A warm and hearty lasagna soup that has all the flavors of a traditional lasagna dinner, but it’s way easier to make! Start with rich tomato broth, a pound of ground beef, and lasagna noodles. The family is going to love this easy soup recipe!

lasagna soup in bowl

Lasagna in soup form?

I’m the biggest fan. And there are several reasons why. It’s undoubtedly easier than making a meat sauce, filling it between layers of lasagna noodles and ricotta like the classic version. It comes together in one pot, and we’re definitely a fan of one-pot meals around here. It also means that lasagna soup is totally a doable dinner for midweek – unlike the traditional dish. And last but certainly not least, this soup is made with mostly pantry and refrigerator staple ingredients so other than the ricotta cheese, I’m willing to bet you’ve got most of the ingredients on hand already.

And when you’ve got ground beef simmered in a rich tomato broth with noodles, what else could you ask for? Each bite is a spoonful of a warm tomato broth with slow-simmered ground beef, tender cooked noodles, and a delicious ricotta mixture on top. The cheesy yum on top is a mixture of ricotta cheese, parmesan, fresh basil, and mozzarella, and I am obsessed with it.

I don’t know why we’re still making lasagna when you can feed a whole family with this easy one-pot lasagna soup recipe!

lasagna soup on spoon from bowl

Ingredients for homemade lasagna soup recipe

  • Ground beef: I like to use lean ground beef for this recipe, but Italian sausage or ground turkey, or even chicken will also work. Keep in mind that if you use ground beef with a higher fat content, you might need to drain the grease so that the soup isn’t too greasy at the end.
  • Olive Oil: a glug of oil helps saute the onions.
  • Onions: Chop the yellow onion and add it to the ground beef. The onions add a ton of flavor to the soup.
  • Garlic: fresh minced cloves of garlic works best for this recipe and gives the ground beef plenty of flavor.
  • Seasonings: you’ll need kosher salt, dried oregano, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, a pinch of sugar, and a bay leaf. If you don’t have oregano on hand, feel free to use Italian herbs or Italian seasoning instead. Crushed fennel is one of my favorite ingredients to add to this recipe because it gives the lasagna soup that slow-simmered flavor. If you’re using Italian sausage, you might want to skip it as most Italian sausages already contain this ingredient, and it might be overpowering.
  • Tomato products: In the past, I’ve made this recipe with tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. But recently, I’ve swapped a couple of those ingredients for a jar of marinara or a few cups of homemade marinara. It gives the soup a much better flavor than tomato products. Seriously – between the marinara sauce and the fennel seeds, this totally tastes better than an actual lasagna!
  • Broth: I like to use chicken broth for this recipe, but you can also use beef broth if you prefer.
  • Lasagna Pasta: You know when you buy a box of lasagna noodles and end up finding half of it crushed up? Make lasagna soup! I break down the noodles into about 6-7 pieces so that they’re all bite-sized. You can also use bow-tie pasta, or any other shape that you like if you don’t have lasagna sheets on hand.
  • Cheese: You’ll need ricotta cheese for the cheesy yum portion of this recipe as well and parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese. When you add a dollop of this to the top of the hot soup, it just melts right in and gets so cheesy and delicious!
  • Herbs: I like to add fresh parsley and basil that’s finely minced to the cheesy yum. It gives it such a fresh flavor! 
ricotta mixture for topping soup

How to make lasagna soup at home

  1. Brown off the meat. Start by heating up a dutch oven or a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook and crumble until the meat heats and browns. Make sure to drain if there’s grease in the pot. Add a glug of oil and saute the onions until they’re tender. Stir often with a wooden spoon so that nothing sticks to the pan. Then add the garlic and all of the seasonings along with the tomato paste. You want the tomato paste to deepen in color so take your time here.
  2. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add the chicken broth, marinara, crushed tomato and bay leaf to the large pot and let the soup come to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat and allow the soup to cook for 30 minutes. This allows all of the flavors to blend together.
  3. Cook the noodles. To cook the noodles in the soup, add a splash of water and kick the heat up, so it boils. Stir in the noodles and let them cook through. If you’re anticipating leftovers, you might want to cook the noodles separately so that the noodles don’t soak up all the soup as it sits.
  4. Make the topping. Combine the cheese mixtures in a bowl with the parsley and basil. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper.
  5. Serve it up. Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with noodles if you prepared them separately. Drop a dollop of the cheesy yum on each bowl and sprinkle with more herbs if you’d like. Serve it up with caesar salad and garlic bread!
prepared soup in bowl

FAQs about this recipe

Can I freeze the soup?

If you’re planning on freezing the soup, I suggest cooking the noodles separately and adding them in fresh when you’re serving. Same with the ricotta mixture, prepare as needed!

Can I use gluten-free pasta?

Yes, gluten-free pasta can be subbed for the regular pasta here. I do, however, suggest cooking the pasta separately rather than in the soup.

Can I use plant-based protein?

Yes, plant-based protein would work well in place of ground beef.

Is this soup spicy?

We didn’t find it to be spicy at all. However, feel free to omit the red pepper flakes if you’d like to make it even milder.

Can I make instant pot lasagna soup?

Yes, brown everything off on the saute setting and then let the soup cook for 12 minutes on high pressure. You can do a quick pressure release and then add the pasta and let it cook on the simmer setting. This cuts down some of the cooking time!

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lasagna soup in bowl topped with ricotta mixture

Original Recipe shared Dec 2015, updated with new post, images, and minor recipe edits Jan 2023.

Yield: Serves 6

Comforting One-Pot Lasagna Soup

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

A warm and hearty lasagna soup that has all the flavors of a traditional lasagna dinner, but it's way easier to make! Start with rich tomato broth, a pound of ground beef, and lasagna noodles. The family is going to love this easy soup recipe!

Comforting One-Pot Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups yellow onion, chopped
  • 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • ¼- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 4 cup low sodium chicken broth (or beef)
  • 1 (24-25 ounce) jar marinara (homemade or store-bought)
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 8 ounces lasagna noodles, broken
  • 8 ounces ricotta cheese
  • ¼ cup EACH: chopped parsley AND basil
  • ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. BROWN: Heat a 5-quart dutch oven or larger over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef. Cook and crumble until brown, about 4 minutes. Drain excess grease, if required. Drizzle the olive oil, add the onions, and sauté them for 5-7 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, fennel, tomato paste, and sugar. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the tomato paste deepens in color.
  2. SIMMER: Add broth, marinara, crushed tomatoes, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer, cover, lower the heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes.
  3. NOODLES: to cook the noodles in the soup, add ½ cup of water to the prepared soup, kick the heat up to medium-high, bring the pot to a boil, and add the noodles and let cook for 8-9 minutes uncovered, or until the noodles are done. You can also cook the noodles separately if you’re anticipating leftovers.
  4. TOPPING: Combine the ricotta, parsley, basil, parmesan, a pinch of salt, pepper, and mozzarella in a bowl. Using a silicone spatula, stir until combined.
  5. SERVE: Ladle soup into bowls, and top with noodles if you prepared them separately. Drop a dollop of ricotta topping on top and sprinkle with additional parsley or basil, if desired. Enjoy!

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

Recipe inspired by a Farmgirl’s Dabbles.