Hearty lasagna soup made with ground beef, spinach and a creamy ricotta cheese topping. The perfect easy dinner for chilly nights in!

A bigA ladle full of lasagna soup with rich tomato broth, chewy lasagna noodles and spinach bowl of lasagna soup with rich tomato broth, lasagna noodles and ground beef, topped with a big dollop of ricotta-mozzarella toppings

When I first made this recipe, Kyle wasn’t sure about it. Lasagna soup? How are you gonna make lasagna into soup? But after a single bite of the rich, thick tomato broth with ground beef, noodles, and perfectly melty cheese, he was sold. And I know you will be too.

This soup is deceptively simple to make, despite what appears at first glance to be a long list of ingredients. Don’t be intimidated; this recipe comes together in a snap. Let me talk you through how.

Ingredients you’ll need for this lasagna soup:

If you’ve browned beef and onions for pasta before, you can make this recipe. You’ll need a few basic pantry ingredients, plus a couple extras:

Ground beef — I like to go for leaner beef so I don’t have to drain a ton of grease
Lasagna noodles, or any other kind of noodle, really
A few tomato-y things; I use tomato paste for depth of flavor and crushed tomatoes for an easy, smooth tomato broth
The usual ~flavoring agents~: onions, garlic, and a few dried herbs
Some broth — beef or chicken will work here, but I love the deep, rich flavor of beef broth in this soup
Three (count ’em, three) kinds of cheese: ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan
Green things for health: spinach and basil, specifically. If you don’t have them, you can leave them out, but they sure do make it pretty!

Common questions about this recipe:

I don’t have all those herbs. Can I skip any? No problem! If you don’t have all these herbs on hand, you can swap them all out for a tablespoon of Italian seasoning.
Do I need to use lasagna noodles? Nope! Of course, it will look less lasagna-y without them, but you can use just about any short noodle you have.
Does this soup make good leftovers? This soup tastes even better the next day, but if you don’t anticipate eating it all right away, you might want to boil your noodles separately. Just cook them according to the package directions in a pot of boiling salted water and decrease the amount of broth in the recipe by one cup. I have, however, eaten this as leftovers after cooking the noodles in the soup, and it was still good. The noodles were just a little softer. Up to you!

Craving pasta without the soup?
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Gnocchi with Broccoli
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Lasagna Soup

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Hearty lasagna soup made with ground beef, spinach and a creamy ricotta cheese topping. The perfect easy dinner for chilly nights in!

Author: Emily Hanka
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4–6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28–ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 cups beef broth or chicken broth
8–12 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
A few big handfuls of spinach
Kosher salt and black pepper

For the ricotta-mozzarella topping:

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup ricotta cheese
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, optional
Kosher salt and black pepper

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Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and ground beef, breaking the beef up with your spoon. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the beef is browned and the onions are soft and translucent. Drain excess grease if necessary.
Add garlic and all the herbs and spices: basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes and bay leaves. Cook for a few seconds until fragrant, then add tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently, for about a minute, until the tomato paste is a deep brick red.
Pour in crushed tomatoes and broth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil. Add broken lasagna noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, or until noodles are al dente.
While the soup simmers, mix up the ricotta topping: In a small bowl, stir together ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, chopped fresh basil, salt and pepper.
Adjust seasonings to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with a generous dollop of ricotta topping.

Lasagna Soup