This 5-Ingredient Lasagna Soup Is So Quick and Easy You Can Make It Anytime

Lasagna is one of my favorite feel-good foods. There is seemingly nothing—a bad day, a case of the sniffles, homesickness—that lasagna can’t at least improve. Amid those layers of pasta, cheese, and sauce lies the deepest kind of comfort and care.

The problem, of course, with lasagna is that it’s a project to make. It requires planning, lots of prepping, and a long bake time. Coincidentally, the times I want lasagna are usually also the times when I feel least equipped to make it: I’m tired, I’m running behind on dinner, or I just don’t have the patience for all that layering.

Thankfully, lasagna soup exists, and this shortcut lasagna soup makes attaining all the flavors of a good lasagna even easier. Thanks to its already-robust flavor, using Italian sausage instead of ground beef cuts down on the number of ingredients you’ll need to buy and prep. Store-bought pasta sauce adds even more flavor. Make sure to use a pasta sauce that you like the taste of on its own, as it will provide the bulk of the soup’s flavor.

But what about that irresistible ricotta layer? In this soup, a simple mixture of ricotta and shredded Italian cheese is dolloped on every bowl to add creaminess and richness to each bite.

Variations

• Add a big handful of baby spinach or kale in the last few minutes of cooking for an added helping of veggies.
• Use turkey or chicken sausage or a plant-based Italian sausage.
• Experiment with jarred pasta sauces to vary the flavor.
• Stir in refrigerated or frozen ravioli or tortellini instead of the lasagna noodles for a slightly different flavor profile.

Make Ahead

You can make this soup up to three days ahead of time. Cook the soup and pasta separately and store them in separate containers. Make the ricotta mixture. When ready to eat, heat up the soup in a pot and stir in the noodles. This prevents the noodles from overcooking and becoming soft and mushy.