This post may contain affiliate links.
Lasagna Soup gives you every cozy bite of classic lasagna in a spoonable bowl, with browned Italian sausage, a rich tomato broth, tender noodles, and creamy ricotta on top. I first ladled this out on a chilly Sunday afternoon when Maddie wanted lasagna but I did not want to layer and bake for an hour, and it has been our cold-weather shortcut ever since. If you love our Italian wedding soup, this is the heartier, saucier cousin.
It all comes together in one pot in about 40 minutes, so dinner feels homemade without the all-afternoon project.
Lasagna Soup Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 8 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 534kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Rich, savory, and comforting with herby tomato depth
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our Italian meatball soup
Quick Answer
Brown Italian sausage with onion in a Dutch oven, add garlic, then pour in chicken stock, marinara, crushed tomatoes, and pesto. Simmer 20 minutes while you cook broken lasagna noodles separately. Stir the noodles in at serving so they stay tender, then top each bowl with a dollop of the ricotta and mozzarella mixture plus a little pesto and parmesan.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Noodles cooked separately. Boiling the lasagna pieces on their own and stirring them in at the end keeps them from soaking up all the broth and turning to mush.
- Italian sausage does the seasoning. The sausage brings built-in garlic, fennel, and herbs, so the broth tastes slow-simmered without a long ingredient list.
- Three tomato layers. Marinara, crushed tomatoes, and a spoon of pesto stack bright, deep, and herby tomato flavor for real lasagna character.
- Ricotta dollop on top. A quick ricotta and mozzarella mixture spooned over each bowl melts into creamy pockets just like the cheese layer in baked lasagna.
- One pot, forty minutes. Everything happens in a single Dutch oven, so it is weeknight fast with only one pot to wash.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It tastes like a pan of baked lasagna but comes together in one pot in about 40 minutes.
- Browned Italian sausage and a triple-tomato broth give it deep, cozy flavor with almost no effort.
- It is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for cold nights, right alongside our bacon cheeseburger soup.
Key Ingredients
Here is what gives this Lasagna Soup its rich, layered flavor. Full amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Ground Italian sausage: the flavor backbone, bringing built-in garlic, fennel, and herbs. Mild or hot both work.
- Marinara, crushed tomatoes, and pesto: three tomato layers plus a herby pesto spoonful build that real lasagna depth.
- Lasagna noodles: broken into bite-sized pieces so every spoonful has that classic ruffled-edge bite.
- Ricotta and mozzarella: stirred together into a creamy dollop that melts on top of each bowl.
- Chicken stock: the savory base that loosens everything into a spoonable soup.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This soup is easy to make your own with whatever is in the fridge.
- Swap the Italian sausage for ground beef, ground turkey, or a mix of beef and sausage.
- Use any short pasta (broken fettuccine, bowties, or rotini) if you are out of lasagna noodles.
- Stir in a few handfuls of fresh spinach or kale at the end for extra greens.
- Make it extra creamy by adding a splash of heavy cream or a spoon of cream cheese to the broth.
- For another cozy one-pot dinner, try our creamy chicken stroganoff.
How to Make Lasagna Soup
- In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown and crumble the Italian sausage with the onion until no pink remains, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 30 seconds, drain off excess fat, then pour in the chicken stock and scrape up the browned bits.
- Stir in the marinara, crushed tomatoes, pesto, half of the black pepper, and the salt until combined.
- Bring the soup to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While it simmers, break the lasagna noodles into bite-sized pieces and cook per the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water so they stop cooking and do not stick.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and the remaining black pepper.
- Stir the cheese mixture until smooth and creamy. To serve, add the soup to bowls, stir in the noodles, and top with a dollop of the ricotta mixture, extra pesto, and grated parmesan.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Keep the noodles separate until serving so they stay tender and do not soak up all the broth or turn gummy in leftovers.
- Drain the sausage fat after browning so the broth tastes rich, not greasy.
- Taste before salting. Jarred marinara and sausage are already salty, so season at the very end.
- Use a Dutch oven or other heavy pot so the bottom does not scorch during the simmer.
- Add a parmesan rind to the simmering broth for an extra savory, restaurant-style depth.
- For thicker soup, stir in more noodles; for a brothier bowl, splash in extra chicken stock when reheating.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This Lasagna Soup is a full meal in a bowl, but a basket of warm garlic bread or crusty Italian bread is non-negotiable for soaking up every drop of broth. A crisp green salad with Italian dressing balances all that cozy richness.
Serving a crowd? Set out a soup bar with extra ricotta, shredded mozzarella, pesto, and parmesan so everyone can load up their own bowl. It pairs beautifully with our Italian wedding soup and creamy corn chowder for a cozy soup-night spread.
Leftovers keep well for up to four days, just store the noodles separately so they stay perfect. A bowl of this reheats into the best next-day lunch with a splash of stock to loosen the broth.
Lasagna Soup FAQs
Cooking the lasagna noodles on their own and stirring them in at serving keeps them from absorbing all the broth and turning mushy. It also means leftovers reheat without the pasta falling apart, so store the noodles separately whenever you can.
Yes. Make the soup base up to three days ahead and store it separately from the noodles and the ricotta topping. Reheat the broth, cook fresh noodles or warm the cooked ones, and add the cheese dollop just before serving.
Ground Italian sausage, mild or hot, gives the broth its signature flavor. You can also use ground beef, turkey, or a half-and-half mix; just add a little extra Italian seasoning if your meat is unseasoned.
Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days, keeping the noodles separate when possible. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of chicken stock if it has thickened.
Freeze the broth and sausage base, without the noodles, for up to three months. Thaw overnight, reheat, and add freshly cooked noodles and the ricotta topping when serving so the texture stays perfect.
Absolutely. Skip the sausage, use vegetable stock, and add white beans, mushrooms, and extra veggies for a hearty meatless bowl. The triple-tomato broth and ricotta dollop still deliver all that lasagna flavor.
Looking for your next cozy dinner? Try our Italian chicken cacciatore next, it is another family favorite that fills the whole house with the best smell.
Craving more cozy soup? Our Zuppa Toscana is a creamy Olive Garden copycat with sausage, potatoes, and kale.
Lasagna Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 24 ounces jarred marinara sauce
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons prepared pesto sauce plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 lasagna noodles broken into bite-sized pieces
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Grated parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown and crumble the sausage with the onion until there is no pink left and the onions look translucent, this will take about 10 minutes.
- Next, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until it starts to become fragrant then drain off any of the excess fat.
- Add the chicken stock while scraping off any bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes, pesto, half of the pepper, and salt, stir to combine.
- Bring the soup to a simmer and then continue to simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, occasionally.
- While the soup is simmering, break the lasagna noodles into smaller pieces (bite-sized). Per the package directions, cook lasagna noodles accordingly. Stir noodles often so they do not stick together. Drain and then quickly run cold water over them so it stops them from cooking and they continue to not stick together..
- Add the ricotta, mozzarella, and remaining ½ teaspoon of black pepper in a medium-sized bowl.
- Stir this mixture together until fully combined.
- To serve, add the soup to bowls and stir in the noodles. Generously add a dollop of the ricotta cheese mixture on top of the soup with more pesto (if desired). Garnish soup off with some grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Rao’s brand is our favorite marinara sauce.
- This can be frozen, see above.
- Other meats can be used, ground beef, turkey or chicken.
- The pesto is an optional garnish, but we love the extra flavor it brings.
- Use other pasta, see above on some suggestions.
- If you are intending to eat a whole pot at once you can add the pasta to the soup mixture.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
Follow @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen on Instagram and @danadevolk on Pinterest for more!
You could also add 15 fresh basil leaves, torn or chiffonade to the soup right before serving.
Pesto is not something I use & would hate to buy a jar & then not use it & hubby isn’t a fan of it either. Suggestions for substitutions? Thanks!