It’s Sunday morning and I don’t have a plan for dinner yet. See, Sunday’s are generally a low key day for me. I might have a long run to do if I didn’t get it done on Saturday, but more often than not, my workouts are more minimal and I often spend the day creating in the kitchen. But sometimes I am not feeling overly experimental. When those weekends happen, I find myself falling on my two go tos: soups and stews or Italian. Recently, I merged the two together in a hearty lasagna soup.
I adore all things Italian. First of all, pasta. Am I right or am I right? I know it’s a thing to cut all the carbs and gluten from your diet, but I am here to say I embrace them, but simply go in moderation. Second of all, Italian food is quite possibly the biggest comfort food for me. And finally, it ALWAYS pairs well with a salad and I am all about the salad life.
So when I had some ground beef and ricotta in my fridge, but wasn’t in the mood to actually put together a true lasagna, I tried my hand at this soup. It was easier to make than I suspected it would be and honestly, I loved eating it over a few days as the noodles absorbed some of the liquid. It became more of a casserole over time, and I wasn’t complaining. It’s like two different meals in one!
Now, I used ground beef in the initial recipe, but I definitely think I will use ground Italian sausage from here on out, and that’s the route I am going to go in this recipe. Also, if you don’t have ground Italian sausage on hand, you could totally use actual Italian sausage sliced up or with the skins removed. Also, my family said they would have liked the noodles a little smaller; I liked them the way they were, but you can find your own jam.
Ready to get cooking?! Let’s put together some Hearty Lasagna Soup!
Your Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 egg, beaten
- 4 Tablespoons bread crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
Or skip these ingredients and substitute premade meatballs, but you know I’m all about made from scratch
- 8 lasagna noodles, broken apart and then cooked according to package directions
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 cups beef stock (My go to is this Orrington Farms Broth Base and Seasoning)
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (or red pepper flakes if that’s your jam!)
- ¼-½ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Salt, to taste
- Ricotta, for topping
Your Steps to Hearty Lasagna Soup
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil for less clean up. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, Italian sausage, and Parmesan cheese. Shape into one inch meatballs and place on the jelly roll pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through.
While the meatballs are baking, you have a few tasks. First, cook the noodles to al dente if you have not already. Drain and set aside.
Then begin to heat olive oil in a large dutch oven (I love my Lodge Enameled Dutch Oven so much!) over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Saute six minutes, until just translucent. Add mushrooms and cook an additional two minutes, until softened. Stir in tomato sauce, oregano, and pepper. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, beef stock, parmesan cheese, meatballs, and salt, if necessary. Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Finally, stir in cooked noodles and heavy cream. Cook until heated through. Serve with a dollop of ricotta on top, a side salad (of course!), and perhaps some garlic bread for good measure.
I don’t know about you, but that sure sounds like comfort food at its finest. And it’s so much easier than prepping a lasagna!
Baked the meatballs Chop up some mushrooms and then get that cast iron going! and add some Add the tomato ingredients And some meatballs and noodles Let them simmer for a while. And so good!
Looking for other dinner inspiration? Check out my cooking page by clicking the button below!
Hearty Italian Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 egg beaten
- 4 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 8 lasagna noodles broken apart and then cooked according to package directions
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 cups beef stock
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or red pepper flakes
- ¼-½ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Salt to taste
- Ricotta for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil for less clean up. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, Italian sausage, and Parmesan cheese.
- Shape into one inch meatballs and place on the jelly roll pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through.
- While the meatballs are cooking, cook the noodles to al dente if you have not already. Drain and set aside.
- Begin to heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and garlic. Saute six minutes, until just translucent.
- Add mushrooms and cook an additional two minutes, until softened.
- Stir in tomato sauce, oregano, and pepper. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add diced tomatoes, beef stock, parmesan cheese, meatballs, and salt, if necessary.
- Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Finally, stir in cooked noodles and heavy cream. Cook until heated through. Serve with a dollop of ricotta on top.
