Easy Lasagna Soup Recipe (Stove and Crockpot Methods)

This dish has all the flavor of lasagna without all the work! Sweet Italian sausage, gooey mozzarella cheese, stewed tomatoes and aromatic spices give this hearty lasagna soup an irresistible flavor that will please the whole family.

Every time I see a photo of this soup I want to rush into the kitchen and make it. That's because it has all the classic flavors of lasagna and it tastes as incredible as it looks!

Our Old World Authentic Italian Lasagna has been a favorite family recipe for generations, and though it's worth the effort, it is time consuming and labor intensive to make. In the 1970's, home cooks looked for ways to make healthy and delicious dinners faster, often turning traditional plated meals into soups and stews. This is one of those -- a quick lasagna recipe!

Table of Contents

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Lasagna Soup Ingredients
• Tips For Shopping and Meal Prep
• How to Cook Lasagna Soup
• Tips for Cooking & Serving
• Crockpot Instructions for Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
• Storage Instructions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Easy Lasagna Soup Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

There are several reasons you're going to want to make this one-pot lasagna soup recipe a part of your regular meal rotation:

• Can be cooked on the stovetop or in a crockpot
• Keeps in the refrigerator and makes delicious leftovers
• Freezes easily and can be quickly heated for fast weeknight meals
• Its family-pleasing flavor is loved by both kids and adults
• An easy and delicious dish to serve when having company
• Makes a great potluck meal when transported in a crockpot

Lasagna Soup Ingredients

This dish is made in three separate fast and easy steps, each consisting of their own ingredients. What is lasagna soup made of? The same ingredients you use to make lasagna!

Step 1 Ingredients

• Italian sausage - I highly recommend using sweet Italian sausage for this recipe, as the sweetness provides an irresistible flavor among the tart tomatoes. However, lasagna soup can also be made with mild, hot or spicy Italian sausage, and even ground beef. Each variation has its own distinct flavor profile.
• Yellow onion - It caramelizes nicely and adds depth to the taste of the soup. While you won't harm the soup using another variety of onion such as sweet or red, it really needs the strong flavor that a yellow onion provides during cooking.
• Carrots - They add a sweet flavor and a contrast texture to the noodles.
• Garlic - Adds a strong flavor that enhances the taste of the soup.

Step 2 Ingredients

• Chicken broth - The base of the soup broth. The Italian sausage provides a salty base to the soup, so I recommend sticking with low sodium chicken broth for this recipe.
• Italian seasoning - Herbs that give the soup a classic Italian flavor.
• Black pepper - Adds a hint of spice
• Stewed tomatoes - They are pre-cooked and have a softer texture than regular tomatoes, making them easier to eat in soup. Provides a rich flavor to the soup. I prefer to
• Tomato sauce - Thickens the broth and provides the flavor base and acidity to the soup.

Step 3 Ingredients

• Lasagna noodles - Provides the flavor and texture of traditional lasagna.
• Spinach - Provides color and flavor that complement the tomato based soup, and adds vitamins!
• Mozzerella - Adds a gooey, rich texture to the soup, just like in a lasagna casserole.
• Parmesan - Provides a traditional Italian cheesy, salty garnish to the soup.
• Basil - Adds a fresh, herbal flavor to the soup.

I prefer using organic ingredients whenever possible, to limit the amount of chemicals we're consuming. The items in this recipe should be readily available in your local grocery store in both organic and non-organic versions.

Tips For Shopping and Meal Prep

• Remove the fibrous stems before chopping the spinach, as they get tough during cooking. Here's a great 30-second video showing you how to do it. (If you use baby spinach, you may not need to remove the stems - see video.)
• Buy a 16 oz. brick of low moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese, which you'll find in the refrigerated cheese section of your grocery store. It will give you that irresistible gooey, stringy texture that makes this the best lasagna soup recipe there is! Pre-shredded, bagged mozzarella has a waxy coating on it that causes it to clump in soup, so stick with cubing your own. For best results, avoid the fresh, moist balls of mozzarella in the deli department. They don't have the right consistency for this recipe.
• Get a wedge of Parmesan, Parmesan-reggiano or Romano cheese and shred it fresh. You can use a shredded or grated packaged Parmesan cheese for the topping, but they have a waxy coating added to prevent the cheese from clumping in the bag or container. Using a box grater literally takes seconds to produce plenty of fresh Parmesan with no additives.
• Add a little low sodium chicken broth to the soup if it gets too thick. Lasagna noodles absorb a lot of liquid, so after sitting in the broth for a while the soup tends to turn into more of a stew consistency. I really like it this way, but It can always be thinned out by adding a little additional low sodium chicken broth or water until it reaches your desired consistency.

How to Cook Lasagna Soup

This cozy soup is so easy to make and is the perfect comfort food on a cold winter night. Just follow the simple 3-step process below.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Tips for Cooking & Serving

• Cook the sausage in a skillet just until the pink disappears. It will continue to cook and tenderize as it simmers in the pot, so browning it more than that is not necessary. There's enough fat in the meat that it doesn't need extra oil, but if you want to add a small amount of olive oil to the pan to get it started, you can.
• Use a vegetable dicer to quickly dice your onion and carrots. I dice the onions a bit larger than the carrots, as the onions break down during cooking.
• You may want to cook the noodles separately if you think you're going to have leftovers. When noodles sit in the pot overnight and get reheated, they can turn mushy. If you prefer al dente noodles, cook them in a separate pot before serving. You can ladle out a cup or two of soup to boil them in so they absorb the flavor, then return it to the pot. I use regular lasagna noodles, but you could use spinach lasagna noodles if you prefer.
• Cook the noodles in a large soup pot over medium-high heat for a minimum of 20 minutes or at least twice as long as the lasagna package directions call for, so they're not tough when you eat them. Remember, when making pan lasagna the noodles are first boiled, then cooked longer in the oven to soften.
• Do not add the cheeses to the cooking pot, keep them separate and serve them in the serving bowls. Otherwise the soup will get too thick and gooey, and it will not reheat well.
• Thin the soup with chicken broth or water if the consistency is thicker than you like, particularly after refrigerating.
• Serve with a Caesar's salad and a loaf of hot garlic bread for a traditional, Italian-style meal.

Crockpot Instructions for Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

To make this easy lasagna soup recipe in a crock pot, simply follow the instructions in steps 1 and 2, adding the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours. Add noodles and spinach 20 minutes before serving. That's all there is to it -- such an easy crockpot lasagna soup recipe!

Storage Instructions

Refrigerator: Store leftover lasagna soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat on stovetop for serving.

Freezer: Store lasagna soup without cheeses added in an airtight freezer container for up to 3 months. You can store individual servings in tightly sealed freezer bags for quick busy weeknight meals. If you're going to make this dish ahead for freezing, I recommend not adding the noodles and spinach, and cooking them separately when you are ready to eat. Otherwise your noodles may be much softer than you like.

Frequently Asked Questions

We're sure you're going to love this hearty soup so much that it will make it into your regular rotation of soup recipes! This easy recipe with simple ingredients is the perfect meal in colder months, or any time you want that classic Italian lasagna flavor without all the work!

Other Delicious Soups and Stews to Try

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