Soups · Italian-American
Lasagna Soup
All the flavors of lasagna in a bowl: sausage, tomato and ribbons of noodle, with a spoonful of ricotta on top.
- Hands-on
- 30 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Makes
- 4 bowls
- Serves
- 4
About 30 minutes, all hands-on. Start the pasta water first; the soup base cooks while the noodles boil.
Pan large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot (US: large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot)
- easy
- trending
- one-pot
- weeknight
- fall
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Doubles in a bigger pot. A larger volume takes longer to come to a simmer and to reduce, so go by the cues rather than the clock. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: large pot for the pasta · colander · large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot · wooden spoon · ladle
Contains: milk · wheat
Method
Cook the noodles
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the 227 g (8 oz) broken lasagna noodles according to the packet. Drain, drizzle with a little olive oil and toss so they don't stick together.
Ready when: Tender with a slight bite (taste a piece).
Otto tried this firstOtto breaks up no-boil lasagna sheets. They go gummy in soup, so he swaps in regular noodles.Soften the onion
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes.
Ready when: The onion is soft and translucent.
Brown the sausage
Add the 227 g (1/2 lb) sausage, 3 chopped garlic cloves and 1 tsp oregano. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring and breaking the sausage up with a wooden spoon. Add 2 tbsp tomato paste and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes more.
Ready when: The sausage is browned in small crumbles with no pink showing, and the tomato paste has darkened.
Simmer the broth
Add the 950 ml (4 cups) broth, the can of tomatoes and 240 ml (1 cup) water. Cover and bring to a simmer, then uncover and cook for about 10 minutes.
Ready when: Slightly reduced. After this simmer the sausage is well past the 71°C / 160°F that food-safety guidance sets for ground meat.
Finish the soup
Stir in the cooked noodles, 1/2 cup chopped basil, 33 g (1/3 cup) Parmesan and 60 ml (1/4 cup) cream. Simmer for 2 minutes more; keep it at a gentle simmer, not a boil.
Ready when: Heated through and gently bubbling, not boiling.
Serve
Ladle the soup into 4 bowls. Top each with a spoonful of ricotta, some sliced basil and extra Parmesan if you like.
Swaps
- Instead of lasagna noodles: mini shells, paccheri or orecchiette (regular, not quick-cook)
- Instead of hot Italian sausage: sweet (mild) Italian sausage, same amount For a milder soup.
- Instead of heavy cream: half-and-half, same amount
Don’t swap
- no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna sheets: they turn gummy in soup
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- The soup freezes best before the noodles, basil, Parmesan and cream go in: stop after the broth simmer, cool it and freeze it for up to 3 to 4 months. To serve, warm the frozen soup in a covered pan over medium heat; once it simmers, add freshly cooked noodles, the basil, Parmesan and cream and cook 2 minutes more.
- Storage
- Leftovers thicken as the pasta soaks up liquid. Refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 48 hours, or freeze the soup base without the noodles and dairy as described above.
- Reheat
- Reheat in a pan with a splash of broth or water until steaming hot all the way through (74°C / 165°F). Only reheat once.
If something goes wrong
- Pasta turned gummy
Use regular lasagna noodles, not no-boil ones. - Noodles stuck together in a clump
Toss the drained noodles with a little olive oil while they're still warm. - Soup boiled hard after the cream went in
Turn it down: once the cream and cheese are in, keep it at a gentle simmer for just 2 minutes.
Good to know
- Prefer it milder? Use sweet Italian sausage instead of hot.
- Cook the noodles separately and add them at the end, so the broth stays brothy.
Safety
- Raw sausage is raw ground meat. Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds and wash the board after handling it.
- Draining a pot of boiling pasta water is a burn risk: pour away from you into a colander in the sink. An adult should do it.
- Some dried lasagna noodles contain egg, and sausages can contain other allergens. Check the packets.