30-Minute Lasagna Soup Is the Weeknight Wonder We've Been Looking For (2024)

If I'm being honest, I could probably eat lasagna every day. But, if I'm being honest, it’s definitely not something I want to make every day. First you’ve got to make a meat sauce, and a good meat sauce takes time. Then, boil pasta sheets and let them cool. After you’ve assembled the casserole, only after having to check the recipe a few times to make sure you were layering it correctly, you've got to bake for a while and when the bubbly dish emerges from the oven, it rests a little bit longer before you can dive in, Garfield-style.

Don’t get me wrong, lasagna is worth the effort. It’s a labor of love with a big payoff. But it’s hard to pass as a quick-and-easy Wednesday supper. So, how can lasagna be added into the weeknight rotation? By losing the layers. It’s still a whole lot of love but with a lot less labor.

Lasagna soup has been around for a bit. A quick Google search and you’ll find recipes from a few chefs, plenty of bloggers, and multiple publications. It’s got a few different names, too, like “lasagna stew” or “lazy lasagna.” Fast casual restaurant chain Hale and Hearty sells their version, called “Broken Lasagna Soup,” to hungry, soup-slurping New Yorkers during the lunch time rush.

I made a layer-less lasagna on the first really cold day of the year, riffing off of recipes I’d found on the internet. It was a hit. The second time I made it, shortly after having made the first, I took notes and made a few tweaks. This time, instead of boiling the noodles separately, I added them directly into the soup along with a little extra liquid. Without even realizing it I’d turn an already simple meal into an even simpler one-pot supper.

Breaking the noodles involves a little technique. To avoid projectile pasta pieces (you’d be surprised at how abruptly the noodles snap!) I use a tip I learned from a food stylist many years ago. Wrap the lasagna sheets in a kitchen towel and use the edge of the counter to break them. They snap a little bit more evenly, which is key to evenly cooked pasta, and more importantly, don't send sharp noodle shards flying across the kitchen.

Even though this lasagna is less traditional than most, it does not skip out on the cheese (that would be blasphemous). Instead of cheesy layers, this lazy version gets topped with a ricotta cream, made with fresh ricotta, a splash of heavy cream, and plenty of grated parmesan cheese.

Once the soup is spooned into bowls and dolloped with creamy ricotta, it gets a little fresh parsley, some torn basil and, obviously, more parmesan cheese. Much like it’s layered counterpart, this dish is as enjoyable in a bowl as it is in a plate.