Meaty Lasagna Soup with Ricotta (30 Minutes!)
Recipe video below. While lasagna is one of my all-time favorite dinners, even making an easy lasagna can sometimes feel like too much work. That's why I came up with this lasagna soup recipe. It has all the flavors of traditional lasagna but is made into a soup in only 30 minutes. Don't skip the herbed ricotta topping - it's my favorite part!
Ingredients
- 1 lb mild Italian sausage, see notes
- ½ lb lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- 9 lasagna noodles, broken into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup heavy cream, optional
Ricotta Topping
- 1 cup ricotta, see notes
- ½ cup minced basil
- ½ cup EACH: grated parmesan and mozzarella
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 pinch EACH: salt and pepper
Instructions
- Remove the Italian sausage from its casing and add it and the ground beef to a soup pot over medium-high heat. Cook until well-browned, breaking up the meat while stirring.1 lb mild Italian sausage, ½ lb lean ground beef
- Add the onion and cook until it's translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste to the pot and cook until the tomato paste starts to darken and smells sweet, about 2 minutes.1 small onion, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes and their juices, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and bring the pot to a boil. Stir in the broken up lasagna noodles then lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer until the noodles are soft, about 15 minutes.1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, 4 cups chicken stock, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper, 9 lasagna noodles
- While the soup is simmering, make the topping. Add all the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and mix well.1 cup ricotta, ½ cup minced basil, ½ cup EACH: grated parmesan and mozzarella, 1 clove garlic, 1 pinch EACH: salt and pepper
- Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Serve the soup topped with the ricotta topping and a few extra basil leaves.½ cup heavy cream
Notes
Meat: Instead of the sausage and ground beef mix, use 1 ½ lb of either. And if you'd like it spicy, use spicy Italian sausage.
Sausage casing: To remove the sausage casing, cut the sausage in half lengthwise and then remove the meat and discard the thin casing.
Ricotta: Cottage cheese makes a decent and budget-friendly alternative to ricotta.
Cream: I listed the heavy cream as optional. But honestly, I love it so much that I hope you add it. It's not a lot, but it does balance the soup and add a bit of something extra special.
Make-Ahead/Freezer Instructions: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheated gently on the stove. If the soup thickens too much, add a splash of water or stock. If you're making this for meal prep or to freeze, I suggest cooking the pasta separately and adding it to your bowl when serving, as the pasta becomes softer the longer it sits in the soup.
Serving: 1 bowl, Calories: 553kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 107mg, Sodium: 1079mg, Potassium: 525mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 471IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 221mg, Iron: 3mg