Are there any fans of lasagna out here? I assume there are quite a lot of people in the world that looove lasagna. I am one of them, of course! A big piece of lasagna with all those layers, flavorful ragù, béchamel, and loads of melted cheese…. is there anything better? Really… is there?! ;) This Lasagna Soup with Sausage & Spinach is not the real deal but flavorwise very close to the original. An easy soup you can prepare all year round!
After a long day of work, most of us do not like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Preparing a lasagna from scratch is nothing you do on a regular basis during the week. That’s something you can do on the weekend where you can actually enjoy doing some work in the kitchen. You need to prepare the meat sauce, the béchamel, and then you have to layer everything in a casserole dish and bake it for 40 minutes or longer in the oven… that takes quite a while from start to finish. This lasagna soup is done much quicker and no less delicious, I might add ;P
I really love to cook and bake – it’s also my job. That’s why you can find thousands of recipes here on the blog ;P That does not mean I like to spend more time in the kitchen than necessary. If there’s an easier and faster solution to a »problem«, I’m the first to drop everything. The recipe for my beloved »Lasagna à la Mama« (which takes a while to prepare) is not yet on the blog, but will certainly come soon. This one here is the »soup version« of that dish and is ready much faster ;)
Even though this one here is a lasagna soup – you actually don’t have to use lasagna sheets. Any type of pasta will work. You might want to rename it to »Bolo Pasta Soup« or something like that – but everything else can stay the same. An Italian grandma will probably develop a nervous twitch in her eye if you tell her about this soup. Mamma Mia! So don’t tell. It’s our little secret.
The soup here is a real no-brainer. You could also call it »one pot soup« because everything is done in a single pot (aka. Dutch oven). D’oh! There are a few things you have to chop, but that’s actually an easy and quick task. I use bratwurst as a substitute for regular ground meat/minced meat. In the summer, during BBQ season, many supermarkets here in Germany have a wide range of bratwursts on sale. People love to throw some bratwurst onto the grill. Those sausages on sale are normally cheaper than regular ground beef – a good way to save some coins ;) If you want to use regular ground meat – go for it. Works just as well here.
All easy-peasy. Let the bacon and meat brown properly, in order to get some nice flavor into the soup. This soup is a bit more on the »hearty & heavy« side of soups… but lasagna is also not a light and healthy dish, right? Still… we love making this soup all year round. In summer and winter – always a nice weeknight dinner option!
A few tips when making this soup
Bratwurst vs. ground meat
As already mentioned, sausages are sometimes cheaper than regular minced meat – especially when supermarkets are running promotions in summer for BBQs. It’s always good to make the best out of your budget but, of course, you should not disregard the quality of the meat. The cheapest of the cheap is not always the best… so keep that in mind ;)
Does the soup really need wine?
If you don’t want to use wine (e.g. because you are cooking for little children) you can, of course, skip the wine in a recipe. The alcohol boils away for the most part, but sometimes that’s not enough. So go for more veggie broth if you don’t want to use any alcohol here. No Problem.
The veggies in the soup…
Carrots and celery are substantial for a good bolognese – the bell pepper and spinach here are more or less optional. We quite like the two veggies here in the mix, because more veggies are always better, but leaving them out doesn’t hurt either. You can adjust here to your own taste ;)
Do I really need the bacon?
No! Yes? If you don’t want to use bacon, just leave it out, of course. I do recommend using bacon, though, because it just adds more »oomph of flavors« to the soup. Crispy roasted bacon… so good! ;)
Lasagna sheets – dried or fresh?
I use dried lasagna sheets here – the ones most people probably use for regular lasagna. It’s the easiest and cheapest option. Well-stocked supermarkets now often have »fresh« noodle sheets for lasagna in their refrigerated section of the store… wherever you can find fresh gnocchi, tortellini, and stuff like that. Those work here as well in the soup. You just have to check the package and adjust the cooking time accordingly. Those fresh pasta sheets normally need less time to cook until »al dente«.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(5-6 servings)
some olive oil for frying
1.8 oz. (50g) bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced finely
1 celery stalk, diced finely
1 yellow bell pepper, diced finely
18 oz. (500g) pork sausages, casings removed
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup (120ml) dry white wine
4 cups (1l) vegetable broth
28 oz. (800g) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup (120ml) milk
7 oz. (200g) lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
1.5 oz. (40g) Parmesan, grated (plus more for serving)
1 handful baby spinach leaves
salt, pepper
(5-6 Portionen)
etwas Olivenöl zum Anbraten
50g Speck, gewürfelt
1 große Zwiebel, fein gewürfelt
3-4 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
2 mittelgroße Karotten, fein gewürfelt
1 Stange Staudensellerie, fein gewürfelt
1 gelbe Paprikaschote, fein gewürfelt
500g Bratwürste
2 EL Tomatenmark
2 TL getrockneter Oregano
2 TL getrocknetes Basilikum
1 TL getrockneter Thymian
1/2 TL Cayennepfeffer
120ml trockener Weißwein
1l Gemüsebrühe
800g stückige Tomaten
120ml Milch
200g Lasagneblätter, in Stücke gebrochen
40g geriebener Parmesan (plus mehr zum Servieren)
1 Handvoll Babyspinat
Salz, Pfeffer
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Cut the bacon into small pieces. Peel and dice the onion and garlic finely. Clean the carrots and celery stalk and dice finely. Wash and dry the bell pepper, remove the seeds, and dice finely as well. Remove the casings from the sausages and place everything close to your stove, so it is ready when you need it.
2. Heat up a large pot (Dutch oven) with some olive oil. Add the diced bacon and fry for a moment, then add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy. Next, add the diced veggies – carrots, celery, and bell pepper – and stir in. Cook everything for about 3-4 minutes until the veggies are softer. Stir often.
3. Crumble the meat from the sausages and add to the pot – cook until nicely browned for about 4-5 minutes while stirring often. Add the tomato paste, dried oregano, basil, thyme, and cayenne pepper and mix in. Let cook for about a minute or so, then deglaze with the white wine. Let that cook for a moment until the wine has almost completely disappeared, then add the veggie broth and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and let come to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for about 25-30 minutes – stir frequently.
4. Next, add the milk and broken lasagna noodles and mix in. Let the soup simmer for another 10 minutes or until the lasagna noodles are »al dente«. Last, add the grated Parmesan and baby spinach leaves and mix in. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve in bowls with some additional grated Parmesan.
1. Den Speck fein würfeln. Die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch schälen und fein würfeln bzw. hacken. Karotten und Staudensellerie säubern und sehr fein würfeln. Paprika waschen, trocknen, Innereien entfernen und dann ebenfalls fein würfeln. Die Därme der Würste entfernen und alle anderen Zutaten bereitstellen.
2. Einen großen (gusseisernen) Topf mit etwas Olivenöl erhitzen. Den Speck im heißen Fett kurz auslassen, dann Zwiebeln und Knoblauch dazugeben und kurz andünsten. Wenn die Zwiebeln glasig sind, das restliche Gemüse dazugeben – Karotten, Sellerie und Paprika fein gewürfelt. Alles für etwa 3-4 Minuten anbraten, bis das Gemüse etwas weicher geworden ist – oft umrühren, damit nichts anbrennt.
3. Das Wurstbrät zerdrücken und zum Topf dazugeben – das Wurstbrät etwa 4-5 Minuten anbräunen lassen und dabei oft umrühren. Tomatenmark, Oregano, Basilikum, Thymian und Cayennepfeffer dazugeben und unterrühren. Tomatenmark etwa eine Minute anrösten lassen, dann mit dem Weißwein ablöschen. Den Wein zu einem Großteil einkochen lassen, dann Gemüsebrühe und gestückelte Tomaten dazugeben. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen, alles einmal aufkochen lassen, dann die Hitzezufuhr reduzieren und die Suppe etwa 25-30 Minuten köcheln lassen. Immer wieder mal umrühren, damit nichts anbrennt.
4. Als Nächstes dann die Milch und die zerbrochenen Lasagneblätter dazugeben und unterrühren. Die Suppe noch einmal etwa 10 Minuten köcheln lassen bzw. bis die Lasagneblätter »al dente« sind. Zum Schluss den geriebenen Parmesan und den Blattspinat untermischen. Bei Bedarf mit etwas zusätzlichem Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken. In Schüsseln anrichten und mit etwas geriebenem Parmesan servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Lasagna Soup with Sausage & Spinach
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 01:00
- Total Time: 01:15
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: International
Description
Lasagna Lovers will be happy about this one – Lasagna Soup with Sausages & Spinach. Easy to prepare and super delicious! Weeknight dinner delight!
Ingredients
some olive oil for frying
1.8 oz. (50g) bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced finely
1 celery stalk, diced finely
1 yellow bell pepper, diced finely
18 oz. (500g) pork sausages, casings removed
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup (120ml) dry white wine
4 cups (1l) vegetable broth
28 oz. (800g) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup (120ml) milk
7 oz. (200g) lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
1.5 oz. (40g) Parmesan, grated (plus more for serving)
1 handful baby spinach leaves
salt, pepper
Instructions
1. Cut the bacon into small pieces. Peel and dice the onion and garlic finely. Clean the carrots and celery stalk and dice finely. Wash and dry the bell pepper, remove the seeds, and dice finely as well. Remove the casings from the sausages and place everything close to your stove, so it is ready when you need it.
2. Heat up a large pot (Dutch oven) with some olive oil. Add the diced bacon and fry for a moment, then add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy. Next, add the diced veggies – carrots, celery, and bell pepper – and stir in. Cook everything for about 3-4 minutes until the veggies are softer. Stir often.
3. Crumble the meat from the sausages and add to the pot – cook until nicely browned for about 4-5 minutes while stirring often. Add the tomato paste, dried oregano, basil, thyme, and cayenne pepper, and mix in. Let cook for about a minute or so, then deglaze with the white wine. Let that cook for a moment until the wine has almost completely disappeared, then add the veggie broth and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and let come to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for about 25-30 minutes – stir frequently.
4. Next, add the milk and broken lasagna noodles and mix in. Let the soup simmer for another 10 minutes or until the lasagna noodles are »al dente«. Last, add the grated Parmesan and baby spinach leaves and mix in. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve in bowls with some additional grated Parmesan.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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