Description
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup has all the comfort of classic lasagna—rich tomato broth, tender noodles, and melty cheeses—made hands-off in the crockpot. Hearty, cozy, and weeknight-easy.
Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef or Italian sausage
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
4 cups low-sodium beef or chicken broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper
8–10 dry lasagna noodles, broken into bite-size pieces
Cheese Topping:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Optional Add-Ins:
2 cups baby spinach
1 small zucchini, diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef (or sausage) and onion until browned; drain excess fat. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
2. Transfer meat mixture to slow cooker. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, basil, salt, and pepper.
3. Cover and cook on LOW 6–7 hours or HIGH 3–4 hours to build flavor.
4. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in broken lasagna noodles. Cook on HIGH until noodles are tender but still hold their shape (about 20–30 minutes). Add spinach or other veggies in the last 10 minutes if using.
5. In a bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
6. Ladle soup into bowls and top each serving with a generous scoop of the cheese mixture. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.
Notes
Noodles: Add them near the end so they don’t over-soften in the crockpot. Short pasta (rotini, bowties, mafaldine) works too.
Make-Ahead: Cook the base and chill up to 2 days. Reheat and add noodles 30 minutes before serving.
Lighter Version: Use ground turkey and part-skim cheeses; add extra spinach or zucchini.
Freezer Tips: Freeze the soup base without noodles up to 3 months. Reheat gently, then add fresh noodles and cook until tender.
Instant Pot: Sauté meat and onion, add remaining ingredients (except noodles and cheeses), pressure cook 4 minutes; quick release, add noodles, simmer on Sauté until tender.
Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free ricotta and mozzarella, or skip the topping and finish with olive oil and herbs.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Soup, Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 980 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 26 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg