This easy Hearty Lasagna soup recipe has all the flavors of a perfect layered lasagna with meat sauce- velvety pasta, a creamy, cheesy ricotta layer and a saucy marinara with loaded seasoned beef and Italian sausage- but it’s in a warm bowl you can wrap your hands around on a chilly day.
If you love Italian soups with pasta, you’ll also love my Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage & Spinach.
If you’re like me, cheesy, saucy pasta dishes are your ultimate in comfort food. And sometimes there’s just nothing else that satisfies that marinara + cheese craving that creeps up on you.
Dishes like my Crowd-Pleasing Lasagna, Million Dollar Spaghetti or Spaghetti Stuffed Garlic Bread are my usual go-tos (see all my cheesy pasta recipes here)unless… it’s soup season. If it’s soup season, then I’ve got to have a warm and cozy bowl of this thick and hearty Lasagna Soup.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Every single thing you love about lasagna lives in this hot and comforting bowl of lasagna soup. The flavors, the textures, everything.
- But you don’t have to actually make a lasagna. This recipe goes from kitchen to table in about 30 minutes.
- And it’s all made in one pot. So less dishes to do! Win!
- You can make it as cheesy as you want. Love that cheesy Ricotta layer in a lasagna, but feel like there’s never enough? Yeah, that layer comes in the form of a fresh, creamy topping that you get to spoon on and stir in or nibble away at with each bite. Divine!
- This lasagna soup recipe is thick and hearty like a chili, not thin and brothy.
- Lots of variations and options to suit your family’s needs and preferences.
- But most of all, this is lasagna. In a bowl. That you can wrap your fingers around and hug to your chest and feel warmed from head to toe. With lots of sauce and cheese.
Recipe Ingredients & Overview
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.
- lean ground beef
- ground Italian sausage
- yellow onion
- minced garlic
- salt & coarse ground black pepper
- Italian seasoning
- tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce (Many lasagna soup recipes use bouillon powders to add an umami feel. However, those powders rely on MSG to create flavor. I use this sauce instead. No MSG- depending on brand.)
- crushed tomatoes
- tomato sauce
- beef broth or stock
- white granulated sugar
- lasagna noodles (No-boil lasagna doesn’t work for this recipe.)
- Ricotta cheese
- Mozarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- fresh basil and flat leaf Italian parsley
Recipe Variations & Substitutions: Use a protein pasta or a gluten free pasta to suit your family’s needs.
Instead of ground beed & Italian Sausage, make it a veggie lasagna by adding spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, squash, eggplant and/or red bell pepper.
For a thinner soup, use half the amount of meat specified.
Or if adding some of the suggested veggies to this meat sauce recipe, use half the meat specified.
How to Make A Hearty Lasagna Soup
Brown the meats. Brown the ground beef and sausage in a large pot or dutch oven. When meat is almost browned (with a little pink left), add the diced onion and cook until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. With lean ground beef, you should not have to drain away any excess drippings.
Make the Base. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to finish the base of the soup. Stir until all of the ingredients are well incorporated and let cook for 1-2 minutes.
Make the Sauce. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and sugar to make the sauce. Stir well and taste. Add extra garlic, salt or Italian seasoning if necessary. Put on the lid and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the Pasta. Add broken lasagna noodles. Stir to cover the pasta with sauce. Put the lid back on and simmer again until pasta is al dente about 10-15 minutes (or according to your package instructions).
Whip Up the Cheese Topping. To make the most of your time, whip up the creamy cheese topping while the pasta cooks. Mix together all of the ingredients for the topping and set aside.
Finish & Serve! Remove lid from the soup. Stir to check pasta for doneness. Finish with ¼ cup chopped basil and ¼ cup chopped parsley for freshness and color. Serve immediately with a scoop of Ricotta cheese topping and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Tips For Making The Best Lasagna Soup
- Using lean ground beef means that there won’t be excess grease to drain away after browning the meats.
- For the best meat sauce, don’t overcook the meat when browning in step 1. Add the onions while the meat has a little pink to it.
- Similarly, be careful not to overcook the pasta. If cooked more than al dente, it will end up mushy as the soup sits.
- Don’t shy away from adding the full amounts listed for the seasonings when making the base of the soup. Even though they might seem like a lot in the beginning, they have to flavor all of the ingredients added later. This is especially true for the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste which aren’t tasty at all on their own.
- The sugar isn’t enough to sweeten the sauce but is added to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
- The flavor in this soup is built in layers, so don’t skip the simmer times for the base and the sauce.
- My version of this soup is hearty and thick like a chili, not brothy and thin. If yours turns out thick like a chili, you did it right! If you would like your soup to be thinner, add water or more broth to thin it to your liking or use half the amount of meat.
How to Store and Reheat
This lasagna soup recipe is good for 3-4 days if covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You’ll know when it’s time to throw it out because the pasta will loose its firmness. To reheat individual servings, heat in the microwave. To reheat the whole pot, do so over low heat on the stovetop. You may need to add water or more broth to thin it when reheating.
Should I Freeze Lasagna Soup?
I only freeze this soup without the pasta added because I don’t care for the texture of thawed pasta (again, mushy). Thaw the sauce in the fridge overnight. Add uncooked pasta when heating on the stovetop. You may need to add water or more broth to thin it when reheating.
Making It Ahead of Time
I follow the same rule of thumb when making this lasagna soup ahead of time. I make the soup without the pasta, adding the uncooked pasta the day I intend to serve the soup as a I heat the sauce on the stovetop.
More Hearty Soups To Love
Hearty Lasagna Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (generous)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- splash Worcestershire sauce
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 14 ounces tomato sauce
- 4 cups beef broth (or stock)
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 8-10 lasagna noodles each broken into 4-5 pieces
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- ¼ cup chopped flat leaf Italian parsley
- red pepper flakes
Ricotta Cheese Topping
- 1 cup Ricotta cheese
- ½ cup grated Mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Brown ground beef and sausage over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven. When meat is almost browned, add diced onion and cook until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. With lean ground beef, you should not have to drain away any excess drippings.
- Turn the heat to medium-low. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to finish the base of the soup. Stir until all of the ingredients are well incorporated and let cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and sugar to make the sauce. Stir well and taste. Add extra garlic, salt or Italian seasoning if necessary. Put on the lid and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add broken lasagna noodles. Stir to cover pasta with sauce. Put the lid back on and simmer again until pasta is al dente about 10-15 minutes.
- While pasta is cooking in the soup, mix together all of the ingredients for the Ricotta cheese topping and set aside.
- Remove lid from the soup. Stir to check pasta for doneness. Finish with ¼ cup chopped basil and ¼ cup chopped parsley for freshness and color. Serve immediately with a scoop of Ricotta cheese topping and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Notes
- No-boil lasagna doesn’t work for this recipe.
- Using lean ground beef means that there won’t be excess grease to drain away after browning the meats.
- For the best meat sauce, don’t overcook the meat when browning in step 1. Add the onions while the meat has a little pink to it.
- Similarly, be careful not to overcook the pasta. If cooked past al dente, it will end up mushy as the soup sits.
- Don’t shy away from adding the full amounts listed for the seasonings when making the base of the soup. Even though they might seem like a lot in the beginning, they have to flavor all of the ingredients added later, especially the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste, even the pasta.
- The flavor in this soup is built in layers, so don’t skip the simmer times for the base and the sauce.
- My version of this soup is hearty and thick like a chili, not brothy and thin. If yours turns out thick like a chili, you did it right! If you would like yours to be thinner, add water or more broth to thin it or use half the amount of meat.
- For Making Ahead, Storing, Reheating and Freezing information + recipe substitutions and variations suggestions, see recipe post.
- Nutritional information is an estimate at best. If you have special dietary needs, please use your own calculations to care for your health.
Nutrition
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