Lasagna soup gives you everything people love about a baked pan of lasagna, just in a bowl: rich tomato broth, tender noodles, and a thick, cheesy topping that melts into every spoonful. This version leans into the Paula Deen style of cooking with butter in the base and a hearty mix of Italian sausage and ground beef, so the broth tastes full and savory instead of thin or flat. The end result eats like comfort food with a little extra drama.
The trick is building the flavor before the broth goes in. Browning the sausage and beef together gives you a deep, meaty base, and the butter helps carry the onion and garlic without letting them scorch. Tomato paste gets cooked for a minute or two before the liquids are added, which takes away that raw edge and turns the whole pot deeper and sweeter. Broken lasagna noodles finish right in the soup, so they soak up flavor instead of sitting on the side like a separate pasta component.
Below, you’ll find the cheese topping that makes this soup feel like lasagna instead of just tomato soup with noodles, plus the small timing details that keep the pasta tender and the broth balanced.
The broth had that rich, buttery tomato taste I was hoping for, and the noodles stayed tender without turning mushy. The ricotta and mozzarella topping melted into the soup just like lasagna in a bowl.
Save this Paula Deen lasagna soup for nights when you want a buttery tomato broth, hearty sausage, and a big spoonful of melted cheese on top.
The Tomato Base Needs Browning, Not Just Simmering
Lasagna soup can taste flat when the meat goes in, the tomatoes go in, and everything gets watered down into one-note broth. The fix is to build layers before you add the liquid. Browning the sausage and beef first gives you fond in the pot, and that browned residue is what keeps the soup from tasting like canned tomatoes and broth with noodles floating in it.
Tomato paste matters more here than in a lot of soups. It needs a short cook in the fat from the meat so it loses the tinny raw taste and turns into something deep and concentrated. If you dump the broth in too early, the paste never fully blooms, and the final soup tastes thinner than it should.
What Each Ingredient Is Actually Doing in This Bowl
- Italian sausage — This is the main seasoning engine. It brings fat, fennel, and enough salt that the broth tastes rounded instead of lean. Use mild or hot depending on how much heat you want.
- Ground beef — Beef gives the soup a heavier, more lasagna-like backbone and balances the sausage so the broth doesn’t lean all the way into one flavor. An 80/20 blend works well because some fat helps the base taste richer.
- Butter — The butter is part of the Paula Deen style here, and it softens the onion while giving the tomato base a fuller mouthfeel. If you cut it back, the soup still works, but it won’t taste as plush.
- Tomato paste — This is not just a color booster. Cooked briefly with the onions and garlic, it adds body and a deeper tomato flavor that crushed and diced tomatoes alone won’t deliver.
- Lasagna noodles — Broken noodles are the right move because they catch the broth in the folds and cook evenly in the pot. Don’t add them too early or they’ll swell past tender and start falling apart.
- Ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan — This topping is what turns the soup into lasagna in spirit. Ricotta gives creaminess, mozzarella gives stretch, and parmesan sharpens the whole bowl so it doesn’t taste one-dimensional.
The 20 Minutes That Actually Matter
Building the Meat Base
Melt the butter in a large pot, then add the sausage and ground beef together. Cook until the meat is browned and you can see some caramelized bits sticking to the bottom of the pot. If there’s a large pool of fat, drain the excess, but leave enough behind to cook the onion and garlic. That leftover fat is where the flavor starts.
Softening the Onion and Blooming the Paste
Add the diced onion and cook until it turns soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, then cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the paste darkens slightly and smells sweet, not sharp. If the garlic starts to brown hard, the heat is too high, and the whole pot will pick up a bitter edge.
Letting the Soup Come Together
Pour in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and dried basil. Bring it up to a boil, then lower it to a steady simmer. The soup should look thick but still loose enough to move easily in the pot. This is the point where the flavors start to marry, so let it simmer long enough for the tomato edge to soften before the noodles go in.
Cooking the Noodles Without Turning Them to Mush
Add the broken lasagna noodles and simmer until just tender, usually 10 to 12 minutes. Stir now and then so they don’t stick together or settle on the bottom of the pot. If the soup gets too thick before the pasta is done, splash in a little more broth. Overcooking at this stage is the fastest way to lose the texture.
Make It Lighter Without Losing the Lasagna Feel
Use all ground turkey instead of the sausage and beef mix if you want a lighter bowl. You’ll lose some of the rich, seasoned depth, so add an extra pinch of Italian seasoning and a little more salt at the end. The soup will still be hearty, just less heavy.
Gluten-Free Version
Swap in your favorite gluten-free lasagna noodles and cook them just to tender, because gluten-free pasta can go soft faster than wheat pasta. If you want the broth to stay a little thicker, keep the simmer gentle and don’t overdo the broth at the beginning.
Extra-Cheesy Finish
If you want the topping to melt more dramatically, add the mozzarella in two layers: a spoonful in the bowl first, then more on top of the hot soup. That gives you the stretchy, draped look without burying the ricotta completely.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Store for up to 4 days. The noodles will absorb more broth as it sits, so expect a thicker soup the next day.
- Freezer: It freezes, but the noodles soften after thawing. For the best texture, freeze the soup base without the pasta and cook fresh noodles when reheating.
- Reheating: Warm it gently over medium-low heat with a splash of broth. A hard boil will turn the noodles mushy and can make the cheese topping separate if you add it too early.
Answers to the Questions Worth Asking
Paula Deen Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large Dutch oven, then brown the Italian sausage and ground beef together until cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Drain excess fat before continuing.
- Add the diced onion to the pot and sauté for 4 minutes until softened. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and dried basil, then bring to a boil. Visual cue: bubbles should rapidly break the surface across the pot.
- Add the broken lasagna noodles and simmer until tender, 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally so the noodles don’t stick.
- Season the soup generously with salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust until the flavor pops.
- Mix the whole milk ricotta, shredded mozzarella, and parmesan with fresh basil in a bowl until well combined. Visual cue: the mixture should be thick and evenly speckled with basil.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top each serving with a very large, heaping spoonful of the cheese mixture. Serve immediately so the cheese begins to melt into the hot broth.
