Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
Easy slow cooker lasagna soup, loaded with tender beef, noodles and vegetables. A must make dinner!
For a solid couple of weeks I was seeing lasagna left and right, totally making me crave it. It’d been a while since I’d made it for dinner, so clearly I had to. It can be time consuming – boil the pasta, cook the meat, shred the cheese… you get the idea. I like easy recipes where you can toss and go or do part now and part later, like bread, pizza or even ice cream. A little bit of work now and finish it later. I swear it’s totally not a procrastination thing at all. I love spending time in the kitchen, but I have my limits, which is one reason why I love using my slow cooker.
I have many and one of them never leaves the kitchen. It’s tucked away into an easy to reach spot, ready to be used at a given moment, unlike many other items I hide away in the basement because let’s face it… how often do I really need a giant roasting pan? Once, maybe twice a year? That’s definitely not the case with my slow cookers, especially during the colder months.
Even though I took care of my lasagna craving with a traditional casserole style recipe, I wasn’t done. Why not turn a crave worthy dish into an easy slow cooker dish, ready for dinner when you want?! No wasted time in the kitchen, mostly toss and go. Come back to an amazing soup when you want to eat!
In this easy slow cooker recipe, I recreated the classic flavors of a traditional lasagna, featuring the ever important ground beef, tomatoes, noodles and of course cheese – lots of cheese! Lasagna has never been so easy! It’s creamy, hearty and flavorful – an absolute must make dinner or lunch!
Add this slow cooker lasagna soup to your plans!
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef*
- 1 C yellow onion chopped
- 1 C green bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 15 oz petite diced tomatoes undrained
- 1/4 C tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 6 C chicken broth
- 1/2 C heavy cream
- 3/4 C Parmesan cheese
- 4-5 oz Mafaldine shaped pasta see notes
- Whole milk mozzarella shredded for topping
Instructions
- To the bowl of a 5-6 quart slow cooker add vegetables, tomato paste, spices and chicken broth. Cover and begin to cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 8). Cook and drain beef of fat, adding cooked meat to the slow cooker. Cover and continue cooking.
- When 4 hours is up, stir in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese, followed by pasta. If using large or long shaped pasta, break it up into smaller more manageable pieces. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
- Serve with freshly shredded mozzarella.
That soup looks amazing! I love that it’s done in the slow cooker too, that is the best way of making soup! And lasagna is one of my favourite meals ever!
Thanks so much Stacey!
I love love lasagna! In fact, I made some for my birthday last week! This soup is making me crave it again!
Fabulous birthday celebration food :)
Hello, football party entrée! This looks so perfect for my gameday menu!
Thanks Kelly! :)
I haven’t had lasagna soup. I love lasagna but I am definitely picky about making it due to the time and dish commitment.
This makes making and enjoying lasagna so much easier! :)
I made lasagna last week, and I was reminded of how time consuming it is! This will be going on our menu for next week, delicious!
Enjoy!! :)
Looks great, I have a couple of questions. First, is the meat added after the 4 hours of cooking or just once you get it browned? Second, is the past cooked or uncooked before adding to the soup mixture. Can’t wait to try this recipe!!!!
The meat is added after it has been browned and drained. And, uncooked pasta is added to the slow cooker. Enjoy!
Yum! I’ve always wanted to try a lasagna soup. I’ll be sharing this on my FB/Twitter pages later today!
Thanks Ally :)
We love lasagna soup!!! Your photos are gorgeous!
Thanks so much Aimee!
This look so cheesy and hearty! AMAZING!
Thanks Amanda!
I love lasagna, but I never seem to have time to make a traditional version, so this version is just perfect! Pinned and printed so we can try it ASAP!
Enjoy!! :)
Looks so good!!
Thanks Meghan!
what do you think about adding some spinach? Do you think it would work to add it at the beginning and cook the full 4 hours? Excited to try this soup!!
If you were to add some spinach, you should increase the liquid a bit. But keep in mind that spinach should always be added at the end of the cooking cycle as it only needs a short time to cook properly.
Does it have to cook for the full 4 hours or can I cut it in half? Got a late start and my step daughter has to be home before it will be done. She wants to try it so I was wondering if it needs the full four hours on high.
You would need to test the vegetables to see if they’re done. The last step is essential not to skimp on as you want the pasta and cream to cook for the proper time for optimal results.
I am making this but just realized that I don’t have the Parmesan cheese, do you think it will be okay without it?
I’m sure it will still be fine without. I hope you enjoyed it!
it was FANTASTIC :) my 15 year old was skeptical constantly opening it before the noodles and cream were added and saying it didn’t seem filling, he ended up eating 3 bowls lol
So glad everyone enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, April! :)
Did you use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream? (Heavy whipping cream is all I could find). Making it right now but haven’t added cream or noodles yet, can’t wait to try it!
Heavy cream should be used in the recipe as it has a higher fat content and is more ideal to use in soup recipes. I hope you enjoyed it!
The lasagna soup is to die for! I added double the pasta….which means once the leftovers went in the frig it was pasta as opposed to soup….but my family ate it both ways. It was delicious, and I’ve added it to our list of recipes that we need to eat once/twice a month.
So glad to hear everyone enjoyed it!
Rachel, can you please clarify. If I’m cooking on low, I cook the vegetables, tomato paste, spices, & broth for 8 hours. Then, after 8 hours, I brown the beef and add it to the cooker? I don’t add the browned beef at the beginning, correct?
Add the beef as soon as it is cooked and drained. The only items added at the end are the pasta, cream and cheese. Enjoy!
I love lasagna and this looks good. I pinned it.
Thanks Ashley!
I’m making it tonight. I must have done something wrong because it isn’t creamy like yours in the picture. Suggestions?
I’m not sure what you may have done different, so I can’t offer any tips unfortunately but I hope you still enjoyed it!
Made this for dinner a couple nights ago. I substituted ground turkey for the beef and half & half for the heavy cream and added a little extra tomato paste. Truly delicious. Thanks for posting such a hearty and comforting recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Cathy. Great substitutions! :)
Which kind of Parmesan cheese is used in this recipe?
Whichever kind you have on hand should be fine as long as it melts well. Enjoy!
We love this recipe and I’ve already made it twice (second time by my husband’s request! )… I wanted to let you know there’s an error… the recipe does not say when to add the tomatoes (only the paste)… just fyi!
So glad you both enjoyed it, Jamie! And for clarification, the tomatoes are considered part of the ‘vegetables’ mentioned in the directions. So, they weren’t left out but I can see why it might seem that way.
Hey, I’m just wondering what other types of pasta would be appropriate to use in this recipe in place of Malfadine. I’m excited to try it! =]
You could probably use just about anything. However, to keep it looking more like lasagna, I chose to use the long skinny noodles that look similar to classic lasagna noodles.
Hi, I need clarification in step two. You state after 4 hours is up to add cream, is that after the first 4-8 hours you add the cream same time as you add the meat OR does that mean after 4 on high, add meat, wait another 4 before adding cream?
If you’re cooking on high for 4 hours, add the cream in then. If you’re cooking on low, you’d add after 8 hours. Enjoy! :)
When you say 25-30 pieces, do you mean 25-30 whole lasagna noodles, or 25-30 broken pieces? How big are the pieces? I don’t have a scale, so real pasta measurements would be more helpful. Thanks!
25-30 pieces of mafaldine pasta should be used, as specified in the recipe. Those pieces are then broken up into smaller pieces, so they are more manageable to eat. Enjoy!
Do you know the measurements if i only have a 4 quart sized crock pot?
I’d recommend starting out by cutting the ingredients in half for the first time and you can always increase in the future. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!
This is my ultimate favorite lasagna soup recipe! Making it right now! I use mild Italian sausage and cannes diced tomatoes with olive oil and garlic. And tonight I’m trying out ricotta and spinach stuffed tortellini pasta :)
I’ve so glad you’ve enjoyed it, Lindsay! Love your changes. :)
Is this ok to freeze?
You may find the texture changes a bit due to the dairy and pasta, but it will still taste great.