Crockpot Lasagna Soup
This crockpot lasagna soup is an easy one-pot lasagna soup made with Italian sausage, fire-roasted tomatoes, and broken lasagna noodles that cook right in the broth. Top each bowl with Parmesan ricotta and roasted red pepper pesto.
Servings: 8
Calories: 459kcal
Ingredients
For the Lasagna Soup
- 1 lb mild Italian sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 28 oz fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 4.5 cups beef broth plus more as needed for serving
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 Parmesan rind
- 8 oz lasagna noodles broken into roughly 2-inch pieces
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Parmesan Ricotta
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
- ¼ cup Parmesan freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For Serving
- roasted red pepper pesto
- fresh basil
- Parmesan freshly grated
Instructions
- Set a multicooker (like an Instant Pot) to sauté. Add the Italian sausage and onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking the sausage into crumbles, until browned and the onion has softened. Drain off excess grease if necessary. (If using a traditional crockpot, do this step in a pot over the stove.)
- Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant and the tomato paste has darkened slightly.
- Turn off the sauté setting. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, 4½ cups beef broth, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan rind. Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Set to slow cook on high, cover, and cook for about 2 hours.
- Remove and discard the Parmesan rind. Stir in the broken lasagna noodles, making sure they are submerged in the broth. Continue cooking on high for 25 to 30 minutes. After about 15 to 20 minutes, give the soup a thorough stir and separate any noodles that are sticking together. Keep cooking, checking every 5 minutes, until the noodles are tender.
- Stir in the ½ cup Parmesan. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Let the soup sit uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
- While the soup rests, stir together the ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top generously with the Parmesan ricotta and Roasted Red Pepper Pesto. Finish with freshly grated Parmesan and fresh basil.
Notes
- I make this in an Instant Pot using the sauté and slow-cook settings. If you're using a traditional slow cooker, brown the sausage and onion separately first.
- The soup looks brothy before the noodles cook. Don't reduce the liquid, because the noodles absorb a lot as they cook and rest.
- Stir the noodles thoroughly partway through cooking so the flat pieces don't stick together and cook unevenly.
- The soup thickens as it sits. If it's been more than about 30 minutes, stir in warm beef broth until it reaches the consistency you like.
- Leftovers will be thick because the noodles keep absorbing broth. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of beef broth or water.
- Eat leftovers within 3 days. I don't recommend freezing this soup, since the noodles turn mushy.
- The ricotta and pesto are part of this recipe and really should not be left out. Stirred into the hot soup, they add so much texture and flavor. Don't skip these!!
- Store-bought roasted red pepper pesto works if you don't have time to make your own.
- If you use the Parmesan rind, remove it before adding the noodles.
Nutrition
Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 1586mg | Potassium: 842mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 742IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 256mg | Iron: 4mg
