Easy Lasagna Soup – Vegetarian Friendly
I’m coming to you today with another soup recipe. And this one deserves a place in monthly rotation. You guys – this soup is sooooo good! Easy Lasagna Soup is one of my family faves. It’s super easy to customize and can easily be made vegetarian. And it warms you up so good on a cold winter’s night.
Why You’ll Love It:
Easy Lasagna Soup is thick, creamy, and filling. This broth based soup gets substance from thick lasagna noodles, optional chickpeas or meat, and creamy cheeses. The cheese does double duty in this recipe. We mix it some of it into the soup and serve more on top. If you ask me, there’s no such thing as too much cheese.
lasagna soup is reminiscent of all of your favorite Italian flavors. But without any of the work that comes with putting together an actual lasagna. I mean, I love lasgna. But with meat eaters and vegetarians I always have to make TWO lasagnas and that takes a lot of time. So my family gets this easy lasagna soup a lot more often than the real deal.
But it’s so good, they don’t care!
I can throw together lasagna soup on a weeknight. It takes less than an hour to get this delicious meal on the table. And it’s pretty simple. Throw a bunch of ingredients in a big pot and let them cook together. Is there anything easier than making soup?
This soup is perfect for a pot luck. Or make a big batch and serve it all week long. It heats up quickly after basketball practice and tennis lessons.
How to Make Easy Lasagna Soup:
You need about forty-five minutes to mix easy lasagna soup. Start by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add a chopped onion and cook for 5-7 minutes. You want the onion to be soft and fragrant and mostly translucent. But you don’t want it to brown.
Then, add the minced garlic and continue cooking for 30-60 seconds, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn. If the garlic burns you need to start over.
After about a minute add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes. Want to know a secret, I usually ignore my own recipe and put in the whole little can. Or, have you seen these tomato paste tubes? They’re my favorite. It makes using just the right amount of tomato paste a piece of cake.
The secret ingredient to this easy lasgana soup is canned marinara sauce. It brings a ice robust tomato flavor without the need for tons of ingredients or the time it takes to make sauce from scratch. (I mean, you can use a homemade marinara sauce if you want, but I don’t bother). I really love the richness the sauce brings to the soup. It’s so much more vibrant than just canned tomatoes.
Add 24 ounces of marinara sauce, 8 cups of vegetable broth (you can use chicken if you aren’t worried about keeping the dish vegetarian), 2 teaspoons of dried basil, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and bring the soup to a boil.
This will take about 20-30 minutes. When the soup is boiling stir in the mozzarella cheese. You can also add the chickpeas, if desired. Chickpeas up the protein factor and make this easy lasagne soup even more filling. But you don’t need them. I promise.
Then add 9 lasagne noodles, broken into small pieces, and continue cooking for about 12 minutes, until the noodles are soft. It always takes a little longer than I expect for the lasagna noodles to soften.
Serve easy lasagna soup hot. My boys love it with some browned ground meat. I just put the meat in their bowl first and then add the soup on top. You could even add the chickpeas this way if only part of your party wants them. Top with ricotta cheese. I’ve got picky eaters who don’t like ricotta. I know, it’s a travesty, but what can you do. This allows us all to enjoy lasagna soup without worrying about the cheese.
I also like to serve with additional mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Easy lasagna soup is a meal in itself (whether or not you add meat or chickpeas). But it’s even more delicious with some hearty bread, a nice green salad, and a glass of red wine. (Isn’t everything?)
Make a big pot on the weekend and enjoy lasagna soup for dinner. Then feast not he leftovers all week. I firmly believe that soup gets better with age. You can keep this soup in the fridge for 4 or 5 days covered tightly. You can also freeze lasagna soup for a couple of months.
Personally, I think lasagna soup is fancy enough for a dinner party. But then again, I’m not very fancy. So there you go. But this soup is so delicious it is sure to be a hit with your friends and family.
Happy eating!
PS: If you like this lasagna soup you’ll love my tortellini soup recipe too.
Easy Lasagna Soup – Vegetarian
Equipment
- soup pot
- Stove
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 24- ounce jar marinara sauce
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 9 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
- 2 cups chickpeas (optional)
- 1 pound ground sausage or beef, browned (optional)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese + more for serving
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for serving
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.
- Add chopped onion and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add minced garlic and continue cooking for 30-60 seconds, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't burn.
- Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add 24 ounces of marinara sauce, 8 cups of vegetable broth, 2 teaspoons of dried basil, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Bring to a boil.
- When soup is boiling stir in mozzarella cheese. You can also add the chickpeas, if desired.
- Add 9 lasagne noodles, broken into small pieces, and continue cooking for about 12 minutes, until noodles are soft.
- Serve with ground meat, ricotta cheese, and additional mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Notes
Store lasagna soup covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Try freezing individual servings to make reheating easy. If you freeze soup in glass containers, make sure you use a wide mouth container and leave room at the top so the container does not shatter when the liquid freezes and expands.
