This incredible lasagna soup tastes exactly like a really good lasagna, but is a very rich, very meaty tomato soup. The little bit of extra work you'll do—precooking the noodles, then baking them in the oven—is absolutely worth the time and effort. The buttery, baked, and toasted noodles that are then added to the soup make this absolutely phenomenal.
Ingredients
- ounces dry lasagna noodles: 8 piece
- olive oil: 1 Tbsp
- butter: 2 Tbsp
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- lean ground beef: 1 pound
- ounces bulk Italian sausage, or 1 Italian sausage links, casing removed: 6 piece
- yellow onion: 1 cup (diced)
- garlic: 3 clove (minced)
- tomato paste: 2 Tbsp
- red pepper flakes: 0.25 tsp (crushed, optional)
- oregano: 0.25 tsp (dried)
- black pepper: 0.5 tsp (freshly ground)
- 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt: 1 piece (to taste)
- prepared marinara sauce, or 3 cups homemade marinara sauce: 1 jar (24 ounce jar)
- chicken broth: 4 cups
- 1/2 cups water: 2 piece
- fresh Italian parsley: 2 Tbsp (chopped)
- ounces ricotta cheese: 12 piece
- ounces mozzarella cheese: 3 piece (shredded)
- finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese: 0.5 cup
- fresh basil and Italian parsley leaves: 0.5 cup (torn, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in lasagna noodles and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just flexible, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer noodles into cold water until cooled; drain very well.
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Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease parchment with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
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Cut noodles in half lengthwise. Arrange noodles in evenly overlapping rows on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with melted butter, and use fingers to rub some butter between the noodles.
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Bake noodles in the preheated oven until they are golden, blistered, and are beginning to brown with crispy outside edges. Let cool; cut into bite-sized pieces.
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Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a soup pot, and place over high heat. Add beef and sausage. Use a spatula to break up the meat into small pieces; cook without stirring until liquid evaporates and meat begins to sizzle in its own fat, then continue to cook and stir until meat begins to brown, about 7 minutes.
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Add onions, garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, dried oregano, black pepper, and kosher salt. Cook and stir until onions begin to turn translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
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Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 45 minutes.
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In a bowl, stir ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese together; set aside.
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Increase the heat under soup to medium high; stir in noodle pieces. Cook, stirring, until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and stir in the 2 tablespoons Italian parsley.
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Serve in bowls with a scoop of cheese mixture, and sprinkle with freshly torn basil and Italian parsley if desired. Chef John Cook’s Note The pasta does not have to be baked first, and can simply be broken up raw, stirred into the soup, and cooked until tender. Other pasta shapes can be used instead. More or less chicken broth can be used for a thicker or thinner soup texture.
