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This high protein lasagna soup has all the flavor of a traditional lasagna but in soup form. Plus it’s made easier, healthier, and higher protein. It’s the perfect cozy soup to enjoy on a chilly weekend afternoon and easy enough to make during a busy weekday too.
Insanely Good Lasagna Soup
This soup features tender lasagna noodles cooked in a thick tomato broth with lots of protein from lean ground beef and chicken sausage. Finally it’s topped with the most delicious high protein cheesy topping for that classic lasagna flavor.
It’s one of my favorite comfort meals alongside my High Protein Baked Ziti. Here’s more reasons to love this one:
- A lightened up favorite. This hearty soup has all of the delicious indulgent flavors of lasagna and traditional lasagna soup recipes, but it’s lighter and healthier.
- Quick and easy. It’s done in 30 minutes, has very minimal prep and the whole soup is done in one pot.
- High protein. Each serving packs in 37 grams of protein to keep you full and super satisfied.
- Meal prep friendly. This is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day, so it’s wonderful for meal prep.
If you’re looking for more lightened up comfort classics try my High Protein Baked Ziti, Lightened Up Marry Me Chicken Meatballs or Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers next.
Ingredients
For full recipe instructions and complete list of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Lean ground beef: For classic lasagna flavo, use lean ground beef. I like to use ground turkey or ground chicken too.
- Chicken sausage: You can use chicken or turkey Italian sausage with the casing removed (or ground), or fully cooked chopped chicken sausages.
- Lasagna noodles: Broken up lasagna noodles are a must! Make sure to use regular lasagna noodles and not “oven ready”. If you don’t have any you can also use another pasta of your choosing like ziti or rotini.
- Crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce + tomato paste: To make the rich tomato broth I use a combination of tomato paste, canned tomato sauce, and crushed tomatoes. You could also use marinara sauce.
- Veggies: Yellow onion, red bell pepper and garlic make a flavorful soup base.
- Chicken broth: The broth base. Beef broth or vegetable broth works too.
- Olive oil: Heart healthy olive oil is perfect for sautéing the vegetables.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, salt and pepper adds just the right amount of lasagna flavor.
Cheese Topping Ingredients
- Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese: Either of these works amazingly well. Cottage cheese is a bit lighter but both are good high protein options.
- Mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese: Shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese are lasagna essentials and go perfectly in this topping. It’s so good I eat it by the spoonful!
Variation Ideas
- Ravioli lasagna soup. Swap the noodles for 2 cups of cheese ravioli or tortellini.
- Make it spicy. Use spicy Italian sausage and add 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.
- Lasagna noodle swap. You can swap the lasagna noodles for other shapes like ziti, farfalle, rotini, radiatori or campanelle.
- Bump up the veggies. Add 2 cups of chopped baby spinach or kale. You can also add an extra chopped bell pepper.
- Make it gluten free. Make this recipe gluten by using certified gluten free lasagna noodles.
How To Make High Protein Lasagna Soup
- Sauté. In a large pot or dutch oven sauté peppers, onions and garlic in olive oil until softened (3-5 min).
- Brown and season. Add the ground beef and sausage, cook breaking up until browned. Add tomato paste and seasonings, cooking for 1-2 minutes.
- Simmer. Add chicken broth, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
- Add noodles. Break lasagna noodles into 6 pieces each, add to soup. Cook at a gentle boil for 10-15 minutes until softened.
- Topping. While the soup cooks mix all cheese topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Serve. Cool soup slightly to thicken (it will continue to thicken as it cools more). Ladle into bowls and top with a big scoop of cheese mixture, extra grated parmesan and fresh basil if desired.
How To Store
- Fridge: Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze soup and cheese topping separately in freezer safe containers for up to 3 months.
jamie’s tips
Tips For Success
- Use regular lasagna noodles. The “oven ready” varieties of lasagna noodles are softer and are not firm enough for soup. I’ve tested it with them and they’re a little “slimier”, so stick to regular!
- Thicken to cool. The soup will be pretty thin when it’s boiling and hot, so make sure to give it time to cool and thicken up before serving (at least 20 minutes or so).
- Don’t skip the cheese topping! For the full lasagna effect make sure to add cheese topping, fresh grated parmesan cheese and fresh herbs like basil or parsley for a pop of color.
- Use full fat cottage cheese. If you choose cottage cheese for your topping, make sure you use full fat for the best creaminess and meltability.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
If you’ve made and loved this High Protein Lasagna Soup or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and comments below!
High Protein Lasagna Soup
This high protein one pot lasagna soup has all of the flavors of classic lasagna in a lightened up, higher protein hearty soup.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, medium size, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 lb lean ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken
- 1 lb chicken sausage, casing removed, or chopped fully cooked chicken sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 5-6 cups chicken broth, 5 cups for an extra thick soup
- 8 regular lasagna noodles, broken into 6 pieces each, do not use "oven ready"
Cheese Topping
- 1 cup full fat cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese), or 1/2 and 1/2
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat a large pot with oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Sauté 3-5 minutes until veggies begin to soften.
- Add meat and chicken sausage to the pot, breaking up into small pieces. Stir occasionally for 5-8 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- Next add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste. Cook 2-3 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and broth. Bring to a simmer.
- Add noodles and cook until soft, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent noodles from sticking.
- While soup is cooking, mix all topping ingredients in a medium bowl, set aside.
- Allow soup to cool slightly and sauce to thicken before serving. Spoon soup into a bowl, add a dollop of topping and garnish with fresh basil and extra mozzarella or parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- If you prefer a thicker soup, start with 5 cups of chicken broth.
- Use regular lasagna noodles. The “oven ready” varieties of lasagna noodles are softer and are not firm enough for soup. I’ve tested it with them and they’re a little “slimier”, so stick to regular!
- Soup will thicken significantly as it cools. The soup will be pretty thin when it’s boiling and hot, so make sure to give it time to cool and thicken up before serving (at least 20 minutes or so).
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 1925mg | Potassium: 811mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1242IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 259mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
Did you try this recipe?Leave a comment + star rating below!
This soup was really tasty! I used ground beef and uncased chicken sausage, since I couldn’t find ground Italian chicken. It was thick and decadent with the cheese topic and it made a HUGE portion so I’ll have some for the week!
Love this soup and so did my husband. Will definitely add even more broth, since the noodles really suck it up and I like to have broth. But great and easy! Reheats very well.
Loved this! 10/10! It was a hit with the whole family. Great flavor and filling
Thanks Chelsea!! One of my favorites!
This was SO good! I love how it uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta for extra protein