This lasagna soup is like all the flavors of Italian lasagna in soup form. This recipe is easy to make in an electric pressure cooker (i.e. Instant Pot), in the slow cooker or on the stovetop.
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Hello Hello.
How are you? Things are starting to slow down a little in my neck of the woods. A little bit, anyway. Soccer ended this week and I see the light at the end of the tunnel for football as well. The holidays are right around the corner so I know I’d better hurry and catch a breath of relief before the next wave of craziness hits me.
The weather has been cooling down also, which I love. One of the reasons I love the cooler weather is because it means it’s soup and stew weather.
Yum.
And today I’m sharing this lasagna soup which is a HUGE family favorite.
My kids pretty much love anything that has pasta in it. It’s like their major comfort food. My thirteen-year-old would eat pasta three meals a day if I let him. And sometimes he does.
I on the other hand require a little more variety in my meals. So this lasagna soup is a good compromise of their love for pasta and my love for variety.
But having said that, we’ve been making this soup for years. And it never grows old. The flavors are so comforting.
Make ahead options
And do you know the other thing I love about it? You can make it ahead! That’s right. It’s so nice to have a meal that’s easy to make ahead before the after-school rush hour hits. For those days when I’m literally driving to and fro between the hours of 2 and 5:30 pm taking this kid here and that kid there. Back and forth. On those days my mantra has become: if dinner is not made by noon, it’s not getting made. So as long as I’m on my A game (which doesn’t always happen, let me tell you), dinner gets made in the morning and then simmers all day. And then when everyone’s starving at 5:30 it’s all ready to dish out. Kinda like a dream, really. I love this discovery of make-ahead meals.
With this lasagna soup you can make everything in advance if you want. Even the pasta. When I know we won’t be eating them right away, I usually just cook the pasta a little extra al dente, then sprinkle some olive oil over them to prevent them from turning into one big stuck together mess. Then I just pop them in a tupperware and stick them in the refrigerator. You don’t even have to heat them up before plopping the hot soup over them, but you can if you want. The hot soup just warms everything just right and it’s so nice to have it all ready to go.
You may wonder why I don’t mix the pasta in with the soup. You totally can if you know you will be eating it right away and there will be no leftovers. But let me just warn you, if you mix the pasta in, as the soup sits, the pasta absorbs all the liquid and what you are left with is soggy noodles. Ugh. One time I made the mistake of mixing everything together in the morning and let it sit for several hours keeping warm. Well let’s just say the chickens ate like kings that night (and I ended up remaking the soup) ’cause I just couldn’t stand those soggy noodles. So just make sure you keep them separate if you are making it ahead or anticipate leftovers.
Oh yeah before I forget, I should tell you that I’ve also frozen and reheated this soup. It’s also good that way and nice to have a meal ready to go in the freezer (minus the noodles and cheesy part of course).
Speaking of cheese, I posted this homemade ricotta cheese intentionally on Monday this week so I could give you another great way to use it with this recipe. You won’t regret making the ricotta from scratch it’s easy and so so good.
Cooking Options for this Lasagna Soup
There’s lots of options for cooking this lasagna soup: the electric pressure cooker (i.e. Instant Pot), the slow cooker, and the stovetop. It’s like three recipes in one actually. And each one has its own pros and cons.
My favorite option is the electric pressure cooker. If you know me, you probably knew I’d say that. The electric pressure cooker really makes the soup taste amazing. And the keep warm function? I’ve told you this before, but it’s my favorite ever. And even if you don’t make it ahead of time, the electric pressure cooker makes it taste like it’s been simmering all day in just a few minutes of cooking time. It really is my preferred cooking method for most things.
I usually make this soup with dry beans rather than canned because I keep them on hand all of the time. I figured most people would prefer the quicker method with the canned beans so I’ve written the recipe that way. I’ve also included notes on how to substitute the dried beans in case you want to try it that way as well.
Okay my friends, get your aprons on. This soup is calling to be made. You’ll love it.
Lasagna Soup {Electric Pressure Cooker or Stovetop}
This lasagna soup is like all the flavors of Italian lasagna in soup form. This recipe is easy to make in an electric pressure cooker (i.e. Instant Pot), in the slow cooker or on the stovetop.
Ingredients
For Soup:
- 1 ⅓ pound Italian sausage see note
- 3 cups chopped yellow onions
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 ½ teaspoons chicken bouillon see note
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 2 15-ounce cans black eyed peas drained and rinsed, see note
- 2 14.5-ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes undrained, see note
- 5 cups water
For Serving:
- 1 16-ounce package bow tie pasta
- 1 cup (8-ounces) ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup (1.25 ounces) freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pinch black pepper
- fresh basil chopped, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Remove sausage from casing, if using links. In a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat (or pressure cooker on “brown” or “simmer” setting, if using) cook sausage until browned on all sides, breaking it apart into pieces with a wooden spoon.
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Add chopped onions, minced garlic, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes to the pan (or pressure cooker) and cook, stirring occasionally until onions are limp, about 5 minutes.
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Add chicken bouillon, drained and rinsed black-eyed peas, diced tomatoes, and 5 cups of water.
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Stovetop Instructions: Bring to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately or keep on a low simmer for a few hours to develop the flavors even more. Add additional water as needed to maintain soup consistency.
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Electric Pressure Cooker Instructions: Transfer to electric pressure cooker (if applicable) and lock lid in place. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Release pressure naturally and remove the lid.
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Slow Cooker Instructions: Transfer to slow cooker. Cook on low for 2-4 hours. Add additional water as needed to maintain soup consistency.
For Serving:
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Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bow tie pasta in boiling water according to package directions until al dente. Drain pasta.
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In a small bowl combine the ricotta, freshly grated parmesan, mozzarella cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pinch of black pepper and mix until combined.
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To serve, add a scoop of cooked bow ties to each bowl and top with a ladle or two of soup. Add a dollop of the ricotta cheese mixture and sprinkle with chopped fresh basil, if desired.
Recipe Notes
1. My favorite type of Italian sausage is the sweet Italian sausage links from Costco.
2. For this recipe I use this homemade chicken bouillon.
3. I use this homemade ricotta cheese in this recipe. So good.
4. Sometimes I like to use dried black-eyed peas in this recipe and it works great. Instead of the 2 cans of black-eyed peas, use 1 cup dried black-eyed peas and add 2 additional cups of water to the soup. Using the dried beans the soup cooks in the electric pressure cooker on high for 20 minutes. I’ve never tried it on the stovetop or crockpot with the dried black-eyed peas. I’m guessing it would also work fine but would take quite a bit longer to cook.
5. There’s lots of options for variations on the tomatoes. I’ve made this soup with two 14.5 ounce cans or one 28-ounce can. I’ve also used cans of regular crushed tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes. I’ve even made it using a quart of home canned tomatoes. They all work great, but the fire roasted tomatoes add to the delicious flavor and are my preference.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat, originally modified from this recipe from A Farm Girl’s Dabbles
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
I can’t wait to try this. Also I want to make your homemade ricotta. Love it! Thanks so much for a wonderful and useful cooking blog. You are amazing!
Thanks Marlou! Glad you’re enjoying it. 😊