This Lasagna Soup is literally the best soup ever! It is the ultimate comfort food blanketed in a delicious tomato based broth.
This lasagna soup recipe is a fun take on a traditional Italian dish - Lasagna. Whether you're looking for a healthy soup, looking for more low carb recipes, or want a one pot meal, this is it. My kids love it too. In fact, I usually make this soup once a week because we crave it so often. I’m sure it will become a favorite with your family.
About some of the ingredients in the Lasagna Soup recipe:
You may have seen this soup on Pinterest before, but my version is a bit different than the others with the addition of Prego® Traditional pasta sauce instead tomato paste. It is sweeter and adds a lot of flavor to the soup. Prego® Garlic Parmesan pasta sauce is also good in this recipe.
I added zucchini to this recipe to make it more of a one pot meal - and it is lovely in this soup. It reminds me of zucchini lasagna. For another variation, I have also added green beans(frozen and thawed) and they are also particularly good in this soup. You can leave those vegetables out of the recipe though and it will still be yummy. Baby spinach would be a good alternative.
The Lawry’s® brand garlic salt makes this soup shine with flavor in place of regular salt, I really recommend using this brand. And the key for this lasagna soup recipe is using enough of it. I start out with 1 tablespoon added with the other spices after cooking the sausage. After adding the tomatoes, broth, and pasta sauce, I add another teaspoon. Then when the soup is close to finished and I’m ready to add basil, I taste the soup and see if the flavor is right. And add about another¼ teaspoon and taste again. And add a final ¼ teaspoon if needed. I actually don’t measure anything when I cook for myself and my family, but I have measured it out to give you more precise amounts.
Johnsonville® brand Italian sausage is reliable and easy to find. I like the mild version (there is also a sweet and hot version). The other versions will work too if you can’t find it. The hot version of course going to be spicy hot. You can also use the ground Italian sausage, but it is only 16-ounces and I don’t prefer the texture as well as the links. But it will work in a pinch. If you are looking for a vegetarian/vegan version of this soup, leave the sausage out, and be sure to caramelize the onions well to bring out the flavor. I would suggest using a large onion if leaving the sausage out.
Low sodium chicken broth is best for this recipe because it will allow you more freedom with seasoning. If you are wanting a vegetarian/vegan version of this soup, you can substitute with vegetable broth or vegan bouillon cube. Store bought or you can make it from scratch by simmering vegetables like onion or a leek, celery, and carrots with seasonings, one small bay leaf, and fresh herbs like parsley, and thyme. Then strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Vegetable broth made from scratch will have deeper flavor.
Fired roasted tomatoes in my opinion have a depth flavor that I can’t get in regular diced tomatoes. Because the tomatoes were roasted over a flame before canning, you see some black flecks in them. That is some of the char from roasting. I like the Hunts® brand. If you have the generic version from Food Club in your area, do not use that brand of fire roasted tomatoes as they have a smoked flavor to them, and it won’t work well in this Lasagna Soup recipe.
The muenster cheese in this recipe, really makes it taste like Lasagna. I purchase it whole and shred it myself. You can substitute mozzarella. But I feel the muenster cheese has better flavor. It is a semi-soft cheese.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
5 links mild Italian sausage (19oz)
1 medium sweet yellow onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon garlic salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste
2 dried bay Leaves
3 cans (6 cups) Low Sodium Chicken Broth
2 cans Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1/2 cup Prego ® Traditional Pasta Sauce
2 large zucchini, sliced
Fresh Basil, chiffonade (optional)
12-16 ounces dry pasta - mini Farfalle, radiator pasta or Elbow macaroni
Directions:
Directions:
Directions:
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan on medium high heat, then add sausage and brown it. While browning, break it up into smaller chunks. Lower heat to medium and add onions before sausage is fully cooked.
2. Cook onion until translucent and then add all of the spices except the bay leaves.
3. Turn heat to low and add garlic, cook garlic on low heat for 1 minute.
4. Then add broth, bay leaves and canned tomatoes and Prego sauce.
5. Slice zucchini and add to soup. Cover and simmer until zucchini is cooked.
6. Taste for seasoning, add more if needed. I usually add the tablespoon of garlic salt with the other spices and then taste throughout while cooking it. I usually end up adding another 1.5 teaspoons of garlic salt.
7. While making the soup, cook the pasta separately according to directions on package or until al dente. Add a couple teaspoons or so of kosher salt to the pasta cooking water. Store any leftovers of soup and pasta separately for best results.
Note: you can use any pasta sauce you want, but I have found Prego to be best because it has a mild flavor and it's a little sweet which offsets the tomatoes. I also like using the Prego ® Garlic Parmesan version. Hunts ® Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes is my preference. Food Club generic fire roasted tomatoes have a smoked flavor which doesn't work in this recipe, so don't use that.
Optional:
Mix Together in a separate bowl
1 cup parmesan
2 cups muenster cheese
Add the cheeses to the simmering soup once the zucchini appears cooked. This will allow the cheeses to melt. Then add the fresh basil at the end.
