Easy Lasagna Soup

Easy Lasagna Soup- This hearty soup has a couple of secrets including one special ingredient that does most of the heavy lifting making this recipe extra simple and delish!

March 2, 2025 by Nicole Collins

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Today, we’re making Easy Lasagna Soup!

I know, I know. Who am I? Another tomato based soup coming from The Yummy Muffin’s kitchen? You know what they say…if you can’t beat’em, join’em. So, I guess that’s just where we are right now.

To be honest, I didn’t even know lasagna soup was a thing until we had a soup themed potluck lunch at work. My boss made lasagna soup, and it was definitely one of the stars of the show. It was good, but it was a little too tomatoey for more. I needed a little more oomph. So of course, the only option I had was to set out and make a version myself.

So, here we are!

Now I talk about this a lot on TikTok; and if you’ve followed me for a while, you’ve probably figured this out on your own. But, I’m not a big beef eater. Especially these days. Whenever possible, I’m all about substituting poultry for beef, and that’s exactly what we’re doing today. Now, don’t give up on this recipe yet. In my opinion, you’d never ever know the difference. But if you’re ride or die for beef, you absolutely can use that instead for this recipe.

So, we’ll start by cooking some ground chicken and some mild Italian chicken sausage in a large pot til it’s fully cooked through. I like using the combo of plain meat with sausage to take advantage of the flavor boost the sausage brings without it taking over the flavors of the whole pot. Then, we’ll add a healthy amount of garlic and onion, and let those cook with the meat. Easy breezy.

Now comes the secret ingredient…marinara sauce! You guys took the journey with me a couple months ago to turn marinara sauce into tomato soup, and now we’re applying that same principal to this soup. So, we’ll add in a jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I love the sauce from Aldi) along with some chicken stock. Here’s a pro tip, add a little of your chicken stock to the empty marinara jar, close the lid, and give it a good shake. Pour all that goodness right into the soup so you can be sure to get every last drop of sauce out of that jar.

We’ll season the soup with a little Italian seasoning, and then it’s time for the noodles. Now if we’re making lasagna soup, the traditional route would be to use broken lasagna noodles. And, you absolutely can do that. But, I found these mafaldine noodles at the store which I think work even more perfectly. They’re long, skinny, wavy noodles…kind of like a curly tagliatelle or pappardelle noodle. I break each noodle into 4-5 pieces, and they make the most beautiful addition to the soup. We’ll add the broken noodles right to the pot, and let them cook inside of the soup until just al dente. Letting the pasta cook in the soup not only saves dishes, but the extra starch from the pasta helps to slightly thicken the soup too. It’s win win!

Once the noodles are cooked, we’ll finish the soup by tossing in a handful of fresh spinach and a sprinkle of freshly shredded parmesan cheese. Give it all a good stir until the cheese has melted into the soup and the spinach has started to wilt. And, we’re ready to serve!

Now most of the time, I’ll say the garnishes are optional. But not with this one. When we’re ready to serve the soup, we’ll top each bowl with a big ol’ dollop of ricotta cheese and a nice sprinkle of julienned basil. I really think the ricotta is what makes the bite. You have this warm, hearty, comforting soup being cut by the cool creaminess of the cheese, and it’s enough to make you cry the happiest tears.

SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

This soup is like a warm hug, a big smile, and a cozy blanket all wrapped up into one beautiful little bowl. And like I promised earlier, you’d have no idea I swapped the traditional beef/pork for chicken in this soup if I didn’t tell you. So, take the win and enjoy this slightly lightened up version!

Ok, everyone. I think I’ve hit my tomato soup quota for a while. Though if you have any requests, I’m open to hearing them!

I hope you guys love this one as much as I do. So, let’s eat!

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Lasagna Soup

Serves: 4          Print

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ½ lb ground chicken (or ground beef/turkey)

• 2 mild Italian chicken sausages, casings removed (or pork/turkey)

• ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste

• ½ tsp pepper, plus more to taste

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce (I like Aldi brand)

• 4 cups low sodium chicken stock (I use 4 cups boiling water mixed with 2 tsp Roasted Chicken Better than Bouillon paste)

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

• 8 oz mafaldine paste, broken into pieces

• ¼ cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese

• 2 cups baby spinach

• ½ cup ricotta cheese

• Shredded basil, for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground chicken, sausage, and ½ tsp each of salt and pepper. Crumble and cook til no longer pink.

2. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 5 mins until the onions have softened. Add marinara, chicken stock, and Italian seasoning to the pot. Give it a good stir, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the pasta, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 11-12 mins until the pasta is cooked through and al dente.

3. Add shredded parm and spinach to the pot, and stir until the cheese has melted and the spinach has wilted. Taste for seasoning, and add another pinch of salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat.

4. To serve, divide soup between 4 bowls. Top each bowl with ricotta and shredded basil, if desired. Enjoy!
   

Recipe notes:

*I like to pour a little chicken stock into the empty marinara jar, give it a good shake, then pour into the soup pot so I get every last drop of sauce into the pot. 

*I’m not much of a beef eater, so I prefer using poultry for this soup. You can’t tell the difference at all in my opinion. But if you prefer beef/pork, feel free to use that. 

*This soup is best served fresh. The noodles tend to soak up the broth when stored in the fridge. If you don't mind a thicker soup, leftovers are delish. Otherwise, wait to cook the noodles until you're ready to serve.

*Be sure to use a high quality marinara sauce that you love since this is the main flavor of our soup. I really, really love Aldi store brand marinara. It’s so flavorful, and super cheap!