Here’s the thing about lasagna and cooking when there are only two people living in your house. You can’t do it. Well, you CAN do it, if you are up for eating lasagna for a solid week straight, but there’s no reasonable way (that I have yet discovered) to cook lasagna for two the traditional way. So until my Southern daughter and all her hordes of friends come back from college for the summer, I’m just going to have to be untraditional. As in, I’m turning that lasagna into a hearty, warm and wonderful soup.
Before I get going on the soup though, I need to point out that napkin in the picture above. I gave a set of these napkins to the Southern husband for Christmas this year, and before you start feeling all sorry for him for getting napkins for Christmas, you need to know that these are love letter napkins. Love letters from Emily Dickinson, Jack London, Mark Twain and D.H. Lawrence are printed on each napkin. They are our new favorite napkins, for obvious reasons. Now you feel better for him, right? And if you want to check them out, click here. (Required disclaimer: Uncommon Goods had no idea I was going to mention these napkins, which I bought my own self with my own money. Happily.)
Meanwhile back at the soup, it’s got all the taste sensations you love in traditional lasagna. Pasta, tomato, beef, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, basil, etc etc. It’s just organized a different way. In soup form. Hey, I figure if I have already made lasagna cupcakes, lasagna soup is TOTALLY allowed.
First brown up the beef – I did mine in a round Dutch oven that I ended up cooking the whole soup in. Yep, one pot – it just keeps getting better! Once the beef is nice and brown, add some canned diced tomatoes, some chicken stock (gives it a gentler taste than beef stock), and some pasta. I used my all time favorite pasta, campanelle, but any short pasta will do just fine. Cook it up until the pasta is tender.
Now ladle it up into bowls and add some generous scoops of fresh ricotta. As always, I beg and plead that you make your own, which takes all of 3 ingredients and ten minutes and will change your life forever (click here for how to do that). Now scatter on some shredded mozzarella, which will get all nice and melty from the heat of the soup, along with some chopped fresh basil and a little ground pepper.
And there you have it – lasagna soup! You can make a little. You can make a lot. Just make it, and if you serve it with love letter napkins on the side, I can promise you that dinner that night will be as close to perfect as dinner gets.
Lasagna Soup!
Yield: 4 servings, can be increased or decreased as needed!
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock (I like the Pacific and Imagine brands in the box)
- 4 ounces campanelle or other short pasta
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup fresh ricotta, room temperature
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, room temperature
Instructions
- Brown beef over medium high heat in a large heavy pot (a Dutch oven is ideal). Add onion and cook until soft, another 5 minutes or so. Stir in oregano and tomato paste and cook for another minutes.
- Add tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until pasta is tender (look for the timing on the pasta box). Taste and add salt as needed.
- Ladle soup into four bowls. Sprinkle basil on top. Add a generous spoonful of ricotta, scatter shredded mozzarella on the top and grind on some pepper. Serve at once.
This looks so yummy, I can’t wait to try it. My late hubby made fabulous lasagna and since it was only two of us, he would cool it, and then cut it into nice large squares and individually wrap them and freeze them. It was cool to be able to reach into the freezer and pull out a chunk whenever I wanted it. Now, my current husband is allergic tomatoes, so I never bother making it for just me. Thank you for sharing this idea!
My pleasure! I’m constantly looking for ways to downsize old faves for just us two.
This recipe is right up my alley! Can’t wait to try it.
We must live on the same alley. 🙂
I think this just might be dinner tonight…. Have you ever tried the “Lighthouse Lasagne” from Potluck at Midnight Farm? Super easy and can scale to what you need easily…
If you cant find it or would like to try it let me know….
I haven’t and I would love to try it – I’ll look for it and let you know if I can’t find it. Thanks! 🙂
I’ve read recipes like these referred to as ‘deconstructed’…so this would be ‘deconstructed lasagna’. I’m all for it! Living in a household of two, I do shy away from dishes like lasagna, which, as delicious as they may be on day one, get a little tedious after re-serving. I’m looking forward to making this soup….because all of your recipes really hit the mark! And I REALLY like the idea of tossing in the fresh ricotta, instead of baking it in the lasagna. YUM.
So funny that you say that because I’ve actually posted a Deconstructed Lasagna on the blog (link below) but you’re totally right – this is even MORE deconstructed! And completely agree on the ricotta wonderfulness. 🙂
https://www.framedcooks.com/2013/01/deconstructed-lasagna.html
My friend and I love to get together and cook. It can be difficult at times because our husbands are so picky My turn last night. I chose the Lasagna Soup and the Easy One Bowl Apple Cake. First the Main dish. I have never heard my friends rave so much about a bowl of soup! It was a huge hit. I always hate it when people tell you how they changed this and they change that to the point it is not even the same recipe. The only thing I added was fresh garlic. The Apple Cake was just as big of a hit. I also love fresh apples, but that just would be the same here. It turned out perfect! Wouldn’t change a thing. Both to easy to make! Thanks so much!
I’m so glad – you made my day with this delightful description of your Framed Cooks dinner! 🙂 🙂
Great idea! I never thought about making lasagna as a soup but I bet it’s delicious. We’re gluten free so we would probably cut out the noodles but all the other ingredients sound yummy.
I think you could definitely cut out the noodles – maybe just add a little extra cheese! 🙂
As soon as I saw this post, the ingredients went on the shopping list! As I was making it though, I was looking at some of the comments and followed a link to your deconstructed lasagna – I ended up doing a last minute change merging the two ideas! I just didn’t add chicken stock so essentially had this recipe as a deconstructed lasagna. DELICIOUS!!!!!
i am a type of person who loves soups and other foods. I’m always willing to try new foods. I would love to try the Lasagna soup. I bet it will taste great. 🙂
Thanks Luca – hope you love it as much as we do in our house!