Lasagna Soup: Easy One-Pot Comfort Food
Lasagna Soup turns classic lasagna flavors into an easy one-pot meal.Beef, tomato broth, herbs, and broken lasagna noodles simmer until tender.Ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan create a creamy, cheesy finish.
Ingredients
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound halal beef sausage
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 7 cups low-sodium halal-certified chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 9 lasagna noodles broken into pieces
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves optional
- 10 ounces ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil for serving
Instructions
- Place a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and halal beef sausage.
- Cook the meat while breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Continue cooking until the beef and sausage are thoroughly cooked and nicely browned. Drain any excess grease from the pot, then transfer the cooked meat to a plate and set aside.
- Return the pot to medium heat. Add the olive oil, followed by the chopped yellow onion.
- Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes soft and translucent.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1–2 minutes, stirring frequently. The garlic should become fragrant without turning dark brown.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook briefly, about 1 minute. Cooking the tomato paste helps deepen its flavor.
- Pour in the marinara sauce and stir in the red pepper flakes, parsley, dried oregano, and dried basil.
- Slowly pour in the chicken broth or vegetable broth and stir until everything is well combined.
- Return the browned ground beef and beef sausage to the pot.
- Increase the heat and bring the Lasagna Soup to a gentle boil.
- Break each lasagna noodle into approximately four pieces and carefully add them to the soup.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook according to the noodle package directions, stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking together or settling on the bottom of the pot.
- Continue simmering until the lasagna noodles are tender but not overly soft. Depending on the pasta, this will generally take about 10–12 minutes.
- If using spinach, stir the fresh leaves into the soup during the final 2–3 minutes of cooking. Allow them to wilt into the hot broth.
- While the pasta cooks, prepare the cheese topping. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, shredded mozzarella, and freshly grated Parmesan.
- Stir the cheeses together until evenly combined.
- Taste the finished soup and adjust the salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, or herbs as needed.
- Ladle the hot soup into individual serving bowls.
- Add a generous spoonful of the ricotta cheese mixture to the center of each bowl. Garnish with fresh basil and serve immediately.
Notes
Ground beef gives the soup a classic hearty texture, while beef sausage contributes additional seasoning and savory flavor. If you prefer, you can use all ground beef instead of combining the two.
For a lighter variation, halal ground chicken or turkey can replace the ground beef. The flavor will be milder, so you may want to slightly increase the dried herbs.
Ricotta provides the most lasagna-like cheese topping, but cottage cheese can be substituted. For a smoother cottage cheese topping, blend it briefly before combining it with mozzarella and Parmesan.
If you prefer extra vegetables, mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, or additional spinach can be incorporated into the soup. Sauté firmer vegetables with the onions so they have enough time to soften.