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Crowd-Pleasing Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup with Ricotta Dollop

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This slow cooker lasagna soup has everything you love about lasagna—meaty sauce, tender noodles, gooey cheese—without the fussy layering. Perfect for hosting, it’s a set-it-and-forget-it meal that disappears fast.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound ground beef (80/20 preferred)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano recommended)
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or beef broth)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 8–10 lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces (about 8 ounces)
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Fresh basil leaves, torn (for garnish)
  • Crusty bread or garlic bread (for serving)

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned (6-8 minutes). Add diced onion and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. Stir in garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute until fragrant.
  2. Transfer meat mixture to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with juices, chicken broth, tomato paste, and bay leaf. Stir until tomato paste is mostly dissolved.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
  4. About 30 minutes before serving, stir in broken lasagna noodles, ensuring they are submerged. Cover and cook on HIGH for 20-30 minutes until noodles are tender but not mushy, stirring once halfway.
  5. While noodles cook, combine ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Set aside at room temperature.
  6. Remove bay leaf from soup. Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with a generous dollop of ricotta mixture, a sprinkle of mozzarella, and fresh basil. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

Notes

For best results, brown the meat first and add noodles at the end to avoid mushiness. Use whole milk ricotta for creaminess. Leftovers will thicken; add broth when reheating. Freeze without noodles for best results.

Nutrition

Keywords: slow cooker lasagna soup, lasagna soup, crockpot lasagna soup, easy lasagna soup, crowd-pleasing soup, ricotta dollop

Find it online: https://forkmila.com/crowd-pleasing-slow-cooker-lasagna-soup-with-ricotta-dollop/