lasagna soup is for you. Unlike many of the other lasagna soup recipes online, this is way more than just some pasta, meat, and cheese sitting in a bowl of thinned out tomato sauce. This is real lasagna in soup form.

Anyway, I loved how this came out, and I think one of the secrets is baking the pasta to give it more of the taste and texture of an actual baked lasagna noodle. They may not have looked much different in the final product, but I found the texture to be far superior to the standard technique, which is just to heat up some cooked pasta in the finished soup. So I do recommend the extra few minutes of prep, but either way, if you’re in the mood for lasagna, but aren’t into the whole production, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

More recipes: Try the latest and greatest recipes from Chef John!

Real Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

Noodles:

• 8 ounces dry lasagna noodles

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 tablespoons butter

Soup Base:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 6 ounces bulk Italian sausage, or 1 Italian sausage links, casing removed

• 1 cup diced yellow onion

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

• 1 (24 ounce) jar prepared marinara sauce, or 3 cups homemade marinara sauce

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 2 1/2 cups water

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cheese Mixture:

• 12 ounces ricotta cheese

• 3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Garnish:

• 1/2 cup torn fresh basil and Italian parsley leaves (optional)

1. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in lasagna noodles and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just flexible, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer noodles into cold water until cooled; drain very well.

2. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease parchment with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

3. Cut noodles in half lengthwise. Arrange noodles in evenly overlapping rows on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with melted butter, and use fingers to rub some butter between the noodles.
   

4. Bake noodles in the preheated oven until they are golden, blistered, and are beginning to brown with crispy outside edges. Let cool; cut into bite-sized pieces.

5. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a soup pot, and place over high heat. Add beef and sausage. Use a spatula to break up the meat into small pieces; cook without stirring until liquid evaporates and meat begins to sizzle in its own fat, then continue to cook and stir until meat begins to brown, about 7 minutes.

6. Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, black pepper, and kosher salt. Cook and stir until onions begin to turn translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.

   See Also

   Lasagna Soup

7. Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 45 minutes.

8. In a bowl, stir ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese together; set aside.

9. Increase the heat under soup to medium high; stir in noodle pieces. Cook, stirring, until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and stir in the 2 tablespoons Italian parsley.

10. Serve in bowls with a scoop of cheese mixture, and sprinkle with freshly torn basil and Italian parsley if desired.

    

    Cook’s Note

    The pasta does not have to be baked first, and can simply be broken up raw, stirred into the soup, and cooked until tender. Other pasta shapes can be used instead.

    
    More or less chicken broth can be used for a thicker or thinner soup texture.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Photos of Real Lasagna Soup