Lasagna is a Sunday project: sauce, bechamel, layers, a long bake, a longer rest. Lasagna soup is what happens when you keep every flavor that matters — the seasoned beef, the tomatoes, the Italian herbs, the three cheeses — and let the slow cooker do the simmering while you do something else. What lands in the bowl tastes unmistakably like lasagna, but you eat it with a spoon and nobody has to cut anything.
It belongs with the rest of our Slow Cooker and Casseroles staples, next to set-and-forget favorites like our Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup. The method is the same kind of honest weeknight planning: ten minutes of browning in the morning, a cooker that minds itself all afternoon, and one short step at the end that turns a good soup into a great one.
That last step is the noodles. Pasta cooked for hours in a slow cooker swells, breaks down and drinks the broth, leaving you with a stew and a spoonful of starch. So the lasagna noodles go in only for the final stretch, broken into bite-size pieces, and the ricotta topping is stirred through at the table rather than in the pot. Those two choices keep the broth rich instead of gluey and every bowl tasting freshly made.
Brown the beef first — it is not optional
Ground beef added raw to a slow cooker steams in its own fat and tastes boiled, and the soup picks up a greasy slick no amount of skimming fully fixes. Ten minutes in a hot skillet builds the browned, savory base the whole soup stands on, and draining the fat keeps the broth clean. Break the beef into small crumbles as it cooks, because large chunks stay dense after hours of simmering while small ones soften into the soup the way sausage crumbles do in a good lasagna.
The ricotta dollop is the lasagna moment
In a baked lasagna, the creamy cheese layer is what separates it from a pasta bake, and the same is true here. Stirring all the ricotta into the hot pot thins it into the broth and loses the contrast. Instead, mix ricotta with mozzarella and Parmesan and drop a generous spoonful onto each bowl, where it melts slowly into the hot soup as you eat. Each spoonful then has broth, noodle, beef and a pocket of creamy cheese — exactly the lasagna bite, rearranged.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 ml)
- 1 lb lean ground beef (450 g)
- 1 large yellow onion (200 g), finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced (about 12 g)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (2 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (3 g), plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (1.5 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (0.5 g), optional
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (794 g)
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce (425 g)
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth (960 ml)
- 8 lasagna noodles (about 225 g), broken into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (240 g)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (112 g), divided
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (45 g), plus more to serve
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (8 g), to serve
Amounts are for the yield below. US customary measures first, grams in brackets for scale users.
Step-by-step instructions
- Brown the beef and onion. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking the beef into small crumbles, until the beef is well browned and the onion is soft. Drain off the fat, stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper and pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.
- Load the slow cooker. Scrape the beef mixture into a 6-quart (5.7 L) slow cooker. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef broth and stir to combine. The cooker should be no more than about two-thirds full; if yours is smaller, use a little less broth and top up bowls at serving time.
- Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the flavors have melded and the soup is rich and slightly thickened. Taste and adjust the salt — canned tomatoes and broth vary, and the soup usually wants a final pinch.
- Add the noodles at the end. Stir in the broken lasagna noodles, cover, and cook on HIGH for 25 to 35 minutes, until the noodles are just tender. Check at 25 minutes; different brands soften at different rates, and overcooked noodles keep swelling in the bowl. If the soup has thickened more than you like, stir in an extra 1/2 cup (120 ml) of hot broth or water.
- Mix the cheese topping. While the noodles cook, stir the ricotta, half the mozzarella and the Parmesan together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Keep it cold until serving — the contrast of the cold, creamy dollop against the hot soup is part of the pleasure.
- Serve lasagna-style. Ladle the soup into warm bowls, spoon a generous dollop of the cheese mixture into the centre of each, and scatter the remaining mozzarella, extra Parmesan and the basil over the top. Serve immediately, while the cheese is melting into the broth.
Nutrition estimate
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 460 kcal |
| Protein | 28 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38 g |
| Fat | 22 g |
| Saturated fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 880 mg |
| Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
Nutrition figures are estimates calculated from standard ingredient data for the yield stated. Your actual values will vary with brands, substitutions and portion sizes — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee.
Storage & reheating
The soup base, without noodles, keeps for up to 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes beautifully for up to 3 months — freeze it before the noodles go in for the best texture. Noodles already cooked in the soup keep absorbing broth, so leftover bowls will be thicker the next day; loosen them with a splash of broth or water when reheating on the stove over medium heat until steaming. Keep the ricotta mixture separate in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and dollop it on fresh. Nutrition figures are estimates from standard ingredient data and vary with brands and substitutions.
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
Rich tomato broth, tender noodles, cheesy dollops — lasagna in a spoon.
Ingredients
Tick ingredients off as you prep, and tap a step below to mark it done as you cook. Scaling adjusts the listed amounts - seasoning to taste stays your call.
Instructions
- Brown the beef and onion. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking the beef into small crumbles, until the beef is well browned and the onion is soft. Drain off the fat, stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper and pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.
- Load the slow cooker. Scrape the beef mixture into a 6-quart (5.7 L) slow cooker. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef broth and stir to combine. The cooker should be no more than about two-thirds full; if yours is smaller, use a little less broth and top up bowls at serving time.
- Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the flavors have melded and the soup is rich and slightly thickened. Taste and adjust the salt — canned tomatoes and broth vary, and the soup usually wants a final pinch.
- Add the noodles at the end. Stir in the broken lasagna noodles, cover, and cook on HIGH for 25 to 35 minutes, until the noodles are just tender. Check at 25 minutes; different brands soften at different rates, and overcooked noodles keep swelling in the bowl. If the soup has thickened more than you like, stir in an extra 1/2 cup (120 ml) of hot broth or water.
- Mix the cheese topping. While the noodles cook, stir the ricotta, half the mozzarella and the Parmesan together in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Keep it cold until serving — the contrast of the cold, creamy dollop against the hot soup is part of the pleasure.
- Serve lasagna-style. Ladle the soup into warm bowls, spoon a generous dollop of the cheese mixture into the centre of each, and scatter the remaining mozzarella, extra Parmesan and the basil over the top. Serve immediately, while the cheese is melting into the broth.
Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq · FryDaily. Printing? This card is designed to print cleanly on its own.
