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.