An easy recipe for Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup. This hearty, delicious recipe is perfect for chilly weather or anytime you want lasagna without layering noodles and firing up your oven. Customize with your favorite noodles and all the cheese!
Spring break is underway, and I’m heading back to Wisconsin for a visit.
Apparently it’s in the 20’s there right now, though, so I’m bringing all my best cold weather food ideas. Lasagna Soup is perfect for the occasion because it’s so easy to make and tastes delicious! Everyone is going to love it.
What meat goes in Lasagna Soup?
I started with a pound of Italian sausage.
I chose mild, but you can use sweet or hot if you prefer. You could also substitute ground beef it that is how you prefer your lasagna. Or go halvesies! (Is that a word?)
Brown the meat in a skillet with the vegetables before you add it to the slow cooker. You can drain the grease if you want to (I never do because Fat is Flavor).
How to Make Lasagna Soup
While browning the meat and softening the vegetables in a skillet, load up your slow cooker with the canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms (OPTIONAL), and a pile of spices.
I LOVE these spices; they are straight from my favorite lasagna recipe. Stir in some water. Add the meat mixture. Cook slowly.
Towards the end, stir in some noodles. I think radiatori pasta is adorable and apparently everyone else thinks so too, since I couldn’t find it ANYWHERE. I used rotini.
Cheese
The best part about this, and the part that really makes it feel like lasagna, is when you ladle up a huge bowl full and then SMOTHER it in cheese. We’re talking about lots of cheese here. Because it’s a lasagna which I think means MOSTLY CHEESE in Italian.
To my sister Monica and anyone else who hates ricotta cheese: You’re welcome.
And to anyone out there who shall remain nameless, that gets freaked out by the gigantic lasagna noodles: You are also welcome.
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 large onion chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3 carrots peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced, optional
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cans water
- 1 cup rotini or other small pasta
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese for topping
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine sausage, onions, and carrots. Cook until the sausage has browned and the vegetables has softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain if desired. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Meanwhile, add diced tomatoes and their juice, tomato sauce, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, basil, fennel, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper to the slow cooker. Stir in water and sausage mixture.
- Cover and heat on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. During the last 10 minutes of cooking time, stir in the pasta, cover, and continue to cook until softened. Serve with mozzarella cheese on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
So, so perfect for this rainy weather we are FINALLY having. I need to hit up the store and get this in the cooker pronto! Thanks for this one…
Hi Kevin, thank YOU for stopping by! It’s always so refreshing when the weather cools down in SoCal and we can pretend we have a season other than summer…. ha!
Great dish! It was a big hit with the whole family (including our 10 month old)….they’ve already asked for it again next week. We’re not sure what Christmas will be like this year with Steph’s work schedule, but I’m trying hard to get us to Wisco for a white Christmas!
Thank you so much, Joey! Here’s hoping we get to see you guys at Christmas. In the meantime, thank you SO MUCH for your support and love of this blog. Most of the people I know in real life don’t pay it half as much attention as you do! <3 XXO
Making this tomorrow! This time I’ll actually read how many noodle to add and not put in the entire box :)
Miss you!
Hey buddy! Thank you so much for the comment. And sorry for never replying to you on Instagram. :) Are you guys going to be at G&Gs for Christmas Eve this year? We’d love to see you and will definitely be in town! Take care and hope to see you soon! Miss you too! XXO
This veers into genius territory.
Cakespy, you are too kind.
I’m all about slow cooker recipes this time of year! I’ve never had lasagna soup but it sounds like incredible comfort food! Pinned, of course.
I hope you are enjoying your new nest up in the Bay Area, Kathleen! I hear it’s chilly up there a lot, so hopefully you can find a time to make this one. Thanks for the pin, too! xoxo
Yum!!! What a splendid idea! This is going on my menu for next week. Thanks so much. I love your blog!
Wow, thank you Karen! I am so happy to hear that – ALL of it! :) Thanks again!
This so much better than faffing (a British word for messing) around with lasagna, that’s why I don’t make it. But being the soup nut that I am, I will be making this.
You are seriously THE soup nut. Why bother with layering noodles when you can just dump it all in a pot and be done with it?
Oh, Meggan …. great minds or what?! I just posted an easy lasagna recipe too!
This idea of yours is amazing. I love the flavours of lasagna but really can’t be bothered to go to the trouble of making it very often. Love this dump in the slow cooker and wait version so much more. And I’ve been looking for more slow cooker ideas, too … bonus!
Ha ha Helen, there is definitely no disputing that we are both great minds! Or at least you are! This was so much easier, plus no baking in the oven and it was 100 degrees here today so… yeah. Slow cookers are just as useful in the summer as the winter!
Ok so yes havsies IS a word :) And I do NOT think you will be jealous when I am freezing my bum off in Chicago and you are basking in the LA sun :) This looks soo yummy! I am totally looking forward to making a vegan version of this!!! I love soups!!! LOVE!!!
Thanks, Mila! This would totally translate to vegan, so easily. And it would be SO good!!!!
Love your blog and all your recipes.
A new chain restaurant call “be good” has opened and my daughter is raving about the quinoa and kale bowls with ginger and almond. Do you have any recipes for this?
Thanks so much!
Hey there, thank you so much for your comment! I found a description online of this: “TOASTED ALMOND & GINGER
kale, sautéed veggies, bok choy, tamari almonds, red cabbage, enoki mushrooms, mint, toasted almond-ginger sauce” from a restaurant called B.Good. Sadly, I think it’s only in the New England and I’ve never eaten there! I could certainly make something using the ingredients they have listed, but without trying it myself I could never claim it was a “copycat.” So sorry about that! Thanks again for visiting my site!