Cozy One Pot Lasagna Soup (freezer friendly)

As meal prepping for Baby #2 is in full swing, I've caught myself feeling nostalgic, looking back over some of my favorite comfort food recipes from when my husband and I were first married. Our very first winter together brought a random, crazy snowstorm here to East Texas, and I remember making a huge pot of this One Pot Lasagna Soup to keep us warm and cozy.

While this easy lasagna soup recipe is perfect for a snowy winter day, it's also a wonderful freezer-friendly meal for postpartum recovery, a comforting dinner after a long workday, or even a meal to bless a friend in need. What makes it special is that it's simple, hearty, and only requires one pot to cook.

If you like cheesy, meaty lasagna, a hearty soup, and lots of zesty marinara sauce, this recipe is for you. Here is my recipe for One Pot Lasagna Soup!

Cozy One Pot Lasagna Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Total Time: 40-50 minutes

Yields approx. 4-6 servings

Ingredients for "One Pot" Lasagna Soup:

• 1 yellow/white onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
• Kale or spinach (to taste)
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 lb of ground sausage (we like breakfast sausage, but Italian sausage works too)
• 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 32 oz of beef broth
• 12 oz of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
• Pasta of choice (we like cheese tortellini, ravioli, or traditional lasagna noodles)
• Parmigiana/mozzarella to sprinkle on top
• Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper

How to Make "One Pot" Lasagna Soup:

• In a large, deep pot, thoroughly brown ground beef and ground sausage.
• Add in onion, garlic, and kale/spinach and sauté until aromatic.
• When well incorporated, add in seasonings to taste: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Deglaze the pot with the tomato paste.
• Pour in beef broth and marinara sauce.
• Taste to see if the flavor is as strong as you like. If your broth needs more flavor, you can add in some beef bullion or more marinara. 
• Bring to a low boil.
• Once boiling, add in pasta of choice and cook for recommended time. 
• When pasta is cooked to al-dente, remove the entire pot from heat.
• While cooling, add in ricotta cheese by the spoonful and lightly stir. 
• Serve with shredded parmigiana/mozzarella sprinkled on top and a size of garlic bread.

To Make This Soup Freezer-Friendly:

• Cook soup as normal, but refrain from adding in the pasta and ricotta cheese at the end.  (We want to store it without the noodles and ricotta cheese because noodles can become soggy after reheating, and ricotta cheese can sometimes come out watery or grainy in texture after freezing.)
• Allow soup to cool completely, then store in freezer-safe containers or bags in the freezer until ready to use.
• When ready to consume, remove soup from the freezer and reheat in a pot on the stovetop or in an instant pot until boiling, then add in the pasta and ricotta as normal.
• Store in the freezer up to three months for best quality. 

The beauty of this soup is you can customize it easily to your family's tastes! For example, our family likes a very hearty, meaty soup, so we add the extra meat, but if your family prefers a more brothy soup, you can easily adjust by halving the meat content and adding more broth.

I definitely plan to make a pot of this before Baby #2 arrives and keep it hidden away in my freezer for the perfect "soup day." Meals like this are a godsend when you are in the throes of postpartum, so I am excited to have some of this on hand. 

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe! Share your own variations as well; I love trying new twists on the same recipes.