January is National Soup Month which seems quite appropriate; nothing warms you up quicker on a cold winter’s day than a bowl of piping hot soup.
I love making home-made soups of all kinds — lentil, carrot, corn chowder, minestrone and so many more. They’re so simple to make and there’s lots of room for experimentation. I don’t really think you can go wrong when making soup.
Lasagna is one of my favourite meals but it occurred to me one day that I would make it more often if it didn’t take so much time. What if I could make a soup version of lasagna, I wondered. It could have all the rich flavours of lasagna but without the laborious task of layering noodles and sauce.
I began experimenting and after some trial and error, this One-Pot Lasagna Soup recipe is what I came up with. (A big thank-you to my husband who ate countless bowls of this soup while I tweaked the recipe).
Served with a side of warm Italian bread, this soup makes a hearty but simple meal fast enough for a week night supper.
One-Pot Lasagna Soup
2 cups lean Italian turkey sausage (casings removed) or lean ground beef
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ green or red pepper, chopped
½ cup zucchini, chopped fine
½ cup mushrooms, chopped fine
1 28 oz (796 mL) can crushed tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6 lasagna noodles (broken into pieces approximately 1” square. This is a good place to use up those broken noodles in the bottom of the box. Just remember lasagna noodles expand a lot when cooked.)
1 cup loosely packed baby spinach, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup milk
Shredded mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese
In a large, heavy bottomed soup pot, heat the oil and cook the meat on medium-high. When the meat has been browned, add the onion, garlic, peppers, zucchini and mushrooms and cook until vegetables are tender. Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, water, and seasonings; bring to a boil. Add broken lasagna noodles and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and simmer for a few more minutes until spinach is cooked. Gently stir in the milk. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese and serve.
— Helen Lammers-Helps