Lasagna soup is a hearty, one-pot dinner made with ground beef, jarred pasta sauce, broken lasagna noodles, and a finish of heavy cream and mozzarella; no ricotta, no layering, no oven. I built it this way on purpose; it means one less cheese to buy and one less bowl to dirty, and you still get every flavor lasagna is known for. It's on the table in about 30 minutes, and it's the soup my kids request by name once the weather turns.
This soup is in heavy rotation in my house every fall and winter. My kids ask for it almost as much as they ask for Italian stuffed shells or taco stuffed shells.
If you want more lasagna and less soup, try lasagna roll ups or crockpot lasagna. A little prep and dinner is waiting for you when you get home.
Ingredients you need for lasagna soup:
The full ingredient list with amounts is in the recipe card below. Here's why a few of them matter.
- Ground beef: I brown it and leave the fat in the pot; that fat carries flavor into the onion and garlic in the next step. Ground sausage or a mix with ground pork works too, and I cover that swap below.
- Pasta sauce: Use your favorite jarred marinara here. This isn't the place to make your own sauce from scratch; a good jarred sauce is doing exactly what it needs to do.
- Chicken stock: This is what turns the sauce into soup. Start with the amount in the recipe card and add more at the end if you like a thinner broth; the noodles will keep drinking up liquid even after you've turned off the heat.
- Uncooked lasagna noodles, broken: They cook right in the soup, so timing matters more than it looks like it would. Pull the pot off the heat the moment they're tender; a few extra minutes in that much hot liquid and they go soft and start to break apart.
- Heavy cream and mozzarella: This is what replaces ricotta in this recipe. Stirred in at the very end, they give you the same rich, cheesy pull you'd get from ricotta in a baked lasagna, without the graininess ricotta can leave behind in a broth-based soup. More on that in the Cook's Notes below the recipe card.
Recipe Card?
To find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions CLICK HERE to go to the recipe card.
How to make lasagna soup on the stovetop:
This is a true one-pot meal, which means minimal cleanup and leftovers that taste even better the next day.
Brown the beef
In a Dutch oven or large pot, brown the meat over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. You want no pink left and an internal temperature of 160F. Do not drain the fat; it carries flavor into the next step, and draining it now means you'll be adding oil back in later to make up for it.
Sauté
Add the chopped onion and garlic to the meat and sauté in the drippings until the onion turns soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. You'll smell the garlic turn fragrant; that's your cue to move on.
Add tomato paste and herbs
Add the tomato paste and dried herbs to the meat and onion mixture. Stir until the paste darkens slightly and coats the meat; that's the paste's raw edge cooking off.
Add liquids
Pour in the pasta sauce and the chicken stock. Stir to combine; the mixture will look thin at this point, that's expected before it reduces.
Bring To A Boil
Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let it go for 10 minutes to reduce the liquid slightly. You'll see it start to deepen in color as it thickens.
Add the noodles
Add the broken, uncooked lasagna noodles to the soup and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the noodles are just tender; pull the pot off the heat right at that point, since they'll keep softening in the residual heat.
If the soup looks too thick, add more stock.
Stir in cream and cheese
Just before serving, off the heat, stir in the heavy cream and three-quarters of the shredded mozzarella. The broth will turn from red to a soft, rosy pink; that color change is how you know it's ready.
Serve
Serve in bowls, garnished with the remaining shredded cheese. Serve it hot, right off the stove; the soup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Did you make this recipe?
Do you have feedback that would be helpful to others? If so can help this small business owner by leaving a rating and a review in the comments section? Thank you for being part of the Savoring The Good Community. ~ Sarah
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4-5 cloves Garlic
- 1 jar Pasta Sauce 28-32 ounces pasta/spaghetti sauce
- 1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 4-6 Cups chicken stock
- 8 Lasagna Noodles broken into bite-sized pieces
- ½ Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, brown the meat over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. You want no pink left and an internal temperature of 160F. Do not drain the fat; it carries flavor into the next step, and draining it now means you'll be adding oil back in later to make up for it.
- Add the chopped onion and garlic to the meat and sauté in the drippings until the onion turns soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. You'll smell the garlic turn fragrant; that's your cue to move on.
- Add the tomato paste and dried herbs to the meat and onion mixture. Stir until the paste darkens slightly and coats the meat; that's the paste's raw edge cooking off.
- Pour in the pasta sauce and the chicken stock. Stir to combine; the mixture will look thin at this point, that's expected before it reduces.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let it go for 10 minutes to reduce the liquid slightly. You'll see it start to deepen in color as it thickens.
- Add the broken, uncooked lasagna noodles to the soup and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the noodles are just tender; pull the pot off the heat right at that point, since they'll keep softening in the residual heat.
- Just before serving, off the heat, stir in the heavy cream and three-quarters of the shredded mozzarella. The broth will turn from red to a soft, rosy pink; that color change is how you know it's ready.
- Serve in bowls, garnished with the remaining shredded cheese. Serve it hot, right off the stove; the soup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Nutrition
Notes
- ground sausage can be substituted for the ground beef or switch out ½ ground pork for ground beef.
- ground turkey can be substituted for a portion or all of the ground beef.
- Roasted garlic or garlic confit can be substituted for fresh garlic cloves
garnish with extra shredded mozzarella cheese and/or ricotta cheese. - To reheat the soup, an extra splash of chicken stock can be added to loosen the soup as it heats.
- The night before: brown the meat, adding the chopped onion and garlic to the meat and sautéing them in the meat and fat drippings. Add the tomato paste and dried herbs to the meat and onion mixture. Cool and store in the refrigerator overnight. Set out the canned goods so you are ready to dump and go in the morning.
- In the morning: Dump the container of browned meat, veggies, and spices into a crockpot. Add in the rest of the ingredients, holding out the lasagna noodles, heavy cream and the mozzarella cheese, stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add the broken noodles and cook for 10-20 minutes. Then add the stir in the heavy cream and ¾ of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Serve in bowls, garnished with remaining shredded cheese.
Sarah's Culinary Insight
A few things I've learned from making this soup more times than I can count!
I built this recipe without ricotta on purpose. Heavy cream and mozzarella, stirred in off the heat, give you that same rich, cheesy pull without the graininess ricotta can leave behind once it's cooked into this much liquid. If you miss ricotta specifically, dollop a spoonful onto each bowl right before serving instead of cooking it into the pot.
Leave the fat in the pot after browning the beef. Drain it and the soup loses body, and you'll end up adding oil back in to sauté the onion and garlic properly.
This soup thickens as it sits, since the noodles keep absorbing broth even off the heat. If you're not serving it right away, hold back a cup of the chicken stock and stir it in when you reheat.
Add the cream and cheese off the heat, not while the soup is still boiling. A rolling boil can make the cream separate instead of blending in smooth.
Substitutions:
A few swaps I've tested in my own kitchen, and what they do to the soup.
- Ground sausage or half ground pork: Swap in Italian sausage for all or half the ground beef and you get a richer, more savory pot; hot sausage adds real heat. I recommend it if you want more depth without adding extra herbs.
- Ground turkey: This works for part or all of the beef, but turkey brings less fat, which means less flavor carried into the sauté step. If you go this route, add a tablespoon of olive oil when you sauté the onion and garlic so you don't lose that base of flavor.
- Roasted garlic or garlic confit: Either one swaps in for fresh garlic cloves and gives you a mellower, sweeter garlic flavor instead of a sharp bite. I recommend it any night you have some on hand.
Adding ricotta back in
I've tested stirring ricotta directly into the broth, and I don't recommend it; it breaks down and turns grainy in this much liquid. If you want the classic ricotta pockets, dollop it cold onto each bowl at serving instead of cooking it into the pot.
Crockpot Instrustions:
This version spreads the work across two days, which makes it an easy weeknight dinner even on your busiest nights.
The night before: brown the meat, then add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté them in the drippings. Stir in the tomato paste and dried herbs. Cool the mixture and refrigerate it overnight. Set out your canned goods so you're ready to dump everything in the next morning.
In the morning: add the browned meat mixture to the crockpot along with the rest of the ingredients, holding out the lasagna noodles, heavy cream, and mozzarella. Stir to combine and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
About 20 minutes before serving, stir in the broken noodles and cook until just tender. Turn off the heat, stir in the heavy cream and three-quarters of the mozzarella, and serve garnished with the rest of the cheese.
Freezer instructions:
There are two ways you can freeze lasagna soup.
The first way: combine all the raw ingredients in a freezer-safe bag or container, leaving out the lasagna noodles, heavy cream, and cheese. Press out as much air as possible and freeze flat.
When you're ready to cook, dump the frozen mixture straight into a crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 2 to 4. Add the broken noodles in the last 20 minutes, then finish with the cream and cheese.
The second way: brown the meat, sauté the onion and garlic, and stir in the spices and tomato paste, stopping after that step. Cool the mixture completely before adding it to a freezer-safe bag along with the remaining ingredients, again leaving out the noodles, cream, and cheese. Press out the air and freeze flat.
To reheat, thaw the soup brick in the refrigerator overnight, dump it into a large soup pot, bring it to a simmer, and pick back up at the noodle step.
Reheating instructions:
To reheat leftover soup, warm it in a pan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it's steaming hot all the way through. A splash of chicken stock helps loosen it back up as it heats, since the noodles will have soaked up liquid in the fridge.
Or microwave at 50% power for 1 minute, stir, then microwave in 30-second bursts at full power until it's hot throughout.
Seasonal Favorite
This is my award-winning Crisco pie crust recipe; flaky, tender, and made with simple ingredients you already have.
Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
No. This recipe skips ricotta entirely and uses heavy cream and mozzarella instead, stirred in at the end. You get the same rich, cheesy flavor without the grainy texture ricotta can take on in a broth-based soup. If you love ricotta, dollop it onto your bowl fresh instead of cooking it in.
When I serve lasagna soup we usually have crusty garlic bread or fried mozzarella sticks. We love all our carbs when we eat this meal! Green lettuce salad is always a good pairing and for some reason, I always serve steamed broccoli in little side dishes.
The cream is what gives the broth its rich, slightly pink color and smooth texture. You can leave it out for a lighter, more tomato-forward soup, but you'll lose some of that classic creamy lasagna feel.
Yes. Make everything through the tomato paste and herb step up to a day ahead, cool it, and refrigerate. Reheat to a simmer before adding the stock, noodles, cream, and cheese so the noodles don't sit and go soft in the fridge.
A Dutch oven or any large, heavy-bottomed pot works well; you want enough room for the soup to expand as the noodles cook without crowding.
I usually serve it with crusty garlic bread or fried mozzarella sticks; we love our carbs with this meal. A green salad is always a good pairing too.
Chocolate Lasagna
Layered dessert with an Oreo crust, cream cheese layer, chocolate pudding layer, and Cool Whip topping.
I am Sarah Mock. Welcome!
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and a graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 17 years, Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
Diana says
Can I use milk as a substitute for the cream? Thank you!
Sarah Mock says
you can! but it may not be as rich or as thick.If you would like it thicker, whisk together a tablespoon of corn starch with 1/4 cup milk or water, add it to the soup and bring the soup to a boil.