Hearty Lasagna Soup Recipe

As part of a lavish, multi-course dinner, soup is often one of the starters, but in our busy everyday lives, it may serve as an entire entree. In such a case, what we want is a filling, one-pot dish full of protein, starch, and vegetables, which is exactly what you're getting in developer Julianne De Witt's lasagna soup recipe. As she describes it, "This hearty and satisfying soup is packed with flavor, easy to put together, and can be on the table in under 30 minutes."

The soup is also versatile. Though this version is made with broken lasagna noodles, De Witt notes that "Any type of pasta would work in this soup." Be aware, though, that while tiny types of pasta such as grattini are good in soup, they'll cook more quickly than lasagna noodles. As for the sausages, De Witt says she started with links and removed the casings, but admits, "Using regular Italian sausage meat would make things even easier."

Even though you can enjoy a mug of this soup and consider it a meal, for something even more satisfying, De Witt suggests adding bread and a salad. One of the best things about this soup, though, is that it'll last for multiple lunches or dinners since it can be refrigerated for up to 4 days and also freezes well (here are some tips for the latter). 

What makes this soup lasagna-y? Well, for starters, it's made with lasagna noodles, while canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, and olive oil also go into the mix. The soup includes Italian sausage, too, and is topped off with a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and basil. You'll also need chicken stock, salt, pepper, and bay leaves to make it, then you'll be all set to begin cooking.

Add the olive oil to a medium-sized soup pot over medium-high heat.

Add the sausage to the pot.

Using a wooden spoon, break the sausage into small pieces and cook for 2 minutes until browned.

Add the onion and garlic

Cook for 2 minutes until the onion has softened.

Add the tomato paste and stir.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.

Stir, bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the lasagna noodles, stir, and continue to simmer until the noodles are al dente, approximately 12 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, mix the ricotta, mozzarella, and basil in a small bowl.

Divide the soup into bowls.

Top with the ricotta mixture and serve.

Chiffonade is a French cooking trick for slicing up fresh, leafy herbs and greens. The name translates to mean "little ribbons," and this is basically what you get when you chiffonade your basil, mint, or any other herb: long, skinny pieces. De Witt uses a pretty standard chiffonade technique: "Take 5 or 6 basil leaves, lay them atop one another, roll the leaves tightly into a cylinder, and slice across into ribbons." Before you start cutting, though, you might want to make sure the tops and bottoms of the leaves are tucked into the basil roll so you can cut these parts neatly, too.

As to why you should chiffonade the basil for this recipe, it's partly for aesthetic reasons, but it's also quicker than chopping the leaves one at a time, and it helps to disperse the flavor throughout the ricotta mix. What's more, slicing up basil leaves makes them more tender than leaving them whole and releases more of the fragrance. In a dish where you'll be cooking the basil, chiffonading also helps the ingredient to heat more evenly. 

If you're looking to make a meat-free version of the soup, De Witt says that you can simply omit the sausage, while you'll also need to swap out the chicken stock for a vegetable one, as well. If you would like to make the soup vegan, you'll need to leave out the cheese, too, or else find plant-based substitutes for both the ricotta and mozzarella.

While the sausages can be replaced with a meat substitute, you can also either replace or supplement them with some additional vegetables. Depending on which you choose, however, they may require different cooking times. As De Witt advises, "If using hardier veggies such as butternut squash, sweet potatoes, or mushrooms, add them at the beginning of the cooking time with the onion and garlic." If, however, you're opting for vegetables of a more delicate nature — De Witt names zucchini and spinach as examples of these — they should go in towards the end when the soup is nearly done simmering.