Lasagna soup is one of my favorite ways to satisfy the craving for Lasagna with very little effort. All of your favorite lasagna ingredients are nestled in a rich, tomato-based broth and topped with creamy ricotta cheese and basil.
Soups like Chicken Tortilla Soup, creamy Tomato Soup, and of course this Lasagna Soup recipe are perfect to curl up to in the colder months.
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What is Lasagna Soup?
Lasagna soup has all of the elements of a classic lasagna but instead of a thick tomato sauce, it all comes together in a rich and flavorful tomato broth where all of the flavors meld beautifully. The soup is served with a generous mound of creamy ricotta cheese that melts into your spoonful. Lasagna is so satisfying as a soup. All you need is some Focaccia Bread to go with it.
Ingredients for Lasagna Soup
- Lasagna noodles – use just about any brand or style you prefer and break the noodles into roughly bite-size pieces
- Oil – use a mild oil such as olive oil or avocado oil
- Onion – a white or yellow onion works best
- Hot or sweet Italian sausage – Any style of Italian sausage will work great – go as hot or sweet as you like
- Garlic – fresh garlic adds more flavor than garlic powder
- Dried oregano – dried herbs work great in this soup
- Tomato paste – deepens the flavor of the broth
- Low-sodium broth – homemade chicken broth is best but storebought also works.
- Crushed tomatoes – Use classic or fire-roasted if you like a little smokiness
- Fresh basil – brightens up the soup and elevates the flavor.
- Parmesan cheese – builds a rich and creamy base
- Half & half – balances the acidity of the soup
- Ricotta cheese – serve with a hefty spoonful of full-fat ricotta
How to Make Lasagna Soup
- Boil the Noodles – Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the broken up noodles until aldente or firm to the bite then toss them with oil.
- Cook & Season the Sausage – In a heavy pot or dutch oven, cook sausage. Add onion and cook it until translucent. Add pressed garlic and dried oregano.
- Make the Soup Base – Add in the tomato paste and stir until well distributed. Next, pour in the broth and canned tomatoes and simmer 15 minutes.
- Finish Building the Soup – Turn the heat to low. Add in the noodles, half and half, parmesan, and basil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
- Garnish & Serve – Ladle into warm bowls and top with a dollop of ricotta cheese and fresh basil.
Tips for the Best Lasagna Soup
- Keep the heat over medium – allow the flavors of the soup to come together gradually by keeping the heat at medium to medium-low.
- Don’t cook the pasta all the way – drain it with 2-3 minutes left of cooking time, as it will finish cooking when you add it back to the soup pot.
- Make the soup in a Dutch oven – it retains moisture and maintains even heat.
Variations
- Use your favorite type of protein. Italian sausage can be made with ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork. Use your favorite.
- Swap out the ricotta for your favorite cheese. If you’re not a fan of ricotta, garnish the soup with shredded mozzarella or parmesan instead.
Common Questions
To make Instant Pot lasagna soup, put all the ingredients into a 6 Qt instant pot, pushing the noodles down just so they are submerged. Seal the lid, and cook on manual high pressure for 6 minutes followed by a quick release of pressure.
You can also use your Slow Cooker to make this soup. Add all the ingredients except the noodles into the pot, turn the heat on high, and cook for 3-4 hours. With 30 minutes of cooking time left, add in the raw broken noodles.
It’s not recommended to store this soup in the freezer or the noodles will get mushy. Instead, see make-ahead tips below.
It’s best to cook the noodles separately since they absorb some of the liquid and add some starch to the soup, thickening it up. You can cook it in the soup pot, but be sure to add an extra cup of broth.
Make-Ahead
- Prep-Ahead: Whether you’re meal-prepping or cooking the soup a day in advance for guests, prepare everything except the noodles and refrigerate the soup in a large airtight container. Right before you plan on serving, boil the lasagna noodles and add them to the soup. This will prevent the noodles from absorbing all the broth in storage.
- Reheat: The best way to reheat this soup is over medium heat in a large saucepan or pot until warmed through. It tends to pop in the microwave, so beware!
More Tasty Soup Recipes
- Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Easy Vegetable Soup Recipe
- Wonton Soup Recipe
- Minestrone Soup
The Best Lasagna Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
- 1 tbsp oil, avocado or olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 lb hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 32 oz low-sodium broth, (chicken or beef)
- 15 oz canned crushed tomatoes, with their juice
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup half & half
- Ricotta cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook them for 2 minutes less than advised by the package instructions. Drain the noodles, drizzle them with oil, and set them aside.
- Place a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add the sausage, and sautee until cooked through, breaking it up into small pieces with a spatula. Add the onion and cook until it’s translucent. Stir in pressed garlic and oregano and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add tomato paste, broth, and canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Keeping the heat at a simmer, add in noodles, half and half, parmesan, and basil. Simmer for a few more minutes and season to taste.
- Serve right away with a spoonful of ricotta cheese and a sprinkle of fresh basil.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I made the recipe exactly as is except added a half lb of ground beef that I had leftover from other recipe. Also added salt and pepper. Everyone loved it! It was super easy to make. I really like the dollop of ricotta on tip! Kids ate it as well!
That is the best when the family love what we moms make. That’s so great!
First time trying lasagna soup. It’s perfect for this cold weather! We don’t like sausage much, so I used lean ground beef. We also don’t like onion or tomato pieces, so we used tomato sauce and plenty of onion powder. I love that the recipe was full of pantry staples, and we liked it better than actual lasagna! That being said, the substitutions we made probably affected the seasoning/flavor, so we did add some extra salt, Italian seasoning, red wine vinegar, and sugar to help with depth and well-roundedness. Dip with cheesy garlic bread, and you won’t regret it!
Hi Raeh! Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Natasha, I have made many of your recipes and loved them…this one, not so much. There are so many great reviews, I wish I knew what I did wrong. I used a lb. of mild Italian sausage and the meat out of 2 links of Johnsonville firecracker Italian sausage. We didn’t like it…nothing like Lasagna. Ate it one night and had to throw the rest out. Only one of your tried recipes that didn’t work for us.
Hi Terri, oh no! I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t meet the mark for you. Did you sub anything in the recipe? If you could provide more details on what you didn’t like about it, I will do my best to troubleshoot.
Hi, just reading your recipe and would love to try but can I use dried basil instead, fresh basil is hard to come by where I live.
Hi Marylou! That would be fine. I hope you love the recipe!
I know this shouldn’t be frozen with the noodles. I’d like to make the soup and freeze before Christmas. I would put premade soup in crockpot and I would boil the noodles on the day I’m serving the soup. Would that work?
Hi Mary! To be honest, I haven’t tested freezing it. Generally soups with cream don’t freeze well because it can separate/curdle when reheated. I think you can make the soup base and add the cream when you reheat the soup and add the noodles. Let us know how it turns out.
This was delicious. Made it exactly as written. Will definitely make it again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kimber!
Hi Natasha! So excited to make this with my High School Culinary Arts students!
I’d love to utilize the Instant Pot. Just put all the ingredients in and cook for six minutes on manual high pressure with a quick release is what you suggest?
Hi Sarah! I have not tested this in an instant pot to advise.
I just made this in the instant pot. I turned on the saute function and cooked the meat until brown with the onion then added in the rest of the ingredients. Broke up the lasagna noddles and set to high pressure for 6 min. I did let it natural release for like 5 min I think. I didnt add half and half just because I didnt have any. Turned out really good!
I’m making this in the slow cooker. Above you say add all ingredients and cook then add noodles last 30 minutes. Is it safe to cook that long with the cream in it? Or should the cream be added last as well.?
Hi Cheryl! Yes, the cream will be fine since it’s not going to reach a boiling point.
Our “keeper” cookbook is filled with your recipes back to back. This one definitely made the book lol. YUM!
That’s wonderful to hear, Natosha! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I can’t find crushed tomatoes near me. Can I use tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce instead? I’m trying to make this tonight. Thank you ☺️
Hi Nesri! I have not tested this with spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce can work but it won’t provide the same flavor or texture. You can make your own crushed tomatoes using fresh tomatoes. You may find this article on how to make crushed tomatoes helpful.
Natasha FYI another comment! Each and every time my wife makes this amazing recipe you gain more and more followers.
I know this is a curve ball question can you please come up with something for corn beef and cabbage if anyone can conquer it is you!
Thank you for the suggestion, Jordan! I’ll make note of it. 🙂
I made this for Christmas Eve and it was a hit. I did use 5 cheese tortellini and it didn’t disappoint. Love your recipes as do my family and friends. Best wishes for a wonderful 2023.
Happy New Year, Denise!
I have made this for friends and family. Really is the best lasagna soup. Everyone agrees! To boot, they would rather have this one than others from specialty restaurants. This ones a keeper for sure!
Aaaw, thanks for the awesome review, Dan!
What would you suggest as a dairy free option for the half and half? Soy milk? Or would it still be delish to omit it all together?
Hi Kristy! I haven’t tried any dairy-free substitute to advise. You could experiment with dairy-free half and half or omit to see if you enjoy the recipe without it.
In a recipe like this, that calls for half and half or heavy cream, I sub with lactose free sour cream. Works like a charm. I even use it in cheesecake and you’d never know. =)
I just made this soup for a friend that had surgery. It was so good. I will make it again for sure.
So glad it was enjoyed, Carol!
I LOVE this soup!! I want to bring it to my coworkers…. There are 9 of us and we all love to eat. I need to know.. how many servings and how big are your serving? I’m considering if I should double this recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Becky, That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite! The serving size can be found at the beginning of the print-friendly recipe card (located at the bottom of the recipe post). The nutrition label shows counts “per serving.” Hope that helps!
Super easy and very tasty! I substituted bow tie pasta and it was great! Creamy comfort food, a lot faster and easier than lasagna.
Hi Kim! I’m glad you loved this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
It’s summer. My zucchini plants are zuking like crazy. Should I add some to the soup? The brain thinks I should.
Hi! I have not tested that but it sure does sound wonderful! In general, zucchini doesn’t take very long to cook, so you may want to add them in at the very end. I hope you love this recipe. Let us know how it turns out.
Tried this tonight, didn’t have lasagna noodle but used same amount in Amish wide noodle. Oh boy, it was yummy in our tummies! Thank you for sharing, this would be perfect for fall/winter soup.
So glad you loved it!
I made this yesterday and it was easy, quick and over the top delicious!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Joan!
Love Love your recipes Natasha.. My question is could you use hamburger instead of sausage? Not all in my household is a fan of sausage. Thank you and may you be blessed
Hi Sharon, I haven’t tested that, but I think it could work. Since the sausage is full of flavor, but the beef is not, you may need to adjust the spices to be more flavorful. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I used ground beef as I had no sausage on hand. To offset the flavor loss I increased the garlic and onion as well as used Italian seasoning and a some red wine.
Turned out delicious
Hi Melissa, thanks for sharing! We’re happy to know that you like the results using ground beef too.
This is a tasty and pretty easy recipe! I did make some substations, but the recipe still worked. I used Jimmy Dean’s sausage, a can of diced tomatoes, and vegetable broth. I served with a spoonful of ricotta, and it was great.
That’s great. Thanks for the feedback, Rebecca! 🙂