Healthy Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

Owen Parker

Healthy Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

This vegetarian lasagna soup is an easy, healthy, and super cozy dinner idea! It's made with 4 different kinds of vegetables, plenty of herbs, and ricotta cheese. Recipe includes vegan and gluten-free options as well.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings: 4

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
4 large cloves garlic minced
2 cups carrots diced
1 cup parsnips diced
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried basil
1 pack tofu extra firm (or other protein, see notes)
2 cups kale stems removed + leaves roughly torn
2 cups canned diced tomatoes with juices
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 cups vegetable broth or more, as desired
8 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan freshly grated
Garnish: fresh basil or parsley chopped
Salt + pepper to taste

Method

Drain tofu from liquid and press excess liquid out with a paper towel. Using your hands, crumble the tofu into a bowl until it resembles the texture of ground meat. Set aside.
*If not using tofu, please see notes for other options!
Heat a large saucepan or dutch oven with olive oil over medium. Add garlic, carrots, parsnips, oregano, thyme, and dried basil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add crumbled tofu and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Then, add kale, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and vegetable broth. Stir and bring liquid to a boil, then allow to simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you'd also like to add more liquid, feel free to include some extra broth as needed.
Meanwhile, boil a separate large pot of water and cook lasagna noodles to al dente (according to package directions - should be roughly under 10 minutes). Drain, then return to pot. You can stir them in a splash of olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking together.
Once everything is cooked, add noodles to serving bowls. With a ladle, spoon soup overtop.
Top soup with a scoop of ricotta, parmesan, freshly cracked black pepper, as well as herbs for garnish. Enjoy hot!

Notes

*SERVINGS: This recipe as written will make about 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry everyone is! Nutrition facts are calculated based on 4 servings.

*LEFTOVERS: This soup tastes great the next day and this recipe makes an excellent option for batch cooking!

Leftovers of this soup will keep for 3-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
You can reheat it on either the stovetop or in the microwave. I recommend adding the cheese and herb garnishes after reheating, but it's ok if you've already mixed it all together.
You can store the cooked noodles together with the soup, or separately (just be sure to toss them in olive oil to prevent sticking together).
If stored together, you may find that the noodles have absorbed more of the broth overtime. If this is the case, you can always add a splash more broth prior to reheating. Otherwise, it becomes more like a lasagna "stew," which is also delicious in my opinion ;)
If you'd like, you can also freeze this soup for 3-4 months. I'd recommend freezing the soup without lasagna or pasta noodles. You can add them in (freshly cooked) when reheating.

*RECIPE MODIFICATIONS: Below are some ways you can modify this recipe to make it suit your dietary needs, preferences, or what you have on hand!

If you can't find lasagna noodles, you can use a short shape of regular pasta. There is a type of pasta called mafalda corta that resembles small lasagna noodles, otherwise ones like farfalle or fusilli will work, too!
For a gluten-free recipe, simply use gluten-free lasagna noodles OR another shape of gluten-free pasta.
If you don't want to use tofu, you can leave it out and simply decrease the amount of broth to about 2-3 cups. Note that this removes the protein source of this recipe, so you may want to serve this soup as more of a side dish in that case.
For other protein options, you could also swap the tofu for lentils, or non-vegetarian options, like ground beef, turkey, or sausage. Note that the cooking times may differ slightly for these options - please make sure that your protein source is adequately cooked!
In place of veggie broth, you can use beef or chicken broth (if you eat animal products, of course).
For a dairy-free or vegan option, simply swap the ricotta and parmesan for vegan alternatives. Do note that the cheese is a key component here, so I wouldn't leave it out entirely!
You can also use different veggies, as desired. Ones like chopped zucchini, spinach, chopped green beans, bell peppers, and diced onion would work well in this dish.

*COOKING TIPS

I recommend cooking the lasagna noodles (or other pasta shape) in a separate pot, to al dente. Otherwise, you risk the noodles becoming too mushy and breaking up in the soup.
For serving, I recommend adding the cooked noodles to your serving bowls, and then spooning the rest of the soup overtop. This will help keep the noodles in tact, as well.
I recommend having some extra broth on hand, or at least some boiled water, to add to the soup as needed. You may find you want a bit more liquid, but it is ultimately down to personal preference!