Are you a fan of lasagna? Ever since I was a little girl, l’ve loved lasagna. Partially because it’s cheesy, noodles, meaty goodness, partially because it was and still is one of my brother’s favorite dishes. I’m pretty sure he liked it back then because of all the Garfield comics he read. You know – that fat orange cat that would scarf down lasagna like there was no tomorrow.
For a while, my mom would make a lasagna weekly and leave it in the fridge so we could snack on it as an afterschool snack. Those were truly the days!
Now that I think about it, I can’t believe she made a lasagna every week. That’s a lot of work! You have to make the sauce, cook the noodles, layer everything, and bake it. I actually love making lasagna but sometimes you just have to have lasagna in under 30 minutes. For those times, this one pot weeknight lasagna soup is there for you.
First, start off by browning some onions, you don’t have to chop them fancy or anything, they’re cooked down in the soup anyway. After that, you brown your choice of ground meat – usually we go with a mix of beef and pork, but this time we went with all pork as a throwback to my mom’s lasagna, which was pork only.
After that you dump in the tomatoes, chicken stock, and noodles. Simmer until your house fills up with amazing smells and everything until tender. Serve this up in a bowl with ALL the cheese. We normally have a bunch of mozzarella in it – the cheese pulls you get are amazing – but this time around we only had parmesan, so it was just a teeny bit more sophisticated. Or at least as sophisticated as lasagna soup can get ;)
One Pot Weeknight Lasagna Soup Recipe
serves 4-6
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef or pork, or a mix- 24 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 2 quarts no sodium chicken stock
- 8 lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces or 12 ounces malfalde
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- fresh basil or chopped flat leaf parsley
- mozzarella and parmesan, to finish
In a large pot, heat up the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the meat, breaking into pieces.
Stir in the tomato sauce, chicken stock, pasta, and oregano. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce and simmer over medium until pasta tender and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Scoop into bowls and finish with basil, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Enjoy hot!
